Post by sweetjoy on Jul 29, 2010 1:43:41 GMT -5
I would love to hear about what kinds of breeds of milk cows you prefer and why. I'm thinking a Jersey cross would be good? Smaller size, higher yield, but what crosses are good? Feel free to stop here and offer your two cents, or read more below.
I don't know that much about cows yet, we're had our Dexter/Jersey cross for a couple of years. We weren't too particular when we bought her, but have been very happy with her. We didn't want a huge producer and don't have a lot of space. After trying some different kinds of raw milk, I realize how much I like her milk. It seems to me to be a bit naturally homogenized and I really like that. It's not too rich but it's creamy when skimmed, and my friend's purebred Jersey milk when skimmed is more watery. She has told me that sometimes there are clumps of cream that won't mix in with the milk very well because it's so thick. I wouldn't like that, even though I am sure the butter and cheese are wonderful! Maybe though not all breeds of cows have the exact same kind of milk? Are breeds related to consistency and taste?
We are looking at getting another cow - to sell the milk from, primarily. There is a lot of demand here for it since they changed the laws in Idaho about raw milk and made it legal to sell it off a small farm (3 cows or less, no facility requirements). We have started a co-op of small producers (right now we have 2 cow and 1 goat milk producer) and have 18 members purchasing about 16 gallons a week (I know, seems low after the quantity of milk we're used to!). We just started the co-op in June so we hope it will continue to grow and provide a living for our family. OF course the more milk we produce ourselves the better, hence the reason for a new cow now.
We'll keep our first cow mostly as a family cow, but drink the other cows milk during the dry period as well as make cheese and other things on the 3 days a week we aren't selling her milk. We have a yearling heifer we will breed this fall as well (our cow's calf - sired by full Jersey) but we aren't counting on her being a reliable producer for a couple of years. We might keep all 3 cows in the end or sell one if we aren't selling all the milk.
Part of me thinks I should just get a big producer at this point, because the more milk we have the more we can sell, but I have some reservations. One is that I will be drinking this milk too and I want to love it. Also, I do have a small pasture and will be having to feed hay to the cows in addition to grass, and I don't want to spend a fortune on feed. We are trying to find a place with more space but the housing market is a mess right now and getting a loan on property we can afford (something small and old) with land is nearly impossible.
We looked at buying a brown swiss/shorthorn cross from a nearby organic raw milk dairy. I have heard good things about brown swiss, and very little about shorthorns. He does beef too so I think he picked that as a good dual purpose cross. But he wanted $2000 for the cow which seems like to much to me and also it is bigger than I think I would want.
I am a little timid about cows, they are big animals and I want one that I am not afraid of! Our cow is usually an angel, but kicked one time - she kicked my 5 year old in the head!!!! That made me a little nervous and I want a cow that doesn't scare me or the kids. My husband plans to do most of the milking of the additional animals but I know I will be doing some too.
TO THE POINT- we are thinking cows and want to learn more about what breed to choose, especially more about Jersey crosses. Please share your thoughts!
TIA,
Sara
I don't know that much about cows yet, we're had our Dexter/Jersey cross for a couple of years. We weren't too particular when we bought her, but have been very happy with her. We didn't want a huge producer and don't have a lot of space. After trying some different kinds of raw milk, I realize how much I like her milk. It seems to me to be a bit naturally homogenized and I really like that. It's not too rich but it's creamy when skimmed, and my friend's purebred Jersey milk when skimmed is more watery. She has told me that sometimes there are clumps of cream that won't mix in with the milk very well because it's so thick. I wouldn't like that, even though I am sure the butter and cheese are wonderful! Maybe though not all breeds of cows have the exact same kind of milk? Are breeds related to consistency and taste?
We are looking at getting another cow - to sell the milk from, primarily. There is a lot of demand here for it since they changed the laws in Idaho about raw milk and made it legal to sell it off a small farm (3 cows or less, no facility requirements). We have started a co-op of small producers (right now we have 2 cow and 1 goat milk producer) and have 18 members purchasing about 16 gallons a week (I know, seems low after the quantity of milk we're used to!). We just started the co-op in June so we hope it will continue to grow and provide a living for our family. OF course the more milk we produce ourselves the better, hence the reason for a new cow now.
We'll keep our first cow mostly as a family cow, but drink the other cows milk during the dry period as well as make cheese and other things on the 3 days a week we aren't selling her milk. We have a yearling heifer we will breed this fall as well (our cow's calf - sired by full Jersey) but we aren't counting on her being a reliable producer for a couple of years. We might keep all 3 cows in the end or sell one if we aren't selling all the milk.
Part of me thinks I should just get a big producer at this point, because the more milk we have the more we can sell, but I have some reservations. One is that I will be drinking this milk too and I want to love it. Also, I do have a small pasture and will be having to feed hay to the cows in addition to grass, and I don't want to spend a fortune on feed. We are trying to find a place with more space but the housing market is a mess right now and getting a loan on property we can afford (something small and old) with land is nearly impossible.
We looked at buying a brown swiss/shorthorn cross from a nearby organic raw milk dairy. I have heard good things about brown swiss, and very little about shorthorns. He does beef too so I think he picked that as a good dual purpose cross. But he wanted $2000 for the cow which seems like to much to me and also it is bigger than I think I would want.
I am a little timid about cows, they are big animals and I want one that I am not afraid of! Our cow is usually an angel, but kicked one time - she kicked my 5 year old in the head!!!! That made me a little nervous and I want a cow that doesn't scare me or the kids. My husband plans to do most of the milking of the additional animals but I know I will be doing some too.
TO THE POINT- we are thinking cows and want to learn more about what breed to choose, especially more about Jersey crosses. Please share your thoughts!
TIA,
Sara