7045_SmallScaleDairy

CONTENTS Foreword / vii Preface / xi Acknowledgments / xv Introduction / xvii PART I: Things to Consider Before Taking the Leap 1 What’s So Special about Farmstead Cheese? / 1 2 Making It Official / 16 PART II: Getting Down to Business 3 Sizing Up the Market / 25 4 Your Business Plan and Company Structure / 37 5 Production Costs and Issues / 47 6 Creative Financing / 59 PART III: Designing the Farmstead Creamery

7 Infrastructure and Efficiency / 67 8 The Milking Parlor and Milkhouse / 82 9 Cheese Central: The Make Room / 104 10 Aging Rooms, Cellars, and Caves / 125 11 Accessory Rooms / 153 PART IV: Long-Term Survival Guide 12 Safety: Why “It Hasn’t Killed Anyone Yet” Isn’t Good Enough! / 161 13 Increasing Your Bottom Line: Classes, Agri-tourism, Additional Products / 172 14 Keeping the Romance Alive: Tips for Re-Energizing / 188 Appendices

A. Resources / 195

B. Floor Plans / 203

C. Milk and Cheese Quality Tests and Parameters / 207

D. Sample Milk Purchase Agreement / 213

Notes/References / 215 Photography Credits / 218 Index / 219

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CONTENTS Acknowledgments / vii Introduction / ix

PART I. The Big Picture of the Small Dairy 1 A History of Small Dairying / 1 2 Is the Small Dairy Right for You? / 15 3 The Business of Making Milk / 30

PART II: The Philosophy, Science, and Art of the Small Dairy 4 Microbiology and Milk: Understanding the Basics / 47 5 Udder Understanding / 59 6 Farm Management for Superior Milk / 76

PART III: Designing and Furbishing the Model Dairy 7 Housing and Habitat / 95 8 The Milking Parlor / 106 9 The Milk House and Bottling Room / 121 10 Using and Understanding Laboratory Milk Tests / 134 11 Risk Reduction Plans / 151

PART IV: Moving Beyond the Bottle 12 Fermented Milks: Ancient Foods for Modern Times / 163 13 Heat Treatments, Canning, and Freezing / 177

Afterword: Raw Milk and Food Rights / 181

Appendices A. Resources / 183 B. Sample Charts and Forms / 187 C. Sample Milk Purchase Agreement / 191 D. Sample Floor Plans / 193

Glossary / 197 Bibliography / 203 Index / 207

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Is the Small Dairy Right for You?

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MILK MEASUREMENTS When you begin shopping for dairy animals here in the United States, you will encounter several methods by which farmers and producers measure milk production. When milk is measured by volume—that is, gallons or cups— it will measure differently than if an actual weight is taken, because of the varying mass of the components in milk; remember that fat is lighter than protein, one of the reasons it floats to the top of milk. For a frame of reference, water typically weighs 8 pounds per gallon. A gallon

consists of 16 cups. Each cup of water weighs 8 ounces or 1⁄2 pound. Nice and simple, right?

Milk, however, typically weighs between 8.5 and 8.6 pounds per gallon. So 2 cups of milk weighs about 1.1 pounds. The doe I mentioned in the main text that produces 1,500 pounds of milk will have given between 176 and 178 gallons, and the cow producing 16,000 pounds will have provided 1,882 to 1,905 gallons of milk. I wish I could provide a simple rule of thumb for translating milk measurements for you!

Milk-tasting sessions provide an opportunity to train your palate to detect flaws and qualities of different milks. This session was held during a dairy class at Pholia Farm.

Goat’s milk is also something of a paradox: The qualities that make it easier to digest also make it easier to damage. Mass-produced goat’s milk is often doomed to a lesser state of sensory quality. The fact that goat cream does not readily separate from the rest of the milk can be a boon for those wanting to drink whole milk with an even, luscious mouthfeel, but a bane for those hoping to make butter.

Sheep’s milk, which also has cream that does not separate easily, is preferred by many for its high protein, high fat, and rich quality. Without care, though, the distinctive taste of lanolin, a waxy substance secreted by wool sheep (some sheep

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Is the Small Dairy Right for You?

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the odors and sounds of farm life may become an issue that strains neighborly relationships. It is a good idea to consider how life on the farm will look across a spectrum of seasons, from noisy females wanting to be bred, muddy paddocks and animals during rainy months, and flies and pests drawn to compost and barns to the barking of livestock guardian dogs and odors from manure and animals.

Although there is no way to completely anticipate the reactions of your neighbors, diplomacy often is the best approach: Explain to them what a typical small farm will look like over the year in a manner that makes them feel that their input is valued. Setting expectations at the beginning is more beneficial than having to give explanations later.

Personal Disposition There are goat people, cow people, and sheep people, and it has nothing to do with the animal you were born under in the Chinese calendar. You may not know your best barnyard match until you spend a little time with each species, then with some different breeds of the same species. It is inaccurate to make distinct

This young Saanen doe at Tumalo Farms in Oregon escaped from her paddock and was quite successfully eluding pursuit and capture until my husband, Vern, pulled out the camera and squatted on the ground. The young goat could not resist checking him out and was then easily secured.

Photo courtesy of Vern Caldwell.

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The Business of Making Milk

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There are several in-depth publications that utilize studies, usually done through university Extension program grants or funds, that look at data in varying parts of the United States in regard to costs and income related to starting a commercial dairy. You also may be able to access more regional information from your state’s agricultural land grant university Extension service. Should you utilize these types of publications, you will find an incredible amount of information and data, most A Flow Chart to Help You Determine Your Suitability for Running a Small Commercial Dairy I want to sell milk!

Assess Personal Suitability

Wholesale Retail

Competition

Demand and Price

Labor

Feed

Licenses

Insurance

Financial

Water

Utilities

Waste Management

Assess Integral Systems Assess Construction Costs

Taxes

Knowledge and Skills

Assess Market Suitability

Assess Infrastructure

Excess Animals

Physical and Emotional

Permits

Systems (Water, Power, Waste)

Buildings, Equipment

Assess Regulatory and Hidden Costs

Write Business Plan

Full speed ahead!

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Yes!

Would you lend yourself money?

No

Return to start — reassess and modify plans

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Infrastructure and Efficiency

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Cheese curd being placed into forms for draining on Pholia Farm’s draining table—made from a commercial dishwasher drain rack with stainless steel legs added.

many states defer to the local agency in regard to wastewater management.

Smaller creameries will have very simplified wastewater management plans in comparison to the medium- to large-size dairy. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulations were designed to properly deal with the wastewater and runoff from very large animal facilities where animals are confined, such as feedlots, confinement dairies, and hog or poultry operations. Some states have implemented the same permitting requirements for all commercial livestock operations, regardless of size. You will have to make sure that you are very clear on what your state and local authorities will expect and allow!

Below are some of the wastewater management options that may be allowed in your state. These options are by no means inclusive: Many other options exist, and exciting new ones are being developed, such as constructed wetlands

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190

LONG-TERM SURVIVAL GUIDE

ritual, though, you will find yourself making excuses to skip them. Here at Pholia Farm we have happy hour from 4 to 5 p.m. and a weekly breakfast out that we refer to as our “business meeting.” We also have “sleep-in Sunday” where we press the snooze button on the alarm once and “tardy Tuesday” when we get up at the regular time but sit with our tea and coffee for 5 or 10 minutes longer than usual.

Silly, maybe, but it is rather healthy and fun to be rebellious (even if it is toward yourself ) once in a while!

The Day Off Several farms I talked to have set aside one day of the week for no farm work, other than the essentials. This day, too, needs to become a ritual. Decide whether you will visit family, see friends, or just go to a movie. By setting aside some time for yourselves, your work will be more productive and satisfying during the rest of the week. Remember, there will always be more work that needs to be done, whether you work every day for the rest of your life or not! Don’t forget to do the other things that make your life fulfilling and create memories with and for loved ones.

A properly sized goat herd that both the land can sustain and the owners can manage well, Black Mesa Ranch, Arizona.

Photo courtesy of David Heininger

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