Suwannee County Farm Bureau at ‘Christmas on the Square’ in Live Oak

Suwannee County Farm Bureau members will have a booth at this year’s “Christmas on the Square” in downtown Live Oak on Saturday, Dec. 1. Members of the Young Farmer and Rancher group will be on hand to talk about Farm Bureau initiatives and hand out green and white stickers emblazoned with “Support Suwannee Agriculture.” Also attending the event will be Ed Henderson, whose family owns Shenandoah Dairy in Live Oak. The farm is one of many local agricultural operations that provide not only economic benefits to the area, but also preserves green space and wildlife habitat.

In 1987 the Henderson family launched Shenandoah Dairy with 100 cows. Twenty years later, over 2,100 cows live on the farm. Half of them are housed in free stall tunnel barns where they are not tied up or confined to a single stall, but free to roam. The Hendersons recently completed renovations so that the remaining 1,050 cows will also be in tunnel barns. These barns are bedded with sand and are flushed with recycled water three times daily, maintaining extremely clean conditions. Large fans and misters cool the cows by evaporation and circulate fresh air in the barn, which is open at one end.

“Cows housed in the tunnel barn are healthier and more productive,” said Ed Henderson, who handles the farm’s finances. “Healthier cows have fewer problems, which leads to a longer productive life.”

In recent years, the family-owned operation has come under fire by critics who accused the dairy of polluting the river and local area. The Hendersons manage nutrients and odors properly as well as carefully monitoring manure application on the land by regularly sampling soil and plant tissues and analyzing forages. Their feeding program protects water quality by using forage as much as possible and employing manure nutrients as organic crop fertilizer. The dairy is a member of the Suwannee River Partnership and has participated in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, a voluntary USDA incentive program. Community outreach is another important goal for the Hendersons, who host many school groups and are initiating efforts to address any concerns and inform neighbors how the dairy operates.

Shenandoah Dairy has been criticized for its growth, but the Hendersons believe expansion has enabled them to stay economically viable and address environmental issues. ‘By increasing the size of our business, we have increased our opportunity to meet demanding challenges,’ says Henderson. ‘We keep our focus on cows and people. Our system is built with the environment at the forefront.’

The Henderson family have always tried to be excellent stewards of their land and received a 2007 CARES (County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship) award for their outstanding stewardship of natural resources.

Come out this Saturday and learn about agricultural operations in Suwannee County. Don’t forget to wear your sticker that shows you support Suwannee Agriculture!