Why pasteurize?
People have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years. If harvested with care from clean, healthy cows, it is not only safe, it’s a whole, nourishing, living food used to cure illness – even at the Mayo Clinic! Around the beginning of the 20th century, dairy farms associated with alcohol distilleries started to appear near major cities. These were large, dirty factories where cows were confined to filthy conditions and fed only swill, the hot acidic byproducts of distilled grain. Workers, often sick themselves, sometimes inoculated the milk with human diseases. This “swill milk” was implicated in human illness and death. Instead of cleaning up or regulating the safe production of milk, widespread pasteurization kept low cost, low quality milk on the market. Raw milk has been stigmatized ever since. No food product is totally safe from contamination and the laws of the land reflect fear and bias against raw milk.
Here in Vermont perceptions are changing! Rural Vermont, a family farm advocacy organization, led the effort to reform the state’s raw milk laws (www.ruralvermont.org). Farmers are now allowed to sell more raw milk (up to 40 gallons/day) and deliver. We are now inspected by the Agency of Agriculture, and adhere to strict safety and milk testing standards. But, we don’t mind regulatory oversight because we are proud of our clean process and healthy animals.
It’s all about respecting the ladies!
Our milk is of such high quality because we care for our cows like individuals, not like walking milk factories. We don’t push them to produce more milk than is healthy for them. They are never confined or tied for long periods. They’re out to pasture all summer and roam around a clean, comfortable barn with access to the outdoors all winter. They deserve and get our respect, kindness and appreciation. We feed them organically (not certified) and work with, not against their natural cow tendencies. Their health, comfort and welfare are our TOP priority.
Our Milking Methods
We handle our milk with the same loving care we give our cows. We use a small, simple milking machine. It’s not as fast, but we think it protects milk quality better than the big, automated equipment used on most dairy farms. It’s the famous “Surge” type that actually hangs from a strap under the cow. Soft rubber inflations attach to the teats and draw milk directly into an enclosed pail. This system is an unusually clean way to milk. It protects the milk from contamination during milking. The milk flows through minimal equipment, all of which we can access for thorough hand cleaning. There are no long milk pipes that have to be flushed with acid like on most farms. Our extra work means fantastic milk test results and milk that stays fresh for weeks!
What’s with grass-fed cows?
Cows are born to eat grass. But almost all commercial cows (even organic) eat a diet heavy in grain and fermented corn. This stimulates them to over-produce. It can give them highly acidic stomachs, frequent infections, reproductive problems and cause them to produce excess growth hormones (even if they aren’t shot up with rBGH). Nursing moms know they have to think about what they eat, because it has a direct impact on the milk they make. Cows are the same. What they are fed is directly related to the quality of their milk and the quality of their lives. Healthy, grass-fed cows produce healthy milk!
Why Should I drink it raw?
Enzymes, probiotics, and many vitamins are naturally occurring in raw milk, but destroyed during the pasteurization process. Many people have deficiencies of these resulting from modern diets consisting of mainly cooked and processed foods. Probiotics and enzymes make raw milk easier to digest. Many people who are lactose intolerant, have IBS or are allergic to pasteurized milk say they thrive on raw milk.
traditional farming, amazing milk...
Visit our self-serve farmstand, we're always open!
2386 Shelburne Falls Rd.
Hinesburg, VT 05461
We now deliver to Burlington!
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