We bought a Guernsey Dairy cow in June because we planned to use the milk to feed our Berkshire pigs. The first day I snagged the bounty (6 gallons). Everyday since, we have had a daily argument because I hate sharing the milk with the pigs. I never dreamed I would be able to make all the diary products we were buying. So if you are considering getting a family dairy cow, let me share with you what I did with a month's worth of milk (I like to crunch numbers and record everything I do.) You can CLICK HERE to download the form I created to track how much milk we get at every milking.
In August our cow produced 138 gallons of milk which I shared with 4 other households (and our pigs) and was still able to make:
3 lbs of farmers cheese
31 lbs of butter
3 gallons of yogurt (just learned how)
12 gallons of buttermilk
7.5 lbs of cottage cheese
1 gallon of sour cream
2 lbs of cream cheese
3 gallons of whey (which has replaced chicken broth in cooking)
Plus I gave away so much to family and friends, I lost count. The neat thing is, I was able to do this and still give our pigs at least 2 gallons of milk or milk byproducts everyday. (Incidentally, these hogs are growing faster than the rest.)
I plan on spending more time learning to preserve the milk into aged cheeses, but even as a beginner, the ease of doing all of this is astounding. Yes, it takes time, work and tiny amount of money, but the quality of what we are now consuming is amazing.
So I have gone full circle, I didn't want a cow at first and now I can't imagine life without one. The book "Keeping A Family Cow" by Joann S. Grohman was a wonderful help to me when we first got Ella. It warmed me up to the idea that I could produce dairy products on my own without any special knowledge. It also had some great advice on udder care that helped us in the very early days and still I refer to it often.
- Melissa
In August our cow produced 138 gallons of milk which I shared with 4 other households (and our pigs) and was still able to make:
3 lbs of farmers cheese
31 lbs of butter
3 gallons of yogurt (just learned how)
12 gallons of buttermilk
7.5 lbs of cottage cheese
1 gallon of sour cream
2 lbs of cream cheese
3 gallons of whey (which has replaced chicken broth in cooking)
Plus I gave away so much to family and friends, I lost count. The neat thing is, I was able to do this and still give our pigs at least 2 gallons of milk or milk byproducts everyday. (Incidentally, these hogs are growing faster than the rest.)
I plan on spending more time learning to preserve the milk into aged cheeses, but even as a beginner, the ease of doing all of this is astounding. Yes, it takes time, work and tiny amount of money, but the quality of what we are now consuming is amazing.
So I have gone full circle, I didn't want a cow at first and now I can't imagine life without one. The book "Keeping A Family Cow" by Joann S. Grohman was a wonderful help to me when we first got Ella. It warmed me up to the idea that I could produce dairy products on my own without any special knowledge. It also had some great advice on udder care that helped us in the very early days and still I refer to it often.
- Melissa
