Is it worth raising a Jersey or Holstein for milk?

[NEfarmgirl]

We are torn. We have an opportunity to buy a young calf we can raise and have AI'd for milking but don't know if it is worth the time and investment. I know there is expense for feed and I know that they are a lot of work. Why we are torn is there is only three of us. We would have extra milk which we could probably sell. I know how to make cheese and butter but I have a feeling that we would have plenty and then some. I have also heard that milk prices will skyrocket thanks to the govt stepping in again. So any opinions on this? It would be some time before it would be old enough to have AI'd and then we would have to wait for it to deliver before getting anything anyway.

We do have a couple of goats and have toyed with having one bred this fall and using goats milk since it is good.

[gone-a-milkin]

Maybe just start with the goats milk, 'since it is good'. You could be milking your goats fairly soon, vs a good long wait for a cow to grow up and be bred and then finally calve.

If you decide you really enjoy the milking and think you need more milk (or decide you would rather have cows milk) then make that decision.

Do you have a good sized pasture, to support a cow? What about fencing and barns?
Those costs should be factored in too.

Good luck.

[DJ in WA]

Goats are probably the most productive, pound for pound. If you think their milk is good, stick with them. My family eventually rejected the goaty flavor.

I would not get a pure dairy cow for 3 people. Too much milk and potential for health problems. One idea is to find a couple gentle beef cows or heifers, perhaps one handled alot - 4H? Breed AI to a Jersey bull and after calving you can practice cow milking on them. If you keep them milked out they'll produce more than their calf needs. Hopefully from 2 cows you'll get a half-jersey heifer from the deal which could be your future milk cow if you want more milk.

[NEfarmgirl]

We have plenty of pasture/hay and a barn. It was the debate of having too much milk for just three of us--hate wasting anything. I have heard Jersey's can be a handful too.

[gone-a-milkin]

You could always use the extra milk to raise some pigs.

[Callieslamb]

I did this very thing this year. We bought a heifer at just under a month old for raising for a dairy cow. This is a long-term investment. We have spent money on feed, fencing, medications, supplies, a water line....and the list isn't ending any time soon. We also plan on having her AI-ed in about a year. We have plenty of land for her an a 'chuck roast' companion to graze as well as provide hay for them.

In other words, I think your idea is a great one! We plan on using all the milk from our cow...however, if she overwhelms us...we can raise pigs, turkeys, and even a calf or two on her extra milk. I won't have the option of selling milk. I am anxious to learn to make cheese, yogurt, and even sour cream.

We actually have a 1/2 jersey/1/2 holstein heifer - because we found one from a reputable seller. She is great. We would easily have taken a full-blood-jersey too. They are smaller, gentle and great cows! Our steer is a jersey- they grow slower for beef...but we can wait.

good luck with your decision!

[RoyalValley]

We have had one big full size holstein and now have smaller, mini (on the tall end of the minis) jerseys and much prefer the smaller cows. They are alot easier on your pasture and equipment. You need to weigh the pros and cons and see if it fits for you and your family. I am only getting 2 1/2 galls. per day and it is more than we can do with. But it's illegal for us to sell to people for human consumption on co, so we 'give' it to our family and still have extra. Good luck!!!

[Ross]

I'm milking my Holstein for home use and no its not really cost effective. Maybe once we start making cheese it will. Now I only milk once a day and her calf gets the rest and its plenty of milk for 10 people. The entire project will make a small profit on the calf as retail beef, I can't sell milk here in Canada, or you could cover costs.

[Trisha in WA]

We raise extra calves on the excess milk. I can get cheep Holstein bull calves and raise them up to 6 months on milk and a little hay and get some nice beef...or you could sell them at that point too. I have 4 now that I am raising. 2 are 6 months and 2 are 3 months. Helps pay the feed bill on the cow and puts some beef on your table too.
Let's not forget the wonderful ability to have fresh milk and cream mmmmmmmmmmm
;-)

[Cliff]

Originally Posted by NEfarmgirl

We have plenty of pasture/hay and a barn. It was the debate of having too much milk for just three of us--hate wasting anything. I have heard Jersey's can be a handful too.

To a large extent you can control the volume of milk given. Pure dairy cows will freshen with a lot of volume, but you can slow them down by not feeding grain, not milking them out totally, and working down to once a day milking. It has to be done gradually to reduce the risk of mastitis, but it works. We usually end up getting about a gallon of milk/day from our Jerseys with this method.

The cow will be healthier and live much longer with this method than cows who are stuffed with grain and milked for all they're worth.

[cjb]

I may seem like a bad one to ask as we have had trouble with mastitis with our jersey.. however, I do still think that a family cow is worthwhile. Now, in Oregon it's perfectly legal to sell the milk so, when we were getting several gallons a day, the cow paid for herself and 1/2 the other animals. Now, she is just supplying our family and almost everyone on here thinks she's should be in the freezer

We've had just this one and I think that DJ may be right that pure dairy cows are troublesome because they produce an amount of milk that is difficult to deal with and can cause health problems. I wouldn't mind having a 1/2 angus 1/2 jersey or a dexter for this reason. Also, you can get decent beef calves out of them.

All that said - if you like goats' milk, they are infinitely easier to keep. We have both. A good milk goat can give you a gallon to a gallon and a 1/2 of milk daily. 2-3 goats and you have a decent supply of milk. Hard to make butter from it, though.

[willow_girl]

Remember if you're getting too much milk, you could always pick up a bull calf to raise on the cow. I think most cows will accept a strange calf with a bit of coaxing!

[Mrs. Homesteader]

We have a jersey and we milk her once a day. She gives between 3.5 and 5 gallons. Right now she is giving just under 4 gallons a day. We feed her milk to calves (we bottle feed and usually buy one more when our cow calves), pigs and the dog and cat get a little bit. I make cheese, butter, yogurt, sour cream and other dairy products. If I could only have one farm animal it would be a jersey cow. There are just 2 of us and we raise all of our own meat. It is a time commitment, but well worth it in rewards.

[francismilker]

It all depends on your needs. If you plan on traveling and taking trips away from home, no; it's not worth it. If you are a homebody like me and like using the ol' "gotta go home and get started milking" line as an excuse to get back home, yes; it's well worth it.

Financially it probably doesn't pay unless you're feeding mostly a grass diet. Right now milk isn't very expensive in the store as long as you don't mind drinking white colored water!