Michigan law prohibits the sale of unprocessed milk but does allow herdshare arrangements. Purchasing a herdshare allows those who either may not or choose not to keep a dairy cow on their property to share in the ownership of the animal in exchange for the resulting unprocessed milk. We sell herdshares; we do not sell milk.
Members may choose gallon or half gallon shares, which provide access to creamy, unprocessed milk all year long. Currently we have six dairy cows on the farm: Pumpkin, Trixie, and Peaches (our purebred Jerseys) and Buttercup (our Jersey/Brown Swiss), as well as Maribel and Millie. ( Both are a Jersey/Holstein-Friesian mix.) At any time of the year, two or more of these cows will be lactating and providing herdshare members with the extra creamy milk for which Jersey and Brown Swiss cows have long been known.
Our cows are pastured and allowed to roam around the outdoors all year long, as much as they like. A small amount of non-GMO grain is fed to our cows when they come in the barn for milking time. When the weather is not conducive to pasture growth, our dairy cows are given hay and/or baleage.
The upkeep fee for keeping, caring for, feeding, and milking the cows is $24 per month for a gallon herdshare (4 gal./month) or $16 per month for a half gallon herdshare (2 gal./month). Milk pickup is at the farm or, in some cases, direct delivery may be available.
Our cows are not regularly given antibiotics, but if a cow’s life is in danger we may choose to administer an antibiotic.
Do you see the cream line in the photo of the two gallon jars? Yum!
**By state law, we may not sell butter or any other dairy product. However, herdshare members may make their own dairy products with the milk they pick up each week.**
If interested in purchasing a herdshare, contact us by text or email.