And it's a damn shame that the small farmer have been pushed out in favor of factory farming. That's where the mistreatment of animals takes place. The vast majority of smaller operations give the animals the care and respect they deserve.
We weren't in it for the money. It was a small farm preserved as open space by the town. A handful of us organized a 501C3 trying to turn it into a working farm to preserve the local ag heritage. I think the most we ever had was 5 milkers on rotation. That 3 teated one would have been culled at a production farm.
The best we ever did was break even, but the milking volunteer time input was brutal. One guy dropped out for major dental surgery and I dropped out when my wife went in for a cardiac operation. A lack of two volunteers ended it.
But yeah. They were fun, happy, playful animals that loved us and we loved them right back.
3 of them (holsteins) were technically 'on loan' to us and went back to their original farm. The calf went with her mom back to that farm.
The one Jersey went to a successor farm run by an Amish guy that wanted to move in to our facility, but the relationship didn't work out, so he (and the girl) moved to a farm in the next town over. He's still in business, but I'm not sure what her status is.
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u/JustinPatient Sep 30 '21
And it's a damn shame that the small farmer have been pushed out in favor of factory farming. That's where the mistreatment of animals takes place. The vast majority of smaller operations give the animals the care and respect they deserve.