I use a food processor to make butter. Mine is around 7 cups, but you should go for the biggest you can afford. It is nice to not have to hand churn the butter for 20 minutes. Don't try to use a stand mixer! They are very messy, even when tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. You'll get cream all over the kitchen.
If you sell just to your friends and neighbors, you can probably get away with selling the raw milk. If you want to be safe and legal, you can set up a cowshare program so customers become part-owners of the cow. A cow owner can drink their own cow's milk. You have the people sign a bill of sale and pay a small fee for part of the cow. Mine is $15. You still charge for the milk and other products, but you must call the prices "production costs" - what it takes you to take care of and feed their cow.
If you are wondering if it is worth it to own a dairy cow, I would definitely say YES. The milk and other products are so much better than storebought, and you can even earn some money doing this. I bought my cow in the middle of June 2003 for $750. Transportation cost around $200 (ferry ride too). I probably started selling milk sometime in July. She was dried off in October. In that time I paid for both of those fees, and she was only giving an average of 1.5 gallons per day. This was before I started the cow share program. My "dairy" is listed on 2 websites (since November) and I have already had over 30 people call, wanting raw milk.
If you need a cowshare document, I can email you a copy of mine. You can also visit my website at http://bantams.the-kozaks.com/Creamery
I hope this helps!
If you sell just to your friends and neighbors, you can probably get away with selling the raw milk. If you want to be safe and legal, you can set up a cowshare program so customers become part-owners of the cow. A cow owner can drink their own cow's milk. You have the people sign a bill of sale and pay a small fee for part of the cow. Mine is $15. You still charge for the milk and other products, but you must call the prices "production costs" - what it takes you to take care of and feed their cow.
If you are wondering if it is worth it to own a dairy cow, I would definitely say YES. The milk and other products are so much better than storebought, and you can even earn some money doing this. I bought my cow in the middle of June 2003 for $750. Transportation cost around $200 (ferry ride too). I probably started selling milk sometime in July. She was dried off in October. In that time I paid for both of those fees, and she was only giving an average of 1.5 gallons per day. This was before I started the cow share program. My "dairy" is listed on 2 websites (since November) and I have already had over 30 people call, wanting raw milk.
If you need a cowshare document, I can email you a copy of mine. You can also visit my website at http://bantams.the-kozaks.com/Creamery
I hope this helps!
