Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop
    • Natural Living
    • Non-Toxic Skin Care & Makeup
    • Real Food
    • Superfood Supplements
    • Close
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
    • Search Help
    • Close
Menu
  • Search Help
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Non-Toxic Skin Care
  • Archives
  • ON THE BLOG:
  • Recipes
      • Appetizers & Dip Recipes
      • Asian Recipes
      • Beverage Recipes & Info
      • Bread Recipes & Info
      • Breakfast Recipes & Info
      • Crock Pot Recipes
      • Dessert Recipes & Info
      • Egg Recipes & Info
      • Fast & Easy Meals
      • Fermented Foods & Recipes
      • Gluten/Grain-free/Keto/Low-Carb Recipes & Ideas
      • Holiday Recipes & Posts
      • Lunch Ideas & Recipes/Sandwiches
      • Main Dish Beef Recipes
      • Main Dish Pork Recipes
      • Main Dish Poultry Recipes
      • Meatless Recipes & Info
      • Mexican Recipes
      • Misc. & Condiment Recipes
      • Pressure Cooker Info & Recipes
      • Salads & Dressing Recipes
      • Seafood Recipes & Info
      • Side Dish Recipes
      • Snack Ideas & Recipes
      • Soups, Stews, & Broth Recipes
    • Close
  • Real Food
      • *Real Food for Rookies Book
      • *Real Food for Happy Kids book
      • Artificial Flavors-Colors-Sugars
      • Choosing Real Food
      • Coconut Oil Info
      • Cod Liver Oil Info
      • Coffee & Alternatives
      • DIY and Tutorials
      • Eating Out & Restaurant Food
      • Entertaining
      • Favorite Kitchen Stuff
      • Grains Info-Paleo-Keto-Carbs
      • Healthy Diets-Weight Loss
      • Healthy Fat-Cholesterol Issues
      • Healthy Meat Choices
      • Interviews
      • Kitchen Goals
      • Meal Planning
      • Olive Oil Info
      • Organ Meats
      • Real Milk
      • Superfoods and Supplements
      • Tips for Rookies
      • Tips on Affording Healthy Food
      • Tips on Saving Time
      • Traveling and Real Food
      • WAPF
    • Close
  • Remedies
        • ADD-ADHD-Autism
        • Allergies-Food Allergies
        • Alzheimers-Dementia
        • Anxiety-Depression-Mental Health-Stress
        • Arthritis-Rheumatoid Arthritis-Bone Health
        • Autoimmune Issues-Fibromyalgia-Fatigue
        • Back Pain-Neck Pain-Migraines-Chronic Pain
        • Blood Pressure
        • Cancer Information
        • Colds-Infections-Antibiotics-Respiratory Problems
        • Colostrum Benefits
        • Dental Health
        • Diabetes-Blood Sugar Issues
        • Digestive Issues-Gut Health
        • Heart Health
        • Homeopathy Articles
        • Hormones-Thyroid-Breast-Female Issues
        • Immune System Health
        • Lice Help & Info
        • Menopause-Andropause Posts
        • Skin Issues
        • UTI-Kidney Stones
    • Close
  • Healthy Living
      • Healthy Living
      • Colostrum
      • Corruption & Your Rights
      • DIY Natural Products
      • Emergency Prep
      • Essential Oil Posts
      • Exercising
      • Gardening-Farming-Preserving
      • Natural Living
      • Reviews
      • Sleep
      • Safe & Healthy Water
      • Skin care
      • Miscellaneous
      • Jill’s Column
      • Joanie’s Column
      • Susan’s Column
      • Blog Misc.
      • Morning-Mix-Up
      • Food Flops
      • Conferences
      • Personal
      • Healthy Parenting
      • Feeding Kids
      • Homeschooling
      • Healthy Pregnancy-Babies-Infertility-Sterilization
      • Learning-Behavior Issues
      • Parental Rights
      • Vaccine Decisions
    • Close
  • Start Here
  • Skin Care
  • Colostrum
Menu
  • Search Help
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Non-Toxic Skin Care
  • Archives
  • ON THE BLOG:
  • Recipes
      • Appetizers & Dip Recipes
      • Asian Recipes
      • Beverage Recipes & Info
      • Bread Recipes & Info
      • Breakfast Recipes & Info
      • Crock Pot Recipes
      • Dessert Recipes & Info
      • Egg Recipes & Info
      • Fast & Easy Meals
      • Fermented Foods & Recipes
      • Gluten/Grain-free/Keto/Low-Carb Recipes & Ideas
      • Holiday Recipes & Posts
      • Lunch Ideas & Recipes/Sandwiches
      • Main Dish Beef Recipes
      • Main Dish Pork Recipes
      • Main Dish Poultry Recipes
      • Meatless Recipes & Info
      • Mexican Recipes
      • Misc. & Condiment Recipes
      • Pressure Cooker Info & Recipes
      • Salads & Dressing Recipes
      • Seafood Recipes & Info
      • Side Dish Recipes
      • Snack Ideas & Recipes
      • Soups, Stews, & Broth Recipes
    • Close
  • Real Food
      • *Real Food for Rookies Book
      • *Real Food for Happy Kids book
      • Artificial Flavors-Colors-Sugars
      • Choosing Real Food
      • Coconut Oil Info
      • Cod Liver Oil Info
      • Coffee & Alternatives
      • DIY and Tutorials
      • Eating Out & Restaurant Food
      • Entertaining
      • Favorite Kitchen Stuff
      • Grains Info-Paleo-Keto-Carbs
      • Healthy Diets-Weight Loss
      • Healthy Fat-Cholesterol Issues
      • Healthy Meat Choices
      • Interviews
      • Kitchen Goals
      • Meal Planning
      • Olive Oil Info
      • Organ Meats
      • Real Milk
      • Superfoods and Supplements
      • Tips for Rookies
      • Tips on Affording Healthy Food
      • Tips on Saving Time
      • Traveling and Real Food
      • WAPF
    • Close
  • Remedies
        • ADD-ADHD-Autism
        • Allergies-Food Allergies
        • Alzheimers-Dementia
        • Anxiety-Depression-Mental Health-Stress
        • Arthritis-Rheumatoid Arthritis-Bone Health
        • Autoimmune Issues-Fibromyalgia-Fatigue
        • Back Pain-Neck Pain-Migraines-Chronic Pain
        • Blood Pressure
        • Cancer Information
        • Colds-Infections-Antibiotics-Respiratory Problems
        • Colostrum Benefits
        • Dental Health
        • Diabetes-Blood Sugar Issues
        • Digestive Issues-Gut Health
        • Heart Health
        • Homeopathy Articles
        • Hormones-Thyroid-Breast-Female Issues
        • Immune System Health
        • Lice Help & Info
        • Menopause-Andropause Posts
        • Skin Issues
        • UTI-Kidney Stones
    • Close
  • Healthy Living
      • Healthy Living
      • Colostrum
      • Corruption & Your Rights
      • DIY Natural Products
      • Emergency Prep
      • Essential Oil Posts
      • Exercising
      • Gardening-Farming-Preserving
      • Natural Living
      • Reviews
      • Sleep
      • Safe & Healthy Water
      • Skin care
      • Miscellaneous
      • Jill’s Column
      • Joanie’s Column
      • Susan’s Column
      • Blog Misc.
      • Morning-Mix-Up
      • Food Flops
      • Conferences
      • Personal
      • Healthy Parenting
      • Feeding Kids
      • Homeschooling
      • Healthy Pregnancy-Babies-Infertility-Sterilization
      • Learning-Behavior Issues
      • Parental Rights
      • Vaccine Decisions
    • Close
  • Start Here
  • Skin Care
  • Colostrum

Kelly the Kitchen Kop

How to Choose a Raw Milk Farmer: Raw Milk Safety and Clean Farming Practices – Raw Milk Series #3

January 24, 2008 5 Comments

*Amazon or other affiliate links may be included, see full disclosure after the post. I'm not a medical professional, so use anything you read here only as a starting point for your own research.

Share this post:

FacebookPinterestEmail

raw milk safety

How to Choose a Raw Milk Farmer:  Raw Milk Safety and Clean Farming Practices

In the last couple of posts (part 1 about the many health benefits of raw milk and part 2 about safety issues and some logistics), we began the discussions on raw milk.

This time in part 3, I want to introduce you to Karen Lubbers of Lubbers Family Farm.  (See pictures of our trip to beautiful Lubbers Farm!) I'll just give you a peek into my e-mail folder and start with my note to her and follow it with her response. I hope you enjoy reading…

Karen LubbersHello Karen, I'm thankful you have agreed to write a guest post and help get the word out even more about the benefits of raw milk!

Following are some questions I was hoping you could address:

  • Could you talk a little about your farm and how you got into selling cow shares to those who want to obtain raw milk?
  • choosing a farmer to obtain milk from? Touch on things like: overall cleanliness, how milk is kept free from contamination, how cows are treated, what cows are fed, what cows should not be given.
  • How much does it cost to buy a cow share and how much is the milk each week?

If you can think of other common questions people ask, please feel free to cover that too. I wanted everyone to hear from a farmer, and someone with much more experience than I have with raw milk.  Thanks again Karen!

~~~~

Hi Kelly, I am responding to your questions for a guest post. Thank you so much for asking me!

How we got into sustainable farming and cow shares:

In 1993 our six-year-old daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer. It was the shock of our lives and I began serious research into the origins of cancer, which led, inevitably, to the origins of good health, which led to nutrition. In the mid-nineties nutrient dense food was extremely difficult to find, so we began to raise our own. Our daughter was eating very little, but she would drink milk. The more research I conducted, the more dubious I became about commercial milk, so we did the logical thing and bought a cow. There’s a lot of stories there, but it soon became the most important thing we did. Fast forward fifteen years and Jamie is now twenty-one years old! We raise grass fed meats on our farm, which we sell through a newsletter, and offer a cow share program. Our son operates a bakery called the Little Rooster Bread Company. We rarely buy food (with the exception of coffee beans, salt and some spices). We are grateful.

How to choose a farm/cow share program (16 things to look for):

Choosing a cow share program can be somewhat overwhelming if you haven’t had the experience of owning your own cow. There are several things I would recommend you look for, for optimal raw milk safety:

  1. Cleanliness is critical – the milk house should be clean.
  2. A place to wash your hands should be available to you when you pick up your milk.
  3. Cleanliness procedures for cow share owners should be posted.
  4. The parlor where the cows are milked should be clean.
  5. Although manure may gather during milking, it should never be allowed to stay in the parlor once milking is complete.
  6. There should be a regular schedule for cleaning the milk tank and cleaning of the milk lines should occur with every milking.
  7. Your farmer should be able to talk with you about the importance of cleanliness and should do so without your prompting.
  8. The milk should be kept very cold – clean and cold are the two most significant inhibitors of pathogen growth in fresh milk.
  9. It should be apparent that the farmer is fond of his/her cows. They should be able to tell you stories about individual cows and easily answer any questions you have.
  10. The cows should have access to fresh water and, in the winter, shelter.
  11. When they are confined due to bad weather, they should have outdoor access and the opportunity to stand on soil (not just concrete).
  12. You should, of course, be introduced to the cows. It’s good manners. 🙂
  13. Ideally, the cows would be a heritage breed with a high cream content. Production will likely be lower, but the quality of the milk will be much better.
  14. Cows are ruminants (more than one stomach) and have evolved to eat grass. In the summer they should be out on pasture and rotationally grazed (moved to fresh paddocks daily). Ideally, they will be followed by poultry to break up the pathogen cycle without worming. If they are given any grain (small amounts for dairy cows are acceptable—wild ruminants graze small amounts as well), it should be organic and/or local. In the winter they should be fed hay.
  15. They should NOT be given steroids, growth hormones, estrogens, antibiotics or, really, anything other than real cow food.
  16. Their pastures should NOT be treated with fungicides, pesticides or herbicides.

Cow share programs are considered a private agreement in Michigan and are, so far, unregulated. Therefore, no organization inspects the cow share programs. Your farmer should maintain a very open policy so you will be able to inspect for yourself.

I am often asked what my best advice is for obtaining good food and my answer is first, to raise it yourself and, second, to know the farmer who does.

A cow share farmer can have the milk tested independently by a lab, and those results should be posted where you can see them.

Costs for a cow share program vary from farm to farm. Generally speaking, you will purchase part of a cow or herd. This is a one-time fee and makes you a legal owner, which is required by law to obtain raw milk in Michigan. If you join a program that sells specific cows, you can take a picture of your cow and post it on your refrigerator. It will give you a serious connection with your food! You then pay the farmer an ongoing boarding fee to care for your cow, feed it and milk it. Again, costs vary but tend to run somewhat higher than organic milk available in the store. All of that milk has been pasteurized, however!

Fresh milk can be used to make many more products than just the drinking of milk. You can make your own butter, yogurt, ice cream, cheeses, etc. Your farmer should be able to teach you how to do this, or direct you to a source that can. This also offsets much of the additional cost of the milk. You can also expect the flavor of the milk to vary somewhat. It’s a living food, and this is part of what makes it so much fun, enjoy!

Karen Lubbers, Lubbers Family Farm

More you might like:

  • Part 1 in the raw milk series on the many health benefits of raw milk
  • Part 2 in the raw milk series on safety issues and some logistics
  • Part 4 is a testimony from my friend, Michelle, on how she and David decided raw milk was the best choice for their family
  • Raw Milk Benefits and Information: Q & A with Mark McAfee
  • Book suggestions – on nutrition and more
  • Here’s a book on the topic that you’ll definitely want to read:  The Untold Story of Milk

milkbook_thumb

  • Here are all of my posts on fresh raw milk from the farm
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this post:

FacebookPinterestEmail

Want to know which real food to buy, why, and where to find it? Get helpful emails & free printables including a GROCERY STORE CHEAT SHEET with clear 'buy this, NOT that' advice in every food category:

Comments

  1. Kimber says

    March 18, 2010 at 6:14 AM

    Thanks again, Kelly, for posting this information. My friend & I are going to check out a milk-share farm on Saturday. I just printed this post, and will have it in hand when we get there. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kelly says

    February 1, 2008 at 8:51 AM

    Holly,

    You brought up a good point, this may seem like a lot of work finding a good farmer, and many people can just go by the recommendation of friends they trust. But this is good information to be aware of when you’re first looking around. You’re right though, once you get going, it’s easy. Our biggest issue these days is running out of milk each week! (But yet we don’t use enough to buy another whole share.)

    Talk to you soon,
    Kelly

    Reply
  3. Holly says

    February 1, 2008 at 5:04 AM

    WOW as in that is WAY more involved than I expected it to be. I am sure that once you get everything into place it’s rather simple, but getting to that point, WOW! I’m not sure I am up for all of that.

    (And for the record, I am thrilled to have you as a neighbor!)

    Reply
  4. Kelly says

    January 31, 2008 at 6:50 PM

    Holly,

    “Wow” as in, “I might think about doing this”, or “Wow” as in, “You’re such a freak I wish you weren’t my neighbor?!”

    Kelly

    Reply
  5. Holly says

    January 31, 2008 at 6:38 PM

    WOW!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating





Let's hang out:



Get my books here!

I love sharing tips to help you live a healthier, more natural lifestyle.  If you’d like to support my work by leaving a tip, I can continue creating more helpful content, personally answering your email requests, and finding the best deals possible for you:

Can't find something on the KK site?
CLICK HERE!

The information found here and any products mentioned have not been approved by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  This site and/or my social media sites have Amazon or other affiliate links that pay a small commission if you click on them to make a purchase, and as an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These may include posts with an endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog or social media posts, as well as other paid sponsor links, but there is no additional cost to you. Note:  Displayed ads do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by KellytheKitchenKop.com or Christianity101Blog.com. By accessing or using this website, you agree to abide by the information found on my Affiliate Disclosures, Disclaimers, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions page. You also are agreeing to do your own research and use the information here only as a beginning point for ideas to discuss with your doctor. I am not a health professional and not responsible for how you use the information found here--always discuss any health concerns with your doctor.

Copyright information: All material found on this site is copyright protected and may not be copied or used without permission.
  • About Kelly
  • Advertise with Us
  • Archives
  • Kop Shop
  • Privacy/Disclosures/TOS
  • Contact Me
Copyright © 2007-2025 KellytheKitchenKop.com. All rights reserved.