I have been a milkmaid now three, going on four, years. Of all the things I’ve tried on the farm, the dairy cow is one I hope to have until I am so old I can’t carry a bucket of milk. I don’t have any cows “in milk” right now, as a planned winter break. I have two cows pregnant with Spring calves, and one heifer (a young cow who has not yet been bred back or calved). This is the first time I’ve taken a milking break in three years and I’m having dairy withdrawals. I tried purchasing milk from a neighboring milkmaid, but the milk wasn’t as fresh as I am used to and I was very disappointed. I finally broke down and purchased all the needed dairy items from Costco since some family members are coming to the farm for the holidays. I had not purchased dairy products in three years and the prices were somewhat shocking. My purchase spurred me to do some “dairy cow math”, and I thought I would share it.
Costco dairy items purchased:
A2A2 organic milk $13.79 x 2 multipacks (3 gallons) = $27.58
Greek yogurt $6.79 x 2 lg containers = $13.58
Sour Cream $5.19 x 2 lg containers = $10.38
Cottage Cheese $5.99 x 1 lg container = $5.99
Cream cheese $8.69 x 1 multipack = $8.69
Heavy cream: $4.69 x 2 = $9.38
Butter: $3.50 x 8 = $55.96
Total: $131.56
I did not buy any hard cheeses. Assuming a family of 8 goes through that much dairy in a week, depending on diet, that would be ~$526.24 per month. 12 months in a year is ~$6,314.88. Those numbers are shockingly high, but my purchases reflect the volume and quality we are used to.
As an aside: My neighbor, whose family used to own the property I now own, loves to come by for fresh milk. He said that during the Great Depression, the families who had a dairy cow had their nutritional needs met. He used to milk cows as a young boy, showed me some newspaper clippings of him with the cows, and he is delighted to see dairy cows on the land again. To have a dairy cow was to ensure your family didn’t starve.
Back to my recent purchases… Why so much butter? In this house vegetables, eggs, and meats are cooked in fresh farm butter. Sandwich bread, pie crusts, and most baked goods are made with butter. Butter is piled on every biscuit, toast, oatmeal, and just about everything. I do not use any seed oils or margarine. The only other fats I use are lard from homegrown pigs, tallow from homegrown cows, and extra virgin olive oil. My goal is to have only pure fats that I have raised – no antibiotics, hormones, vaccines, or GMOs, and minimally processed. These are what are called “good fats”.
When all those little kids are hungry and want a snack, it’s an easy thing to whip up a smoothie full of fresh or frozen fruits, milk, and yogurt. I have often handed them a full glass of “Daisy’s milk” and they drink it with gusto. They love to help Gramma milk the cows when they visit. I have noticed that none of my grandchildren are obese. In fact, they are lean, and I can only attribute that to lots of fresh dairy, home-grown meats, vegetables, and fruit, with only a rare sighting of processed foods when it absolutely cannot be avoided. The “good fats” give them the solid energy they need to be very active, and there’s no “crashing” or meltdowns from sugar and carb overload. It’s a pleasure to watch them thrive.
I realize not every family has a “dairy-centric” diet, but my family does. And that is because of the availability of “on-farm”, raw, A2A2, milk in large quantities. Raw milk has a completely different impact on health than does homogenized and pasteurized milk. Fresh milk (raw) does not contribute to diabetes, cholesterol, and heart issues. The A2A2 milk protein is purported to be easily digestible, but a few people cannot tolerate dairy in any form. In fact, a doctor may suggest you eliminate dairy, but many do recommend raw dairy if you can find a trustworthy and reliable source. There is a very big difference between commercial milk and fresh, unadulterated, milk with the A2A2 proteins. (There is contention that A2A2 milk is not any better than A1 milk, and I’m not here to discuss that. I made a choice to go with A2A2 dairy cows. There is also a lot of contention about raw milk, mainly from the commercial dairy industry, which I now completely ignore based on my own experience.)
Personally, I have experienced increased good health and weight loss on my particular raw dairy-centric diet, and I have very low cholesterol. I have cancer, a rare type of lymphoma, that was diagnosed 8 years ago when I was on the “standard American diet”. I have not had cancer treatment in over 7 years. My oncologist, whom I see at least twice a year, is always waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I smile and just keep drinking raw milk. Recently, he smiled a bit too, and relaxed, and asked me about my farm because I have stoutly refused intervention and told him I can treat my health with diet. LOL. He told me that they homeschool their children and his wife wants a farm in the worst way. I hope that I encouraged him. By God’s grace, and thanks to the farm, the cancer has been kept at bay and I have no need for pharmaceuticals, but I do keep tabs on my disease. This is a miracle to me. I am not saying raw dairy will cure what ails you, but I am saying that a lifestyle change to whole, unadulterated, foods, fresh air, quiet, daily farm chore type exercise, has been a lifesaver for me, as my body has responded favorably.
If I did not have raw dairy at my disposal, I would not rely on storebought dairy products for the majority of my diet. It would not have the same health benefits and I certainly would not use it as heavily as I do. I’m sharing these numbers and my experience in order to document the value of my dairy cows and why I will continue, Lord willing, to keep them.
All of the dairy products I purchased are made from ultra-processed milk, meaning homogenized and pasteurized at high temperatures. The majority of the benefits of raw milk are lost in the process. Storebought dairy products are not nearly as nutritious as fresh, raw milk products. That is to be expected, and so we move on. My purchases are just for the holidays while I wait for cows to “freshen” at calving time.
Costs and getting started with dairy cows
Over the few years I have had dairy cows, I have purchased and sold a number of them. I was not intending to do that, but I was in search of “the perfect cow”. By the way, there is no such thing! I now have what I call my “keepers”. The breed of cow I settled on are Jersey/Guernsey crosses and full Guernseys. I love the sweetness of the Jersey milk and the creaminess of the golden Guernsey milk. I love that a cross can sometimes calm down a dramatic Jersey (yes, they are dramatic!). But, that’s just what I settled on knowing that there are many beautiful, wonderful, dairy breeds to be had.
Beef and dairy cow prices are at an all-time high right now, so it might be difficult to step into owning a dairy cow. I am astonished at how much people will pay for a single dairy cow. Even so, I’m happy to see my beef cattle neighbors finally making good money, and I believe the dairy cow gives back tenfold. I’m blessed to have them.
Now the hard math. The initial cost of an A2A2, proven (had a second calf), disease free, dairy cow in good condition, medium producer: $3,000-$5,000. Cost of hay for the year for 1 cow ~$1000 + cost of non-GMO feed for one cow in milk for the year is ~$1048, for a total of $2048. Those costs can be significantly reduced with plentiful, bountiful, pasture, and bulk grain purchases. Grain costs go away when a cow is not in milk, generally three months out of the year if bred back quickly. Not everyone breeds a dairy cow back every year, but it is a good practice. Some dairy cows can be raised strictly on pasture, however their genetics play a role in that. Some dairy cows cannot hold condition on a strict grass-fed diet while in milk. Idealism cannot get in the way of the health of the dairy cow. An under-conditioned dairy cow will not produce quality milk, and will suffer in many, many ways. There is a nutritional balance one needs to achieve for the dairy cow’s health.
First year cost of a proven, A2A2, dairy cow, not including any infrastructure like barns, watering system, bedding, milking equipment, medical care, breeding, etc., is about $6,000.
Second year, you just worry about feed costs, and if you’ve had a successful breeding, you get a calf! That calf can go towards filling a freezer in a year or two, or you can sell the calf once weaned, depending upon genetics, for about $1000-$2800. You begin to see a payback in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year. Dairy cows, if properly cared for, barring unforeseen circumstances, will pay you back many times over way into their teens. I think it’s worth it to invest the time and money in an animal who turns grass into wonderful things for the nourishment of our bodies.
Around here, you can earn money towards expenses if you sell excess milk. Selling raw milk is legal in some states and not in others. Some charge $8/gallon and I’ve seen some charge in excess of $20/gallon for A2A2 raw milk. In any case, I’m on the low end for pricing. Let’s say my family only needs 3 gallons of milk each week, but my cow produces 21 gallons of milk each week (on the low end). One of my cows produces closer to 56 gallons of milk a week after calving. If I sell the extra milk from the medium-producing cow, the math is 21 gallons – 3 gallons for the family = 18 gallons extra. 18 gallons of milk at $10/gallon = $180 each week, $9,360/year. You can do the math on the higher-producing cow. There are expenses related to selling raw milk: refrigerator space, glass jars, lids, sanitizing equipment, misc. supplies, etc., so it’s not pure profit. And there is a lot of time involved. But, that’s another topic for another time.
The numbers are never that straightforward. Sometimes the cow will “kick the bucket” because she’s irritated about something and all that milk gets thrown out or given to other farm animals. Or maybe you want to reserve 4 gallons a week for cheesemaking. Or maybe the calf decides to drink all the milk, leaving you with none. Or maybe you want to run the fresh milk through a cream separator to reserve just the cream for butter making, and give the skim milk to the other animals. There are a lot of caveats and lots of scenarios. But, you can see that a well managed farm can start to pay for itself with a lot of work. In all cases, you won’t be spending money at the store for dairy products. You will be spending time processing the milk into all kinds of delicious things. When I’m milking 2-3 cows each day, I can easily spend 28 hours a week just milking, processing, and cleaning up after cows. And that doesn’t include the sales side of it (receiving buyers at the farm, exchanging jars, endless jar washing, etc.). It also doesn’t include the time it takes to make wonderful things like cheese, butter, yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, and cream cheese. I won’t lie to you. It is a lot of work. Recently, my milk refrigerator died and I had to toss 30 gallons of milk, purchase a new refrigerator, etc. There’s no such thing as the dreamy milkmaid, dressed all in white, children at her side, milking a cow out in a green field against the backdrop of the Swiss Alps.
The results and why I’ll keep dairying
I have noticed that a lot of people who buy a family milk cow give up pretty quickly. It is a huge commitment. You must milk that cow every day, sometimes twice a day, every single day of the year no matter if it’s snowing, raining, or blazing hot. You can’t run off on vacation for a week. All those important events, like baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc., mean you have to hustle to get your chores done before you do anything else. Your life becomes oriented around milking time unless you have a calf to help you out or a milkmaid or man on standby.
I have experienced increased health, weight loss, cost savings, bountiful dairy products, and the ability to provide for my large family. After a few years of “dairying”, I have found it to be a very rewarding experience. I’ve learned a lot about how to care for and manage dairy cows. We’ve had our ups and downs: a cow who wouldn’t breed back after two years of trying who went to freezer camp, a cow who went down hard with milk fever after calving and almost died, a cow who decided to kick everyone and everything in sight, a cow who freshened with precious little milk, a calf I had to pull, out in a field all by myself, a cow who bedded down on a red ant hill and had an inflamed udder for weeks, weaned calves jumping the fence, etc. Not to mention mucking out the barn continuously, slinging hay bales, halter-breaking heifers, etc.
It has all been worth it. When I churn cream into amazing, bright yellow, glorious butter, make gorgeous fresh ice cream, or whip up that fresh cream into some of the sweetest stuff you’ve ever tasted, my heart is happy. I pray the Lord allows me to continue on this journey.