# milk



## paramedic707

With the price of milk going up, I have been thinking more strongly about a dairy cow. For any of you who have messed w milk from a cow, who has recipes on the other things that can be made with milk like cheese, cream n such. $6 a gallon is a lot n of its going up so will the products made from it. In the long run, ill definitely be cheaper.


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## cnsper

Where do you live, Alaska? Here it is 2.99.

Some things you can make

Butter
Cheese
Cottage Cheese
Cream you just skim off the top

A cow is not necessarily cheaper, it all depends on how you feed them.


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## paramedic707

Seeing how I already have to feed our other livestock its no big deal on the feed for 1 more cow. And no I live in Arkansas n its 4.18 a gallon here n that's for 1% milk


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## AnonyManx

If you have the land to graze a dairy cow, you will have a cheaper and much healthier cow, with a MUCH longer productive life!


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## hiwall

Milk here is often on sale for $1.59 gallon. It can cost a bundle to have a cow. Takes some getting used to the raw milk. Most freak out when the cream rises to the top!


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## cowboyhermit

We use a ton of dairy and don't feel as well when we don't. 
I think it is great that you would consider this as it can make you much more self sufficient. In any emergency or an economic problem a milk cow is an amazing resource.
I am not the best for recipes or detailed instructions but there is a ton of info available online. 
Yogurt is ridiculously easy, sour cream and cottage cheese as well, hard cheeses are a bit more involved, butter takes little more than a mason jar and a little kid.
With regards to raw milk, if you like it great, but it is extremely simple to pasteurize milk at home and any agriculture department has the instructions.
Cream separators are still easily had around here if the cream floating to the top is an issue but most people don't bother.
If you decide to go for it best of luck to you.


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## VoorTrekker

Holsteins produce more milk (possibly Swiss Dairy), Guernsey produce not as much but at higher buttermilk content, Jersey produce not as much but even higher buttermilk content. Dairy cows need roughage (insulage) such as whole corn cornstalk ears and all ground to chunks, they'll need a pint of grain feed daily and grazing. For winter, third to a half bale of hay, and some second cutting hay once a day. 

She'll need to be milked twice a day--EVERYDAY. A third calf heiffer is best, that's a cow. Less than that and the milk production varies and could dry up. Once milking has ceased they dry up until gestating a calf. 

Good luck and buy from a local supplier wherever possible.


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## cowboyhermit

I know this is a recipe thread so I will try the most straight forward.

Simple yogurt; pasteurize milk, cool to room temperature, add some leftover but not spoiled yogurt (teaspoon per cup), wait. Add fruit or other flavor if you want.

I wanted to make sure you know however that a good milk cow needs only grass, I would stay away from ones that need special feed. A bit of grain to a high producing animal is not a bad thing, but grass should be enough.
It is also good to know that you can milk as often, or not, as you like. To do this you simply let the cow raise her calf as she would, then when you want to milk you lock the calf up for a bit. The easiest way is to lock the calf away at night, milk first thing in the morning, then let the calf back to it's mom. This way is much easier on you and the animals if you don't need more that a couple gallons per day.


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## kejmack

paramedic707 said:


> With the price of milk going up, I have been thinking more strongly about a dairy cow. For any of you who have messed w milk from a cow, who has recipes on the other things that can be made with milk like cheese, cream n such. $6 a gallon is a lot n of its going up so will the products made from it. In the long run, ill definitely be cheaper.


Having had dairy cows in the past, I can tell you it isn't as easy as you think. First, you will be married to the cow. She must be milked twice a day which means you have to be home at those times. If you need to be away or if you want to go on vacation, you have to find someone to come and milk for you. Secondly, you will be getting a lot of milk. What are you going to do with 2-3 gallons per day? We fed the extra to our pigs. You could easily spend all your time making cheese and butter just to keep up with the extra milk. Thirdly, the cow will need to be freshened every year. And she will need time off from milking every year so you will not get milk for several weeks. Fourth, with the price of feed and hay the way it is, you might not be saving any money. A good Jersey cow is going to set you back a bunch. If the cow gets sick, you have vet bills. It will be a couple years or more before you see a cost advantage.


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## kejmack

Forgot to add.... it might save you a lot of money to buy a cow share instead!


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## paramedic707

Thanks so much for the input from everyone so far. We have beef cattle, horses, pigs, and chickens already so as far as the care of them; I think ill be ok. My husband n I run this farm together n we share the responsibilities n luckily we have great friends that will help that care of our babies while were gone if needed. I found out after I posted all of this that our local college is getting out of the dairy business so I believe well be in luck for some good already somewhat used dairy cows. I don't need more than one for our family (extended family included), but I also have friends who would be interested if we do this. At first, my hubby was like Naw we.don't wanna do that bit he's getting more into it now.


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## Dixie

hiwall said:


> Milk here is often on sale for $1.59 gallon. It can cost a bundle to have a cow. Takes some getting used to the raw milk. Most freak out when the cream rises to the top!


*Prices are on the rise. Today the news quoted milk could go as hight as $8.00 a gallon!*


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## PackerBacker

Dixie said:


> *Prices are on the rise. Today the news quoted milk could go as hight as $8.00 a gallon!*


Won't happen.

People won't pay it. Not enough of them anyway.

Milk will go up but it ain't going to double.

Whole milk is $4 now. I betting it levels off at about $5.50.


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## PackerBacker

hiwall said:


> Milk here is often on sale for $1.59 gallon.


Farmers are getting paid more than that.


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## Caribou

Milk $7.49 here and that is down a couple of bucks. If you want milk you pay the price.


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## *Andi

paramedic707 said:


> Thanks so much for the input from everyone so far. We have beef cattle, horses, pigs, and chickens already so as far as the care of them; I think ill be ok. My husband n I run this farm together n we share the responsibilities n luckily we have great friends that will help that care of our babies while were gone if needed. I found out after I posted all of this that our local college is getting out of the dairy business so I believe well be in luck for some good already somewhat used dairy cows. I don't need more than one for our family (extended family included), but I also have friends who would be interested if we do this. At first, my hubby was like Naw we.don't wanna do that bit he's getting more into it now.


Why not break/train one of the beef cows for milking. All my summers growing up were spent on my Uncle C's farm, where each morning & evening we would go milking, they had white face, right now I working on a long horn. It is true you will not get the same amount as a dairy cow but I can never remember going without milk or butter.

Just a thought.


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## jsriley5

*Andi said:


> Why not break/train one of the beef cows for milking. All my summers growing up were spent on my Uncle C's farm, where each morning & evening we would go milking, they had white face, right now I working on a long horn. It is true you will not get the same amount as a dairy cow but I can never remember going without milk or butter.
> 
> Just a thought.


Make sure it's one of the girls  :rofl:


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## *Andi

jsriley5 said:


> Make sure it's one of the girls  :rofl:


I did say cow ...

cow n. The mature female of cattle of the genus Bos. The mature female of other large animals ...


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## RevWC

Not so much into the milk thing!


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## PackerBacker

RevWC said:


> Not so much into the milk thing!


What a moron.


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## lazydaisy67

The VOLUME of milk from a cow is what would throw me for a loop. You could make your own cream cheese and yogurt along with all the hard cheeses. I have one dairy goat that gives me a gallon a day for a family of six and I honesty don't know how I'd deal with 3-5 gallons a day. 
I do know it's great for pigs. Makes the meat super tender. Chickens can have it too. You can google all kinds of recipes for cheeses so that shouldn't be hard for you to find.
Before you get to milking you'll for sure want a seperate area you can go into that can be sprayed and cleaned afterwards. The cows will poop all over you and everything else while you're milking. My dad told me a story of how they'd filter the mik through a t-shirt from a 5-gallon bucket and there were chunks of poop in the bottom of the bucket.  You sure could sit on a bucket on the floor, doesn't need to be fancy,but it does need to be clean. You don't have to pasteurize it if you don't want to. Raw milk won't make you sick if you're using clean milking practices and it won't effect the cheese making process if you don't, but you will have a heck of a time getting approved for selling it.


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## AnonyManx

Dixie said:


> Prices are on the rise. Today the news quoted milk could go as hight as $8.00 a gallon!


Commercial milk prices in the US are governmentally controlled - the federal government sets the bulk price paid to farmers producing milk for bulk processing. There are only a few major processors for fluid milk in the US, despite the variety of brands; there are also some small regional or specialty ones, but they do a small percentage of the milk business. Part of the reason milk is produced in giant feedlot operations is the low hundredweight price that is set by the government. This is what has driven many small dairy operations out of business.

That said, I choose to pay $8.50/gallon for our milk. I am buying directly from an Amish farmer whose Jersey cows (which give type A2 milk) are 100% pastured, and I will pretty much pay him whatever price he sets for his product. If the food budget tightens, cuts will be made in other areas; we love our fresh, raw milk.

I have a friend in California who is paying $18/gallon for her Organic Pastures brand raw milk...


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## PackerBacker

AnonyManx said:


> Commercial milk prices in the US are governmentally controlled - the federal government sets the bulk price paid to farmers producing milk for bulk processing. There are only a few major processors for fluid milk in the US, despite the variety of brands; there are also some small regional or specialty ones, but they do a small percentage of the milk business. Part of the reason milk is produced in giant feedlot operations is the low hundredweight price that is set by the government. This is what has driven many small dairy operations out of business.
> 
> That said, I choose to pay $8.50/gallon for our milk. I am buying directly from an Amish farmer whose Jersey cows (which give type A2 milk) are 100% pastured, and I will pretty much pay him whatever price he sets for his product. If the food budget tightens, cuts will be made in other areas; we love our fresh, raw milk.
> 
> I have a friend in California who is paying $18/gallon for her Organic Pastures brand raw milk...


There are dozen of milk bottlers within reasonable driving distance of here.


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## Jason

Our farm was a dairy farm until 2000 when we quit because we were too small. Our milk hauler retired and the coop would not send another driver so we literally lost our market. 

Fast forward to present day: We have homesteader-type neighbors who wanted a cow. They bought a Jersey from a neighbor, had her bred, she lost the calf, and they had her bred again. She freshened and they SWAM in milk. They literally had more than they knew what to do with. They made and gave away a variety of cheeses, made yogurt, drank milk until they were sick of it, all while being tied to the cow for 2x/day milking. They eventually got her down to a 1x/day milking, which I personally don't think is the best idea due to health reasons with the cow (mastitis, etc) it seems to be working out for them.

I thnk one cow for a one family operation is too much. If a person wants fresh, home produced milk, a much more downscaled option would be a dairy goat or two. I don't know much about dairy goats, but the production scale seems to me it would be much more realistic to the small farmer/homesteader.


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## PackerBacker

Jason said:


> Our farm was a dairy farm until 2000 when we quit because we were too small. Our milk hauler retired and the coop would not send another driver so we literally lost our market.
> 
> Fast forward to present day: We have homesteader-type neighbors who wanted a cow. They bought a Jersey from a neighbor, had her bred, she lost the calf, and they had her bred again. She freshened and they SWAM in milk. They literally had more than they knew what to do with. They made and gave away a variety of cheeses, made yogurt, drank milk until they were sick of it, all while being tied to the cow for 2x/day milking. They eventually got her down to a 1x/day milking, which I personally don't think is the best idea due to health reasons with the cow (mastitis, etc) it seems to be working out for them.
> 
> I thnk one cow for a one family operation is too much. If a person wants fresh, home produced milk, a much more downscaled option would be a dairy goat or two. I don't know much about dairy goats, but the production scale seems to me it would be much more realistic to the small farmer/homesteader.


Everything you listed can be averted by leaving the calf on the cow. Which needs to be fed as well anyway.


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## cowboyhermit

If a cow is unable to be healthy while raising her own calf there is something fundamentally wrong there. This whole issue of having to milk a cow twice a day every day makes no sense and I am speakeing from not only my families experience (over 100 years on this property) but many others as well. It does a huge disservice to everyone to cling to these beliefs that have no foundation in reality and continue to get perpetuated.
If you don't need more than a gallon of milk a day just let the calf feed normally, lock it up at night, then milk in the morning and let the calf back out with it's mom. At the end of the year you have a nice calf for eating or selling. If you are not home the calf will take care of the milk for you. If you only need a gallon of milk in a day any dual purpose breed will probably serve you better, old lines of simmental (not black as they are angus) are excellent, shorthorn and others as well.


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## lazydaisy67

Well, there were other concerns for us other than the volume. The pasture, the feed, the poop. For us, having a cow just isn't realistic.


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## The_Blob

RevWC said:


> Not so much into the milk thing!


Cohen has been repeatedly debunked/exposed as a shill for his soy-products company (Monsanto slave corp)


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## PackerBacker

cowboyhermit said:


> If a cow is unable to be healthy while raising her own calf there is something fundamentally wrong there. This whole issue of having to milk a cow twice a day every day makes no sense and I am speakeing from not only my families experience (over 100 years on this property) but many others as well. It does a huge disservice to everyone to cling to these beliefs that have no foundation in reality and continue to get perpetuated.
> If you don't need more than a gallon of milk a day just let the calf feed normally, lock it up at night, then milk in the morning and let the calf back out with it's mom. At the end of the year you have a nice calf for eating or selling. If you are not home the calf will take care of the milk for you. If you only need a gallon of milk in a day any dual purpose breed will probably serve you better, old lines of simmental (not black as they are angus) are excellent, shorthorn and others as well.


Milking twice a day is pretty much required if you don't have a calf on her.


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## Grimm

Jason said:


> Our farm was a dairy farm until 2000 when we quit because we were too small. Our milk hauler retired and the coop would not send another driver so we literally lost our market.
> 
> Fast forward to present day: We have homesteader-type neighbors who wanted a cow. They bought a Jersey from a neighbor, had her bred, she lost the calf, and they had her bred again. She freshened and they SWAM in milk. They literally had more than they knew what to do with. They made and gave away a variety of cheeses, made yogurt, drank milk until they were sick of it, all while being tied to the cow for 2x/day milking. They eventually got her down to a 1x/day milking, which I personally don't think is the best idea due to health reasons with the cow (mastitis, etc) it seems to be working out for them.
> 
> I thnk one cow for a one family operation is too much. If a person wants fresh, home produced milk, a much more downscaled option would be a dairy goat or two. I don't know much about dairy goats, but the production scale seems to me it would be much more realistic to the small farmer/homesteader.


I'm glad to read your insight. It brings a whole new facet of homesteading that I hadn't thought of. I'll have to stay on top of this thread for more great insight.


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## dixiemama

If you have an abundance of raw milk, call me. My husband LOVES it! When we got raw milk from a neighbor, I cldnt get a gallon to last a day! I seriously think he wld run a garden hose from the barn through the house if we had a milk cow.


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