http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_15857541

I ran across this blog post that I thought would be of interest to our readers:

A Tale of Two Calves.  One calf was fed raw milk and the other calf was fed conventional pasteurized milk.  Check it out here!

The differences in these two calves is really amazing. 

We’ve seen a similar pattern here on our farm with calves raised on raw milk either from a nurse cow or us milking and giving the cow raw milk in a bottle as opposed to the calves raised on formula.  The raw milk raised calves thrived…the formula fed calves we struggled to keep alive. 

Contrary to what many people believe, all milk is not created equal!   After using conventional milk, pasteurized organic milk, pasteurized non-homogenized milk and raw milk and visiting a wide variety of dairy operations from conventional to grass-based as well as running our own small dairy operation, I can definitely say there is a huge difference.  Now that we have our own raw milk resource, I’m fully a raw milk convert.   Now realizing that raw milk is difficult to find, I’m very sympathetic to those who would rather have real milk choices but are stuck with conventional milk for the time being.  It’s a difficult switch to make for a lot of people just because of the ridiculous restrictions put on family farmers producing raw milk which make raw milk a rare find in many parts of the country.  There aren’t many raw milk dairy farmers around!

One question I get asked alot from people who know that I’m a farm wife, is if I drink my own raw milk when I am pregnant!?!  At first the question seems a little obvious, but then maybe not with all the raw milk scare tactics from the media and mega-factory farming corporations. 

Yes, I do drink my own raw milk when I am pregnant.  Shocking, I know to some…but once you read and educate yourself on the facts about real milk, it’s not so shocking drinking raw milk while pregnant.  In fact, while I am pregnant and breastfeeding, I take extra special care to make sure that I get more milk, eat more raw butter and use more raw cream.  I can feel the difference that the real food makes when I consume it.  As a pregnant mother, I have no reservations about consuming raw milk and giving it to my children to drink.  Yes, even my little ones regularly have fresh milk.  My older boys love to guzzle down cup fulls of raw cream and make raw milk whipped cream for toppings on a variety of foods. 

The milk we currently drink is from our 3 year old Guernsey cow named May.  We milk her once a day.  The rest of the day she is eating grass, licking up free-choice minerals, drinking the spring water and resting in the shade of the trees living the life of a cow on a small family farm.  She occasionally escapes and gets into the garden where she likes to eat all sorts of garden plants. 

After milking, my boys bring the milk inside and strain the milk through a filter into glass half gallon jars.  We use half gallon glass jars because we’ve found that they are easier to pour from and easier to cool down.  We mark the glass jars with the day of the week the milk is from and quickly get it cooled off in the refrigerator.  She produces superior golden milk with lots of cream.

We go through great lengths to ensure our animals are healthy and we are very careful to follow good milking practices, but it doesn’t come without a cost.  Our milk isn’t cheap…but it also isn’t the same milk as the $2 milk in the store.  Two completely different products!

 I feel very blessed to be able to have such a resource and thank God that He has blessed our little farm with land flowing with milk…and hopefully one day we’ll get around to the honey part! 

We would love to help others get back to the agrarian life where real milk is considered a great blessing and whole foods off the land are prized provision from God, not to be taken lightly.  We have a long road to travel to turn our food system around, but we believe that the mega factory based industrial food system is doomed for failure.

Get to know your farmer!  All milk is not the same and you should do your research to ensure you are receiving good healthy milk! 

If your skeptical about raw milk, here are a few resources where you can find many articles about the subject:

• Farm to Consumer Legal Defense:  Lots of informative articles on raw milk, local food, factory farms and different food safety issues. 
• Real Milk:  raw milk safety, health and economic issues. 

Going on the offensive, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is bringing suit against the FDA.  Some may think, I’ve been a little hard on the government with my constant ranting against the “Raw Milk Nazis”.  But, I don’t know what else you call an organization that persecutes small farmers trying to make a living and people who disagree with the so-called science of the FDA.  Regardless, of what we think we should call “them”, “they” are now rightly on the defensive.

Our friends, truly friends of all small farmers, The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense fund is taking the Raw Milk fight directly to the FDA.  In this press release, Pete Kennedy explains the reason for the action:

“This is a lawsuit of historical significance” said Pete Kennedy, President of the Legal Defense Fund, “because it directly challenges for the very first time the legality of the ban against the interstate distribution of raw milk in final package form for human consumption.”  Kennedy went on to explain, “Too often we have seen FDA take actions against dairy producers, and recently in Georgia against a virtual farmers’ market, that attempt to deny the individuals’ right to consume the food of their choice.  The interstate ban is unjust and needs to be overturned.”  The complaint for declaratory judgment brings five claims alleging violations of the right to travel, the right to privacy, the non-delegation doctrine, substantive due process, and that FDA’s action in promulgating the two rules exceeds the authority granted by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

David Gumpert has more details of this historic lawsuit on Grist.  The main points he identifies from the filing are as follows:

The FTCLDF suit argues that the FDA’s role is a problem on several levels:

• It maintains that raw milk isn’t dangerous in the food-borne-illness scheme of things. “According to CDC statistics for 2007, there were 7,031 reported cases of foodborne outbreaks associated with bacteria, which resulted in 678 hospitalizations and 11 deaths (3 deaths of which were from pasteurized milk). According to those same CDC statistics for 2007, there were only 32 reported cases of illnesses attributed to fresh, unprocessed, raw milk (0.5 percent); there were only 2 reported hospitalizations attributed to fresh, unprocessed, raw milk (0.3 percent); and there were no reported deaths attributed to raw milk.” It concludes: “More people are killed each year from lightning strikes on golf courses than die from milkborne illnesses.”
• That consumers who cross state lines with raw milk could at any time be penalized for violating the FDA’s prohibition, even though the agency has generally limited itself to going after farmers. It points to a case last October, in which one of the plaintiffs, Eric Wagoner, who runs a Georgia food buying group over the Internet, had 110 gallons of raw milk already purchased by Georgia consumers confiscated because the milk had been purchased in South Carolina, where raw milk sales are legal, and brought back to Georgia, where they aren’t. “Upon reaching Georgia, Plaintiff Wagoner’s truck was searched and seized by officials from Georgia without a warrant. The raw milk in Wagoner’s truck was embargoed by officials from Georgia without a warrant. On Oct. 19, 2009, the 110 gallons of raw milk, including milk owned by Plaintiffs Wagoner and Cooper, were destroyed at the order of the Georgia officials and the FDA without a warrant or other legal process.”
• That the FDA, if it so chose, could take a less harsh approach to raw milk. “For example, FDA has a regulation at 21 C.F.R. 101.17 that pertains to unpasteurized juices, and provides, in part, that a warning label on a juice container is an acceptable alternative to pasteurizing the juice, to wit: ‘WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.’”
• That the FDA is singling out raw milk for special harsh treatment. According to the suit, “There is nothing in the PHSA [Public Health Service Act] that authorizes the FDA to find that a product that is legal to sell in more than half the States and where it is legal to consume in all 50 States should be banned as a ‘communicable disease’ or ‘illness’ particularly when there are other foods in the United States that cause more cases of foodborne illness.”

This should be an interesting case as the FDA has been unwilling to debate their positions in a public forum.  Perhaps, a judge will force the discussion, and bring to light some of the motivation for the FDA’s position up to this point.

A Toast to Michael Schmidt as he continues the Good Fight.
(picture by DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR)

Some governments don’t know when to stop.  Ah, but that is what we call tyranny isn’t it?  Citing that Judge “Kowarsky “erred in law” in ruling the public can opt out of provisions in the acts “through a private contractual arrangement.”" the prosecutor has decided to press the appeal in the well publicized Michael Schmidt raw milk case.  I say it is an overdeveloped sense of ego that is driving him and not a desire to “protect” people from this dangerous product.  What ever the true motive, we offer a toast to Michael for his on-going perseverance in the face of tyranny.  May we all stand as tall when we are faced with injustice.

Here are a few quotes from Megan Ogilvia at the Toronto Star.

The farmer from Durham said the appeal to the Ontario Court of Justice signals “the next stage in a serious battle” for food freedom.

“This is not about milk. This is about the respect for the individual’s right to make choices without government interference,” he said in a statement. Schmidt was handed the notice of appeal Thursday.

…

Kowarsky (The lower court judge) ruled the farmer does not advertise his product to the public and cited a lack of evidence that people got sick from consuming Schmidt’s dairy products.

Schmidt, 55, maintains he does not break the law by giving milk to some 200 cow-share members, who buy a portion of a cow and pay to board the animal at his Glencolton Farms. Ontario’s raw milk laws do not apply to farmers, who can legally drink their own cows’ milk.

Here are a few link round ups:

• http://www.yorkregion.com/article/103116
• http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/raw-milk-crusader-schmidt-says-ont-govt-wasting-time-by-appealing-his-acquittal/
• http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/province-refuses-to-accept-raw-milk-acquittal-michael-schmidt-to-hold-news-conference-tuesday-feb-16th/
• http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2010/02/schmidt-fights-for-food-freedom-and-raw-milk.html

Farmer Michael Schmidt will hold a media conference on the Province’s appeal, Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 9:30am, in the Press Room, Queen’s Park

The Borrower is a slave to the lender

The last post discussed this article touting the salvation of the Crudaros (Dairy farmers) in Uruguay, by stimulus money.  We will discuss where that money is coming from in the next edition and who is gaining control by loaning the money.  But first, we need to understand that this issue is not a single issue that will ruin a country.  I’m not making the case, that the sky is falling in Uruguay because the dairy farmers are getting government money.  After all the dairy farmers in America have been getting government money for years and we are doing fine; right, Dean Foods?  Seriously, I suspect in the near term there will be quite the opposite feeling for everyone involved.  the farmers are poor enough that any money will be accepted, and after all it will take more than just the dairy industry to crash a nation.  But, what I hope to point out, using this situation as an example is the difference in this international economy that we all currently live under and an agrarian economy this author longs for.

My second response to this article, after I got past the fact that they are moving away from the healthy benefits of raw milk, was how could a country with all that natural wealth, specifically the cattle, have poor dairymen?  I always understood cattle to have value and dairy cows that produce to be worth something of even more value, and this country has more cattle per capita than any nation on earth according to the article.

Subsistence dairy farming dates back centuries in Uruguay, the country with the highest number of cattle per capita in the world: 3.8. There are approximately 10 million cattle and more than 15 million sheep in this country, which has a total population of 3.3 million, 93 percent of which is urban.

So then what happened to make these farmers poor?  Two things are mentioned in the articles itself.  One is an economic system that has a larger is better emphasis and two, the economy began to change and export it’s wealth to other nations.

“The problem is when you’re too small, just too small,” says Claudia Pérez, a small-scale dairy farmer in Uruguay, glancing to her left, where her pasture ends just 50 metres from her modest rural home.”…

In Uruguay, where the economy is driven by agriculture, tourism and banking, beef and wool are leading exports. But until it began to transition into a prosperous export industry 15 years ago, the dairy sector focused on supplying the domestic market.

In other words, when the economy shifted to export, the business model also shifted from a local supply and demand model to large scale production to meet the new higher demand.  Like in the US it was, and is, get big or get out.  Those that did not have the economy of scale or the desire to produce enough volume to compete with large export corporations now suppling the growing export market were forced to accept the new lower prices brought about the changes in the production model.

Now, some would argue that low prices is the primary goal in food production and I don’t believe low prices are bad.  However, what the corporate model misses when the focus is low price and high profits is manifold.  But two things come immediately to mind.  One is a way of life and two is a quality product.  I’ll touch on these briefly.

First read the story and look at the way of life for these families and specifically the community relationships.  The Crudaros, life required them each day to come in contact with their neighbors they served.  I’m certain some days, perhaps most days, that was monotonous.  But at the same time, you know those people, or at least you were in a position to know them and to be part of their lives as they could be part of yours.  Think about the social ramifications that one aspect has in relation to building a strong community.  Knowing people and being part of a community produces an environment where a family name means something.  It puts social pressure on people to perform and “be on their best behavior” because there are connected with everyone around them.

Next think about how those relationships and your standing in the community effect the pride in the quality product you are providing them.  That is, at least in a system that puts a value in quality and relationships.  In the article we see them watering down the product to try to stretch it and get enough volume to compete and feed their families at the lower prices.  We also see them traveling into the city to find enough poor people that are willing to pay a cheaper price for a lesser product.

My position on this, is that when an economic system puts a value on price alone, which corporations always do, you remove the driving factors for quality.  When you remove the face to face interaction with the customer, you remove the thread that weaves the complexity of community relationships together.

Lastly the article passes over these driving factors and goes to the fact that the government is going to help these poor farmers.  The solution will provide much needed money for these dairy families, but in the process it furthers the destruction of their community and makes them a slave on a subsidized plantation instead of a freeman on their own land.  In short, the system, either by design or greed, drives the prices down so the independent family farmer can not compete and then offers the shackles of debt to help him.

It would be easy to point to the Uruguay government as the one’s to blame, and I’m certain they hold their share of the responsibility.  But in the next piece I want to look at who holds the notes and ultimately who benefits from this world economy.

The Borrower is a slave to the lender

This is going to be a little complicated, but bare with me and let me attempt to explain my thoughts on this article from Poverty News Blog, which quotes this source article, URUGUAY: Pulling Small Dairy Farmers Out of Poverty.  Let me get a few quotes to give you an idea of where I’m starting.

Pérez has just 10 dairy cows, which produce a few dozen litres of milk a day, bringing in a small income when she sells it on the outskirts of the city of Durazno, located 183 km north of the capital, Montevideo. She lives on her small farm or “chacra” with her husband and two children, who are in primary school. 

Her family’s way of life is shared by just over 200 other small-scale dairy farmers in the departments (provinces) of Durazno, Florida and Flores in Uruguay’s central region, most of whom have no more than two hectares of land…

…”We just scrape by,” he (Oscar Moyá another “crudero”) says, “but at least we can survive on what we earn.”

…The milk sold by the “cruderos”, above and beyond any possible nutritional properties, is cheaper, at 23 cents a litre compared to 30.4 cents a litre for pasteurised milk.

Subsistence dairy farming dates back centuries in Uruguay, the country with the highest number of cattle per capita in the world: 3.8. There are approximately 10 million cattle and more than 15 million sheep in this country, which has a total population of 3.3 million, 93 percent of which is urban. 

But now, the business sector and government institutions have come together to provide solutions aimed at drawing small-scale dairy farmers into the economy of scale. 

In Uruguay, where the economy is driven by agriculture, tourism and banking, beef and wool are leading exports. But until it began to transition into a prosperous export industry 15 years ago, the dairy sector focused on supplying the domestic market. 

That newfound prosperity, however, has not trickled down to rural families who continue to eke out a living on their small dairy farms. 

Two years ago, Mauber Olveira, director of development in the Durazno city government, and former mayor Carmelo Vidalín were the driving forces behind one of the alliances to integrate the “cruderos” into the modern milk processing industry. 

The formula, Olveira told IPS, was to get Nutrísima, a Uruguayan dairy company, to build a plant in the city of Durazno, which has a population of 35,000 and is the capital of the department of the same name. 

The plant buys raw milk from local farmers, pasteurises it and sells it to supermarkets and other buyers. 

The project included financial aid agreements to enable dairy farmers to purchase equipment and livestock to boost production.

This will be multi-part post as I’m going to attempt to point out the different economic focus, that is local, national, and international, and who benefits from each one.  I will be making the case that Uruguay is already a wealthy nation according to agrarian standards.  Look at the quote above.  They have the highest number of per capital cattle of any country in the world!  I will further be pointing out the control they are loosing both from the Cruderos (Dairy Farmer) standpoint and at the national level by taking the money from the wealthy lender nations who are providing the capital.  I’ll give you those quotes in the next post.  For now check out the article and let me know what you think; is this a good thing or a bad thing?

There is a preceptive piece from David Gumpert on The Grist.  David, of The Complete Patient, outlines the shift in tactics the government has been using to intimidate those who would “produce”, sell, or consume raw milk.  I don’t quote them below but he also gives a good outline of some of the major raw milk flashpoints in recent history in the article.

When the current phase of a nearly century-long government campaign to convince American consumers to abandon raw milk launched in 2006, heavy-handed intimidation tactics were the order of the day…

…Those earlier assaults on owners of small farms generated enough unfavorable publicity that federal and state authorities have opted for a less distasteful approach. The emphasis now is on ever-closer regulatory oversight of raw milk sellers and distributors, as well as court actions.

A major target over the last year has been private buying groups. These groups of anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of consumers have organized in states where raw milk either is banned for general sale, or else available only from dairy farms. They have grown out of the exploding popularity of raw milk and the resulting demand by consumers to be able to conveniently obtain raw milk without traveling hours to a farm. In many states, they have long been tolerated … until now.

You can read the full article along with all the details of the previous and current government raids and tactics on grist.org.  Also if you really want a good read check out David’s book, The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights.

Feed corn, winter snow and boyhood farm work are beautiful sights!  The boys went up to a new feed store that just opened up in town.  They bought some bags of corn for $5.75 for a 50 lb bag.  They were doing good to get the trailer unloaded and the feed put away in the barn with the down pour of snow we were having.  After they unload and stack feed bags, they bolt in the back door wanting hot cocoa.  They take the layers of  coats and gloves off  as I fix them a warm mug of raw milk hot cocoa…something our family loves on cold days like today!  I love hearing them talk about how many pounds they lifted and watch them compare muscles.  Boyhood farm work is so good for young men!

If we were real agrarians, we would have a corn crib full of corn and hay piled high in our hay loft that we grew in our fields this summer.   But we aren’t experienced agrarians yet.  We’ve experienced a lot of what not to do.  (like the example we give here)

When you start living on a farm, you quickly realize how inadequate your farming efforts really are.  It’s good to put your hand to the plow so to speak and start somewhere and be grateful for the work you do get done.  However, as spring turns into summer….summer to fall….and fall to winter….the grass disappears, it gets cold and your animals get hungry!  A real farmer would plan to store up enough food for the winter.  Just like a real farm wife would still have a pantry full of wonderful food stores conveniently stored away for the winter blasts.

We’re grateful for the lessons we are learning on the farm.  We’re grateful for the challenge, for the growing and the stretching.  We’ve come to understand the completeness and depth of the words provision and preparation.  Our 24 hr. Stuff-Mart cultural mindset is completely opposite of the agrarian life where forethought and preparation are vital to survival.

Ideally, we would love to find a resource for buying bulk corn and mixing it ourselves.  It’s too cold to think about that now though.  We’re collecting the last pieces of firewood and hoping to hold out until spring so we can start over and try preparing for winter again!

I found some other “When It’s Cold Outside” posts I’ve written in the past.  Here are just a few.  There are a ton more:

When it’s Cold Outside and the Natives are Restless

The Not So Glorious Agrarian Life in the Winter Time

Ice Weather

Farming Frustrations

Farm Boy’s Birthday Saga

Milk Nazi Alert

It’s funny how the Milk Nazi’s are on the war path against raw milk, but Monsanto gets a free pass.  Fox news completely ignored the research and “human health concerns” of rBGH Milk in favor of advertising dollars from Monsanto.  This 10 minute clip, from the original reporters,  tell the story of how Monsanto attempted to silence the reporters and bury the story.  The story tells how Monsanto and the FDA played fast and loose with the facts to make money at the risk of public health.  What this also shows is further evidence of the connection between the federal government and the corporate dollar / power which we discussed here.

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In case you have been wondering where we went…we’re still here.  I amazed at how busy life is.  Fall is already here in full swing and it is absolutely amazingly gorgeous outside.  Every year, I stand in awe at the amazing painting that appears.

We have a lot of things coming up in the near future.  I have a lot to update here on the blog, but for now, here’s a brief update:

• We have a new milk cow (new to the blog..we’ve had her a couple of months actually) that is about to have a baby any day now.  Her name is May and she has been an exciting addition to the farm.  She’s got spunk and personality plus and after our rocky start with her (she ran away the first day we got her and it took 2 days to find her), we are enjoying having her around even if she does consistently challenge the fence lines!
• Our sheep herd is growing.  I love watching the sheep in the field.  They are a favorite around here.  They are easy to maintain and require little care.
• The milk barn has been undergoing some work.  The boys have been trying to make it more functional.  They are trying to remove the rigged setup of bungee cords, bailing twine and tarps and replace it with a real roof that doesn’t leak or look so make-shift hillbilly.
• Our old milk cow, Layna, is doing better than expected.  She’s well loved around here and we could all learn a thing or two from her very laid back, slow-going personality.
• We’ve lost a lot of baby animals.  We lost our baby goats that were born this summer and some kittens too.  We’ve also lost some of our bottle fed infant cows.  Our 8 year old has been very stretched in dealing with these losses, as he has been very involved in their care and feeding every day.  He announced that he was going to go out of business if things didn’t pick up soon.  Haha!  He’s a brave boy who has been taking his job seriously.  He currently is in better spirits and has been talking about maybe getting a few more baby cows!  We are attributing a lot of the newborn/baby losses to weather related issues and being out of town when we needed to be attentive to the babies.
• The fall garden is pitiful.  Nothing has been planted and the only thing the garden has to show for itself is dying okra trees and pepper plants that are still loaded with hot peppers.  I think we’ll focus on getting the plastic on the greenhouse and get  it ready for planting spring starter plants.
• We just completed a wonderful apple order.  These fall apples have been delicious.  I wish I had more apples to sell, but we are out.  Next year, we will order more.  It’s inspired me to get apple trees going around here.
• And there’s more on the horizon.  We are putting together some very exciting Webinars for those interested in family farming and agrarian living.

May with baby belly

One of the first things you learn as an agrarian, is that fresh raw milk is amazing!  It can multi-task like no other and I am only just beginning to learn the art of raw milk.  Here are some of the ways we have been using our milk:

1.)  Whole Milk:   First you have the basic gallon of whole milk.  Straight from the cow, strained and cooled this milk is amazing with a nice layer of cream.  Since raw milk isn’t homogenized, after sitting in the refrigerator for several hours, the cream separates to the top.  You can just shake the gallon before serving or for a more skim milk, you can take the cream off the milk.

2.)  Cream:  That thick yummy cream is amazing –it’s double cream! It must have an amazing amount of calories per spoonful!  You can use cream in a lot of things.  We pour cream over oatmeal, grits or rice.  We use it in hot tea and coffee.  I also add cream when cooking and baking, but mostly, I save my cream for making butter.  Occasionally, we whip the cream for a topping on pancakes or waffles, fruit or baked goods.

3.)  Butter:  This beta-carotene rich Guernsey butter is so yellow!  I usually wait until the cream is 2 days old before I make butter with it.  It just works better that way.  If I have a lot of cream to work with, I use the blender on the lowest speed and within a minute or two, I have butter.  The little ones like to make butter, so I usually hand them their own jar of cream and they will shake it until it turns to butter.

This week for the first time, our 3 year old made her very first jar of butter by herself…and ohh joy, was she proud of herself!

She shakes the jar as hard as she can….and sticks with it for a while…

…occasionally stopping to check to see if she has butter yet…and it was a happy day when she found butter!

4.)  Cheese:  We have just learned how to make raw milk mozzarella cheese and boy, is it out of this world yummy!   I’ve been making a lot of cheese lately–experimenting with the salt to cheese ratio.   It is a good way to use up 2 gallons of milk real quick and the pigs always love the bi-product of whey soaked slops.

5.)  Whey:  After you make the cheese, the left over liquid is whey.  We soak the corn we feed our pigs in the whey.  The chickens and kittens also like the whey.

6.)  Yogurt:  With the help of an experienced yogurt and  mozzarella cheese making friend, I did make a gallon of yogurt using my crockpot.  Now that was very exciting!  We eat a lot of yogurt and I am anxious get a Yogourmet yogurt maker?

7.)   Kefir:  A good friend gave me some kefir grains, so I have been making kefir.  I don’t really like the bite of plain kefir, so I use it in smoothies.  I have also used it in various recipes.

8.)  Animal food:  We still have some calves that are drinking the raw milk.   The kittens, dogs, pigs, chickens, and the pet turkey also love any extra milk or any milk that has soured–so none of it goes to waste.

There are many more ways the milk could be used.  Ice Cream is topping the list quickly!  I would also like to figure out sour cream pretty soon.

It is really amazing how a cow can munch on grass all day long and produce milk for us to use in so many ways.  God’s magnificent design of this incredible animal continues to amaze me!