I LOVE the fact that we found a new place to buy raw milk. The setting is idyllic, the farmer is friendly, the farm is Animal Welfare Approved, the milk is rich, thick, and creamy, and there are cats, chickens, dogs, and even snakes to look at when we visit. What more can you ask for?
I love that the little babe has the opportunity to see where milk comes from. Until we have a cow of our own, this is the next best thing. The farmer is happy to answer our questions and truly seems to enjoy what he does. I appreciate how much of a luxury it is to be able to buy raw milk right from the farm. Right now my fridge is full of dairy products. Between this source for cow's milk and discovering that I can buy goat's milk for 1/2 price after the farmer pulls it from the grocery store shelves, I am in amateur cheese making heaven. Chevre, feta, ricotta, yogurt (which my husband makes), and plenty of whey for baking. This weekend we made mozzarella and it actually worked!
How about you? Do you have a local dairy to support? I'm currently reading The Town That Food Saved by Ben Hewitt and hearing about the decline of small family dairies in Vermont makes me glad that I have one to support here in Pennsylvania.
*It is illegal for this farm to sell raw cream - they can sell raw milk, but not raw cream. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? That is why we purchase milk from them, but have to buy cream from another farm in order to make butter. The cream has to either be pasteurized or the buyer can sign a "contract" with the farmer to purchase raw cream. Somehow the government thinks it is safer for me to drink cream that is produced by a conventional dairy (probably tainted with antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals), heated until all of the good things are gone, and then shipped hundreds of miles to sit on a grocery store shelf RATHER than driving 15 minutes and buying cream that was in the cow less than 24 hours earlier. Yeah, makes a lot of sense.