Slippery Rock dairy farmer keeps the milk flowing despite bitter cold weather
While most people retreat indoors during subzero cold snaps, Dan Hartzell heads out to his barn.
At Meadow Grove Farm in Slippery Rock Township, Hartzell and his family care for more than 500 animals, including 290 milking cows and about 230 heifers, no matter what the weather is like.
Dairy operations don’t stop because of the bitter cold. It just changes the process.
“You plan on it being difficult,” Hartzell said. “You fill up your Stanley thermos and make the best of it.”
Hartzell, a fifth-generation farmer who co-owns the operation with his father, George, said winter demands extra preparation and precision.
Dairy cows don’t grow thick winter coats like beef cattle, so they’re housed indoors, bedded more heavily and kept clean and dry.
As temperatures fall, their energy needs rise, a fact Hartzell learned while earning his animal science degree from Penn State University.
“When it’s under zero, I’ll feed more corn just to give them extra energy,” he said.
Cows also eat about 5% more in winter, consuming roughly 52 pounds of dry matter daily compared to about 47 pounds in summer. To avoid running machinery in extreme cold, Hartzell sometimes feeds two days’ worth of rations at once.
The cold doesn’t just affect the animals — it tests equipment, too.
Outdoor repairs require careful planning, Hartzell said, down to having every wrench and pair of pliers on hand so work can be finished quickly.
His unlikely winter companions? A hair dryer and a small torch.
“You wouldn’t believe how many things thaw out with a hair dryer,” he said with a laugh. “Sometimes a tractor won’t move because a sensor froze. You warm it up and suddenly it’s running.”
One long-standing farm trick still seems to work: Parking tractors inside the cow barn. The animals generate enough heat to help engines start without electric cords.
“The cows make the heat and keep the tractors running,” Hartzell said. “It’s kind of symbolic.”
The farm, founded in 1896, relies on practical knowledge passed down through generations. Hartzell compares farming to carrying an Olympic torch as each generation works to preserve what it has inherited.
That responsibility extends to the youngest animals. Calves are born year-round and winter births bring added urgency to set them up for future production.
A newborn wears a jacket for warmth and must receive its mother’s milk within the first five hours of life.
“That first five hours dictates what their next five to nine years look like,” Hartzell said.
Milk production even changes with the seasons. In winter, cows typically produce milk with slightly higher butterfat content, while each animal averages about 80 pounds — or roughly 11 gallons — per day.
“That’s feeding three to five families in the community, every day, per cow,” Hartzell said.
Despite the challenges, winter is also a financially stabilizing time for dairy farmers.
Crops have already been harvested, allowing farms to generate revenue from milk sales to prepare for spring planting.
Hartzell is quick to point out that he doesn’t do it alone.
Meadow Grove Farm employs about six workers and Hartzell credits his employees, parents and wife for keeping the operation running smoothly, even during snowstorms and subzero temperatures.
“It takes a team,” he said. “I take good care of my cows, and they take excellent care of me.”
