After reading this article I’ve had this unrelenting desire to get a cow…yes, a milk cow.
Doesn’t it sound glamorous? The other night when my friend and I were discussing how wonderful it was going to be to milk a cow (you know, with my sweet little milking-stool, and soft glow from the setting sun across my bonnet-framed face ; -), my husband cast a bewildered look at me and flatly said, “Sweetheart, sometimes you have to tie up the dumb cow’s leg to keep her from kicking you in the face.”
“Oh.” I replied. I’m the eternal optimist. (Perhaps a helmet would be more appropriate than a bonnet?)
Anyway, through a series of Providential events, someone gave my Dad a Jersey cow! (And since we live next door, it’s practically our cow too.) I learned through another embarrassing episode of my misguided optimism, that a cow does have to, in fact, give birth to a calf before you can milk her (yes, I must admit, there was a time when I thought a “milk cow” meant a cow that dispensed milk–anytime, anywhere! LOL!)
(And lest you think I’m a city-girl or something, au contraire! I grew up on a farm and have virtually always lived on or around a farm–cows, horses, chickens, goats, pigs, an occasional llama or weird donkey 🙂 I’ve just never milked a cow!)
So I was only partially hopeful that we would ever get milk from our new cow because “breed cow” just didn’t seem like it would rank that high on my father’s or my husband’s to-do list.
But wouldn’t you know it, the night before we picked up the cow, she gave birth! We call the baby “De-caf”, my friend suggests we call the mother “De-mommy”…(clever, Darb.)
My Dad gets the biggest kick out of my over-the-top expectations about everything, but especially about the cow. I’ve already got our business mapped out, how much money we’re going to make selling it (I know it’s illegal to sell raw milk–but I have an idea on that, too.), and of course, in the event of a national catastrophe, raw milk would sustain the health of the entire family.
Stay tuned for pictures and/or entries about my lofty expectations of cow’s milk.
BTW, I tried to make butter with some raw milk we bought nearby, and after the children shook a mason jar full of it for half a day, we had nothing but, well, really shaken milk. Nevertheless, I press on.
17 comments
Wow!
My understanding is that only CREAM can make butter. You let the milk set out a bit and the cream rises.
I’d *really* like to see pics of this; it sounds exciting!!
Fantastic ideas! Please keep us posted. And you do need to separate the cream from the milk to make the butter. You will LOVE it and the kids get a kick out of making it themselves.
Hee hee, I have many of the same dreams… I can just picture the bonnet/ milking stool scene in my head! 🙂 And I too have long desired to make my own butter. Good to know I need cream… not milk.
🙂
When we got raw milk from a local farmer we’d leave it until the cream came to the top and then skim it off. Put your cream into a food processor and process until it turns to butter. very easy!
Moooooove on Kelly!
You visionary people!!! You better be thanking God He gave you a ‘STEADY’ husband to keep you grounded!
You go girl! I know how much you’ll LOVE those early morning milkings! Is there a coffee maker in the barn? LOLOLOL You’re too much fun.
Kathy–coffee maker in the barn…now that’s an idea! Thanks for another sleepless night 😉
I forgot to mention that my first idea about making butter involved a clean paint can and our electric paint shaker 😉
You see. My hubby was talking about getting a milk cow and my first thought is….who is going to do the milking and when? I sure don’t want to be out there in the cold A.M.! I admire your optimism and it amuses me. 🙂
The milk has to be whole milk. Just because the milk is raw doesn’t mean it’s whole.
I used to raise goats. (From age 14-21) I have years of experience with twice a day milking. It loses it’s magic on raining, windy, and freezing days. But, on pleasant days when you can be framed by that setting sun and take your time, it is quite romantic. Had some of my best conversations with the Lord when out by myself with the goats. (Because if you are out milking twice a day, don’t expect a lot of company.)
If you use milk to get butter, you have to use a lot. The highest butterfat content rate that cow’s milk has is about 5%. This means you have to use about 2.5 gallon of milk to get 1 pound of butter.
Milk away, Kelly. Milk away!
It’s so stupid that it’s illegal to sell raw milk. The government doesn’t WANT us to be healthy!
Our kids have dairy allergies, but we have lofty dreams of having our own organic grass fed farm one day (hopefully sooner than later)… with milk goats!
The more Christian families I speak to, the more I am convinced the Lord is giving us this desire and beyond that, being able to sustain our families apart from what the mass market and the government provides.
The helmet is a great idea!
Kelly,
We have dairy goats and are waiting expectantly for the to have their kids so we can have milk again. I am mostly responsible for the milking and I have to say, it is some of the most tranquil time of my day. Even though I am not a morning person, being outside as the sun is rising milking the goats is worth it. It’s a wonderful time of day. I am able to relax so much when I’m milking, it really doesn’t seem like a chore. Some days, yes, it is a pain, like when it’s storming, or we need to be somewhere, but most days it’s a blessing beyond just the milk.
A couple of great resources are the book “Keeping a Family Cow” by Joann s. Grohman, and her website is http://www.real-food.com there is a family cow discussion forum there with a lot of really great helpful people.
Have fun!
Ashley
This cracks me up. I can’t wait to have a cow, too! I am not sure how plausible that will be, since I enjoy living in decent sized towns, not in the country, but hey, it might work out someday! 🙂
Keep posting on this, it’s very educational (not joking, I had no idea about tying cow’s legs down).
I haven’t posted in a while…been a bit busy. But…I just had to on this one! I have the same romantic dreams! We have chickens right now and enjoy their eggs. We can’t sell them because of where we live (we barter instead) but when we move we will! Hopefully we’ll be out in the country more! We also want to get dairy goats. I know we can’t sell the milk but we can barter! And I can’t wait to have a huge garden!!! I can see all the full canning jars come harvest time! Oh the dreams we have! Keep on dreaming, Kelly! I will too! Can’t wait for some picutures!
Congratulations on the cow! That is one of my dreams someday! (Jerseys give wonderful creamy milk too!) In the meantime we are delighted to have recently been able to obtain raw milk legally by purchasing shares in a herd. I have been having such fun with it. I’ve been making kefir and we even made butter the other day, and had real live buttermilk to bake with to boot! (We just skimmed some of the cream off the top, put it in the Bosch with the whisks and let it go until it turned into butter. You can do a Google search for better directions :-))
It is such a wonderful feeling to know that your family is getting such a healthy food.
May you greatly enjoy the cow and the fruits of your labors 🙂
Jennifer
(www.noblewomanhood.com)
P.S. And LOL to your sunbonnet and the setting sun picture 😉