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5 acre

Owning a Family Milk Cow Basics

by From Scratch Farmstead February 20, 2022

We break down the basics of everything you need to know about owning a family milk cow and the simple methods we use on our 5-acre homestead.

If you are new to the idea of owning a family milk cow, you are not alone. But if our once suburban family can do it, so can you!!

Our Experience Owning a Family Milk Cow

We have been buying raw milk, straight from local farmers for the last 10 years. When we started, we couldn’t believe how much fullness, flavor, and nutrition we had been missing out on from only ever drinking pasteurized skim or 2% milk.

Milking animals provide so much farm fresh dairy goodness and have become a staple for many homestead families. But if you’ve never had a milking animal before, where do you begin? This was us. We scoured the family milk cow handbook, bounced around the internet, and gleaned whatever information we could from others with experience. The real learning has come while owning a family milk cow the last two years.

Keep in mind that we are not trying to tell you what you should do. We are simply sharing what we’ve found to work for our family and what our experience has been along the way.

Our strategy with most anything is to keep things really simple and basic, which I think you’ll see in how we raise our cow. We don’t have an extravagant setup, keep costs really low, and milk at a pace that seems healthy and sustainable both for our cow and our family.

homestead cows on pasture

How we got our Jersey milk cow?

We met a family with a single milk cow and worked our way into their weekly rotation of getting milk. She was a Jersey (named Thimble), a heritage milk cow breed, known for their abundant cream content. It was the best milk we’d ever tasted and we loved experimenting with all sorts of new dairy based, from scratch recipes. Like our homemade ice cream and crockpot yogurt. Yummm 😊

One day, Joelle learned when picking up milk that the high school daughter who took care of the cow and milked her didn’t have time any more to milk and needed to rehome Thimble. Joelle’s quick response of, “Oh, I’ve always dreamed of having our own milk cow some day!” was a tad premature considering we had never milked a thing in our lives.

But when she came home and told me about it, I had a hunch it was an idea that wouldn’t simply fizzle. The next month we soaked up as much information on milk cows as we could. It left us wondering how in the world we could integrate milking and caring for a cow into the rhythms and routines of our young family.

Book learning only takes you so far. The rest we’d need to learn as we went. After saying “Yes!” and a single milking lesson, we found ourselves responsible for this 800 lb. lactating mama.

We were reminded along the way that most people just getting into farming wouldn’t start with a family milk cow. Maybe a milking goat would be more appropriate? But Thimble came into our life at just the right time and in just the right way. She brought consistency and confidence to our world when we most needed it and we have never questioned our decision, even when the odds seemed stacked against us.

family milk cow next to a big red barn

What is our farm setup?

We have a bit over 5 acres in northern Illinois. There’s a small pole barn with a single animal stall large enough to house a few cows. That stall has a door that leads into a roughly 1/2 acre pasture with a permanent fence around it.

This fenced pasture is where our cows stay all winter. Cows are hearty animals. Our first winter we only opened the barn for them on the extremely cold days – 0 degrees or below. We learned the hard way that this led to our milk cows’ teats getting chapped and cracked from the wind. No fun for anyone!

This year, we opened the barn at more like 20 degrees or below and have not had this issue at all.

From roughly May through November, when grass is growing, we have the cows on pasture. Our back field is unfenced and roughly 3-1/2 acres. We use a rotational grazing setup with moveable electro netting fence where the cows move to fresh pasture about every other day.

This system takes a fair amount of monitoring and managing, but both our cows and pasture have responded really well to it. And that size of pasture seems to be right for our 2-3 cows, depending on where we are at with calving and culling.

family milk cow and calf in front of barn

What do we feed our family milk cow?

About two-thirds of the year during the growing season our cows diet consists of fresh pasture. Cows are ruminants, meaning grass, or most anything green, is their natural diet. They will eat grasses, legumes, weeds, herbs, vegetables, and leafy plants like wild grape vines and mulberry trees are especially sought-out treats.

During the winter, we transition them to hay, which is essentially dried, preserved, and bundled pasture. You may have to do some searching for a good hay supplier to last you through the winter. We are SO grateful to have neighbors we exchange milk with in return for hay. Keeps the cycle going!

We also give them a salt block and supplement block that they always have access to for minerals they are not getting from their diet.

jersey milk cow and calf grazing

Do milk cows need to be fed grain?

Many would tell you “yes,” but our experience has been that they do not need grain. Our milk cow had been receiving a small amount of grain during milking from her previous owners. The general advice we received was that they needed grain. This is both to keep them conditioned (the farming term for looking good and not too thin) and to keep their milk supply up.

So, we started with grains during milking as well. However, we don’t milk for peak production, and the more we read the more we considered an all-grass diet to be the most natural option. So, we removed all grain from her diet and were really happy with the results. Not only has her milk supply stayed consistent but her overall mood and temperament has improved tremendously.

When milking while receiving grain she was fidgety and we were constantly on milk pail patrol trying to avoid a spilt bucket. Since removing grains, she has mellowed and is as chill of a cow as you can imagine. She almost never moves while milking and it’s been over a year since she’s kicked the bucket!

milking cow with kids

What is the process of milking and how much time does it require?

We should preface this with everyone has a milking routine that works for them, and it does take some time to learn what works best for you, your family, and your cow. We should also mention that Thimble came to us having been trained to milk only once a day. Most dairy cows are milked twice a day for top production. But for a homestead scale, we have found once a day milking to be just the right scale and commitment of time for our family.

Joelle is our milker and start to finish, she spends about an hour every day milking. This includes:

Haltering our milk cow and tying her off to a fence post.
Cleaning her teats and stripping them, which is simply discarding a couple squirts of milk from each teat to clear out any bacteria that may have built up.
Milking her out fully.
Taking the milk back in to be strained with a strainer and clean dish towel.
And all the cleanup of milking equipment.

After some practice and gaining efficiency, the milking part takes only about 15-20 minutes. Starting out, you’ll definitely feel like it’s taking forever and can expect it to take at least double that.

milking jersey cow by hand

What equipment do you need for a family milk cow?

You will hear a lot of different opinions and answers to this question. We like to keep it simple and portable. Here’s our basic list:

Halter
Milk bucket
Milk pail with lid
Old rags for cleaning teats and udders
Bucket for warm water for cleaning (also doubles as your milk stool!)
A strainer
Assortment of clean dish towels for straining
8 cup Pyrex measuring cup with pour spout that strained milk goes into
Many half gallon sized mason or milk jars

That is really it. You’ll see lots of different stanchion setups and milk machines out there. But we like the slow pace and natural connection to your animal when milking by hand.

Some of the above links are affiliate links. This means we earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. We are so appreciative of your support!

Family Milk Cow

Don’t you need to get your cow bred to keep lactation going?

Yes! Most milk cows are bred every year. If you’re new to having animals, this part can be very intimidating. But don’t let it scare you. Calving is such a fun part of having a family milk cow!

Cows have a 9-10 month gestation and most commercial dairies have them bred 3 months after calving so they calve every spring. Our experience is that we have not been able to track any signs of heat after three months. With our cows, heat has become obvious only when it’s closer to when the calf weans, which, for us, has been around 10 months after calving. This puts us on a roughly 18-month calf cycle.

newborn calf drinking off mama

There are two breeding options; 1) breeding with a bull, and 2) breeding through artificial insemination (AI). We have done AI twice now. The first time she had a heifer by luck of the draw. This time, we had a sexed AI done, which we are hoping means there’s a good shot we’ll have a pure Jersey heifer to potentially raise as another milk cow.

Both AI’s we had done by a local dairy farmer we reached out to. They have lots of experience, usually have the equipment on hand, and will likely give you a reasonable price. You can contact your local Vet and I’m sure receive great care and service, but can expect to pay significantly more.

AI for jersey milk cow

How do you know when your milk cow is in heat?

You just know! Mooing constantly. Pacing the fence. That glazed-over look in their eye. It took us some time to know for sure, but the more you learn their personality and mannerisms, the more their heat cycles stand out. They cycle every 21 days. Another surefire sign if you have other cows is when they mount each other.

How much does it cost to own a family milk cow?

Again, we are going at this from the approach of simple and affordable. Here is the rough breakdown of our costs:

3 yr. old lactating Jersey – $800
Accessories (halter, buckets, jugs, etc.) – $150
Artificial insemination cost – $50
Year supply of salt & mineral blocks – $50
Hay per winter for one cow – approx. $1,000

As we mentioned, we barter for the hay, but the above breakdown has made owning a family milk cow extremely affordable for our family. You may pay more for a good milk cow, but somewhere in the $800-$1200 range has seemed average from doing minimal research.

Depending on what you already have at your farm, you may need to purchase some other supplies too. For example, we bought a used Jugg waterer for $350, that our animals share and is heated for a winter water source. We also have a couple other water troughs we’ve purchased along with a fair amount of used Premier 1 electro netting and supplies we’ve picked up. We’ve probably spent around $1,200 on moveable fencing, but saved a ton buying used.

three cows eating hay

What do you get from a family milk cow?

We get around 1.5 gallons of milk every day. This can vary significantly based on breed of cow, diet, and other factors. But for our family of 5, this is a perfect amount. With it, we always have fresh milk to drink and enough left over to make a steady supply of butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and any other dairy treat we fancy. We don’t need to buy any of these items from the store.

That amount also allows us to be generous and share any extra we have with family, friends, and neighbors. The community of people who appreciate raw milk are our favorite people to get to know!

The continuous breeding cycle of a milk cow also gives you a calf, which can be raised for meat or another milk cow. We already have one calf we raised and is now in the freezer and another scheduled to be processed this fall. The current calf we are expecting to arrive in the spring will be a pure Jersey that we are considering raising as second milk cow, or selling as a milk cow.

wheel of homestead cheddar cheese

Is a family milk cow right for you?

If you’ve gotten this far, you are probably in the serious download stage of milk cow information and trying to decide if it is right for you. Our hope is that this basic overview has given you a realistic picture of the costs and commitments involved.

We don’t know your situation, but we can honestly say it has been one of the best decisions we have ever made. Our milk cow, Thimble, is like part of the family and it’s nearly impossible to imagine life without her.

But you probably still have more questions! Or maybe something you read wasn’t clear. We want to hear from you! Please drop a comment below and reach out to us. We’d love to interact and help you make the right decision for your family.

Happy milking!

Want more gardening and homesteading inspiration?

This post is part of a collaboration with other homesteaders doing really sweet things to live life from scratch. We’d love for you to meet them!

Krista Dowding from Hilltop in the Valley – How To Start a Homestead for Special Diets

Janelle North from Crowded Table Farmstead – What You Need to Start Garden Seeds Indoors

Hollyn Franklin from Our Simple Graces – How To Start A Suburban Homestead

Ashley Bremer from The Funny Farm Assistant Manager – My Family Milk Cow is Calving Now What

Anna Bodine from Canfield Creations – Homesteader Series -1- Beginner Starting Seeds

cows on pasture with sunrise

February 20, 2022 10 comments

chicken tractor and three sisters garden

Beginners Guide to Self Sufficient Homesteading

by From Scratch Farmstead January 16, 2022

This past year was our first year on our 5-acre, self sufficient homestead and we dove deep into growing enough food to feed our family all year. We came a long way, supplying 80-90% of our own food with a basement full of storage crops, freezers full of meat and frozen fruit, and plenty of dried and canned produce foraged or from the garden to last us through the winter.

How we got here

Our formerly suburban family purchased a foreclosed, 5-acre farm in the summer of 2020, fixed it up, and moved in just in time for our third child to be born. That first partial year on the farm was a whirlwind, but we still managed to get a rotational grazing system up and going with our couple of cows and start a good-sized garden. In 2021, we wanted to take it to the next level and see if it was possible to feed our family year-round and create a more self sufficient homestead.

But what would we grow?

Tomatoes, carrots, and other seasonal vegetables were in our wheelhouse, but how in the world do you go about growing enough food to feed a family of five through the winter?

One big piece of the puzzle came in the form of a book we read that winter called The Resilient Gardener, by Carol Deppe. It focused on 5 things to grow: corn, beans, squash, potatoes, and eggs from raising poultry as a source of protein. And that’s when the lightbulb flipped on!

the resilient gardener book photo

Unlike the typical garden veggies we grew prior, these were hearty, storage crops designed to last weeks, even months when properly stored and preserved. The very foods our ancestors would have grown, stored, and eaten to rely on well past the growing season.

Around that same time, we came across the Three Rivers Challenge on Instagram. The challenge was to not go to the grocery store but instead eat solely out of your preserved, frozen, and pantry items for the month of January and February.

That was it! We weren’t crazy. Other people were doing this on their self sufficient homesteads and we knew we could too. And focusing on these storage crops – corn, beans, squash, potatoes, eggs – was going to get us there.

So that’s where we set our sights for the 2021 growing season. Only one problem…

How do we grow and store a winters worth of food?

When it came to growing corn, beans, squash, and potatoes, we had some experience growing those items in the past. But nowhere near the scale needed to last us through the winter until next growing season.

starting seeds in seed trays

What we needed was a plan. In the dead of winter, we attended an online conference and watched a session where a farmer walked through the three-sisters growing method. We’d known the term but never delved into the “why” of this method. The three sisters are an ancient, Native American method of growing corn, beans, and squash together in a symbiotic relationship.

For generations, Native Americans relied on the bounty of these three plants grown in unison to provide fresh crops to feed themselves all winter long. Once corn is planted and established on a mound, the beans are planted around it and use the corn as a natural trellis. The beans, being a legume, also fixate nitrogen back into the soil which the corn craves for growth. Then, the squash is planted in between mounds and acts as a massive canopy of mulch to keep the whole system moist through hot, dry summers.

SOLD!

It was the right thing at the right time and we ran with it. Alongside the three sisters garden, we also wanted to incorporate growing potatoes. So, we ordered a bunch of seed and started to formulate a rough plan of how it might all come together.

How we grew a three-sisters garden, potatoes, and thousands of pounds of food

We carved out a roughly third-acre section of a former goat pasture on our 5 acres and mapped it all out. Two 150 ft. rows, about 4 ft. wide, were tilled up for planting the three sisters. We made mounds every 4 ft. that the corn and beans were planted on, and squash were planted between each mound.

Next, we tilled up another three rows, similarly sized, to plant potatoes. From our previous experience, we applied the 1:8 rule, where every 1 lb. of potatoes planted should yield about 8 lbs. of potatoes. So, we planted around 50 lbs. figuring, we’d get around 400-500 lbs. to last our family of 5 through the year.

tilling up rows for three sisters garden

rows of trees and rows tilled for three sisters garden

creating mounds for three sisters garden

yes, that's a magnetile as our template 🙂

Getting this garden setup was a TON of work. And being our first go around, we certainly could have planned things out a little better. Thankfully, the old goat pasture was SUPER fertile and everything grew like crazy. In the end we had over 1,000 lbs. of potatoes, 200+ squash, 5 quarts of dry storage beans, and enough corn to last us a decade.

What other food did we have on hand heading into winter?

In addition to what the three-sisters garden provided, we also planted a roughly 30’ x 30’ vegetable garden where we were able to store 80-100 lbs. of beets and carrots, 10 heads of cabbage, and canned over 80 quarts of tomato sauce.

For fruit, there were also a number of things we foraged or picked locally: black raspberries, cherries, and strawberries. Throw in the ground cherries and rhubarb from our garden and we had a good section of our freezer set aside to keep fresh fruit coming when in-season fruit wasn’t available. We canned a handful of jars of jams and sauces but most was frozen giving us around 30 quarts of frozen fruit.

We also foraged and dried around four quarts of nettle, lemon balm, mint, and froze roughly 50 cups of pesto.

As for meat/dairy, our supply included:

A beef cow we raised and then had processed in October.
25 chickens left from two batches of broilers we raised that summer.
Our family milk cow that we milk daily and have a regular supply of milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products.
20+ laying hens for an abundant egg supply.

For our broilers we built a Suscovich chicken tractor that we were super happy with. His book walks you through each step. You can check it out here. We modified ours slightly to have a metal roof to hold up better over time, but the base design of the chicken tractor is fantastic.

Whew! We were stocked heading into fall and winter. There’s no getting around the fact that it took hard work and a lot of man hours to get there. Since it was our first year on the farm, everything was new systems we had to set up or build. Gardens, chicken coops, fencing, food storage. We grew a lot, worked a lot, and learned a lot in our first year on our farm.

How is the Three Rivers Challenge going?

We are now a couple weeks into January and have not been to the grocery store since early November. With so much food in storage we just haven’t had to. It’s like having a grocery store right in our basement!

We’re focusing on eating what we have. This has taken creativity to avoid redundancy. For example, you can check out this Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole recipe where we swap layers of butternut squash for tortillas. Or, this Potato Crusted Quiche that has become a family favorite!

gluten free potato crusted quiche

For now, we have cut out other produce we’d typically rely on in the winter but can’t grow or source locally (i.e. avocados, bananas, and all the other fruits and veggies that fill grocery store shelves). But we really haven’t missed them too much! Not that we will never have those items or step foot in a grocery store again, but we wanted to stay committed and see how far we could go living off of what we grew and other locally sourced foods.

What are we eating all winter on our homestead?

With mostly the same base ingredients, this is where creativity with a variety of different sauces, seasonings, meats, and sides really helps keep things fresh. Here’s a basic list of what meals have looked like:

Lots of soup, stew, and chili
Egg casseroles, quiche, hash
Winter squash creations
- Squash lasagna or enchilada casserole
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Crustless pumpkin pie or custard
Meats and sides
- Meat loaf with roasted beets and squash
- Burgers with carrot fries
- Steak and potatoes
- Shredded beef with coleslaw and cornbread
Meatza or egg/cheese pizza crust with pesto/tomato sauce and toppings
Slow cooked roasts with veggies
Stuffed squash or loaded baked potatoes

cheesy potato soup

There are some items we buy in bulk like organic oats from Costco, and grains from a local mill for sourdough. The majority of what we make is gluten and grain free, so we do buy and use arrowroot flour and coconut flour in baking. There are also miscellaneous things we will buy from the store if needed like spices, baking soda, and cacao powder.

Is homesteading worth it?

For us, the answer is a humble and confident, “yes.”

One – It allows us to live a really simple, low-cost lifestyle where we’re not dependent on a ton of income. If we averaged the past year, we’ve spent around $100 on food per month.

Two – We know this lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but for us it aligns with everything we believe in. Moving your body, being in nature, living seasonally, shopping locally, bartering with neighbors. We live in abundance and are grateful for what’s been provided to us.

Three – It’s a whole family affair and we love including our children in the whole process – planting, weeding, harvesting, feeding, butchering – they have seen it all and been a part of it all. The result is an astounding value for the food on their plate. Nothing is wasted and they believe in that on the deepest level.

kids checking on the broilers

What are we thinking about doing differently next year?

For the 2022 growing season, we plan to grow a lot of the same things, but hopefully in a smarter, more streamlined fashion. We were constantly trying to keep our heads above water this past growing season. Plus, we actually grew way more food than we needed without a plan of what we’d do with the overflow.

That being said, we are planning to scale back this year, especially on the three sisters garden and potatoes, to what seems appropriate for our family. Also, we plan to think through our vegetable garden more strategically to not grow too much of any one thing, but a variety of foods that we both enjoy eating and growing.

Perennial plants and foraging are two areas that we want to focus on. Nettle, raspberries and so many other highly nutritious and medicinal foods pop up year after year all around us and we look forward to continuing to learn about how we can incorporate more of them. We planted 26 fruit trees last year and will add another 10 this year, along with establishing asparagus.

And most importantly, we want to have fun! Our first year will go down in the record books as a year of hard, hard work. Sure, there were many good times, laughs, and memories along with way. But we know it’s not a pace that’s sustainable for the long run. So, we invite more simplicity and smiles this next year.

father and daughter planting garden

There you have it – a window into our first year on our new homestead and how we are seeking to feed our family year-round… and how it’s gone! We are excited to continue learning and experimenting and are eager to see what triumphs and lessons 2022 will bring.

We’d love to hear from you! What have you done to stock up for the winter? What questions do you have? We are so grateful for this community and to learn from each other along the way!

Some of the above links are affiliate links. This means we earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

New to homesteading and want more inspiration?

Hear from our friends Sadie, Barbra-Sue, and Wendy on building their homestead dream from scratch!

Sadie @ Wisconsin Homesteader – https://wisconsinhomesteader.com/how-to-become-a-homesteader/

It seemed like an unattainable dream to start a homestead of their own, but through lots of hard work, prayer, and testing, Sadie and her family have created a homestead of their own on a 40 acre piece of land in rural Wisconsin.

Barbra-Sue @Kowalski Mountain – https://kowalskimountain.com/a-dream-comes-to-life/

It’s easy to get caught up in our to-do list and get bogged down in how far we still have to go to reach a goal. Instead, we’re celebrating how far we’ve come! Join us as we reflect on our accomplishments since we purchased our homestead in 2016. We share with you the nitty gritty details of what we were looking for in a property and give some insight on where we are going.

Wendy @lhsimpleliving – https://littlehousesimpleliving.com/the-homesteading-movement/

The homesteading movement is on the rise and Wendy believes it’s here to stay. Her family started years ago on 1 ½ acres raising chickens, pigs, a garden and more. They now live on 11 acres but you can homestead anywhere, even if you don’t have a lot of space. Grind your own flour, make salves and tinctures, buy in bulk, barter and trade with friends. Just start small and being more self-sufficient is so freeing. Join a community for support and let’s get back to our roots, just like our ancestors did.

January 16, 2022 6 comments