Raw Milk

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I didnt read the whole article or all the replies here, but when I worked at the dairy over the summer, I learned many things that made me not really care for cows milk. The owner didnt really have high standards for the cleanlyness of the udders when they were milked, she basically saidd to make sure that they dont have any fresh poo on the teats and if there is, wipe it off. I was allowed 5 gallons a day which I didnt need. When I milked for myself, I washed the udder with soapy water, and used a seperate vaccume tube and all so that it went into a bucket and not the tank. I dont see why raw milk is 2 or 3 times more expensive than pasturized milk, it seems like it would be the other way around. We still get raw milk from other dairies, even tho its against the law to buy it for human consumption in the state. We pay $1 per gallon. No one has gotten sick yet.

 

[WDPKS]

I & my oldest kids grew up on raw milk. My dad was a milker for the dairies in Chino Ca. & I was a dairy foreman for 10 yrs on a 1200 head milking herd not including dry & replacement stock. The reason raw milk is illeagle is; 1) that it is a raw product, 2) milk is made from the blood, meaning that that lactating animal had better be healthy, there are bact. & virus that can only be detected by blood sample the animal looks health but carries something, like tuberculosis, micro plasma, infection like cronic-mastitis wich is now a broad term for other things, milk not being held out long enough from medication. 3) sanitation of equipment. The barn we had milked 30 head at once & it only took like a loose joint for the cellmatic cell count to jump high, or one cow not to be clean or a machine to drop into manure by accident.

Milk is chilled as fast as it can be before it reaches the milk tank & is stored for a max of 3 days before shipping the reason is thte the bact. multiplies rapidy!!

There are alot of reasons why its dangerious to consum raw milk
about 20 yrs ago there was a cheese factory in Los Angles that killed alot of people from bad milk.

I'm not afraid to drink raw milk nor my family but if you do make sure that the dairy herd is tested (I mean milk) monthly for pasturila, cellmatis-cell, & sollimenilla (?)& not just 1 sample for the whole herd I mean ind. cow. You don't own the animals, & you don't do the sanitation, even the well water around a dairy needs to be tested because its used for cleanup & washing & could carry coli & etc. that could seep into the well over a period of time.

I would never drink milk over 3 days cooled, I guess I'm sensitive because we can smell & taste it souring which a creamery will not use at this point. & if they won't I won't they will make cheese our of it. Remeber its bacteria thats causing the milk to sour & not under a controlled condition like for making cheese.

I hope I'm not scaring anyone off from raw milk because I do believe its healther that store milk, but you are putting someone else in alot of trust

 

[kstaven]

It is more expensive and I understand why. Most comes from "smaller operations" that do not get breaks on feed like a huge operations does. So feeding costs are double or triple.

Some of you hit on other reasons for increased costs. Sanitation and testing is a HUGE one. A raw milk supplier has to be so much more cautious and vigilant than those who produce for the pasteurized market. This means more time and expense on each "individual animal". One slip and you are finished. Where in a typical dairy setting those minor slips will not show in testing due to dilution in the bulk tank.

WDPKS you bring up some good points and realities that people need to be aware of. Do you happen to have a reference for the cheese factory story? That is one I have yet to run across.

 

[WDPKS]

No I don't, this happened about 20 yrs. ago while I was a foreman, it did make the news but alot was husted up since the cheese plant was a small one & only supplied localy.
But this did changed alot of laws in Ca. about handling milk.

It doesn't make any difference about testing wheither they are selling raw or shipping they need to test in order to recieve a grade A, sto shipping out of state, to know the health of animals that cannot be id. other ways. & also even though thte milk is "mixed" in bulk you would realy be surprised of just how sensitive the bulk test is.

We had a cow that had coli just 1 cow but it was bring our test up too high & could not be found by normal means so we had to test each pen separately then retest each cow separately, the cow was found looked great but it had 1 teat that was bad.

The bulk milk tank held milk from 1200 cows for 2 milkings, at that time I think it was around 68000 # (raw milk is actuly a solid because it still has fat in it which is a solid, so measured by pound not volume like you buy in the store) alot of milk that was tested bad for 1 teat

Also I forgot that smoetimes 1 teat might be off or will just make a whiteish water thats over looked when primed but is full of bact. or milker tired would slip a machine on or will drip on the milk. The machine called a claw works on vacume & has a small hole in it so if not kept clean or like has bad milk drip on it & goes into the claw then the milk is contaminated. there is just too many things if and & buts, but like I said I'm not afraid to drink raw milk if I know the dairy is beening test properly.

The dairies also need testing for breeding purposes also, for for production& butterfat comtent of milk.

 

[kstaven]

I should have looked at your location before replying WDPKS. California has much tighter regs than up here.

My reply was based on a canadian perspective. I have seen some pretty disgusting dairies here. Yet they still operate and supply milk. Their bulk tank samples would cause them to be shut down in california. Only a few dairies around here I would ever consider drinking their milk raw. That is, if it was legal.

Raw milk is all cowshare up here. Much like in many US states. Private milk testing is just a killer in price. Feeding small herds is more. Purchasing equipment and maintaining buildings etc, without having high production numbers. It all adds up to raw milk being much more expensive than off the shelf product.

I know all to well how a milking system works.

Versed in the old surge bucket milkers too.

Ok, that would have been after I left L.A. if it was 20 years ago.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Quote:
Same here. As well as Delaval buckets and now pipeline! Small farmers have higher input costs whether they are selling to the individual or a plant. It is just a fact of life for us so it still amazes me that they can get a higher price for their product this way-I'm glad for them.

I agree that just one cow can send tests up. In a smaller herd it shows more quickly than in a larger herd just because of the smaller amount of milk it is being mixed in with. This can be a good thing for those of you buying the raw milk in the fact that a test will show a problem quicker from the smaller farms, then the problem will be dealt with quicker.

 

[kstaven]

It is RARE to see cowshares that test up here. Personally I think they all should. But that is just me.