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Colorado Prisoners Tend To Buffalo Dairy Farm

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When you think of a dairy farm, you’re probably envisioning black and white cows dotting a rolling hillside. But there are countless deviations from that pastoral setting.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Luke Runyon of Harvest Public Media reports on one of the more interesting dairy operations in the country.

He takes us to a water buffalo dairy that sits behind razor-wire fences in southern Colorado.

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Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Prisoners at Four Mile Correctional Center outside Canon City, Colo., share space with a couple hundred water buffalo, almost a thousand dairy cows and more than a thousand goats. (Luke Runyon/KUNC and Harvest Public Media)
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Prisoners at Four Mile Correctional Center outside Canon City, Colo., share space with a couple hundred water buffalo, almost a thousand dairy cows and more than a thousand goats. (Luke Runyon/KUNC and Harvest Public Media)
The Four Mile Correctional Center in Cañon City, Colo., is home to what may well be the country’s largest water buffalo dairy. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
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The Four Mile Correctional Center in Cañon City, Colo., is home to what may well be the country’s largest water buffalo dairy. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
The Four Mile Correctional Center in Cañon City, Colo., is home to what may well be the country’s largest water buffalo dairy. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
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The Four Mile Correctional Center in Cañon City, Colo., is home to what may well be the country’s largest water buffalo dairy. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
Buffalo are hooked into a milking machine at the dairy. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
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Buffalo are hooked into a milking machine at the dairy. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
Feliciano Gomez, 40, an inmate at the prison, is in charge of the milking parlor. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
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Feliciano Gomez, 40, an inmate at the prison, is in charge of the milking parlor. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
Steve Smith, director of Colorado Correctional Industries, makes a phone call from within the prison’s razor-wire fences. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
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Steve Smith, director of Colorado Correctional Industries, makes a phone call from within the prison’s razor-wire fences. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
A sign warns inmates to stay away from the water buffalo pens. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)
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A sign warns inmates to stay away from the water buffalo pens. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)

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