Cooke's Frontier Radio Hour Show Notes

Another week, another new podcast! It's really amazing how quickly the weeks are going by for our family right now. You can find this weeks show Family Milk Cows and Recipes! at this link. Want to listen to something new? There are hosts on The Survival Mom Radio Network covering topics from prepping to homeschooling to living off grid. There is something for everyone!

I have 3 Recipe's of the Week this week. All 3 of these are simple, no bake treats that your whole family will enjoy.

Minty Grasshopper Pie- a creamy, delicious no bake pie that has an incredible minty flavor!
Banana Split Pie- Ice cream combines with bananas, strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipper cream to create this cool frozen treat.
Almond Joy No Bake Cookies- Everyone loves no bake cookies, but these take it one step further by adding sweet coconut and crunchy toasted almonds.

This week I also discussed the Family Milk Cow. Here are some highlights:

1. Decide what you are going to use the milk for and how much milk you think you are going to use. From there, do some research and decide what breed of milk cow will fit your needs. For example, a smaller family might be better off with a breed like a Dexter, while a larger family or a family looking to  make a lot of dairy products (cheeses, sour cream, cottage cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, etc) might be happier with a larger producing Jersey. 
2. Look in your area to determine what types of milk cows are available. Combine that information with your prior research and decide which cows you should take a look at. 
3. Go look at some cows. Get in with them, touch them, see how they act. Cull out the cows that are skittish, have a mean temperament or the ones who the owners aren't willing to let you touch. Spend some time looking them over to see how they act around people. 
4. When you have the animal picked out, have a vet check her over. If the owners aren't comfortable with this, it's time to find another animal. When the vet gives her a clean bill of health, take her home!
5. Begin milking, either with a milking machine or by hand, and get your cow set up on a twice a day (or once a day, if you are doing that) schedule. 

A couple more things to think about: Cleanliness is VERY important. Your equipment, hands and the cows' udder must be immaculately clean. There are dairy cleaners available or you can use one of the many formulas you can find by searching "udder wash" online. Also, get that milk chilled to 40 degrees as fast as possible, especially if you are planning on drinking it raw! One last thing to think about while deciding if a milk cow is for you is this: you have to keep that cow having a calf every year or so to keep her milking. Do you have the ability, or does someone you know have the ability, to AI her or bring a bull (or take her to a bull) so she can have a calf each year? Buying a milk cow won't do you any good if she isn't giving you any milk!