[Wamoo]

I know this post is a little old, but I can’t help not posting when it comes to raw milk. I am definitely a supporter, and indeed, intend to have my own raw milk dairy.

The U.S. Government is adamantly against raw milk. There is no dispute to that. To them, even looking a raw milk might cause you to break out is some sort of ailment.

The supporters of raw milk will have you think that raw milk is the next best thing since sliced bread, and will certainly cure you of the aforementioned ailment.

I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Here in Washington State, raw milk sales are legal. You can buy the stuff in a grocery store on the shelf right next to pasteurized milk. There is no doubt a demand for it, and I think the state’s strategy for allowing it makes perfect sense, as it allows them to inspect farms and regulate it. To ban it would simply drive producers underground and create a black market for milk. This is already evidenced in states that ban raw milk sales. A CDC study from 1998 to 2011 resulted in the documentation of 148 outbreaks resulting from the consumption of raw milk or raw milk products with two deaths. There is no doubt in my mind that raw milk can provide a path for pathogens to enter the body. So can water. I do want to note that the two deaths were not from fluid raw milk, but from some Queso Fresco, aka bathtub cheese. With freedom comes responsibility. I believe consumers should have the right to consume raw milk, but they must also accept responsibility for their actions. Easier said than done in this litigious world we live in.

Author Gene Logsdon said it best… “I never so much worried about the milk, it’s the cow that can kill you.”

To me, I think we should be more worried about spinach and cantaloupe.

[Wamoo]

Thanks everybody! I went ahead and pulled the trigger and bought the rake. It even has new tires! (although I think the right tire is mounted backwards for ground-drive.)

[Wamoo]

Thanks a million! Off chance, do you an approximate weight of the rake? How about the tongue weight?

Thanks again!

[Wamoo]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I’d resurrect it. My wife and I are slowly building a dairy, and while we’re a long way off, our eventual goal is to process the milk ourselves and deliver via horse drawn wagon.

When we originally bought our land, we had using a milk wagon for delivery in mind. We purposely made sure we were close enough to our market to be able to use the wagon from the farm to town. No transloading needed. Also, we can get to town without going on any busy roads.

I think the hardest part will be actually finding a milk wagon. I’ll probably have to build one from scratch.

I posted this elsewhere on DAP: http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?6123-Horse-Drawn-Delivery-in-Maine&p=39327#post39327 So, there may be hope for draft animal powered urban delivery yet…

Check out my website at: http://www.bluecreekdairy.com

[Wamoo]

The link seems to work for me. If you go to CNN’s website and type “horse drawn delivery” into the search box, it’s the first video that pops up.

It is grocery delivery, almost like a CSA. The owner has a vineyard, and needed something for his horses to do in the off season, so he teamed with other local farms and makes deliveries of their products.

I found another article about them here: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/12/22/news/midcoast/rockland-homes-get-farm-fresh-foods-by-horse-drawn-carriage/

[Wamoo]

A friend of mine uses the A2/A2 as a marketing tool for his dairy, so there must be some consumer knowledge of it. Here is his website: http://oldsilvanacreamery.com . Here is a link to my blog with more pics of his operation: http://bluecreekdairy.com/blog/files/af7eb80adfcc2d78516242ab355a4956-24.html

Me personally though, I’m not convinced of the merits of A1 vs A2 (If you can even test for it anymore). I think any problems (if there are any!) with milk are the results of much more recent events, such as confinement on concrete or the over feeding of grain., not something that happened thousands of years ago. But, I’m not willing to concede that there are no merits of A2 over A1. I just haven’t been convinced yet!

All things equal, I’d choose colored breeds over black and whites.

[Wamoo]

I do have pictures on my blog…

http://bluecreekdairy.com/blog/index.html

Look under the “Dairying in the Channel Islands” and also “Farm Visit: Europe.”

[Wamoo]

We (the military) actually does use mules and donkeys in Afghanistan. The Marine Corp Mountain Warfare School has in fact a “Animal Packing Course”

This is an official description of the course:

PURPOSE: To train Marines and other U.S. military services, and foreign allied personnel
meeting the criteria established in paragraph 16 “Target Population
Description/Prerequisites” of this program of instruction, to become more effective as small units and as leaders in a mountainous environment. Students are taught the necessary skills to enable them to plan, organize, and conduct animal packing, and/or provide advice to senior commanders and staffs.

SCOPE: This course is designed to aid Marine Corps units in alternative methods for transporting crew served weapons, ammunition, supplies, and wounded personnel to and from areas inaccessible to mechanized and air mobile transportation. The course subjects include introduction to animal packing, anatomy of pack animals, animal packing techniques, casualty evacuation techniques, animal first aid, and bivouac considerations.

Here is a link to their course catalog: http://www.mwtc.usmc.mil/s3/MWTC%20Formal%20School%20Course%20Catalog%20April%202012.pdf

They actually have a pretty neat logo.

For me, being in the Coast Guard, the golden age of equine in our service was the beach patrols of WWII.

http://www.uscg.mil/history/uscghist/Beach_Patrol_Photo_Index.asp

The CG’s use of horses since then has been minor, inaugurations and such.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjh2DAtky-o

As far as the robotic mule, it’s hideous to watch. You’re right, it’s a waste of money!

[Wamoo]

They used to fish with horses down here in Astoria on the Columbia River. When driving across the Astoria-Megler bridge (across the Columbia) you’ll see a bunch of old wood piles in a sandbar to the west of the bridge. Those piles once supported the horse barns for an extensive horse seining operation.

http://historicphotoarchive.photoshelter.com/image/I0000hsXceMG2ctQ

[Wamoo]

I’ve looked into wood gasification as well for electricity generation, mainly for cooling milk, running a vacuum pump, and other dairy related power needs.

It certainly is not new technology. During WWII, much of the UK’s agricultural production was done with wood gas due to the shortage of petroleum during the war.

Even FEMA has plans online (http://www.woodgas.net/files/FEMA_emergency_gassifer.pdf) on how to build an emergency wood gasifier in case of an oil shortage. I think it would (should?) only be used on farms that have a woodlot and then could be self-sustaining. Besides, every farm should have a woodlot! Our land had one big Douglas Fir when we bought it. We set a few acres aside for a woodlot, and we’ve just been planting trees every year.

[Wamoo]

When we bought our farm, is was just bare ground. We don’t live on the farm full-time, since I’m in the military, but we spend as much time as possible there. The first year we stayed in a tent when we would visit. For the last 2 years, we’ve had “the shack.” It started out as a 8′ X 10′ shed kit from Lowes, and it’s still 8′ X 10′, but we added two windows, a little porch out front, a set of bunk beds, a small fold down table, and a small wood stove designed for an ice shanty. All in all, it has been great! Not a lot of room, but definitely better then a tent! I’m in the Coast Guard, and my wife was. We’ve both spent a lot of time on boats, and for anyone looking at building a small house, it’s worth looking into what boatbuilders have done to maximize space.

[Wamoo]

Welcome! I’m a fairly new member here too! My wife and I have a farm in NE Washington (Bluecreek, 6 miles NW of Chewelah), but I’m currently stationed in Astoria, OR with the Coast Guard.

Anyway, there is a lot of good information here. I’m glad to see another member on DAP, and one from the great Northwest to boot!

[Wamoo]

I don’t know about horses, but on the Organic dairy I work, a few days each month the farmer adds a little soap to the cows drinking water. I’m not sure what soap he uses, or exactly how much. I’ll have to ask him. Supposedly, it works by changing the surface tension of the water. One other thing he told me was, as an Organic dairy, there is just a certain level of worms he has had to learn to live with.

[Wamoo]

@dominiquer60 35256 wrote:

Is the Virginia friend with the diary Randy?

Yes, Randy is my friend. He is a great guy. I made a YouTube video about his dairy. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJIsrLyPqFg This was before he had draft horses though. I also made a video about the Southern Draft Animal Days too. See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn4KAuzbwtk

[Author]

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