Saying milk comes from grass-fed cows is one thing, but proving it is another. That’s why we provide the guarantee you need that our products start with grass-fed goodness.
Grass-fed explained
The cream and milk that we use to create our products are sourced from pastoral dairy farms. This means that all dairy cows have access to pasture year-round, other than when they are temporarily off-pasture for:
- milking (1-2 times per 24-hour period)
- environmental conditions
- regulatory compliance
- veterinary care
- transportation
As grass growth slows in the winter, the herd is fed on a range of natural crops to maintain a full, well-rounded diet. These crops include kale or rape, and grass silage (grass that has been mown, baled and preserved as silage in spring when grass growth exceeds requirements).
![[object Object]](https://images.prismic.io/westpro-grass-fed/98574668-fffa-4e6f-8b53-4841ff613aeb_Grass-fed-4-640x464.jpg?auto=compress,format)
What do grass-fed cows forage on?
We define ‘grass-fed’ forage as:
- Grasses and other pasture monocots and broadleaf species, including (but not limited to) clover, lucerne and plantain
- Fodder and cereal crops at the milky stage, including swedes, rape, kale, turnips, fodder beet and similar species
- Grass silage, hay, baleage, whole crop silage and the proportion of these in a feed mix
- Other vegetative species that stock may eat while grazing.
Not defined as ‘grass-fed’ forage are grains including (but not limited to) wheat, oats, barley, maize and the straw made from these cereal crops.
Verifying our approach
We take a scientific approach to verifying our grass-fed standard, requiring annual dairy feed records from all our farmer suppliers. Using this data, we calculate how much grass-based feed makes up the total diet of the cows on each of our supplier’s farms.
First, we review the herd size and breed, and the total season’s production of milk solids, to estimate the feed requirements for that particular herd. The resulting grass-fed percentage is calculated as the proportion of grass-fed diet against the herd’s total feed requirement.
From the annual data, we can confirm that the dairy ingredient in products that carry the Genuinely Grass-fed Guarantee mark, are made from cows that are at least 95% grass-fed.
![[object Object]](https://images.prismic.io/westpro-grass-fed/2b0fcb2a-0908-42ec-a251-0c128f4d8178_Grass-fed-5-640x464.jpg?auto=compress,format)
![[object Object]](https://images.prismic.io/westpro-grass-fed/7e4d2e57-2921-4eed-a61f-a8d76aa2083e_Grass-fed-9-640x464.jpg?auto=compress,format)
Methodology – the detail
We use an independently developed model to calculate the grass-fed percentage of the herd’s diet. This model looks at the herd’s diet and its output of milk solids to establish the grass-fed percentage.
Milk solids are calculated by taking the volume of milk produced by each farm and multiplying it by its fat and protein content. This data is available daily and is annually supplied to us by each farm.
The calculations also use data from Dairy NZ Facts and Figures including:
- breed type annual feed requirements to produce 1kg milk solids
- feed adjustment factors based on milk solids production
- dry matter content of pasture and crops
A world leading guarantee
We believe that our Guarantee is world leading due to its high standards and transparency. Our Guarantee takes the data from the feed surveys of 100% of Westland Milk Products' milk suppliers annually. Our milk comes from cows that have access to pasture 365 days of the year and have a diet of >95% grass-fed forage.
This provides the confidence you need that products with the Genuinely Grass-Fed Guarantee are made using quality grass-fed dairy.
