Raw Milk

welcome to the herd

Our A2A2 Jersey ladies are the royalty of the farm, and treated like queens. The golden tinge of their milk is a dietary staple; the nutritional value and taste of our raw milk is transformative. Raw Milk, albeit culturally controversial, is historically present in the human diet, and for good reason. Much of our milk today is cooked and stripped, then “revamped” with synthetic nutrients. Although this method pasteurizes the milk, it does not make it any more healthy, but in turn, makes it more difficult to digest, and rids it of any natural nutrients it may have contained, just as if you overcooked your fresh picked tomato. Here at Smoke in Chimneys raw milk is not just an addition to your cereal, it is not just the cream to your coffee, it isn’t even just the drink to your dinnertime meal, raw milk is considered a food in-and-of itself, alive with good bacteria and packed with dense nutrients and vitamins. There is nothing in this world like it.

diet and management

To ensure the best quality raw milk, Smoke in Chimneys is concerned with two things, healthy cows, and clean milking procedures. Conventional dairies are concerned with production, so often their milking procedures are far from clean (because they pasteurize the milk anyway) and the cows are far from healthy (because their main purpose is to produce more milk, pulling from their condition, and to do it cheaply, keeping the cows on concrete and in tight spaces). At Smoke in Chimneys our cows are always on pasture, and two months out of the year given hay cut from our land. They are rotationally grazed, and given a selection of 16 free choice minerals so they can balance their bodies themselves. As they move across our fields in paddocks, they deposit priceless nutrition and minerals into the soil with their manure. They are always provided with clean water and shade. Additionally, we are a little unconventional, and like to keep our calves with their mamas. We come alongside them as a “second calf” but allow the calf to always get all she needs, and to keep a good bond with her mother. At Smoke in Chimneys we hand milk, and each time we milk our cows get a treat of a local grain mixture. Although it takes a little more time to hand milk, it actually ensures a more clean product, because it lacks the potential for bacteria to harbor in tubing and pumps when milking electronically. It is  also quite a special place, to be up against the belly of a cow in the winter, watching the steam of the milk rise from your can.

why choose milk from our cows?

Raw milk is not only a “super food” but is historically one of the most important and essential parts of the human diet. This is because the good bacteria in the raw milk (which is only available if unpasteurized) helps people to maintain a healthy gut, and aids in processing the milk, so to ensure your body is reaping the benefits of all the vitamins and nutrients the milk provides. Because raw milk is raw, at Smoke in Chimneys we believe it would be a waste to have our cows' diet mostly consist of grain. This is because everything the cow eats is transferred into the milk. This means, all the sunlight (essential vitamins D and A), the different varieties of grasses and legumes filled with proteins and vitamins, and the minerals straight from the ground, as well as their free choice system, ARE your milk! This is also why we don’t give our cows antibiotics or medicate them with hormones. (If a cow is sick, she is removed from the line and treated with herbal remedies and then medically if necessary) Raw milk is a tribute to history, and a faithful step towards a better future. It is golden in color, but also the precious gold of our diets.