Lori, Greenwood, Arkansas

[Guest guest]

Hi!  My name is Lori.   My email address is lorisarahbrown@...  I live outside of the little town of Greenwood, Arkansas.  We have a small hobby farm consisting of beef cattle, dairy cattle, wool sheep - I am a handspinner - , Boer and Alpine goats, several varieties of chickens and three donkeys. 

 Raw dairy sales for human consumption are not allowed in the state of Arkansas.  We only milk one cow, so we are not looking to sell any milk.  My sons pretty well keep up with our milk supply, so I wouldn't have any to sell anyway. 

 We got tired of constantly having to run to the store for a couple of gallons of milk.  Since we already raise a few cattle, we calculated that we could feed a dairy cow for a month for less than what we were spending on dairy products in a month.  We have only been milking her for about 4 months, and I love it.  We use a beautiful Surge vacuum milker, which will also be used for the Alpine goats when they are ready.  I have made butter with the daisy churn my own father used as a child several times, and am learning to make cheese, which is why I joined the group.  Nearly every recipe I find for cheese uses store bought milk, not raw milk, and I am trying to learn if the success of certain recipes depend on how much cream is in the milk, or if being pasteurized makes a difference.  My cheese is not turning out well at all.  Only one batch was clearly edible.  Several went to the dogs. 

 In our area, not many people have their own family cow.  It is frustrating to me that knowledge which was common in every household at one time, is totally lost in today's world.  And the books on the subject are few and far between.  The internet has been a wonderful resource!  I love that in the welcome email, many new sources I had never found were listed - Thanks!

 I understand that some people are very concerned about the health benefits of raw milk, or whether or not it is pasteurized, but for us, that is not the driving factor behind having our own cow.  We just wanted fresh milk, and plenty of it!

 I look forward to being part of this group and expanding my knowledge!  (I have included a picture of our last two days worth of milk!) ~Lori