I get asked quite often about our choice to drink raw milk. Not only do we drink it, but we've spent thousands of dollars and hours of energy acquiring it. Many wonder how we can feel safe drinking a product that is barely even sold for human consumption in a handful of states, illegal in many, and sold as ‘for pet consumption only' in a dozen others. Is this product really that dangerous? So dangerous, in fact, that it requires homogenization, pasteurization, and the proper government label to make it safe?
Are we so used to being told what to do that the thought of venturing away from the FDA's regulations make us feel like black market dealers?
When we made the decision to start homesteading a few years ago, acquiring a dairy animal was the very first ‘to-do' on our list. We had already been drinking raw milk for over five years and the price tag was hefty. We knew we could also produce a similar (or better!) product right in our own barnyard.
Think of it like wanting to grow your own tomatoes. Except from a lactation standpoint.
Many objected to our dairy animal quest, fearing for ‘our health' and particularly ‘our children's health.' Of course, as their parents, we would never expose them to anything that we believe to be harmful. And that's why when we began milking our cow Sal, we learn to take the proper precautions and measures that one must take when harvesting their own milk.
Raw milk is not something to be handled with a slack operation and half-hearted efforts. It's something to be valued, appreciated, and properly cared for.
Safely Handling Raw Milk and Proper Milking Procedures For Doing So
1. Always try and maintain a healthy animal.
I know this probably sounds like common sense, but it's important. Sick cows will not produce healthy milk. In college, I spent lots of time on commercial dairy farms and was floored by the amount of antibiotics and medical treatments I saw used. Because the cows were kept in extremely confined conditions, fed an overly rich diet, subjected to lots of other (sick) cows, and pushed so hard for production, they were commonly ill.
Most likely, you'll be able to avoid all of these just by having a family dairy animal – which, by its nature, is raised on a small farm. Still, it's important that your animal have access to fresh water, fresh grass/high-quality hay, clean living conditions, and mineral supplements/salt licks/etc. Because you'll be seeing your animal at least once (most likely half a dozen times) per day, you'll easily be able to recognize when they're feeling under the weather.
2. Prepare a proper milking area
And by ‘proper,' I don't mean expensive, overdone, or Pinterest-worthy. I'm talking about an area that is clean and set up for proper milking. A small area in a barn, shop, or garage will do just fine. Preferably, it should be out of the weather so the ground stays dry. Wet ground = mud. Mud = dirty udder. Dirty udder = no good.
We simply utilize a small corner of Sal's small shelter to milk her. We've got an eye bolt in the wall to which we tie her and another one where we can hook her grain bucket. That's all the set up we required. Other than that, we simply clean the stall of any extra poo or mud. In the winter, it can get a bit squishy—but not horribly so. Because it's covered, we're still able to keep it pretty clean with fresh straw as a cover on the bare dirt.
We also make it a point it feed her far away from her shelter (in the corner of her pen, actually) so that she doesn't poo close to her milking area. Cows poo where they eat. And that's a fact.
Contrary to what people tell you, your milking area doesn't need to be sterile. Or have running water. Or a cement floor. Overall, the rules are simple: Keep the milking area clean and as free of feces as possible.
3. Have the proper equipment
Again, I'm not talking about gilded buckets encrusted in a protective layer of diamonds. I'm talking about common sense—plastic buckets will NOT WORK. Plastic is porous, allowing the milk to get inside the pores. It's impossible to properly clean it. In order to keep the milk clean and free of contaminates, it's absolutely essential, I SAY ESSENTIAL, that your equipment is clean.
We utilize:
– Two stainless steel buckets: One for the milk and one for the wash water
– White wash clothes (washed between each use)
– One, reuseable coffee filter (for filtering the milk)
– A dozen, gallon sized glass jugs (for storing the milk)
4. Clean your equipment properly
All of this equipment is very easy to maintain, inexpensive, and easily sterilized to ensure it's cleanliness. It's not about having the most expensive or extravagant set up – rather, handling raw milk safely is about doing a few things well. Buckets must be thoroughly washed, both inside and out (bottom too!) with hot, soapy water between each milking. The same goes for the milk storage jugs and the filter. It's all got to be really, really clean. All. The. Time. No slackin' on this.
5. When it's time for milking, clean your animal properly
We use a stainless steel milk bucket to hold about a quart or two of hot, soapy water. Castile soap or a gentle dish soap work fine – usually just about a half teaspoon or so per quart or two of hot water. At each milking time, the milker carries down two buckets: one wash bucket with soapy water (and a clean wash rag) and an empty milk bucket.
After Sal is tied up and given her bucket of oats, we spray her udder with a 50/50 iodine and filtered water solution. There are lots of options for ‘teat spray.' Many use essential oil blends or the like, which I think is a great idea but not one we've ventured into yet.
After her teats are sprayed, we take the clean rag from the wash bucket and scrub her udder, taking care to remove any bits of hay or poo. The warm water helps to dissolve anything crusted on. The scrubbing is very effective at helping her to let down her milk as well. If Sal has a particularly dirty udder that day that's been caked in poo, even after cleaning it properly, we still give the milk to the animals. It's simply not worth it to us to risk any sort of contamination. She gives us plenty of milk; we don't need to be sticklers.
We usually only wash for 15-30 seconds. Enough time to get nice and clean and stimulate milk let down. When we sit down to milk, we're sitting down to a nice, clean, poo free udder. Soft as a baby's bottom. Ha. Sort of.
After she is washed and her milk has let down, we squirt two or three full squirts from each teat – right onto the floor. This helps to clear any gunk that was left in her teats after the last milking, stimulate fresh milk flow, and alert us to any signs of infection or inflammation (such as puss).
(Yes, they do get dirty. Especially in the winter.)
6. Milk cleanly
Easier said than done, some days. The first week of milking Sal, we ended up with more hooves in the bucket than I care to count. All of that milk was given to the animals. Until we learned to milk more efficiently and with proper care, we weren't going to risk drinking the milk. After just a few days, we were able to milk without completely filling the bucket with hay, poo, hair, and hooves—victory! Now, it's rare to even get a few pieces of hay in there. Practice doesn't make perfect but it does make it much, much cleaner.
And this should go without saying, but make sure the milker's hands are clean. Dirty hands, dirty milk.
After she is thoroughly stripped of all the milk, we once again spray each teat with the diluted iodine spray and leave it to dry. It keeps anything from getting in and infecting her teat while it's still loose and open.
7. Cool the milk quickly
This is one of the most important steps in raw milk handling. As soon as a cow is milk, the bacteria in the milk begin eating and digesting the sugar in the milk. When drinking super fresh milk, you'll notice how sweet it is! Each day after milking, it gets less and less sweet. Cooling the milk helps to deter the growth of bacteria, allowing for fresher milk for longer.
We carry our bucket up to the house, where it is then filtered into the jugs. The jugs are then placed in the freezer for 1 hour (yes, I set a timer). After an hour of speed cooling, we transfer the milk to the refrigerator where it remains until we drink it. The freezing step helps to get a jump start on the cooling process—it's amazing how warm that milk comes out of a cow's udder!
8. Handle with care
Milk is a perishable product and should be treated as such. Even though it doesn't go rancid like pasteurized milk, it's still important to handle it with care and respect for the product.
It's just a few small steps that can really make a difference in the safety of raw milk drinking. Because we follow these steps without fail, it's easy to feel comfortable with not only drinking the milk but allowing our children, friends, and animals to drink it too. I feel absolutely comfortable and safe in doing so.
Contrary to what the FDA would have you believe, raw milk is not the devil. It, like any other agriculture product, has the potential to be produced well and safely. Handled improperly, like any other agriculture product, it also has the potential to make consumers sick. It's all in the way we treat it and the respect we give the animals who provide it to us.
And Amen.
Sherry
April 21, 2014 at 8:57 amGreat tips! I really like the 1 hour in the freezer. I’ll definitely start doing that. While I’m certainly no expert ( getting ready for our second calf this week) and everybody does things a little differently, I thought you wouldn’t mind if I added a couple of my own tricks to the subject.
I can’t stand the thought of anything getting into the milk; flies, dust, straw, whatever. After trying different materials, I ended up cutting and hemming a flour sack towel to fit over the top of my bucket. I hold it on with a rubber band and milk right through the material. I used to strain again when I poured it into the jars, but have quit because the cloth is so effective.
For udder wash and teat dip I just use warm water with a drop of dish soap and a splash of vinegar. I’m careful not to put the dirty rag back into the wash water so when I’m done milking, I just use that water in a little dixie paper cup to dip the teats. And this winter was soooo cold, I started using a large travel mug instead of a bucket for the wash water. That way it would still be warm when I used it.
Thanks for the great blog and keep up the good work!
Liz
October 6, 2014 at 11:15 amThe best way to cool milk is to put the jars in a ice bath.
Sherri
May 23, 2019 at 3:52 pmI milk goats rather than a cow but i started milking them in -40 degree weather. Our winter was brutal this year…My little stainless steel pail was frosted when i started each milking so the milk was almost instantly cooled. Now that spring is here i milk unto an ice pack and find my milk remains cooler and is still chilling if I happen to get hung up longer in the barn. I have to say the milk is the best we have ever had?
Ronda
April 21, 2014 at 9:14 amThank you for such a great post. We will be milking for the first time in about a month when our Dexter has her calf. Thanks for walking me through the sanitation part. How long was it after the calf was born were you able to start milking your cow? Do you milk twice a day? By the way I love your blog!
Shaye Elliott
April 21, 2014 at 11:28 amYes, twice per day. Our cow came without a calf so we haven’t had to do that initial post-calving-milking quite yet.
Melissa
April 21, 2014 at 6:53 pmI like Sherry’s flour sack idea. I might try it although the filters work great. We put ours in the freezer too. We’ve milked goats for a while, but finally got the big mama jersey that we’ve been praying for a couple of weeks ago. I laugh thinking about your post with Sal’s head being a weapon of mass destruction and the tail switches, etc. You crack me up. It amazes me- the things people say about raw milk. I love your convictions and how much time you spend educating the public at large. Keep up the great work!
Shaye Elliott
April 21, 2014 at 10:03 pmThanks, Melissa!
Amy
April 22, 2014 at 9:37 amWe use 2 liter soda bottles for cooling our milk. We fill them with water and put them in the freezer, and then put them in our bucket of milk. When they are frozen solid , it cools down the milk really fast.
Shaye Elliott
April 22, 2014 at 2:44 pmGood idea! Especially in the heat of summer.
Donna
April 23, 2014 at 12:31 pmThank you for this post. I currently have goats, but will be moving to acreage soon. I am doing the research to see whether or not a cow will be appropriate for what we want to do.
Teresa
April 24, 2014 at 10:50 amIn addition to the sanitary steps you listed, Shaye, my husband’s grandmother would hang her milk bucket on the clean wall, and milk into a saucepan which she held in her non-milking hand, then transfer to the pail. She said that her milk cows always peed or pood while milking, and this kept all splash out of the pail!
Shaye Elliott
April 24, 2014 at 2:39 pmThat’s a great idea of the cow does that. Mine never does, which makes it much easier to keep clean.
Jane
February 22, 2015 at 12:51 pmI do something like this. I milk one hand at a time into a strip cup which has a stainless steel mesh lid. Then I pour into a stainless steel milk can that has a strainer with a paper filter set on the top of it. I pour just from the edge instead of dangling the cup over the strainer. The milk can itself sits in a plastic laundry basket that I bring in and out from the house so that the can does not ever get set on the barn floor. The laundry basket stays in the mudroom and gets washed periodically. The milk can goes in to the kitchen to pour into sanitized glass jars which go into the freezer and then the fridge.
If you are cooling milk in the freezer, it helps to agitate it after half an hour. In quart jars, one hour with one agitation can get the milk regulation cold, but in bigger jars, it will not cool as quickly.
Sarah
April 27, 2014 at 12:53 pmI am wondering if you could tell me more about the filtering process you mentioned. Thank you!
Shaye Elliott
April 29, 2014 at 9:44 pmSarah, we bring the milk up from the barn in a bucket and then run it through a metal coffee strainer into the gallon jars. It’s that simple!
Andrea
April 29, 2014 at 12:34 pmHey Shaye and fellow readers!
We hope to start our milk cow journey in the next year (pending some fencing install) and I really REALLY want to try and do the cow/calf sharing thing. My husband and I both work, so doing a once a day milking (separating cow and calf in stalls next to each other at night and milking in the am before putting them back together for the day) would be a huge time saver for us. I don’t know anyone who keeps a family cow, and I was wondering if any of the folks on here have any input/advice on this subject? Shaye, do you know anyone who has tried it? Thanks so much! Love your blog and cookbook 🙂
Andrea
Shaye Elliott
April 29, 2014 at 9:36 pmAndrea, yes! Jill at the Prairie Homestead does it. We’ll be doing it as well once Sal calves (hopefully!) next Spring!
Andrea
April 30, 2014 at 7:02 amAwesome!! I’ll check her out. My husband thinks it might be one of those “too good to possibly work” kind of things, but I’m determined to give it a shot! Can’t wait to see how it works out for you 🙂
April
November 3, 2015 at 5:42 pmWe calf share. We milk twice a day until the calf begins to consume a significant amount of milk at a time. Once the calf begins upping its consumption, then we separate the calf during the day and return it to Mom after we milk her in the evening. We keep the cow and calf together at night instead of the day in case of predators. We wean the calf at 4 months old and go back to milking 2 times a day. When our cow is 6 months into her lactation, then we switch to once a day milking.
Trina
February 24, 2015 at 11:17 amMy experience is with goats and that worked fine.
I’m getting my Jersey cow in a couple of weeks, fresh with no calf. My dad grew up on a dairy (60 head milked by four boys), and trembles at the thought of putting the calf on a good milk cow. It really breaks down the udder system and reduces the number of “miles” Cow has in her. She won’t be as useful for as many years. But it’s way more convenient!
Becki
May 19, 2014 at 9:35 pmThis was so very interesting and all sounds pretty “romantic” but I just wonder what you do when you have to be away…or go on a vacation? Good (and close) neighbors would be important, I imagine.
Shaye Elliott
May 20, 2014 at 10:12 pmWe don’t really go away. We have a friend that milks for us in emergencies but other than that, we are farm bound.
MTF
June 21, 2014 at 12:29 pmWe unfortunately do not have a cow and just found a supplier of “pet milk” from a local dairy (grass fed, no antibiotics). How would you suggest we “purify” it and make it safe to drink if we don’t see their processing? thank you.
Shaye Elliott
June 23, 2014 at 3:51 pmI drank ‘pet milk’ in Alabama the entire year I lived there because raw milk sales weren’t legal. I’d call the dairy and ask them what their practices are. Many just market it that way because that’s the only way they can get it to the consumer!
Trina
February 24, 2015 at 11:23 amThe farmer will not be offended if you ask to watch him or her milk. It will be a fun for you, you will probably learn, and do take any kids available to go with you. I never drink milk until I see their operation.
Alan Arrington
October 6, 2014 at 9:53 amI was drinking raw milk from soon after I was born until grown. It became my job to milk when I was about twelve until I went to college. I am now sixty years old and never knew of any problems from drinking raw milk.
Diane Graves
October 6, 2014 at 10:40 amwould love to join your group….thanks for All the great tips!
Teri
October 20, 2014 at 4:49 pmMTF…I also buy “pet food” milk. It’s the only way raw milk can be sold in my state. It doesn’t need any kind of purification, assuming that the farmer is following safe handling practices. That being said, I rarely drink it (just don’t care for milk), I use it to make my own yogurt, butter, ice cream and in cooking. My yogurt and butter taste nothing like commercial versions….mine is sooooo good!
Judy
December 22, 2014 at 4:35 pmI enjoyed your article. I used to hand-milk, but my poor painful hands can’t stand that anymore. Now I use a machine. I am extremely fortunate to have a feed elevator that has chosen to go non-GMO. Sadly, Indiana makes it difficult for live milk producers, so the milk that we don’t consume goes to grow calves. I really enjoy the yogurt, cottage cheese, and butter made from our wonderful milk.
Life is just BETTER with a milk cow in our lives.
Molly
December 27, 2014 at 10:21 amHey Shaye, Love your blog and sense of humor. We just got our darling Jersey milk cow yesterday. Do you feel like the coffee filter works as well as the disposable milk filters you can buy? and you don’t sanitize your milk buckets? Do you think the sink needs to be sanitized before and after cleaning your milk supplies?
Thanks,
Molly
Shaye Elliott
January 6, 2015 at 11:39 amI just wash everything with hot, soapy water!
Tatiana
January 5, 2015 at 5:12 pmHi Shaye,
where do you get your milk jugs?
Shaye Elliott
January 6, 2015 at 11:21 amI got these from GoodWill! They’re just old pickle jars.
Trina
February 24, 2015 at 11:28 amI saw walmart now has gallon and larger pickle jars. I would check the thrift shop first.
I primarily use 1/2gallon canning jars available at the feed store, canning supply, etc. and check yard sales or put a ” Wanted” ad in your paper. They are everywhere if you look hard enough.
Trina
February 24, 2015 at 11:32 amSometimes commercial pickle jars (ie dill) has a chemical that never comes out of the glass. I don’t understand it, but it’s my experience.
I love your blog!
Paula
April 22, 2015 at 6:30 pmWe are blessed with two very generous Jersey cows, Cally and Daisy. After they each had their calves we bought 4 more- to feed the milk to and for future food. We are still getting about 3 gallons a day for the house! Yay! LOTS of cream from these ladies so I’ve been making lots of lovely butter. I’m still on a quest to find the best way to get the most of the buttermilk out but my real question is about long term storage. Have you ever frozen your extra butter in a canning jar? My frozen, garden fresh green peppers effect everything & I just don’t care for green pepper butter. Or if you use another storage option, I would love to hear about it.
Thank you & love your blog!
~Paula
Shaye Elliott
May 1, 2015 at 11:04 pmI have a freezer for my meat/butter, etc. and a separate one for my produce for this very reason! 🙂
Richard Barrett
June 4, 2015 at 10:11 pmAs a former hand milking farmer, this is great advice for new milkers. For more hands on info and back up safety to know that you are doing your best go to http://www.rawmilkinstitute.org and learn from the best. For a site to educate all your friends that are not knowledgeable about raw milk go to http://www.rawmilkconsumer.ca. Growing up I went to school with 3/4 of the school from farms with all having several milk cows and never had one sickness from raw milk. That was before refrigeration! Now no milk cow in the whole surrounding towns.
Khevna Mehta
January 19, 2016 at 2:01 amGood tips!I’ll definitely start doing 1 hour in the freeze a milk before drinking. i am a Pride of Cows regular milk drinker. i love to drink milk twice a day and Pride of Cows best milk brands in India.
Briana
January 29, 2016 at 7:11 amHow long is the raw mile good once its refrigerated ? I am going to start milking goats in the spring and could use all the tips I can get.
Anna Mae
August 16, 2016 at 9:48 pmI grew up on a 100 guernsey cow farm and now, as an adult, live on a 100 Holstein cow farm. The cows were milked by pipeline milkers when I was young, and robots now do the milking. The milk isn’t touched by air, humans or the environment until it’s taken out of the bulk tank. (Minus the fact a few milkers were kicked off suckling up straw and debree now and again) Back then my mom sent me to the milk house to get the milk in an ice cream pail every day. And now, I send my child to get a pitcher of milk out of the tank daily; teenagers drink a lot of milk! We have never treated the milk (I prefer “fresh” over “raw”). I do not serve it to my kids’ friends unless I know their parents serve fresh milk also. We also do not pasteurize our fresh eggs, fruits or veggies. Life is just better on the farm. My kids often brag how our family will probably be able to survive a zombie apocalypse due to all of our fresh goodies. Joy.
Jennifer
January 28, 2017 at 3:59 pmHow do you handle your equipment? Do you uses a sanitizer afterwards to clean your buckets and jars? I have heard that you need to clean them to prevent biofilm? Thank you in advance.
Rebecca Kearns
March 9, 2018 at 8:48 amCan you please share how you properly strain the milk?
Thank you!
Dorlis Grote
July 1, 2019 at 1:14 am. I remember following my uncle when he milked Grandma’s Guernsey. She would switch her tail and hit him with it so he tied a heavy rock to her tail. He got hit with the rock. I found a source of RAW milk several years ago and once again enjoy REAL milk. Tammy has Swiss brown cows so milk is 2.