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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Milk Cow Myths: Part 2

Milk Cow Myths: Part 2

01.05.2022 by Raelene Bradley // Leave a Comment

5 Myths Keeping You From Living The Milk Cow Life

In this series, I’m talking you through, step-by-step-by-step, the 5 most common myths about keeping a family milk cow so you can crush those negative thoughts and set yourself up for success.

By the end of this series, you’ll see that getting a milk cow is not only totally possible, but that it is absolutely within your reach.

In the last post, we tackled Milk Cow Myth #1: I Have To Get Up At Dawn. That’s a doozy, especially for a night owl like me. If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out and meet me back here. I’ll wait (chuckle).

Myth #2: I Can’t Leave The Farm or Go On Vacation

Listen, keeping a milk cow is a commitment.

Truth: A milk cow doesn’t ask for much, but she asks every single day.

You DO need to show up, you DO need to be invested. But the benefits of that kind of commitment are exponential and worth every minute.

A milk cow is a commitment to a lifestyle focused on wholesome, nutrient-dense food and wonderful growing experiences of stewardship and responsibility for you and your entire family.

And yet, even with the daily commitment of keeping a family cow, you’ve got more options than you might think.

How Often Do You Really Leave Home?

Maybe I’m going out on a limb here, but if you’re thinking about wanting to keep a family cow, you’re probably pretty content staying close to home.

Be honest with yourself here: how often do you really leave home for an extended amount of time?

Once or twice a year? A long weekend every few months?

We can work with that.

You’ve Got Options

Truth: The average milk cow’s lactation lasts 10 months.

A milk cow must have a calf in order to give milk. And, at least 60 days before she is due to have her next calf, you’ll stop milking or dry her off.

She needs that break to build up her fat stores for her next lactation and channel all her energy into growing her calf.

And that means (you guessed it!) you get a break too.

Use Her Dry Period To Your Advantage

Truth: She needs at least 60 days before calving to rest & replenish her stores.

When she’s dry, you’ve got 60 days (sixty!) to gallivant all over the earth if you so choose. It’s infinitely less complicated to find someone to check on her, fill her water tank, and be sure she has plenty to eat every day or so than it is to find someone reliable (and willing) to milk her once (or twice) a day, every day.

So use that to your advantage. I’m almost certain you have a friend (or several!) who would jump at the chance to have a farm-cation and keep an eye on your place while you soak in the sun at some undisclosed tropical location, or hike into the backcountry, or get lost in the museums of Europe.

Go. Sate your wanderlust for a week or two or five.

And come back refreshed and ready for calving and a whole new lactation.

Weekends Away Are Totally Possible

Truth: Calf-sharing opens up a whole world of flexible options.

Once she calves, that calf can absolutely help carry the load.

For the first little while after calving, you will have more work to do. She will produce way more milk than that calf could possibly consume on his own. She’s been bred and raised to do exactly that.

So you will need to milk her twice a day. Plan on several weeks.

But after a few weeks or a few months, depending on her production and the size of your calf (or if you have twin calves!), and your goals, you’ll be able to shift more and more of the milking to him if that’s what you want.

You’ll start first by transitioning to once-a-day-milkings (whew! Game. Changer.) and as he grows and her production evens out, you’ll be able to leave him with her around the clock and skip a milking every now and again.

That means that, yes, you can go to your sister’s wedding. And attend your nephew’s graduation out of town. And book that romantic overnight getaway.

The calf will pick up the slack.

You can learn more about how to get started calf sharing here.

Lean On Your Community

We aren’t meant to do it alone.

Too often there’s an ethic among homesteaders that they have to go it alone or it isn’t authentic, that being self-sufficient means they don’t/can’t/won’t rely on anyone else.

I think that idea is misguided and short-sighted.

We are meant to live in community. Being self-sufficient means that you have something of value to offer and that you do your best to provide not just for your family, but for others as well.

So lean on your community.

Reach out and see if anyone you know would like to learn to milk a cow and train a relief milker.

Teach them. Train them. And then enjoy a sleep in every now and again. Or a weekend away. Or a true family vacation knowing that you’ve got a competent, reliable milker taking care of business while you’re away.

You might start small and train your spouse first, and your older kids. That’ll give you a couple mornings to sleep in.

And then train a neighbor or a gal from church or a couple you met at your kid’s basketball game who have dreams to start their own homestead. You’ll be paying it forward by giving them an invaluable opportunity to prepare and learn the skills they’ll need to make their own dreams come true.

Keep Learning in Milk Cow 101

If this is feeling more and more doable, you’re on the right track. Keeping a cow is totally possible and absolutely within your reach.

So if you’ve got the gumption to really dig in and learn what you need to live that milk cow life (boy is it a good one!), join the waitlist for Milk Cow 101 today.

Bonus: You can absolutely go on vacation. It’s all about the timing.

When you join the waitlist, you’ll be the first to know when enrollment opens and you’ll be ready to learn everything you need to feel confident and prepared to bring home your very own family milk cow.

Categories // Blog Post, MilkCow 101 Tags // family milk cow, home dairy, homestead, Homestead Skills, milk cow

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belvederefarms

This time of year I worry about too much grass gro This time of year I worry about too much grass growing too fast before I can get the cows over to eat it down and make the most of it.
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As a grass farmer, it’s the very best kind of problem to have: grass tall enough to get lost in.
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Speaking of which: can you find the baby? Comment with a 👍 when you do!
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#grassfarmer #grassfedbeef #iamyourfarmer #farmraisedkids #intensiverotationalgrazing #grassfed #grassfedbutter #farmlife #homesteadlife #supportlocalfarmers
That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩. . Those firs That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩.
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Those first few weeks hand milking can be disheartening. Dribbles and squirts, milk running down your wrist, sticky fingers, and sore forearms. 
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Milking is a skill. No one is good at it right away. It takes practice. The more you practice, the better you get. The faster you get, the more sure and even your squirts.
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And then one day, there will be foam in the bucket and you’ll know you’ve arrived. Your squirts are fast and firm and sure and the sustained pressure of all that milk hitting the pail makes the most gloriously frothy foam.
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Keep at it friend. Whatever skill you’re working on now. Just because you’re not that great at it right now doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing or that you won’t get better.
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Keep working. Keep trying. Keep learning. The foam will come.
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#farmlife #milkmaid #modernmilkmaid #milkmaidlife #milkcowlife #handmilking #rawmilk #homesteadskills #traditionalskills
Transcript of a real-life conversation we had this Transcript of a real-life conversation we had this morning:

Me: Whaa? Why is there a frozen turkey on the counter?!

Seamus (4): Because I like turkey and chicken meat.

Me: So you went out to the barn…

S: …and got in the freezer. And brought in a turkey.

Me: Oh, love. We can’t cook a turkey until we have a stove [kitchen reno still on going 🤦‍♀️].

S: Well, then you can cut it up and cook it piece by piece in the microwave.

Me: Actually, that’s not going to work.

S: (looks outside) Well, it’s raining today but tomorrow when it’s not raining we can make a fire and cook it outside on the fire.
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Ever the problem solver, he was full of ideas. 🤣🤣
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I did finally convince him to put it back in the freezer and wait until we have a stove - with the caveat that we cook it for his birthday.
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#kidssaythedarndestthings
#farmkid #farmlife #homesteadmama #lifeonthefarm #farmraisedkids
We have two cows in milk right now: Sandy (old fai We have two cows in milk right now: Sandy (old faithful and best friend, there on the left) and Clara (new to our farm and momma to Ruby).
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How much work is two cows vs. one? I was so nervous about adding a second cow because the additional time/labor was an unknown, but when it comes right down to it, it’s about 20 mins more time milking. That’s it.
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Everything else is pretty well the same. It takes the same amount of time to bring them in to the milking shed. The same amount of time to move them to fresh grass. It still takes under an hour door to door to milk & do what needs done, and even less for evening milking.
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And since our oldest boy (14) helps milk the majority of the time, that extra 20 minutes doesn’t often figure in. Many hands (and even just one extra pair!) make light work.
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It does take a little more time to deal with the milk: more time straining, more time washing jars, more cream to skim, more butter to churn. But if more cream and butter are the cons, I’m here for it.
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What would you say is the biggest obstacle holding you back from getting a family cow?
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#familycow #milkcowlife #keepingafamilycow #milkcow #homesteadlife #rawmilk
Mud pie hearts. . Just because this day or month o Mud pie hearts.
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Just because this day or month or season or year is hard does not mean you are not heard or seen or loved. There is beauty all around, if we have eyes to see it, hearts open to feel it, and wild, barefoot, dirty, outdoor-loving farm kiddos to deliver it.
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#farmkids #wildandfree #mudpie #mudseason #springonthefarm #homesteadmama #farmmom
My cup - ahem. shirt - runneth over. Same same. . My cup - ahem. shirt - runneth over. Same same. 
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I gather eggs every morning and again every afternoon. Farm life is a constant reminder that there is #alwayssomethingtobethankfulfor 
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#farmfresheggs #farmeggs #rainboweggs #farmlifebestlife
Hello Friends! Jordan here, and it has been a hot Hello Friends! Jordan here, and it has been a hot minute. I went to Las Vegas last week to visit my brother and we made beef tongue tacos. I love using the whole animal and this was a fun process with a delicious outcome. You can check out the blog to get the recipe. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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#wholeanimalbutchery #wholeanimalcooking #beeftonguetacos #tacosdelengua  #cincodemayo #grassfedbeef #homesteadkitchen
T-minus 3 days until our first frost and we’re s T-minus 3 days until our first frost and we’re spending these lovely fall afternoons gathering in the last of the garden.
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Today: dried beans (Christmas Lima and Cherokee Trail of Tears), Reagan’s sunflowers and luffa, the last of the tomatoes (gah! they just won’t quit!), and the rhubarb.
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Tomorrow: chopping, freezing, cooking, and canning.
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Months from now: bellies full of homegrown garden goodness.
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#homegrown #gardenlife #farmlife #preservingtheharvest #garden #fallgarden #ohiogarden #growyourown #sunflower #familygarden #kidsinthegarden #gardeningwithkids #happyfall #harvesttime #harvest #fallharvest
Hello, fall. 👋 You’re long overdue and oh so Hello, fall. 👋 You’re long overdue and oh so welcome.
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This morning was the first I stayed in a long sleeve shirt to milk and didn’t have sweat dripping down my face.
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It’s the first the temperature has dipped below 60* (even though the humidity is a resilient 100% what with the rain, mist, and fog).
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Technically, our first frost date should have been this week, but Ohio’s holding out and it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen for another two weeks at least.
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In any case, it finally (finally!) feels like fall and oh am I ever so here for it. So much so that once the must-do chores are done (yogourt, butter, beans and laundry), I fully intend to curl up on the couch with a cuppa and read.
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#fallonthefarm #hellofall #fall #fallleaves #fallscene #farmlife #farm #ohiofarm #smallfarmcharm #simplehappycountrylife #homesteadmama #home #ilovefall #october
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