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Originally Posted by moonspinner
Some have voiced concern over the quality of store milk - all the antibiotics, etc given to commercial dairy cows - and even fears about disease - don't know how valid this is.
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Every single tank of milk that is Grade A (which is the only Grade of milk allowed as liquid milk) is tested for antibiotic residue. Every single tank picked up and every truck is tested befrie being allowed to be put into the holding towers. If that truck comes back positive? The dairy responsible for the tainted load (which is dumped) has to pay for the entire load, plus the dumping. So how likely do you really think it is a dairy will risk having to pay $15,000 when they could just dump their milk that would only bring in less than $1000 for high producers?
So the anitbiotic concerns are unrealistic.
As far as disease goes...the store milk is pastuerized. My only concern would be Johne's. Pastuerization does not kill all of the bacteria that causes Johne's.
Apparently, there are two different strains of Johne's. One affecting cattle and one affecting sheep and goats. That does not mean they cannot get Johne's from both, but it sounds like, since the two are different, that it isn't as automatic as it might have been. They are both Johne's afterall. By the way, deer can carry and shed both strains.....
Most diseases that can occur in cattle are killed off by pastuerization, just like in goats.
Depending on where the milk came from, most States are Bangs (Brucellosis) and TB free.
We are going to raise our CAE prevention kids on raw cow's colostrum and raw whole cow's milk from our tested herd. We've tested for Johne's for over a decade now. We've been accredited herd for Bangs and TB for about as long as the programs have been in existance here in Ohio (at least 50 years on the TB).
We've raised numerous kids on whole raw cow's milk from our herd over the years. At least one each year. Usually half a dozen or more. We haven't done as many that didn't get their dam's colostrum first, but we have done it.
