Raw whole milk?

[Forlane]

How much does it sell for in your area?

Just went to the only store I know of in my area that has Raw whole milk for sale. $8.59/half gallon.

Is this craziness or is that about average? For those who drink it on a regular basis, are the health benefits worth it, or should I just stick to water?

Thanks in Advance
-Chris

[achrap]

Let me testify to raw milk this way. I am 59 yo and every year of my life I would get bronchitis at least twice a year, flu at least once. I had a chronic cough all the time. People would know I was around by identifying me by my cough. I started drinking my own whole, raw goats milk 3 years ago and I have not had the flu or common cold, which always led to bronchitis. No coughing of any sort (I am a smoker) since I started drinking. what more can I say? Works for me.

[billooo2]

Here in Ohio, raw milk is only available via herdshares..........I think that the usual cost is $4-6/ gallon.
I think that the benefits one realizes may vary from person to person.
If one sees enough benefit, then the cost would be worth the additional expense. I don't know if anyone could guarantee you that you would see that for yourself.......and somtimes the benefits do not appear until you have been drinking raw milk for a few months.

[Callieslamb]

It's illegal here count your blessings. Cow/herd shares only.

[Alice In TX/MO]

That's about normal.

[jassytoo]

Costs me 3.50 a half gallon.

[julieq]

We have our own little herd of dairy goats and have enjoyed great health benefits over the past decade from raw goat milk! A friend of ours in Northern Idaho just found raw goat milk for 8.00 per gallon locally, which around here is a great deal. We're thinking about getting licensed for raw milk sales in a year or two, but I'm sure going to charge more than 8.00 per gallon!

[elevenpoint]

I pay three dollars a gallon for cows milk with up to a quart of cream on top, three bucks for a pound of fresh butter also.
The dogs and I drink three gallons a week and the cats get their share of cream.

[bja105]

Its illegal here, I think. My neighbor doesn't sell his for $4.00 a gallon.

[PrettyPaisley]

I've paid between $6-$9/gallon for cow milk. It goes for about $10/gallon for goat milk.

[Forlane]

Seems to some the health effects are fantastic. I can't remember the last time I was sick, I am hoping the milk will help with preventative maintenance on my body, my luck is sure to wear out sometime.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around $17.08/gallon milk though. They also sell the cream separated from the skim milk at $11.99/pint.

How much cream does it take to make 1 pound of butter? Our financial situation is not the greatest (actually terrible) at the moment and really looking to get some first hand advice on whether or not people consider it a luxury item or a necessity.

Thanks for all the input so far.

[Catalytic]

At $17 a gallon for milk, I wouldn't have had any problem whatsoever convincing hubby to get a herd of dairy cows! Have you considered a few dairy goats until your financial situation improves enough for a cow?

[Forlane]

We live in a suburb area, our plot is 1/8th acre I believe with a backyard (if you can even call it that) that is about 8x20

The animal situation isn't a possibility at the moment unless we decide to move.

-Chris

[||Downhome||]

just get one with out horns and a collar the says spike, dont forget to get your dog license.

[BlackWillowFarm]

The price is dependent on what part of the country you're in. I'm getting the equivalent of $5.50 a gallon with my herdshare program. Grain prices are high everywhere which will drive the cost up. If they stay up, prices will probably go even higher.

There are benefits to drinking raw milk and what you pay up front will be offset by the intangible benefit of greater health, fewer doctor visits. (that's just my opinion, others may not agree)

[Ken Scharabok]

Here in my part of TN an Amish/Mennonite dairy was selling 'slightly pasteurized' milk in half gallon glass jars through some retailers. Slightly meant they pasteurized it to the absolute minimum required. I don't remember cost, but there was a bottle deposit to help them get the bottles back.

Raw milk sales is currently a states rights issue. Don't necessarily want the federal government to step in, unless it was that raw milk could be sold interstate.

[kimmom2five]

In my state you can only do a cow/herd share. It was $40 to buy my piece of a cow and then $35 month for a gallon a week.
I have only been doing it for about a month so I'm not sure if my health is better yet from it. My dad has been drinking raw milk for several years in TN. He has been able to stop taking all diabetes and high bp medicines.

[paintlady]

It is $3.00 a gallon here.

[houndlover]

$9 a gallon for whole raw cows milk at Whole Foods, $12 a gallon for raw goat's milk at Haggens, (Or Hagens? I never shop there). I sell it off the farm (goat's) for $2.50 a quart, so $10 a gallon. I can get raw milk straight from the cow dairy nearby for $4 a gallon in my own container. The regulations for selling raw milk are as outrageous as the prices, so that's what you're paying for. I can't personally say raw milk is better than pasteurized natural organic straight from the animal/farm because I drink it both ways and it still helps my allergies - I personally think that's because the goats eat what I'm allergic to and benefit from the histamines in the milk, which aren't destroyed in pasteurization. There isn't really enough scientific research because there's no economic benefit. The raw milk sites appear to have a lot of "scientific" information but in reality most of it is unproven and opinion, and the "doctors" are written up on quack watch. I think living in Oregon is good for you too but that doesn't mean it's a fact. If you're going to drink raw milk, you better be aware of it's origin. Cows eating fertilized fields or spending their days laying in their own excrement and then transferring that to your milk is probably bad for your health.

[Horseyrider]

If I go an hour east, toward the city, I'd have to pay $10 a gallon for raw cow's milk.

Instead, I go an hour west and north, to a small diversified farm outside a little country town and pay $4.25 a gallon, and don't pay $6 a quart for cream. The cows are on full pasture. The cottage cheese I make comes out colored like ivory, and the butter is glorious daffodil yellow, and spreads straight from the fridge. (Butterfat is more brittle when cows are on hay.)

One of the major health benefits is the presence of CLAs, or conjugated linoleic acids, in the butterfat. It's only present in beef fat raised on pasture. The CLAs are quite heart healthy. They raise the HDLs, or good cholesterol, and lower the LDLs or bad cholesterol. The fat globules of unpasteurized milk are much smaller and easier to digest, and the protein strands are too, because they're not toughened by cooking. Pasture fed cattle have fats much higher in beta carotene too.

Plus there's the amazing fresh taste.

My husband commutes into the suburbs and works for an international company. He has a coworker that found out we were drinking raw milk and couldn't understand why. I think he said it best. He said, "You know the difference between a grocery store tomato and one you grew in the garden? It's like that."