A fresh cow can give upwards of 6-7 gallons a day.
“Fresh” in dairy cow parlance means that your milk cow has recently given birth (she’s recently “calved”) and her milk production is at its highest level as her body produces 100% of that calf’s nutrition.
But, as she gets farther along in her lactation, her body assumes that the calf is also getting bigger and is able to forage for more and more of his own nutritional needs and so her production will gradually decline.
Still, even in late lactation, a good milk cow is giving 2+ gallons a day. Whew!
So – what do you DO with all the milk?
This is by far one of the most common questions I’m asked – from fellow milk-cow owners who have 15 gallons in the milk fridge they need to deal with to my suburban mom friends who are thinking about the many gallons of milk their teenagers consume (and is still so much less than our milk cow is giving!).
So I made a FREE one-page cheat-sheet to give you some delicious new ideas.
Want a copy of your own? Download It Here!
There are SO many delicious possibilities that it could be easy to feel overwhelmed. So start with just one thing at a time, learn the skills, feed your tribe, and move on to the next. And hey, if you mess up, don’t worry about it – pigs LOVE failed milk experiments! (Mine sure do. And they’ve had lots of opportunity to test them, trust me!)
A friend of mine often quips: “If you’re not learning, you’re not living!” And boy howdy is keeping a milk cow the perfect thing to keep you on your toes and keep you learning.
Happy milking, friends!
Leave a Reply