Expert advice needed

[claytonpiano]

We are about to plunge into purchasing a family dairy cow. I have been reading and studying for years and have the official head knowledge. I have contacted our local extension office here in the NC Piedmont. Here is what we plan. Please be ruthless with anything I have missed. I know from experience that you are stupid to bring home an animal without proper preparation and I figure you folks are the best.

Here is what we are planning for pasture. Our extension agent tells me that we can comfortably feed cow and calf on one acre here. She says that with 2 acres, we can feed them all winter with no hay. That makes me nervous, but it is what she says. The area where we plan to place the cow is about two acres. It WAS a pasture a long time ago and there is some fescue still trying to survive with some clover. Mostly though it is weeds and bermuda grass. This fall we are planning to seed the pasture and work hard on removing the nasty weeds and getting better things to grow. The suggestion from the agent is to grow fescue and clover. What suggestions do you have for what to grow and make this a better pasture?

We hope to rotate the cow and let the chickens follow similar to Joel Salatin's plan. We already pasture our chickens so this should work. Currently they have the run of the farm, but we will, of course, consolidate them in the paddocks that we create.

The milking. We are really green here. From all that i have read here on HT and in the numerous books, we are planning to follow the suggestions meticulously for cleanliness, stainless, etc. I understand the learning curve and am terrified.

Why we are doing this......the grandkids. We are hoping to give them raw, organic milk. They have so many issues from birth moms who were alcoholics and on and on that we want to help moms and dads contribute to their health with the dairy like we do with the organic vegetables. We also just really want to be independent and self sufficient. I appreciate any help you can give us.

Cow choice. We were thinking Jersey. Are we thinking correctly?

[agmantoo]

The extension agent is correct that 2 acres will carry a calf and cow for an entire year here is NC. However, I doubt that a novice will be able to do that initially. You will need some hay for emergency use. I suggest that you read the sticky on rotational grazing at the top of this forum.

Within a few weeks it will be time to start the rebuilding of the pasture forages. You need a soil sample report before starting. Getting the PH correct needs to start now. Plant the grasses first and when they get established add clovers (Ladino varieties) to the mix. I particularly like to have a blend of grasses to get the maximum grazing throughout the year. In September I add Marshall ryegrass to my established fescue. This combination will get you through Winter and into late Spring provided you rotationally graze the cow. As early Spring arrives you will need to broadcast Red River crabgrass into the fescue and Marshall ryegrass. It will take two years until the crabgrass gets established. As for myself I would not do anything to the the existing pasture other than planting. Add 20% more seed if you broadcast the seed rather than planting them. NoTill planting would be preferred but most folks do not have access to such an implement. A good stand of the above forages will suppress the weeds. A jersey cow would be my choice if I were to have a milk cow. I have a beef herd

[G. Seddon]

Here's an older thread that might be useful to you; it pertains to Dexters, but many of the concerns will apply to other breeds as well.

Arm me with the right questions??

I don't know the laws regarding raw milk in NC, but you might also investigate that and try to find a local provider to save yourself the trouble of having a cow.

Just checked -- raw milk not allowed to be sold in NC (unless for animal consumption). Also, here's another informative website that might be able to give you guidance:

http://familycow.proboards.com

[nosqrls]

If you can mix a little bit of alfalfa and wheat and rye in it You will have a little better pasture. We use a blend of grasses. Get a good waterer or a trough with a heater if you don't have a pond. If just one cow keep the calf with her till just before next calf. If you plan to hand milk find someone local that will let you practice with theirs so you are not learning on the go.

[claytonpiano]

Thanks for your replies.....especially the specifics about when to plant and what!

[haypoint]

Mow, cut, clip weeds before they form seeds. Provide mineral block. Test for Johnes, Campylobacter, Listeria. Use a quality wormer right off the bat to keep the parasites to a minimum. Never go over 12 hours between milkings.

[Awnry Abe]

Sounds like a good plan. You got the best pasture advice from a true expert who happens to be in your neck of the woods. Doesn't sound like NC's laws are an issue.

I have Jersey's & Brown Swiss. I grew up on Guernsey. When I am dry, I buy Holstein. It's all good. I would shop for the cow, not the breed. Contrary to what you have probably read (at least I remember reading it in several sources), you can as a complete novice start with a first freshening cow that is also a complete novice and develop a great farmer-cow working relationship. That conventional wisdom is still good advice, but it isn't an iron rule. We didn't buck the advice to be stubborn, but life just dealt us our first heifer. Her name is Peaches. She is horridly ugly, tiny, has a fish teat, but is a pure dream to milk. And her milk is like drinking a milk shake. She's the one in my herd that I won't sell for $1,000,000.

Remember, the smaller the cow, the smaller the load on your pasture. Even a small cow will have you and those grandkids swimming in milk.

You have the correct attitude with regard to safety. That mindset is a must. Understanding risk is the only way to properly mitigate it. Again, you will have an abundance of milk. Don't feel the slightest bit disappointed if you have to pour an entire batch to the chickens if everything isn't perfect.

Replace your fear of milking with respect, and you'll be set. Do expect your first milking sessions to be long, discouraging disasters. Just study the animal behavior, adapt, and stick to it, and you'll be fine. Negotiate a routine with the cow, and she will begin to do the heavy lifting for you. We went in less mentally and physically prepared than you, but had the same driving motivations. Now milk time is a pure joy for us. So much so, that we can't stop from buying cows. So don't freak out about it....(but do understand that they can kick like a ninja...)

Don't let your ego and pride suck you into "comparing notes" with others in regards to production. Our philosophy is to recognize that we stink at animal husbandry, be grateful for what we get, and don't try to push our animals into the envelope at which they are capable of going, but at which our abilities to manage are not able to keep up. With respect to our dairy cows, that philosophy means we only milk them for 6 months. We are probably too conservative. But that's us, and I really do mean, "we stink".

I beg you to read the "Milk Fever" sticky at the top of the forum. There are simple to follow strategic steps early in lactation that can save you from much heart-ache. Especially in the days before and following calving, you need to have "milk fever" in the front of your mind as you are going about your business with the animal.

Haypoint's advice, as always, is spot on. But I differ a bit on the 12 hour thing. I do think it is imperative that milking times be consistent, and the 12 hours really is optimal. But the cows will adjust to your lifestyle, within reasonable limits. Right now, they are wondering why I keep waking them up in the dark for milking...We start out at twice a day milking, pulling the calf from the cow at days 2-3. We are also doing partial milkings in those days, and for a couple after pulling the calf, increasing the drain as we go. When she is settled in, and the really, really bad edema has gone away, we milk her for all she has until dry-off time. When the lactation cycle hits a production lull, usually in the dog days of summer, we drop to once a day milking. That has been working great for two seasons now. Those are spring fresheners. I have a couple due this fall, and I will have to feel my way through their production peak and valley in the winter if I want to do the same. Our backup dairy, which is not a small operation, goes to once-a-day milking right at freshening. I am considering that with the fall girls. My milking-time joy does have a statute of limitation in single digit temps. We have our day jobs, and plenty of other irons in the fire, so that method suits us and the cows well.

There are lots, ... and lots... of opinions and schools of thought on milking. I'm not a "relative truth" kind of guy. However, in this area you really do need to poke and feel around for what is going to be true for you.

[billinwv]

Buy a good milking machine. Hand milking a productive cow is backbreaking.

[idigbeets]

Can't beat a good surge milker w/ pulsator