RE Milking cows I have a friend who shares the cow and the milking and the milk and costs. One works off farm on a roster system, so his friend comes in on arranged days to milk, this way they share the load and do not get overwhelmed by too much milk. Has worked well for them for years now. Cheryl Kemp
----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Cargasacchi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 1:14 PM Subject: Re: Milking the Home-based Compost machine Re: Soil building with plant matter compost > Good point, if you get a milking cow, realize that cows have been selected > for quantity and certain milk qualities, rather than hand milking ease. A > milking machine does not care that much about udder conformation. Anyone > that has hand milked a small uddered or poorly uddered cow will appreciate > that point. It is hard to hand milk cows with small or poor udders, yet > which produce large quantities of milk. I raise beef cows, and occassionally > when a calf is still-born, I milk the cow for a few months for milk, butter > and cheese. The poorly uddered cow, (small teats,) is not worth the effort, > because the labor of milking a cow with thumb-index and middle finger, is so > much more labor intensive than one where you can get your whole hand on it. > I am on the central coast in California now, but my family comes from the > middle of the Italian Alps. There the houses were designed around the barn. > It was kind of like central heating and part of a now extinct(?) lifestyle. > > If you get a cow, make sure its hand milkable. Plus make sure you milk > morning and night. It hurts the cow if you miss a milking. If you have a > milking cow, your are tied down. It can be quite a chore in this day and > age. It will become a ritual for you and if you are not fully into it, it > will be a great burden. However there is nothing that tastes as good as > fresh cream and butter. > > I planted, and am currently planting more grape vines next year on a site > where the California department of Transportation hauled 30,000 cubic > yards of mineral soil to level of a depression. (They had to move part of > a mountain for a road.) Things would not grow on that soil until I brought > in cow manure and cow manure compost. Where there was little life, and > even malva was chlorotic and stunted, and nightshade would not grow, > now there is abundant life and healthy soil. > > Peter Cargasacchi [EMAIL PROTECTED] (805) 736-7776 > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: D & S Chamberlain <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2001 3:52 PM > Subject: Re: Milking the Home-based Compost machine Re: Soil building with > plant matter compost > > > > Been there, done this! Yes it's nice to have the cow & the milk, but tied > > down is tied down. Miss too many days and the milk drops off. Here in > > Australia we have a man who breeds Jerseys who only need milking once per > > day and whose teats are shaped for hand milking, they are magnificent > cows, > > maybe some one in USA is doing something similar. > > David C > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Thursday, 20 December 2001 6:03 AM > > Subject: Re: Milking the Home-based Compost machine Re: Soil building with > > plant matter compost > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > To be less tied down, Gene Logsdon has written some stuff about how > the > > > > calf and you share the milking chores, allowing you some freedom you > > > > wouldn't have if it was you in 'white slavery' twice a day.... > > > > > > > > > > Where might one find this info from Gene about that calf help?? > > > > > > working towards milking... > > > > > > Ed > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
