Shelley has wanted her own milk cow since she was 10 years old. But cows need space, and there is some time commitment if one is to have a consistent milk supply. Finally in the spring of 2006, all the pieces fell into place. We decided that we wanted a Dexter cow (an old Irish breed that was kept on ancient farmsteads because they are small--about 600 pounds--and dual-purpose, meaning they perform well for milk and meat. The problem is that they are hard to find in the United States, because modern farming methods don't support a dual purpose animal--they are focused either on high milk production for a dairy, or heavy muscle growth for beef. But, after much searching (and nearly driving to Colorado to pick up a suitable cow) we found one just an hour away in Monroe!

Her name is Beauty (on her papers she's Beauty of Windy Acres), and she is beautiful. She is about 9 years old, and her original owner in Oregon had trained her to be a perfect family milk cow in her youth. She was patient and well-behaved while we learned how to milk—those first few weeks the milking took forever, but she has the sweetest, creamiest milk ever. She gave birth to a heifer (female calf) last summer, who we named Juniper. Now she is pregnant again and due August 12.

Of course, cows are a herd animal, and a single cow is a lonely one. At least that's the justification Shelley used to explain why another cow arrived with Beauty! Beauty's owner made us a very good offer to take Skunky at the same time (she wanted a family to take her home and use her as a milk cow because she has a beautiful udder.) Skunky is from a dairy in Monroe, but she is a crossbred cow and not useful there because her production isn't up to snuff for a dairy. But we find that 3 or 4 gallons a day is just plenty for us, and that's while she's nursing a calf. She is half Holstein, and half British White (an older beef breed) so she is hardier than a traditional dairy cow, and produces a beefy calf. We had to train her ourselves to be milked by a human, but she took to it well and now she is very affectionate and gentle. We plan on putting her to work raising 2–3 veal calves this spring/summer, because she makes a ton of milk. This is not factory veal raised in a dark box and pumped full of antibiotis—this is beautiful, natural, pastured milk-fed veal.

We converted half of our garage into a cow barn, with a milking room. But during the summer growing season you will see one or all of the cows on the farm, working through our crop rotation and fertilizing our fields.

Return to Livestock on Our Farm.

Before we had our own bovines, I really just wanted a cow for milk, and the snuggle factor. When I was growing up my dad always told us wonderful stories about growing up on a farm during the depression. They had a bazillion White Leghorns for eggs, and a pig named Esmerelda, and Bossie the cow--a Jersey-Guernsey cross. It was my dad's job to milk the cow, mostly because his mom was scared of her.

The stories always involved snuggling into Bossie's flank and settling into the rhythm of milking, squirts of milk ringing into the pail--and hitting the cat. I longed for that experience growing up.

After about a week of keeping the cows, it became evident that there was much more to be gained from the beasts than just warm fuzzies, milk, and a beef calf.

Manure is gold. Cow manure, especially is the best possible fertilizer for vegetables. It has the right enzymes, beneficial organisms, and nutrient composition. And cows make a lot of it. We fill a pickup truck bed, heaping full every week! That goes a long ways toward fertilizing our growing spaces. Once the weather warms up and the ground is not so muddy, we'll be planting annual grasses as cover crops and pasturing the cows on the farm instead of keeping them in the barn and paddock.