I saw the question below for excess goat milk, and almost posted on there, but it wouldnt have quite fit the question, as our milk source is a cow.

Our Jersey cow is giving over five gallons a day now, which is twice as much as I can "give away" (for donations.) I have found that it takes so much time and effort to make cheese, that it is just not worth my time and energy. But what to do with the milk? I have found that to feed a holstein bull calf from birth (100 lbs) to weaning stage (200 lbs), it takes less than 60 gallons of milk. This means I could get the equivalent of about $2.00 a gallon on that milk, just for feeding that calf. That really isnt much labor, compared to making cheese!We got the calf at the local auction, where wise hubby knew that the first calf usually sold for far less than it was worth, just because usually people are reluctant to be the first to bid on the first animal. He saw it was a good calf, so he snatched it up, and paid only $72 for it. The average price for the day for baby calves was $125. It is thriving on half-skim milk.

I freeze skim milk, and also cream. I found that frozen cream will lose its granular consistency when heated to the point where the fat grains are softened (pretty warm). Then chill the cream down again, and it can be used as fresh cream. A milk "recipient" of mine likes to freeze the cream and put frozen into her vita-mix with sugar, egg, and vanilla, for instant ice cream.

Anyone else have ideas for extra cow milk?

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), June 11, 2001

Answers

Response to Excess (cow) milk here... what we are doing...

why not get some more baby calfs? Bobco se.ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@hit.net), June 12, 2001.

Response to Excess (cow) milk here... what we are doing...

When we are peaked out with milk production we always put a couple hogs in....wonderful pork from milk feeding. Raise two and sell the second one and it pays for the processing of our beef and pork.

-- diane (gardiacaprine@yahoo.com), June 12, 2001.

Chickens love it to

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), June 12, 2001.

In excess milk times, I can a gallon or two a day in pints and quarts for when the cow is dry. I use it in baking and cooking. - soups, custards, puddings, cream pies, all baking and cooking that takes milk.

It stretches the fresh milk I must buy while the cow is dry, by not having to use any of it for cooking.

Keeps on the shelf for years.

Very few items on the shelf bring me as much comfort and peace of mind as the milk.

In a pinch, I have heated it and used Quick or other chocolate and we drink it for hot chocolate and I have chilled it and added some ice cubes and shaken it up with Quick for cold chocolate milk. It has too much "cooked taste" for drinking plain with the meal - but, no doubt, in seriously hard times, you would adapt to the taste.

I use pressure can or boiling water bath.

-- homestead2 (homestead@localnetplus.com), June 12, 2001.

If making cheese is too much work then you are using the wrong recipe! I wish I had as much milk as you do....oh the cheeses I could make! I have several easy cheese recipes that are no trouble at all to make and they are delicious! To me making butter(really good butter) is far more work. If anyone is interested in them email me and I'd be happy to send them to you. If enough folks are interested I may make a separate posting. Oh if anyone is interested in making a cheese press my husband made me the most beautiful useful cheese press and I'd be happy to send pictures of it...I just love to show it off(hubby hates when I show it to folks because they want him to make them one and he says he would only put that much work into something for me :o). Isn't it wonderful to have someone that can make nearly anything and do it beautifully? My cow is trying to go dry and some days I don't even get a full gallon of milk :o(. Unfortunately we couldn't borrow a bull till recently so she won't be coming fresh again until sometime around January...sigh.

-- Amanda in Tx (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), June 12, 2001.

Hey, sounds like Amanda could write an article for the magazine, including pictures of the cheese press! Would be great for those without access to the forum, too. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), June 13, 2001.

I sent off the recipes today. If you requested it and haven't gotten it please resend your request. As a matter of fact I have written several articles for Countryside and I really wish I could write more but it seems a bit hypocritical to do so when I won't be renewing my subscription or giving out gift subscriptions any more(got 2 yrs to go on my current subscription though). I've even written articles I didn't know I had submitted (via the forum) a time or two!

-- Amanda in Tx (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), June 14, 2001.

Pigs !

-- Julian (Julian_young@nl.compuware.com), September 12, 2001.