Passages Sustainable Food and Farming Systems - PASA

the hill with crisscross curtains gently
blowing on the lines below it. I had to
creep along so that I wouldn’t take out a
couple of Jeff’s prime layers, some plump
Rhode Island Reds ambling along. But
they picked up to a strut when the wheels
of my car came too near and veered off
sharply out of the way. The duck and her
ducklings made for the pond on the right
and nipped into the water. Then slowly I
continued down to the barn, paddock
and milking parlor. In the paddock a
number of young cows stared curiously at
me but shortly went back to their business
of wagging their tails to knock off
the flies. The farm dogs, Susie and
Beauty, gave me a barking escort, all the
way to the milking parlor
Inside the milking parlor, Jeff maintains
a consumer bulletin board, which
educates his customers about the types of
bacteria in milk and the testing procedures
required by various state and federal
agencies. He pointed out his
laboratory test papers, which were displayed
with explanations. The scores
were good, in fact, exceptional — some
of the best scores in the state it seems.
In Pennsylvania there is a set testingprogram
for farmers who sell raw milk,
and now he has his milk tested every two
weeks. Jeff advised me to always ask to
see the lab work when I buy raw milk.
Every six months the state also performs
ring tests for brucellosis, and the
Federal inspector may inspect annually,
including sampling about 40 of the his
co-op members’ farms at random. A
score of 88 on the Federal inspection and
above is acceptable. Jeff has scored 100
on many occasions.
The barn and sheds were immaculate
white, clean, with just a scent of ‘eau de
cow.’ As he filled my containers from the
bulk tank Jeff told a little about how he
came back to the farm. When Jeff and his
parents made an agreement that he could
farm the land and raise cows, he started
out using conventional methods. But
then came the milk glut and Jeff and
many other farmers were in serious trouble.
He admits that he was very hesitant
to start with raw milk, maybe fearful
even, but after three months, there was
no turning back.
When he decided to produce raw
milk, one of his first tasks was to rehabilitate
the pastures, which were damaged
from conventional farming. He has about
177 acres, 44 of those in pasture. He had
seen farms where the damaged pastures
could not be rehabilitated in a lifetime
they were in such poor shape from years
of pesticide use. He used cow manure,
chicken manure and planted Italian ryegrass,
three different kinds of orchard
grass, two kinds of clover and four kinds
of chicory to start the process. In fact his
“salad bar” pasture today is home to
about 28 milking cows, and alive with
many different plants. In periods of dry
weather he has a pasture planted with
sorghum and Sudan grass, which is
extremely high in energy and grows fairly
well during those times. But sometimes,
he says, his cows just prefer dandelion or
leaves from his chestnut trees.
Jeff observes his cows, and he says,
“unlike humans, they know what they
should eat.” He told me that they are
selective and sample many plants. One
day Elsie May will eat clover while on the
next day she prefers orchard grass. There
are trees bordering on the pastures and
sometimes a cow will wander over and
munch on some of the leaves, getting
some tasty minerals.
When he first started the cows on pasture,
he supplemented them with a bale
of hay every day. But gradually he
noticed that they weren’t finishing the
hay, and preferred the pasture. Now they
eat only grass during most of the year,
from mid-April through mid-December.
His cows love the snow, he says. Last
year, they were on pasture most of the
year. He pastures them in the winter in
the field where he will grow corn the next
spring. Daily he supplements with a
round bale of hay and what they don’t
eat, they stomp into the ground and what
they do eat comes out as manure to fertilize
the field.
Jeff milks his cows twice a day. But, he
says, cows like to be milked 2.4 times a
day, according to dairy studies. He averages
160 gallons a month, and sells about
40 gallons of raw milk weekly for $3.00 a
half gallon. The remainder of the milk is
sold through a local co-op. Raw milk is
about 13% of his milk sales, which provides
about 1 ⁄ 3 of the farm income.
Selling raw milk is a “no brainer,” he
says, considering the price of his feed
(pasture), health of his cows, acceptable
price paid for the milk, and the satisfaction
he and his family get from producing
an excellent product.
It was clear that Jeff was in awe,
pleased with the complexity yet simplicity,
of the master plan. It was plain to see
that his cows were healthy and so was the
milk, according to the lab reports he gets
every month. He told me that he works
very hard to produce great milk — but
his customers are pleased- they bring him
gifts that they make with his milk to
show their appreciation. One customer
uses lactose from the milk to make beer.
He says that his customers are great.
He does not advertise but “word gets
around” and gradually the customers
come. One family buys 11 half gallons a
week. I suspect, many of them also come
to have a good chat. Jeff is a good listener.
To show his appreciation, Jeff
hosts a “customer appreciation day” in
September with live music, down-home
food, great company (including the farm
dogs, cats, and guinea hens) and raw milk
which kicks off with a farm tour.
Jeff is just happy with the way things
are going, and plans never to go back to
conventional dairy farming. He says that
grass farming and producing raw milk is
“just fantastic.” He has succeeded in
hanging out with cows.
New customers get the first half gallon
free, so come on out!
Additional Resources
on Raw Milk
● Farm to Consumer Legal Defense
Fund, ftcldf.org (Raw Milk Food
Safety Resources and much more)
● Real Milk, realmilk.com/real-milkpathogens.html
(Those Pathogens
You Should Know, speech given by
Ted Beals, MD, at the Third International
Raw Milk Symposium 2011.
● Weston A. Price Foundation,
westonaprice.org
● Third International Raw Milk
Symposium, farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium
Blogs:
● The Bovine: Freedom of Choice
for Raw Milk Drinkers
http://thebovine.wordpress.com
● Hartke is Online: http://hartkeisonline.com
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