The Family Cow

In addition to raising a calf (or two) every year, a milk cow gives two to three gallons of drinking milk every day.  That translated to six to seven pounds of butter every week along with a gallon or so of yogurt, a couple pints of sour cream, and about six pounds of cheese. There’s enough milk and cream for as much ice cream as we’d like, cream cheese, ricotta, and any other dairy experiment we might have a hankering for.

With the excess milk, whey, and buttermilk from all that dairying, a milk cow will feed several pigs and a whole host of laying hens. Even the grey water saved from rinsing milk buckets and jars provides beautiful fertilizer for garden vegetables and flower beds.

There’s no question that sun + grass + milk cow = food. And lots of it.

But boy can the learning curve to keeping, caring for, feeding, milking, and loving a family cow be a doozy. I know. I’ve been there too.

Whether you’re planning to add a milk cow to your homestead soon and are ruminating over the whole host of questions and worries that come with her, or just want to know a little more about what life with a milk cow looks like, I’ve got you covered.

Please note: this class is not intended to be comprehensive. I could talk about milk cows all day for weeks on end (ha!). There’s just so much to know and so much to share! So in this class we will focus on the basics. Mostly, I want you to get a sense of the possibility that comes with keeping a family cow, and to feel inspired and empowered to learn more.

In fact, this class is the perfect in-person and hands-on companion supplement to my comprehensive online course Milk Cow 101 where you will find all the knowledge, information, and actionable step-by-step training you need to feel confident, prepared, and empowered as you embark on finding, feeding, caring for, milking, and loving your very first family milk cow.

But if you’re the kind of person who does best learning hands-on, who needs a little extra in-person guidance and mentorship, who wants to get a glimpse of what a cow on a farm actually looks like, then this is the class for you.

In this class you will learn:

• What to look for and where to find a family cow
• To assess what you have and what you need for infrastructure
• The basic nutritional needs of a family cow
• How to hand-milk & what equipment you’ll need to get started

You’ll also have the opportunity to:

• Try your hand at hand-milking and really get a feel for how to do it
• Tour my milk cow set-up – from rotational pastures to the milking shed and the sink/fridge where we filter and store that raw liquid sunshine.
• Ask all the questions about all the things
• Build relationships with like-minded folks and mentors

You’ll be equipped – and empowered – with the knowledge, training, and mentorship you need to move get started and move forward in your milk cow journey.

Come connect with your farmer as you learn new skills, expand your knowledge, increase your confidence, and mingle with like-minded folks also committed to the principles of wholesome home-grown food and traditional old-fashioned skills.

Class Fee: $100 per person; includes 3+ hours of workshop & instruction, an ask-all-the-questions tour of our milk cow set-up, an indepth workbook to take home for your reference, a complimentary sampling of our grass-fed raw milk, and all the umph and confidence you need to get started.