by Sue Newhouse

This is the third in a series on local farms in and nearby Denton County

Traci grew up on a farm in Wisconsin that was established in 1827. It was there that she inherited her parent’s passion and love of farming. So it seemed perfectly reasonable that when Traci’s mother became ill a few years ago,  for Traci and her husband, Todd to find a couple of those doe-eyed, brown and white Jersey calves to pick up her spirits.  That was in 1999. Traci’s mother is no longer with them, but you can still feel her spirit on their family dairy in Krum, Texas.

Dairy farming is a very demanding, stressful occupation. It requires someone be on the property to milk every 12 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Todd works off the farm during the day leaving Traci to manage the operation. Someone has to be available morning and night for milking the 8 Jersey cows currently producing 20-25 gallons each day. Shannon, a part time relief milker has helped out to give the couple an occasional night off, but a recently recruited full time farm intern – Mandy, has been able to give them a much needed break. Just returning from 10 days in Wisconsin visiting family and friends, as well as attending the annual World Dairy Expo in Madison, it’s the 1st time they’ve been away from the farm in 3 years.

This is a raw milk dairy. The unpasteurized milk & cream are sold on the farm directly to its members. The pasteurization process slows down the microbial growth by destroying both the good and the bad natural occurring bacteria.  The proponents of raw milk claim that by not pasteurizing it retains more of its beneficial qualities.

There’s no question that these are happy cows .They’re pastured and fed extra hay when needed and because of the healthy life-style, there’s no need for any hormones or added antibiotics.

Cleanliness is an essential aspect of the milking process.  The cow’s udders are cleaned with antibacterial solutions and wipes ensuring the most sanitary transfer of milk from cow to milk jug.  The cows are milked one at a time using a single cow milking machine known as a bucket milker.  From the bucket milker it’s transferred to a holding container where it’s bottled into 1 gallon jugs for sale. If there’s an excess of daily milk, Traci will run it through a cream separator to offer members pints of wonderfully thick cream.  They always sell only fresh milk daily.

At the present time, membership is full. New members come to them because they know someone who’s already a member.  The next time you talk with your friends, you might ask them where they’re getting their milk!

For more local farm info try:
www.SlowFoodUSA.org
www.LocalHarvest.org
www.NaturallyGrown.org
www.EatGreenDFW.com

If you know of great farm in your community, email:  suenewhouse@yahoo.com