"Cow share" law passed in Tennessee

[grower]

Small dairies in Tennessee scored a legislative victory over the summer when the "cow share" law was passed, allowing consumption of raw, untreated milk...as long as you own part or all of the animal it comes from. Here is some information about the law:

http://www.tennesseansforrawmilk.com/updates.html

[SheWoff]

cool. Maybe one of the local to me farmers will let me buy "stock" in his stock lol. I miss whole real milk...sigh....

She

[momof23goats]

they tried that here, and the state stepped in and said no. now the amish are trying it guess i will keep my eyes peeled.

[Animal Lover]

We drank it for years and I'm still here and so is hubby. It was my job to make the butter. Fun O. AL

[CVORNurse]

DH recently bought 2 half grown calves, one a bull, one a heifer. We plan on butchering him, or else keeping him to breed her and butchering the subsequent calves. My mamma was here today for a visit and got to see them for the first time. She said that she does not like raw milk anymore. When they were growing up, that is all they had. She said my mamaw made butter and buttermilk, and all they had was the raw milk. She said that now she has become accustomed to the taste of homogenized milk, she no longer likes the taste of raw.
So is this going to be a case of all of us having to become accustomed to the taste, maybe by mixing with homo milk at first? I never had thought of it before but now I am wondering.

[Summerthyme]

I can't imagine "preferring" storebought milk! The only potential problem with raw milk is if the cow is ill (in which case, you wouldn't want to be drinking it anyway), or if she's consuming strong smelling feeds (silage, wild onions, etc). OR, if someone is keeping the animal in a barn which isn't cleaned- ever- and she's breathing in ammonia and other strong barn odors- those can go into the milk as well.

Raw whole milk, from healthy well fed cows is slightly sweet, with more "body" and flavor than anything you'll get in the store.

I would NOT keep that bull entire just to breed one heifer... they can get downright dangerous earlier than you might think. The heifer shouldn't be bred until she's 15-16 months old, and unless you have no other options (most folks can get AI- artificial insemination- service fairly cheaply), I strongly suggest newbies (heck, anyone, really) not keep a bull. Dairy breed bulls are much more aggressive and dangerous than most beef breed bulls, and most folks who don't have much experience treat them too much like pets- which makes the MORE dangerous.

Get him turned into a steer soon; he'll still work as a "heat detector" for your heifer, and let you know when she's ready to service. It's a little less "convenient" than letting a bull do the work, but it beats someone getting killed or badly hurt. (and yes, even experienced farmers get hurt and killed by bulls with alarming regularity)

Milk a CLEAN udder, and strain and then chill the fresh milk as quickly as possible, and it will be great.

Summerthyme

[marsgate]

I agree...turn that bull into a steer and eat him when he is ready. Bulls aren't for beginners
and sometimes cows aren't either. Besides, if you are going to have a cow to milk you're going
to need two to cycle the calving, milking and drying up before next breeding.

[goatlady]

"The heifer shouldn't be bred until she's 15-16 months old, ..." PLUS you will then have to keep feeding her - WELL- until she calves so you are looking at at least 2 years of feed and care before you get any return on your investment. IF that fits you timetable well and good, otherwise ... YOu didn't mention the particular breed of heifer either. Some give better/more milk than others and in any case you are looking at several GALLONS per day with her being milked TWICE a day, no exceptions most usually

[mysteriouscutie]

I have never tried raw milk. I'm not much of a milk drinker anyway.

Cat milk doesn't taste very nice though, so if it's anything like cat's milk then I probably wouldn't like it.

However, people should be free to chose for themselves.

[Yooper]

momof23 is right...there are measures being taken to make it legal here in MI as well and there's tons of folks involved. TN has set an important precedence.
Yooperwife

[grower]

so if it's anything like cat's milk then I probably wouldn't like it.

Cat's milk? Are you nuts? :shock:

I've had raw cow's milk (we bought from Mennonites), and I milked dairy goats for years, and I love BOTH! The fresh milk is so sweet and good, and doesn't have any artificial growth hormones in it. You will become so addicted to the fresh milk you won't ever want store-bought again.

When my daughter (now 19) was a toddler, she would follow me out at milking time with her bottle in her hand (she was the only one of my four kids that ever took a bottle). One time I gave her some store-bought cow's milk instead of the fresh goat's milk, and she took one taste and refused to drink any of it! Fresh milk is great. 8)

[janetn]

momof23 is right...there are measures being taken to make it legal here in MI as well and there's tons of folks involved. TN has set an important precedence.
Yooperwife
Great let us know if it passes I know the Amish around here tried it and got shut down for it.

I dont like milk unless its fresh. Never did even as a kid. store bought milk has an awful aftertaste to me always has

[manikindwarf]

Cat milk? You're joking right? Or maybe i misunderstood you? How do you milk a cat?
Won't they bite and scratch you? Don't they need the milk for their babies?

[momof23goats]

momof23 is right...there are measures being taken to make it legal here in MI as well and there's tons of folks involved. TN has set an important precedence.
Yooperwife
i sure hope it does pass here , then we could sell our milk, that would be so cool.

[Katy of the fort]

I grew up on it and would love to get it but unfortunately we can't around here.Goats milk is good too.

[GermanAxeman]

Drank raw milk everyday when I lived/worked on a Dairy farm in Illinois. Loved the stuff, so much different that watered down store version.

[Freeholder]

We drank whatever was available when I was growing up -- sometimes powdered milk, sometimes store-bought, sometimes fresh raw milk. Never could stand powdered, store-bought we got used to, but fresh raw has always tasted better (whether goat or cow milk). Now, though, I've gotten so used to drinking kefir that I don't want regular milk anymore! It took a while to get used to it; kefir is a MUCH more different flavor than the difference between store-bought and raw milk, so it shouldn't take long to get used to the change. And when your relatives come to visit, have some of your milk in a jug from the store, and they probably won't know the difference.

Kathleen