Cattle - Raising Small Animals - page 485

• Ice cream: Ice cream made from grass-fed milk, especially without artificial colors and
flavors, is a healthier option than mass-produced ice cream.
• Sour cream: Made by adding bacteria that sour the cream
Selling to other companies
You will not have to worry about processing if you sell to other companies because these
companies will process your milk into whatever products they sell. Selling to other companies
usually involves a contract, and you must produce your milk to their standards. Often, you
also are not allowed to use your milk for any other sales purpose, and you must give it all to
the company you are contracting with.
Cooperatives
You may also be able to join a milk-marketing cooperative. Cooperatives are groups of farm-
ers who share resources and market their collective products under one brand name. An exist-
ing dairy cooperative probably already has an arrangement with a processing company. An
example of a cooperative is PastureLand, a group of grass-fed organic farmers based in Min-
nesota. Beef farmers also can form cooperatives. An example is the brand Wisconsin Mead-
ows, a group of Wisconsin farmers.
Farmstead processing
As mentioned earlier, many farmers who target niche markets find that they can get the best
price for their products by producing it and marketing it themselves. If you want to make a
living selling dairy products, on-farm processing is a big undertaking that will require an ad-
ditional investment in equipment and training; some dairies also employ an additional person
to do the actual processing. You will have to weigh the costs of these undertakings against the
goals of your farm. It easily could cost a few thousand dollars to buy equipment such as a
cheese vat, a cream separator, and packaging equipment. If you just want to make products
yourself, there are companies that specialize in less costly, kitchen-size equipment, such as
New England Cheesemaking Supply Company ( www.cheesemaking.com ) and Glengarry
Cheesemaking and Dairy Supply ( www.glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca ). You may be able to
find deals on used dairy equipment at auctions or online. You also will need packaging equip-
ment and coolers or freezers to store your products.