In the fall of 2018 I decided to shut down our raw milk dairy. I was working a job at the time and struggling to find a balance between the off farm job, the dairy, and time with the family. So I shut down the dairy but I ended up keeping one jersey milk cow and when she calved I went back to milking for the family. As my family has grown to 3 children with a 4th on the way, the raw milk from our milk cow has become very important for feeding our family. Over the past 3 years I've had many folks ask to get raw milk from us. I realize how hard it is for families to find this real source of food and it got me thinking about how to bring back the raw milk. There's literally no other option for nutritious edible milk other than from a farm directly. And not many farms are willing to offer it.
So this year I decided it was time to bring back the raw milk dairy. I'm going to keep it small, the goal is to have 3 cows always milking. But if I manage it well, that little Jersey herd will produce 50 to 70 gallons of raw milk weekly. That will feed quite a few families.
So here's a few of my goals
#1 is to keep the milk affordable. At $8 per gallon our milk is less than organic milk in the store and way better. I want our milk to be affordable for families with children. While there's no way I can make the numbers work at $4 a gallon, I'm certainly not looking to get the $15-$20 a gallon that some farms are charging.
#2 is community building. Raw milk brings folks together in a unique way. That was one thing I missed after shutting down the Dairy in 2018. We look forward to seeing you all every week. We made many lasting friendships just from our milk customer base and While it's not always possible to be around when you stop by due to farm chores, building projects, deliveries, or family obligations, we do value everyone who takes the time to drive to the farm regularly instead of the grocery store.
#3 Convenience. As much as possible we want it to be easy for you to stop by on your schedule to get your milk. Because we are supper tight on milk at the moment its a little hard, but the goal is to have the milk house set up so that you can stop in and help yourself regardless of whether Hannah or I are around. No need to check with us or make sure we're around, just stop in and get your milk when it fits your schedule.
#4 Provide Nutrition. There's a reason I kept a milk cow for my family. There is no milk, or yogurt, or butter available from any source that is as good as what I can grow for my family right here on the farm. We want you to be able to enjoy what we enjoy. So, when we have extra milk, we will turn it into yogurt, cream and maybe occasionally butter and will make it available to all of our raw milk subscription members.
So, a couple updates. My bulk tank is finally set up. This is huge as it chills the milk down in 30 minutes or less vs the several hours minimum it was taking the freezer to chill the milk down. The fast chilling really helps increase the shelf life of raw milk. I'll show you all how to use it when you stop by. I'm not getting that much milk so it won't be as full as in the picture (that's an old picture) for probably a couple more months. I also added a Jersey/Guernsey cross heifer named Annie to the milk herd that is due to calve December 1st. She's the prettiest little heifer and an excellent addition.
Again, thanks for supporting us as an alternative food source!
Onward,
Jordan Winters
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