May Buy a Cow Share. Going to the Farm tomorrow. What the heck do I ask? -- UPDATED

[LilacMama]

At our local market I noticed a flier for raw milk. I called the number and a polite, slow-talking guy with a southern accent answered. He says that the milk share is $365/year for a gallon of milk per week, delivered to my door (!!!). He says his cows are mostly grass-fed, but towards January-March they get some grain.

I was going to drive out tomorrow morning to meet him and his cows and talk about the program. I was also going to see if I could "buy" a gallon of milk and make sure I like it.

What do you think? I have no idea what questions to ask and I don't know what I'm really looking for. He didn't specify that his grass was organic, so that was definitely something I was going to ask him about.

Also, my husband and I currently go through a half-gallon of milk a week, NOT a full gallon. I don't think I can expect him to deliver a half-gallon to my door though. Maybe he would do a gallon every other week?

Advice please? Thanks!

[Hedgehog Mtn]

I'm not sure where you are located but the grass wouldn't be an organic issue for me personally. Here in the northeast very few farmers have certified organic land....that means acres of certification. For my local (and my own land) many farmers just don't PUT anything on it. So no fertilizers, no treatments etc. That is what I would look for not organic as in certified but hmmm sustainable might be the word? Most people here re-seed every 7 - 12 years and certified organic seed is amazingly expensive. For me non-gmo seed that is untreated in any way is what I use. For the hay I buy I look for farmers who use their own manure as the only "treatment" they use so I would ask about yearly fertilizer use, spraying etc but if he said "we reseed every few years and don't do anything else" that would be an okay answer for me.

I would ask about antibiotic treatments....some farmers choose to stay non-organic so they can use the AB as a last resort....again if the farmer told me "we've used AB 2x (as in 2 cows) over 30 cows in 4 years" or something I would still consider his milk as an option.

I guess my point is it's not aways black and white. Farming is not a money making venture by far LOL. I would ask about what goes into the cow, into the milk, into the feed etc and then decide if that is good enough for you.

To give a little perspective I can buy certified OG grain (I use only a tiny amount in winter here) for 23.00 per 50lbs, I can buy locally grown non-gmo grain that is unsprayed and lovingly raised by a small family for 9.00 per 50lbs or scary stuff for 5.00 per 50lbs.

The thing is the OG stuff is mostly soy so that worries me but if my standard was that it has to be organic I would be choosing something I don't feel is the best product.

Just some thoughts for you but it's ultimately what you feel comfortable about buying and how much of a trusting relationship you will have with this farmer.

Oh yeah and DO try before you buy, raw milk can and does taste different from cow to cow and farm to farm....and season to season!!!!!

When we bought our first cow we learned to make cottage cheese, mozzarella, sour cream ALL super easy and a great use for that extra milk - oh and kefir and yogurt and and and

[Alyantavid]

I wouldn't worry about the grass personally. I would ask about the grain though.

I would look at where the cows are, the area that they're kept in and see how that looks. Make sure the cows seem clean, healthy and happy.

I would ask about any meds/vax he gives and why.

[LilacMama]

Thanks! Very helpful replies! I'll let you know what I find out. I'm REALLY hopeful!

[LilacMama]

Okay, here's what I learned from visiting:

Nice farmer. Long, unkempt beard. LOL. I kept thinking of his beard hairs floating in my milk.

Anyway, it was a very pretty farm with tons of pasture grass. He has four jersey cows he lets roam around. He vaccinates them with one vaccine (and I honestly don't remember the one he said) per year, no antibiotics, he puts NOTHING on the grass (ever), and he feeds them a little bit of grain every day to keep them happy while they are being milked. Otherwise they are in the pastures. They get some grain (not organic) in the winter when the grass is dried up.

It's in glass containers and did I mention he will deliver them to my door?!

He gave me a half-gallon to try. No odor at all. The initial taste is very good. Creamy and sweet. I will say that, after a few minutes, I detect a *slight* "farmy" taste in my mouth. Is that normal? The ONE other time I tried raw milk, I tasted it MUCH STRONGER, and that's what put me off of raw milk for a while.

Any other questions I should ask him? What do y'all think?

[ASusan]

I think I am jealous.

[journeymom]

Sounds like at this point the quality of the milk isn't an issue.

Now you need to decide if you will use a whole gallon a week, knowing that your average use is half a gallon. That's expensive, precious milk to waste.

I love the idea of home made cheeses and yogurt, that sounds fantastic. But would you keep it up?

Do you really like the taste?

For $190 would he deliver every other week?

My experience with our organic produce subscription:

A box is delivered to our door every other week. We've been doing this for one year plus. I wasted some veggies at first because I just didn't like it (kale), didn't know what to do with it (fennel) or just didn't get to it fast enough (giant heads of savoy cabbage tucked in the back of the fridge and forgotten). But I'm on top of that now and we're seriously enjoying all the fruits and veggies and not wasting anything. Well, except the kale.

[LilacMama]

I forgot to add that he said he would deliver a HALF-gallon to our apartment each week since he will be in the area anyway! My hope is that I will learn to make good yogurt and kefir and then we will use a gallon a week. But for now, a half-gallon will do.

journeymom, put two big leaves of kale (pull off the thick stems) in a blender with orange juice, strawberries, and a banana. Trust me!!!

I REALLY do like the taste. Now I just have to convince my skeptical husband who pronounced my farm-trip today a "dumb idea."

[mamadelbosque]

I'd start with a half gallon, and go from there. When I started getting raw milk over a year ago, we rarely made it through a gallon a week... we had zero problems drinking it Now, we're at 1.5 gallons a week, and have to sort of ration it out (ie, I can't drink freely - if I do we run out on a couple days ahead, so in the spring when we start up again, I'll likely up it to 2 gallons (my herdshare is seasonal so I have all frozen stuff for the winter).

[LilacMama]

ummmm....

my stomach "gurgled" all day today and I felt kindof nauseated off and on. and my poop was weird. i am NOT lactose intolerant and I do not a have a weak stomach in any way.

so, i guess i'm done with raw milk. lord knows what the milk would do to me after it has a few more days to grow weird bacteria.

[Ola_]

Do you think the fact that it's full fat milk may have something to do with it? I know fatty foods upset my stomach (not sure about you though). If you normally drink lower fat milk that could be the reason.

[AJP]

I hope you're feeling better. It's not that unusual to have some digestive upset when switching to raw milk (didn't happen to me, but I've heard the tale many times). It has live bacteria in it, and that's not a bad thing. Live bacteria does not necessarily equal pathogens. Raw milk naturally has native good bacteria, and if it's a type not already in your digestive tract (which is teeming with microbes of astounding variety) it can cause some of the symptoms you mentioned while things adjust. If you don't trust it, then don't get more, but don't panic and don't assume you've been contaminated. He should have warned you, if you haven't been a regular raw milk drinker, that there can be an adjustment period.

[LilacMama]

Ola, I drink lots of whole milk and put lots of half and half in my coffee, so it's not the fat content. I can see how that could be the case though!

AJP, thanks for that suggestion. It did occur to me. But I've gotten a little freaked out. Maybe I'll try the milk again tonight and just see if I die or not?