Sonny is one of the few Brown Swiss cattle that we have here at Carlton Farms. We milk a couple of brown swiss cows, along with our jersey herd. Brown Swiss is a old, large, dual purpose (milk & meat) breed that originated in the swiss alps. We have a special fondness for this breed, as they were the type of cattle my grandfather first started milking in 1946. We still have old breeding records (the paper kind) from the 40's where my grandfather would record the lineage of his prize Brown Swiss cows. We have moved on to Jersey Cattle, which we also love, but keeping a few Brown Swiss around serves to remind us that there is an important heritage to uphold.
Oh, before when I said Brown Swiss is a dual purpose breed. Well, Sonny is actually a zero purpose Brown Swiss. He could most accurately be described as a "pasture ornament". Brown Swiss are known to be large and we wanted to raise a steer that would get really large as a sort of Farm Mascot. Now many customers and corn maze visitors have been checking on sonny every time they come to the farm. In the spring we host several school groups for dairy tours and milking demonstrations.
If you would like to come visit Sonny or even bring your group on a spring dairy tour please contact Brad: at 770-546-5179
