Confused About Raw Milk and Cream

texican · #21 01/12/08, 02:18 PM

I'd have to agree with the others.... at that price you're only getting flavored water... or skim milk, fat free, whatever they call that nasty stuff... I'd rather drink water than anything less than whole milk.

I can't imagine anyone selling even the fat less milk for a dollar... I'd enjoy it while I could, as the dairymen certainly is losing money somewhere...

js2743 · #22 01/12/08, 04:51 PM

around here people that sells milk always skims the cream thats why they have butter for sale also. if you want cream ask the guy for a gallon of cream it might cost a lil more but im sure he would sale it if you ask.

and as far as the guy going broke if he is making a lil money from it that is all that matters, maybe he is getting enough for his family and selling the rest which wouldnt be a bad idea he is saving him self a lot and making a lil also.
so he may be thinking he is doing fine he is saving $5 a day on a gallon for his own use and has 3 gallon left over to sell so thats $8 a day on one cow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

I'd have to agree with the others.... at that price you're only getting flavored water... or skim milk, fat free, whatever they call that nasty stuff... I'd rather drink water than anything less than whole milk.

I can't imagine anyone selling even the fat less milk for a dollar... I'd enjoy it while I could, as the dairymen certainly is losing money somewhere...

i dont think just because you take the cream off its fat free, theres a big differance in that and store bought skim stuff .

willow_girl · #23 01/12/08, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Have him shake the cow before milking her.

LOLOLOLOL!

OMG, I just about HURT myself laughing over THAT one!

BTW, I agree the milk is probably skimmed. I gotta wonder, though, why that farmer is taking the time and trouble to sell it for $11.60 a CWT, dealing with customers and whatnot, when he should be able to get around $18/CWT shipping it commercially?

Unless, of course, the quality of his milk is not acceptable? ... hmmm. Might want to drop the words "SCC" or "PI count" into a conversation and observe his reaction.

smpooh1 · #24 01/12/08, 07:26 PM

Our family cows are Jerseys and we get a little over 1/3 cream.

We drink raw milk from our cows. But I could never imagine taking the time, money and energy to milk for $1 a gallon. To wash, milk, dip, CLEAN JARS, buy supplies, and all involved in milking you would be in the red in a very big way. Check out the prices of feed, dip, meds, jars ($6 each average), hay, hot water, etc.

Why is he not selling commercially or for more $.

I'm sorry to make something that sounds great questionable, but please look into this a bit further before drinking this milk.

shellyr44 · #25 01/13/08, 02:16 PM

You all have me thinking. A friend of ours purchases the milk for us because the farm is in another area. I am not really familiar with the farmer which I guess is pretty stupid of me to ask quesions first. I think that maybe I might stop buying this milk. We drink whole milk and if it is skimmed milk, it would be a waist of time and money to buy it. Sounded like such a great deal though.

ozark_jewels · #26 01/13/08, 03:49 PM

Even fresh raw milk that has been skimmed(cream taken off) is good to drink. Thats the way most people drink it because they want the cream for other purposes. If you like the flavour, keep drinking it. That is still really cheap milk even if you do still have to buy your butter. Leave that 1/4 cup of cream on there, shake it up and down it ice cold!!
Raw milk that the cream has been skimmed off of, tastes *nothing* like the "fat free" or "skim" milk that you buy at the store. Its still yummy and healthier for you than "whole milk" from the grocery store.

willow_girl · #27 01/13/08, 05:37 PM

So you are getting, and drinking, raw milk from a farm you basically known NOTHING about ... i.e, whether their cows are disease-free and their milking practices sanitary.

And then people wonder why some of us REALLY have a problem with raw milk sales ... oy!

Beeman · #28 01/13/08, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shellyr44

You all have me thinking. A friend of ours purchases the milk for us because the farm is in another area. I am not really familiar with the farmer which I guess is pretty stupid of me to ask quesions first. I think that maybe I might stop buying this milk. We drink whole milk and if it is skimmed milk, it would be a waist of time and money to buy it. Sounded like such a great deal though.

Raw milk that has had the cream "skimmed" from it is not skim milk. Skim milk is a grocery store term and doesn't cross over to the raw milk world directly. I think some research of milk, it's processing and the source of your milk would be a good thing. There are reasons some areas have restrictions on the sale of raw milk. Not trying to be funny but are you sure this is cow milk? Goat milk doesn't have much cream at all.

js2743 · #29 01/13/08, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willow_girl

So you are getting, and drinking, raw milk from a farm you basically known NOTHING about ... i.e, whether their cows are disease-free and their milking practices sanitary.

And then people wonder why some of us REALLY have a problem with raw milk sales ... oy!

i have drank raw milk all my life and im still kicking, i have seen it strained and flys and cow hair and every thing else that might fall into the milk, as you are milking the cow.

i have never seen a obit in the paper that read died from drinking raw milk or eating dirt ect.

smpooh1 · #30 01/13/08, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by js2743

i have drank raw milk all my life and im still kicking, i have seen it strained and flys and cow hair and every thing else that might fall into the milk, as you are milking the cow.

i have never seen a obit in the paper that read died from drinking raw milk or eating dirt ect.

We also drink raw milk from our own healthy cows. But to eat or drink dirt, fly poop, and hair is a personal choice.

I think that we will not promote or practice this ourselves.

I think that most were simply saying that it is very wise to know where this milk is coming from, not talking down about raw milk. I know of 3 small local farms that are selling raw milk. They each milk from 2 to 10 cows a day. Two of them are very clean and if I was to buy that is where I would go. The third one, YICKS!! No way.

We also would not have our meat butchered and packaged at a facility that was unclean.

linn · #31 01/13/08, 07:25 PM

Sounds like the farmer is selling you skim milk.

Beeman · #32 01/13/08, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by js2743

i have drank raw milk all my life and im still kicking, i have seen it strained and flys and cow hair and every thing else that might fall into the milk, as you are milking the cow.

i have never seen a obit in the paper that read died from drinking raw milk or eating dirt ect.

Dirt is one thing, ever give your cows medication? Possibly medication you might not want in your milk?

ozark_jewels · #33 01/13/08, 08:35 PM

I wouldn't stop drinking it because of the small amount of cream. As others have said though, I *would* go to the farm and see if he is clean in his milking procedure and that the cows look healthy.
It doesn't have to be milked in a grade A facility with concrete and stainless steel to be clean. We milk out in the pasture and we are clean about it. Cleanly milked and strained, from healthy cows.....oh yeah.

HomeOnTheFarm · #34 01/15/08, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

I wouldn't stop drinking it because of the small amount of cream. As others have said though, I *would* go to the farm and see if he is clean in his milking procedure and that the cows look healthy.

Agreed. Ask the right questions too...what does he do if one of his cows needs to be given antibiotics or medications? Look over his milking process from start to finish and question along the way. Ask about sterilization procedures before/after each milking.
Raw milk without much cream on top is NOT colored water. My bet is that they make butter with a good portion of the cream. If you want more cream, there's probably a good chance at making a separate purchase of cream.
I'm wondering if the $1/gallon is simply a teaser? Perhaps it's $1/gallon now, but once he establishes a client-base, it might end up going up in price slowly to make up for his current monetary loss ('cause I just can't see how $1/gallon is going to make milking worthwhile).
We pay $4-$5/gallon for our raw milk, depending on which dairy I drive to (both are 2 hours away), so $1 gallon seems ridiculously low.

SHELBY · #35 01/15/08, 04:42 AM

My guess would be that they are skimming the cream of, and either selling the cream seperate or making lots of butter to sell.

If the farmer is doing the above then he is probably not losing money on selling the milk for $1 a gallon.

And why is it such a big deal is he decides to sell the milk for $1 a gallon or $10. We don't know the situation the farmer is in, It doesn't mean that he has unhealthy cows or dirty facitities.
Maybe he does not have enough cows to milk to ship the milk commercially. So rather than losing out on having to dump the extra milk he has, he sells the extra.
Me I would rather get a $1 a gallon instead of seeing my grain cost and work go down the drain.

Shinsan · #36 01/15/08, 07:15 AM

If it's a small operation, I doubt that the milk has been homogenised - more likely that a good portion of the cream has already been skimmed off for butter or cheese making. Nothing wrong with the milk of course - it would be the same if you yourself had skimmed the cream off - but not much good for your purpose.

texican · #37 01/15/08, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHELBY

And why is it such a big deal is he decides to sell the milk for $1 a gallon or $10. We don't know the situation the farmer is in

The same could be said about the guy selling the 700$ rifle, NIB, for 100$ cash...

anytime I'm presented with a 'deal'... I say to myself hmmmm.... Seeing as whole milk, lowfat, 2%, fat free, are pretty much the same price in the grocery store... why would a gent give it away, when they could just as easily get more than the grocers, with a tad bit of advertising... Use to code words, organic, hormone free, free range, 'name your pie in the sky feel good ad slogan', and you could get 5$/gallon...

I wouldn't pull a teat, for a dollar a gallon... even if I skimmed the cream... I'd be feeding dogs, chickens, pigs, a steer... but then, that's me. I know lots of folks that struggle along, working min. wage jobs, and after car payments, insurance, fuel, they're working for dimes...

If I was the OP, I'd drink it as fast as I could... hard to beat buck a gallon milk, irregardless (

) of the fat content.

simplefarmgirl · #38 01/15/08, 11:59 AM

I milk my Jersey cow, and we get enough cream after 3 days to make butter. All my kids drink it and none of them are unhealthy. I have a grandson who only wants to drink milk straight from grams cow,, not from the store.