Herd Share:
Q. What is a herd share?
A. A herd share is where someone buys a share of a herd, pays the farmer a monthly care fee, and in turn, they receive milk from their own herd.
Q. How much is a herd share?
A. One share is $40. A $15 jar deposit is required to cover your jar in case it needs to be replaced. These are both one time fees due upon signing the contract. Then a monthly care fee of $36.
Q. How do I get my milk?
A. Pick up dates and times will be set according to a schedule. You may pick up in Lamesa, TX or weekly delivery to Lubbock, TX is available.
Q. Do you provide any other products besides milk?
A. Additional products are occasionally offered in the herdshare group.
Q. What if I want more than one gallon a week?
A. You are able to purchase more than one share in the herd. Each share is equal to one gallon a week.
Q. Do I need to provide my own jars?
A. No, we provide jars.
Q. Will milk be available year round?
A. We usually try to stagger our breedings so we have milk year round. However, with long lactations, extreme weather, missed breedings, etc we can not guarantee to have milk available year round. In the time of low production or dry months, the monthly care fee is still due. However, if you would like to terminate your share during these times, we can let you know when more milk is available and you can repurchase your share. This does run the risk of losing your shares if none are available once milk is available again.
Q. How do I handle my milk?
A. Milk should be kept as cool as possible at all times to keep it fresh longer! When you pick up your milk, please come with a cooler and ice pack of some sort for your trip back home and get it into your fridge as quickly as possible. Please be sure to mix your milk before drinking or using as raw cows milk is not homogenized.
Q. How long does the milk last?
A. Milk for drinking typically lasts 7-10 days. However, raw milk is a living food and can be used to make more products or for baking for much longer as long as it is kept at temperatures of 38 degrees or less. You may also freeze your milk for future use I’d you’d like.
Q. If I am unable to collect my milk one week, so I get credit towards nexts months care fee?
A. No we do not offer credits or refunds.
Q. Do I need to return my jar before my next scheduled pick up time?
A. No, just bring your jar back clean at your next pick up.
A. A herd share is where someone buys a share of a herd, pays the farmer a monthly care fee, and in turn, they receive milk from their own herd.
Q. How much is a herd share?
A. One share is $40. A $15 jar deposit is required to cover your jar in case it needs to be replaced. These are both one time fees due upon signing the contract. Then a monthly care fee of $36.
Q. How do I get my milk?
A. Pick up dates and times will be set according to a schedule. You may pick up in Lamesa, TX or weekly delivery to Lubbock, TX is available.
Q. Do you provide any other products besides milk?
A. Additional products are occasionally offered in the herdshare group.
Q. What if I want more than one gallon a week?
A. You are able to purchase more than one share in the herd. Each share is equal to one gallon a week.
Q. Do I need to provide my own jars?
A. No, we provide jars.
Q. Will milk be available year round?
A. We usually try to stagger our breedings so we have milk year round. However, with long lactations, extreme weather, missed breedings, etc we can not guarantee to have milk available year round. In the time of low production or dry months, the monthly care fee is still due. However, if you would like to terminate your share during these times, we can let you know when more milk is available and you can repurchase your share. This does run the risk of losing your shares if none are available once milk is available again.
Q. How do I handle my milk?
A. Milk should be kept as cool as possible at all times to keep it fresh longer! When you pick up your milk, please come with a cooler and ice pack of some sort for your trip back home and get it into your fridge as quickly as possible. Please be sure to mix your milk before drinking or using as raw cows milk is not homogenized.
Q. How long does the milk last?
A. Milk for drinking typically lasts 7-10 days. However, raw milk is a living food and can be used to make more products or for baking for much longer as long as it is kept at temperatures of 38 degrees or less. You may also freeze your milk for future use I’d you’d like.
Q. If I am unable to collect my milk one week, so I get credit towards nexts months care fee?
A. No we do not offer credits or refunds.
Q. Do I need to return my jar before my next scheduled pick up time?
A. No, just bring your jar back clean at your next pick up.
Herd Management:
Q. How do you ensure your cows don’t carry any diseases or illnesses?
A. Our cows are tested yearly for Johnes and Q. Fever and we are currently in the process of getting them tested for TB, BLV, and BVD. We spend time with each cow twice a day at minimum! This means twice a day we are assessing them for any behaviors or signs that point towards illness or injury. When each cow is milked, we check each quarter for any hardness, fever, or redness. We also strip each quarter out so we are able to inspect the milk itself before our equipment ever touches them. Cows are also tested with mastitis indicator strips regularly. Any cow that shows any sign of illness or injury is removed from the milking string until they are cleared.
Q. Do you use antibiotics or hormones?
A. We never use hormones. However, we do use antibiotics when necessary to clear an illness. These antibiotics are never present in the milk. Milk from cows being treated is always disposed of until we’ll after the end of the withdrawal period.
A. Our cows are tested yearly for Johnes and Q. Fever and we are currently in the process of getting them tested for TB, BLV, and BVD. We spend time with each cow twice a day at minimum! This means twice a day we are assessing them for any behaviors or signs that point towards illness or injury. When each cow is milked, we check each quarter for any hardness, fever, or redness. We also strip each quarter out so we are able to inspect the milk itself before our equipment ever touches them. Cows are also tested with mastitis indicator strips regularly. Any cow that shows any sign of illness or injury is removed from the milking string until they are cleared.
Q. Do you use antibiotics or hormones?
A. We never use hormones. However, we do use antibiotics when necessary to clear an illness. These antibiotics are never present in the milk. Milk from cows being treated is always disposed of until we’ll after the end of the withdrawal period.
Diet:
Q. What is your herd fed?
A. The majority of our girls diet consist of forage like it’s meant to be! In the good years they are pasture fed and just receive their feed on the stand. In years like we have had in 2022 where pasture is spent we do provide hay as their forage. We typically provide beardless wheat hay since it is higher in nutrients than any baled grass hays. This is NOT wheat grain. Beardless wheat is harvested before the grain is created. This is why it does qualify as grass fed. Then each of our girls receives an alfalfa based feed that consists of - Alfalfa, Rice Bran, Coconut Meal, Flaxseed, vitamins/minerals, Pro & Prebiotics! They all have access to free choice mineral. That’s it! No corn, no soy, no crap, no fillers!
Q. Are your animals Grass-Fed?
A. No, we do not qualify as grass fed based on the qualifications laid out by the Grass-Fed Organic Livestock Program. However, our girls are fed top quality forage as the majority of their diet and receive what we consider the best feed on the market while milking! No corn, no soy, no crap, and no fillers - not even those that do qualify as Grass-Fed like beet pulp and molasses. Every ingredient is aimed at making the healthiest cows and milk possible!
Q. What do you feed that disqualifies you as Grass-Fed?
A. Ground Flax Seed, Coconut Meal, and Rice Bran are all in the feed that our girls receive in the milk stand and either do not qualify as grass fed or it is unknown for sure if it qualifies. However, each serve a very specific purpose in striving for healthy cows and milk!
Q. How do these ingredients actually make healthier cows and milk?
A. You can’t have healthy milk if your cows aren’t healthy themselves. Though we don’t push for production, our girls are still very hard workers and produce plenty of milk. Unfortunately, dairy cows will sometimes risk their body condition in order to keep producing that milk and the health of our cows means more to us than a grass-fed label ever will. This is why we choose the high quality feed that we do! Our girls aren’t just here for dairy, they are truly part of our family! So here’s why these particular ingredients are important:
Coconut meal- or “Copra”, is made from the white part of the coconut, which has been dried, baked and ground. Totally natural and GMO-free. It’s purpose is to provide a clean source of energy to keep a healthy condition on the cows. It contains approximately 8-10% coconut oil, 20-22% protein, 1.6 Mcal/lb DE, and an NSC of only 11%. This means that copra is the one of the only livestock feed ingredients that has both a low NSC and a high Digestible Energy! Copra is also a good source of many vitamins and minerals, including copper, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. The oil (saturated fatty acids) found in coconut meal contains mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCT), which are absorbed directly into the portal blood and provide a ready source of cool energy. As if that isn’t enough, the MCT from Coconut oil may have antimicrobial actions from the fatty acid Lauric. Mothers’ milk is the only other source of this amazing fatty acid.
Milled Flax seed - Just like with people, flax seeds provide a multitude of health and performance benefits to the cows. One of the most important benefits is the high amount of omega 3s and it’s ratio to omega 6s. Omega 3s are believed to be essential to the diet because mammals lack the enzymes necessary to synthesize them from scratch. Research has demonstrated positive effects across many systems, including skin, airway, joints, hooves, reproduction, immunity, and others. Flax helps aid in keeping condition, contains powerful antioxidants, vitamins & minerals, and contains high mucilage (soluble) fiber. Finally, flax has a very strong anti-inflammatory property that aids in reduced joint pain and faster muscle recovery.
Rice bran - is a concentrated “cool” energy that aids in keeping a good body condition without adding starch or sugars. It provides essential fatty acids promoting healthy coat, skin, and hooves! It also provides vitamins, minerals, and over 120 known naturally occurring antioxidants!
Q. Is the diet Non GMO?
A. We reached out to the makers of our feed and they can’t be 100% certain. The only ingredient that they aren’t sure on is Alfalfa, the rest is all non gmo including our hay!
Q. Is your milk A2?
A. Yes! All our cows have been DNA tested and are A2/A2!
A. The majority of our girls diet consist of forage like it’s meant to be! In the good years they are pasture fed and just receive their feed on the stand. In years like we have had in 2022 where pasture is spent we do provide hay as their forage. We typically provide beardless wheat hay since it is higher in nutrients than any baled grass hays. This is NOT wheat grain. Beardless wheat is harvested before the grain is created. This is why it does qualify as grass fed. Then each of our girls receives an alfalfa based feed that consists of - Alfalfa, Rice Bran, Coconut Meal, Flaxseed, vitamins/minerals, Pro & Prebiotics! They all have access to free choice mineral. That’s it! No corn, no soy, no crap, no fillers!
Q. Are your animals Grass-Fed?
A. No, we do not qualify as grass fed based on the qualifications laid out by the Grass-Fed Organic Livestock Program. However, our girls are fed top quality forage as the majority of their diet and receive what we consider the best feed on the market while milking! No corn, no soy, no crap, and no fillers - not even those that do qualify as Grass-Fed like beet pulp and molasses. Every ingredient is aimed at making the healthiest cows and milk possible!
Q. What do you feed that disqualifies you as Grass-Fed?
A. Ground Flax Seed, Coconut Meal, and Rice Bran are all in the feed that our girls receive in the milk stand and either do not qualify as grass fed or it is unknown for sure if it qualifies. However, each serve a very specific purpose in striving for healthy cows and milk!
Q. How do these ingredients actually make healthier cows and milk?
A. You can’t have healthy milk if your cows aren’t healthy themselves. Though we don’t push for production, our girls are still very hard workers and produce plenty of milk. Unfortunately, dairy cows will sometimes risk their body condition in order to keep producing that milk and the health of our cows means more to us than a grass-fed label ever will. This is why we choose the high quality feed that we do! Our girls aren’t just here for dairy, they are truly part of our family! So here’s why these particular ingredients are important:
Coconut meal- or “Copra”, is made from the white part of the coconut, which has been dried, baked and ground. Totally natural and GMO-free. It’s purpose is to provide a clean source of energy to keep a healthy condition on the cows. It contains approximately 8-10% coconut oil, 20-22% protein, 1.6 Mcal/lb DE, and an NSC of only 11%. This means that copra is the one of the only livestock feed ingredients that has both a low NSC and a high Digestible Energy! Copra is also a good source of many vitamins and minerals, including copper, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. The oil (saturated fatty acids) found in coconut meal contains mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCT), which are absorbed directly into the portal blood and provide a ready source of cool energy. As if that isn’t enough, the MCT from Coconut oil may have antimicrobial actions from the fatty acid Lauric. Mothers’ milk is the only other source of this amazing fatty acid.
Milled Flax seed - Just like with people, flax seeds provide a multitude of health and performance benefits to the cows. One of the most important benefits is the high amount of omega 3s and it’s ratio to omega 6s. Omega 3s are believed to be essential to the diet because mammals lack the enzymes necessary to synthesize them from scratch. Research has demonstrated positive effects across many systems, including skin, airway, joints, hooves, reproduction, immunity, and others. Flax helps aid in keeping condition, contains powerful antioxidants, vitamins & minerals, and contains high mucilage (soluble) fiber. Finally, flax has a very strong anti-inflammatory property that aids in reduced joint pain and faster muscle recovery.
Rice bran - is a concentrated “cool” energy that aids in keeping a good body condition without adding starch or sugars. It provides essential fatty acids promoting healthy coat, skin, and hooves! It also provides vitamins, minerals, and over 120 known naturally occurring antioxidants!
Q. Is the diet Non GMO?
A. We reached out to the makers of our feed and they can’t be 100% certain. The only ingredient that they aren’t sure on is Alfalfa, the rest is all non gmo including our hay!
Q. Is your milk A2?
A. Yes! All our cows have been DNA tested and are A2/A2!
Milk Procedures:
Q. What procedures do you use while milking?
A. Every cows udder is washed and sanitized with a chlorhexidine solution before milking. Cows are milked by machine so everything from the teat to the tank is clean and sanitized. Milk is filtered as it runs through the lines into the fully enclosed tank. Once the inflations are removed, the teats are dipped into an iodine post dip that provides a disinfectant as well as a barrier that protects against any debris or germs.
Q. What are your milk handling procedures?
A. My milk machine is cleaned and sanitized before and after each milking. Teats, jars, and tank are all also sanitized. This ensures everything the milk touches is sterile and ready for use! Milk is collected via milk machine, filtered with an inline filter, then separated into individual jars, and flash cooled immediately!
A. Every cows udder is washed and sanitized with a chlorhexidine solution before milking. Cows are milked by machine so everything from the teat to the tank is clean and sanitized. Milk is filtered as it runs through the lines into the fully enclosed tank. Once the inflations are removed, the teats are dipped into an iodine post dip that provides a disinfectant as well as a barrier that protects against any debris or germs.
Q. What are your milk handling procedures?
A. My milk machine is cleaned and sanitized before and after each milking. Teats, jars, and tank are all also sanitized. This ensures everything the milk touches is sterile and ready for use! Milk is collected via milk machine, filtered with an inline filter, then separated into individual jars, and flash cooled immediately!