| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 9:22:09 PM
Hi! My name is Michelle Greco. I am moving home in a few months to start up a raw milk business with my young Jersey cow, her calf, and another prize winning heifer. Their names are Rose, Rosebud, and Zellie Bee. I am interested in everything farmgirl!
If you have any fun ideas or useful recipes for milk products, I would love to hear them!
Thanks,
Michelle |
| 23 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Jan 10 2006 : 1:32:06 PM
I won't be home much in the next few months, but I'll let you know when I have some available! :)
Michelle
Spirited Rose Jerseys
Colville, WA |
| YiberryYadeeKarin |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 1:10:56 PM
I'd be interested in trying raw milk. My mom (who is now 82) and I switched to buying organic milk a couple of years ago. I thought my young daughter would benefit from it (she LOVES milk and doesn't drink pop or much juice) and my mother tried it and that's all she'll drink now.
Mom lives on the north side of Spokane and I'm out in the valley. Hopefully we can work something out.
Karin |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 10:24:09 AM
Good to know there's someone else out there with common sense! lol
Michelle
Spirited Rose Jerseys
Colville, WA |
| Hilltophomesteader |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 3:13:20 PM
Welcome Michelle! I had NO idea that ANYONE thought cows were that interesting. Most people think we are WEIRD because we have a milk cow AND milk goats. My Jersey is named Blessing and her 13-week-old heifer (YES!!!) calf is Clarabelle  Blessing is terrific and we 'supply' milk to about 5 or 6 families besides our own. The laws in this state stink. My family have been drinking raw milk and eating veggies planted in cow poo for 23 years!!
I'll add my two cents in: Pasteurization kills all the good stuff in your milk. A few germs are good for people - it's no wonder city folk get sick on a few germs - they don't recognize them! They're real quick to point a finger at farmers, but when's the last time Coca-Cola or WonderBread got in trouble? They've probably killed more people than any cow manure ever did! And it's true, clean milk is nothing but healthy - we check our milk filter every time we milk and if there's anything that shouldn't be there, the animals get it. Cleanliness is easy and important.
Ok, off my soapbox! Glad to have you aboard - I love everybody who loves Jerseys!
"As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15 |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Jan 04 2006 : 11:04:41 PM
Kate-
Sounds good! Where'd you get the cow from? Is she registered?
Michelle
Spirited Rose Jerseys
Colville, WA |
| Kate |
Posted - Jan 04 2006 : 11:14:38 AM
Welcome Michelle
As I came back to work this morning from vacation I saw we received a new addition to the farm, a Jersey cow. Emil my fiance is taking care of her she'll be having a calf around April. I'm excited to learn more about her and raw milk. I too am from Spokane and since I've arrived on the farm in September I've learned so much. It sounds like you know a lot and are excited!! I might have some questions for you. Welcome to the farmgirl connection we look forward to hearing more about you, Rose, Rosebud, and Zellie Bee. ~Kate
Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.....unless they are spelling mistakes. |
| julia hayes |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 6:16:59 PM
Michelle, thank you so much for the offer. Getting to Spokane is SO easy and I would love to try some fresh milk.. What would be easiest for you? I am so flexible! My son goes to preschool in the am, but I take him out fairly regularly for field trips, etc.. this could be one of those things.. You let me know!! I think my email address is in my profile and you can send me an email with contact info and what not.. Really looking forward to learning more!! thank you so much for your expertise!! Fantastic.. Julia Hayes
being simple to simply be |
| jenny louise |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 03:46:13 AM
Good to have you here, Michelle. I wish you luck and prosperity in your endeavors, what a wonderful thing to do! You sound well-prepared.
Jenny |
| Lavender Cottage |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 08:24:17 AM
Welcome Michelle-Cows are awesome-I don't have any-just enjoy the neighbor's across the road for now. Can't wait to hear more from you. All the best!
Ellen in MI |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Dec 28 2005 : 2:48:14 PM
Julia-
Right now, I am still in school at WWU, but hope to have my three cows moved back in June. Our actual operation will take a year or two to set up. Maybe more, because the property we wish to buy is not quite up for sale yet. But soon, I hope!
I would be able to sell you raw milk if you were able to come into Spokane. My sister and brother live down there, so between all of us, we could probably get milk to you once a week or every other week. Not today though! We've got a couple inches of snow already and it's coming down fast!
If I ever have kids, I'm going to try to do lots of field trips, too. My parents believed we learned more outside of school than in school. The learning is hands-on and very visual, so it is a much more effective way of learning, I believe.
Well, I'm not exactly an expert on pasteurization, especially since I won't be doing that with my milk, but I'll try to give you an idea of how things go. (and if anyone else has more to add, feel free!)
Pasteurizing is basically just the fancy term for cooking milk. It's kinda like when you cook berries to make jam or do other canning. It kills the bacteria, etc. which has two purposes. One, it will make it safer overall. I mean, like in the case of the e-coli down at Dee Creek Farm recently. If they had pasteurized, that wouldn't have happened. BUT, if you take very good, sanitary care of your animals, that should never happen anyway. Unfortunately, everything these days is anti-bacterial (soap), pasteurized (milk), or other processes to make food safe, but more unhealthy. Kinda an oxymoron :)
Two, pasteurizing makes the milk longer, like you noted already. And you're exactly right. Milk is collected every other day on farms, so the milk could be two days old by the time it's collected. Then, it is hauled to a plant where some of it is skimmed, heated, homogonized, bottled, shipped, and shelved where it will be sold within a few days. Normal milk does not hold up as long.
So, what is the problem with pasteurizing?
Pasterizing may sometimes find bad bacteria to kill (more likely in the commerical dairies), but it always kills good bacteria that helps our bodies digest milk.
So, I would say that processed milk in stores is simply water, a tiny amount of nutrition, and some fat. Not worth drinking.
Hope this helps some. I should look up exactly all of what pasterizing kills. If I find it, I'll write again.
Great to have someone to talk with!
Michelle
Spirited Rose Jerseys
Colville, WA |
| julia hayes |
Posted - Dec 27 2005 : 10:07:29 AM
Michelle, Ohhhhhh, let's keep talking cows shall we? I'm so glad to hear we are near each other. Funny, my address is Medical Lake but I live about 15 miles outside of that wee town! We have 10 acres, a nice little barn and outbuilding. My hubby gave me a new tractor for my 40th birthday and I'm feeling really set! We have 2 small children and I would love to learn what I can about caring for a cow to someday have our own milk. Can you sell me fresh milk? Is that a possibility and can we someday come out to your farm and have a field trip? My son attends a preschool in the mornings but I take my kids out to different places whenever I can.. We're going to a feed mill pretty soon to learn how our chicken feed is made. I didn't think I had the homeschooling gene in me but lo' and behold here I go!!!!!! YEAH.. so happy you are here.. Like I said, this feels like some kind of divine intervention.. blessings, Julia Hayes
ps; please tell me.. what's the importance of pasteurizing milk anyway? Is that done because milk has to travel and stay on grocery store shelves for so long? Fresh milk doesn't need to be pasteurized, I'm assuming because its consumed so quickly.. But do share the arguments with me. I've always wanted to know straight from someone who reall knows...thank you so very much!!!!
being simple to simply be |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Dec 27 2005 : 04:48:21 AM
Michelle, it sure sounds like you're going about this the right way! I wish you were closer to me; I miss my Jersey milk products terribly. They give such rich milk....
Right now we're having to content ourselves with organic milk from Whole Foods. But the first time after we sold our cows that I drank milk from the store, it tasted so, well, *cooked.* It's been about ten years, and the organic milk so far has the best flavor available to us. There was one dairy that sold pure Jersey milk (which has more milk solids) but it's very hard to find way out here in the corn.
I wish you lots of good fortune in your dairy venture; you're providing a wonderful service. And when people taste The Real Thing, I'd bet they won't want to go back to cooked. |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Dec 27 2005 : 12:51:42 AM
News people make me so mad! I just read a few articles about the e-coli cases. One, the kids probably lived in a sterile, indoor environment. A WSU ag/biology graduate explained that when people, farmers, are exposed to small amounts of ecoli, they build an immunity to it. It's way wrong for kids to be getting sick, like by going through an animal barn at a fair and breathing the dust. I live around animals and I've never gotten sick from anything related to them!
I just wanted to say that. I hope this does not have negative effects for the people that are trying to be legal and do things the right way, without having to compromise by pasteurizing their milk.
Michelle
Spirited Rose Jerseys
Colville, WA |
| JerseyCowFan |
Posted - Dec 27 2005 : 12:38:08 AM
Julia, Yes- Medical Lake is close and I'd love to chat with you about cows, maybe you'll find room to buy a heifer from me sometime in the future? That would be fun.
Everyone else, I guess I should have elaborated. A friend of mine is retiring to the area. He and I will be starting up the business. My business skills, our love of cows, and his knowledge of cows! If you go to familyhillfarm.com, you can see what quality of cows I'm talking about. Some of the best in the nation. But, we're just going to take a few of our favorites and try something that could be affordable, yet VERY productive and clean. We have looked into the laws and are in constant contact with the dept of ag people. A friend in Sequim, WA is trying the same thing.
And in regards to E-Coli. If you know where that comes from, you know it doesn't come in the milk. It has to do with waste, if you catch my drift. and that means the cows/equipment were not being usd cleanly (is that a word?). You'd be appalled at the un-cleanliness o the average dairy. I am just lucky to have found a job working at one of the best! And I volunteer to even improve that! I would encourage you to not drink store bought milk, it has not nutritious value in it. But, sadly, there are very few alternatives. If you have the opportunity to voice your opinion about commercial dairies, please do! They're no benefit to anyone.
Does anyone know specifics about the ecoli case? If not, I can probably find it online.
Great to meet you all!
Michelle
Spirited Rose Jerseys
Colville, WA |
| julia hayes |
Posted - Dec 26 2005 : 6:48:38 PM
Greetings and welcome! This is so serendipitous! I was fantasizing about someday having a jersey cow and having my own fresh milk..never mind that I know nothing about cows! Still, I think Colville is quite near Spokane. forgive me, but I'm too lazy right now to get out a map and check it out.. I would be very interested in chatting with you about having access to some of your fresh milk..yuuuuuummmmmyyyy!! In the meantime, welcome!! Blessings, Julia Hayes
being simple to simply be |
| BlueApple |
Posted - Dec 26 2005 : 07:21:02 AM
Welcome Michelle! Looking forward to getting to know you and hear more about your upcoming milk business.
Julia
BlueApple Farm |
| Julia |
Posted - Dec 25 2005 : 6:14:36 PM
Welcome Michelle! I use to live in Valley, near Chewlah. Wish I were able to get fresh milk, miss that from my childhood. Look forward to seeing your posts. Simply, Julia V.
"...the setting sun is like going into the very presence of God." Elizabeth Von Arnim |
| McKenzie Mist |
Posted - Dec 23 2005 : 10:14:57 PM
Hi Michelle-
We kept a milk cow for quite a few years (Holstein/Guernsey cross) and I was raised on raw milk/products. I always admired the look of a Jersey, and just this past spring our middle daughter bought a Jersey heifer for her 4-H project. Her name is Lilly May and she is a beauty. If all goes as planned, she will have her bred in the early spring and we'll once again have fresh milk!
Yes, Kay, I've been following the E.coli case in WA, too. I found it interesting that this cropped up now, as it was just this past fall that WA authorities had started to look into shareholder dairies in WA. There had been a really nice article in Mother Earth News in the late summer about a young girl on Vashon Island, WA, who kept a Jersey and sold shares in her cow. By the photos accompanying the article, they had a nice, clean set up on their farm in which to pour their milk, etc. Not a month or two later, it was in the regional agricultural newspaper that the State of WA was requiring shareholder dairies to comply with dairy farm laws, and then I also read of it in our local (Eugene, OR) newspaper.
Personally, I prefer to either raise my own food or buy it from local folks who I know and can see how they "process" their products. I think that raw milk from private parties should be an option for the public.
The media seems to try to scare people away from consuming dairy products and eating beef. Cows seem to get a bum rap these days! |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Dec 23 2005 : 09:18:38 AM
Hi Michelle -- welcome! Here in WA you can sell raw milk but you must be licensed by the state and have to be inspected every 30 days. The laws may be changing soon though as there has been a big case in the news involving several people who got E coli from the raw milk from a local farm. I have no problem drinking raw milk and think the media is totally blowing this out of proportion (which they love to do). But now the state is involved so things may change.
http://rusticcottage.blogspot.com/ |
| country lawyer |
Posted - Dec 23 2005 : 07:08:11 AM
Just wanted to welcome you to this great group. I don't know anything about cows or raw milk...I'm still in the dreaming stages. Look forward to hearing all about your farming experiences. Merry Christmas! Rebekah
"All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
Julian of Norwich |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Dec 23 2005 : 04:23:33 AM
Michelle, I'm a raw milk fan, too! I used to have a couple of beautiful Jersey cows, and they gave the very best milk. But I urge you to check out the laws in your state concerning the sale of raw milk. It's forbidden here in Illinois, and I'm not allowed to sell it at all unless it's 'for cats.' *sheesh*
I was also forbidden to sell any raw milk products, such as cheese or butter. I gave away a little butter, but I was afraid of what others might do with my milk after I let go of it, and I could end up on the receiving end of a lawsuit. I ended up feeding my excess during freshening to some feeder pigs, and raising milk fed pork. It's delicious!
I sure loved eating real homemade cottage cheese! OMG, what an incredible difference in flavor! It was years before I could bear to eat commercial cottage cheese again; and it still seems gelatinous and sorta gross. Nothing like The Real Thing. Same with ice cream, and Jersey cream so rich a spoon will stand in it.
I wish you lived around here. I'd get plenty 'for my cats.' |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 10:05:29 PM
WElcome to both of you!!! I am also a jersey cow fan! I just got my first cow (Mona) a couple months ago (a gift from my mom) and I am waiting now...very impatiently ...for her to have her first calf. She is two years old. So glad to have more cow lovers here..can't have too many!!
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette |
| Snowden Cottage |
Posted - Dec 22 2005 : 9:36:38 PM
Hi, Michelle...and welcome from another newcomer to this forum..and a pretty close neighbor!! I am totally into raw milk and yogurt, etc., only I don't have a cow..just a good friend nearby who supplies me with milk..and I make her a loaf of french bread..we "barter"! Looking forward to chatting with someone from the "hood". Love your cows names!!
Live simply... Love deeply...Hope forever! |
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