Getting Started in Small-Scale Dairy Farming

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Small-scale dairy farming doesn't always mean small animals! Dairy water buffalo like these cows at Ramini Mozzarella farmstead are rare in the United States, but they produce rich milk.
Small-scale dairy farming doesn't always mean small animals! Dairy water buffalo like these cows at Ramini Mozzarella farmstead are rare in the United States, but they produce rich milk.
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It's important to assess your physical ability to run a small dairy farm, too. Loading and unloading hay is tough, seasonal work — in the hottest part of the summer.
It's important to assess your physical ability to run a small dairy farm, too. Loading and unloading hay is tough, seasonal work — in the hottest part of the summer.
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Dairy sheep are still relatively uncommon in the United States, but they produce milk that is highly sought after by artisan cheesemakers.
Dairy sheep are still relatively uncommon in the United States, but they produce milk that is highly sought after by artisan cheesemakers.
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Novella Carpenter with her two Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, Bebe and Ginger, at her urban micro dairy in Oakland, California.
Novella Carpenter with her two Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, Bebe and Ginger, at her urban micro dairy in Oakland, California.
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Gianaclis Caldwell has tips, tricks and techniques for starting and successfully running a small-scale dairy farm in “The Small-Scale Dairy.”
Gianaclis Caldwell has tips, tricks and techniques for starting and successfully running a small-scale dairy farm in “The Small-Scale Dairy.”

Whether you are a family in search of self-sufficiency and a source of unprocessed milk, an urban dweller contemplating miniature dairy goats to supply milk for your cheesemaking hobby, or a small commercial farmer tired of selling your milk at regulatory-controlled pricing and barely making a living, Gianaclis Caldwell has everything you need to know about the proper production of nutritious and delicious fresh milk in The Small-Scale Dairy (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014). The following excerpt from Part 1, “The Big Picture of the Small Dairy,” gives an overview of items to consider before jumping into small-scale dairy farming.

You can purchase this book in the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: The Small-Scale Dairy.

Why a Small Dairy Farm, Why Now?

Milk is a highly valued food staple. By producing minimally processed, lovingly harvested milk for your family or your community, you link your animals and land to your life and to the lives of others in a fundamental way. When I was a teenager hoping to have an animal project as a part of the 4-H program, I wanted that animal to feed me—not through its death, but through its life. Dairy animals provide long-term sustenance and a connection to the life cycle that brings the dairy farmer more than just milk. When that milk is shared with others, they too can connect to that link. Today that connection is more relevant than perhaps ever before—not out of necessity, but out of desire. Today’s dairy farmer may provide for just his or her family; to multiple families through a herdshare; at the retail level with raw or even gently pasteurized, nonhomogenized milk; or by selling his or her milk to an artisan cheesemaker.

You would almost have to have been living under the proverbial rock to not have heard about the popularity of raw milk—and the controversy. As a long-time lover of raw milk and of science, I find it impossible, and personally unnecessary, to boil the debate down to a black-and-white, clear-cut right or wrong. Although many states do not allow the sale of raw milk as a final product, no state disallows the consumption of raw milk from your own animals. And all but one state, Maryland, follows the FDA ruling regarding the production and legal sale of properly aged cheeses made from raw milk. And they are currently allowing some production to occur. In many states that heavily restrict the sale of raw milk, pressure from organizations and individuals is helping make food rights a progressive issue.

  • Published on Oct 1, 2014
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