The Benefits Of Raw Milk-Revisited

Here is an article I found in my favorites list that I had totally forgotten about.  It is about the benefits of drinking raw milk, as we do from our own cow.  Good stuff.  Use the link and give the article a good read, it is very informative.

Raw Milk Farmer Calls It Quits

Read this story, it is a bummer for the farmer, yet there is a lot of truth as to the cost of a small farm.  With regulation and subsidies rampant, it is becoming impossible for a small farmer to stay true to their principles and remain small.  I am glad that they decided to opt out rather than cave in, work double the hours and comprimise their ideals.  I hate to see this happen, either way.  The country needs more small producers, not less.

Milk Comes From The Grocery Store, Right?

I remember watching Jay Leno a long time ago, asking stupid questions out on the streets of New York.  This particular time they asked people where milk comes from.  The vast majority of everyday people questioned said the same thing-the grocery store.  It might be said that is the case for many Americans.  You and I know that milk comes from cows on a farm-somewhere.  But what is more interesting, is that more and more people are beginning to see that as they pursue a healthier diet and lifestyle.  It is no longer enough to buy their milk from the store, they want to know the farmer that produced it.  What's more is that they are now seeing the benefits of raw milk.  It is becoming apparent in the eyes of many Americans that the "real deal", strait from the cow is heathier.  There are all kinds of  key enzymes and fat in raw milk that your body needs and folks want that.  The demand is rising, if your goal is to be self sufficient, get a cow.  If you want to make a bit of extra money from your homestead, get a cow. 

Farmer Aquitted In Raw Milk Sale

This happens to be about some people we know, you might even call them friends of the family (the whole family).  We have been praying for them for a long time and watching closely the incredible act of criminalizing the sale of raw milk.  I am glad to say that our friends have been aquitted, however, after you read this article, I think oyu might agree that it is a mixed blessing-at best.  They still face charges at the state level and the reporter just HAD to mention that the FDA says the consumption of raw milk is not healthy.  HOGWASH!  As Armand says in the article, people have been drinking milk strait from the cow for centuries.  Whay do we continue to trust the FDA?  Ask yourself, what have they really done, and done well?

Breeding For More Cream

Here is a good article that proves grass is the key.  This dairy farmer is using techniques "outside the box" to promote heavier cream in his dairy cows, along with genetics.  Apparently, there is a shortage of cream in America, due to the low fat lie.  Read more and go for the cream.

New Study Shows Grass Silage Better Than Hay For Milk Production

I don't say this about Europe and Europeans, in general, but when it comes to agriculture they've got one on us.  In fact, they understand the culture of agriculture as opposed to the USA wher the culture has given way to agribusiness-you know, farmers in three piece suits.  Once again, French researchers have dicovered something that the agriBUSINESS of the US will, probably ignore.  But, for your sake as a homesteader/small farmer, you may consider swithching to grass silage instead of hay, especially if you keep a milk cow.  Read more here...

Cheaply Preparing-Homesteading

When you desire to raise your own food, for what ever reason, you will need to consider space.  For now, I am sticking to animals, but will branch off into gardening later.

In my opinion, after you get your feet wet with some chickens, a good family milk cow is the next investment.  The breeds are myriad but I would stick to the smaller framed bovine.  They simply fit the homestead better and are, generally, easier to handle.  Disposition is crucial when choosing a milk cow, for several reasons.  You want to be able to milk her, not fight with her every time you grab the teat.  If you have children (like us) a gentle cow is a must.  I want my kids to love animals and be able to have confidence around them.  A mean cow can change all that.  I had one, trust me.  She scared the fire out of my girls.  Our current cow is a sweetheart and the girls love to "love on her".  If you rotationally graze (which you should), you want her to move when she is supposed to, so she needs to be gentle.  Also, if you have to "doctor her up", you don't want to feel like you have to sedate her to give her medicine. 

On the medicine note, I want you to know that the anti-biotics no longer phased the mastitis our cow had.  I was getting very worried.  I decided to religiously give her apple cider vinegar, which takes care of mastitis via the minerals, etc.  The apple cider vinegar did it, period.  It took some time, but it worked.  I made the connection when the stringy stuff stopped when giving the apple cider vinegar.  Then I would relax and quit giving it.  Within 2-3 days the stringy stuff would come back.  This went on for a couple of weeks, that's when I got regular (every milking) with the vinegar.  It has cleared up and both the cow and I are happy.  Just a tid bit for you.

More on the family cow next time, see y'all then!

Grass Fed Cows Produce Heart Healthy Milk?

If milk does the heart good, it might do the heart better if it comes from dairy cows grazed on grass instead of on feedlots, according to a new study.


Earlier experiments have shown that cows on a diet of fresh grass produce milk with five times as much of an unsaturated fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than do cows fed processed grains. Studies in animals have suggested that CLAs can protect the heart, and help in weight loss. Hannia Campos of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and her colleagues found, in a study of 4,000 people, that people with the highest concentrations of CLAs — the top fifth among all participants — had a 36 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to those with the lowest concentrations.



Those findings held true even once the researchers took into account heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and smoking.



The new findings suggest that CLA offers heart-healthy benefits that could more than offset the harms of saturated fat in milk, Campos said.



“Because pasture grazing leads to higher CLA in milk, and it is the natural feed for cattle, it seems like more emphasis should be given to this type of feeding,” she told Reuters Health by email.



Dairy products in the U.S. come almost exclusively from feedlots, she added. And cow’s milk is the primary source of CLA. (Beef contains a small amount.)



Campos and her colleagues looked to Costa Rica for their study, where pasture grazing of dairy cows is still the norm. They identified nearly 2,000 Costa Ricans who had suffered a non-fatal heart attack, and another 2,000 who had not. Then they measured the amount of CLA in fat tissues to estimate each person’s intake.



Since CLA typically travels with a host of other fats, the researchers went a step further to tease apart its effects from those of its predominantly unhealthful companions, they report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The difference in risk attributed to CLA subsequently rose to 49 percent.



“Whole-fat milk and dairy products have gotten such a bad reputation in recent years due to their saturated fat and cholesterol contents, and now we find that CLA may be incredibly health-promoting,” Michelle McGuire, spokesperson for the journal’s publisher, the American Society for Nutrition, and associate professor at Washington State University, told Reuters Health in an email. “Whole milk is not the villain!”



Each year, approximately 1.5 million Americans will suffer a heart attack. A third will not survive.



The evidence may now be piling up: another paper out of Sweden in the same issue of the journal as the Costa Rican study also hints at heart attack protection through milk fat.



Further, the benefits of CLA may extend beyond the heart to the prevention of cancer and diabetes, suggests McGuire, pointing to results of other animal studies. “Milk is actually the only food ever ‘designed by nature’ to be fed to mammals,” she added. “We need to look to milk as the perfect food and learn everything we can from it.”



SOURCE: here American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online May 12, 2010.

What's In A Cow's Name?

I read a little blurb that I found interesting and I thought I'd share it with you.  It appears that a couple of veterinarians in the United Kingdom have won an award for their study on dairy cows.  Their study found that cows that are given names actually produce more milk, when you use their name regularily.  They found that cows are very responsive when handled by caring, friendly owners that call them by name, to the tune of 258 liters per year.  Now I don't think naming your livestock is so meaningles as I had thought.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Reduce Methane Gas?

According to a new study, cows fed on a diet of fast growing, green pasture intake a substantial amount of Omega 3's that are found in green, leafy grass. These Omega 3's are shown to reduce the cows methane emissions. Hmmm, how will this news bode for environmentalists? Read More here.

Oooh! A Fox In The Henhouse?

One of the nastiest bits of farm life is finding dead chickens. Last week, we found a dead chicken on the side of the driveway. It was a whole chicken, nothing eaten, thus, it didn't raise my curiosity much. It looked like one of the older layers so I thought just that, that it had died of old age, or something.

Like the knucklehead I tend to be, I failed to discard it. In a couple of days it had been eaten. Today, we found a dead, eaten carcass of a pullet in our barn. This has got me thinking because most predators we have around here, hunt at night. This one appears to have been taken in the day time as my daughter didn't see anything unusual in the barn while doing chores this morning.

Then there is the usual M.O. of the predator to drag off the quarry, out of sight, for consumption. This had been consumed, and left, in the barn, in an out-of-the-way corner. Too much of the carcass had been left for me to believe it was a raccoon, or something.

I put out the watch for blood on the fur of any of the thousands of cats we have around here. We found no blood, but, cats do clean themselves.

This has got me concerned, though. It always seems that when we get close to "laying time" for the pullets, we start to lose them. Now I have to be on the lookout. We have many people that want fresh eggs and we always need more layers, so losing just a couple is a big deal.

On a brighter note, our family milk cow is starting to freshen. She is due to calf in less than two weeks. I am guessing early next week. This is very exciting to us as we will, once again, have fresh milk. We went without for the entire winter, which is actually healthy, but we are ready now. Winter consumption of milk is not dangerous but can cause respiratory problems. Milk is a mucous causer and can stuff you up. We needed more water in our diet anyway.

So, as soon as Lucy drops her baby, I will post pictures for the world to see. Of course we are hoping for a heifer, but a bull would be good for beef, anyway. Stay tuned.

One of these days (I keep threatening this) I will share the wisdom I have read and the reasons I have come to believe in seasonal calving and dairying. It has a lot to do with the health of the cow and the grass that is available for the calf to give it a good start in life. This does not make me an expert, by any means. Everyone has their opinions on how things should be done on a farm. This is what fits our small homestead. There is wisdom on both sides of the argument, I just think there is more wisdom on the seasonal side.

So, hang in there, I will get to that post, one of these days. Until then, pray that I catch the chicken murderer. God bless and until next time...

Dairies are Hard Hit and Female Farmers On The Rise.

Here are a couple of good teasers to articles written by Alan Nation of the Stockman GrassFarmer I think you'll enjoy. I have them linked for convinience.

Perfect Storm Hits Dairying

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

"American dairy farmers have found themselves caught in what is termed a "perfect storm" of dire circumstances. Since the first of the year, milk prices have dropped to near $10 cwt in many dairying areas...."



Female Farmers Up By 30%

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

"...the number of women farmers increased by 30% over the last census five years ago."