Post by epitts75 on Aug 19, 2010 10:48:11 GMT -5
I found a farm that is willing to supply me some milk for my pets. They are a family farm that doesn't do organic but they say they use the methods that their grandparents used. The cows are all on pasture, but they do receive grain 2x per day. All their cows produce from 5-8 gallons per day, so they need the grain. He fertilizes his fields with chicken manure and does use some pesticides/herbicides on the fields, but not the ones where the cows graze. He says that the chemicals he uses are the 'more safe' ones that are approved for food.
He currently sells his milk to a middleman who resells it for the commercial market. He is willing to sell it to me raw for my pets in compliance with the local laws. He says his farm is very clean and customers are always allowed to come visit and see the areas where they milk and how the animals are cared for. He may be willing to send the milk out for pathogen testing regularly but hasn't ever done it and isn't sure where to begin. He also doesn't want to raise any red flags about selling it raw even though he would comply with the law and never sell it to people for human consumption. My thought on this is that if he's selling it for calves or baby goats, you still want to be sure the milk is clean. It can get them sick, too.
Since he is not used to selling it raw I have a few concerns.
1- Fertilizing with chicken manure. Should I be concerned about salmonella? Obviously the fields sit before the cows have access. How long would they need to be sure any pathogens are no longer there?
2-How do I know the milk is clean? It was one thing to milk my own cow, but getting it from someone else, who is not a raw milk advocate themselves (he may drink it raw himself...I didn't ask) is another thing. What kinds of things should I look out for.
The alternative to this is store-bought pasteurized milk from Whole Foods. It is making me very sick. My stomach has been a mess since I got off raw and I've had almost continuous illnesses. Nothing major, but I've gotten every little bug that's come around. My vitamin D levels are low, though, so that probably accounts for some of it.
Any thoughts that come to mind about the milk/farm?
He currently sells his milk to a middleman who resells it for the commercial market. He is willing to sell it to me raw for my pets in compliance with the local laws. He says his farm is very clean and customers are always allowed to come visit and see the areas where they milk and how the animals are cared for. He may be willing to send the milk out for pathogen testing regularly but hasn't ever done it and isn't sure where to begin. He also doesn't want to raise any red flags about selling it raw even though he would comply with the law and never sell it to people for human consumption. My thought on this is that if he's selling it for calves or baby goats, you still want to be sure the milk is clean. It can get them sick, too.
Since he is not used to selling it raw I have a few concerns.
1- Fertilizing with chicken manure. Should I be concerned about salmonella? Obviously the fields sit before the cows have access. How long would they need to be sure any pathogens are no longer there?
2-How do I know the milk is clean? It was one thing to milk my own cow, but getting it from someone else, who is not a raw milk advocate themselves (he may drink it raw himself...I didn't ask) is another thing. What kinds of things should I look out for.
The alternative to this is store-bought pasteurized milk from Whole Foods. It is making me very sick. My stomach has been a mess since I got off raw and I've had almost continuous illnesses. Nothing major, but I've gotten every little bug that's come around. My vitamin D levels are low, though, so that probably accounts for some of it.
Any thoughts that come to mind about the milk/farm?