What type of cows do you have?
Our herd used to be all Friesian, but after converting to organic in 1988 Oliver found that Friesians are not best suited to organic farming. He started to breed in European dual purpose hill farming breeds to produce a more robust, good matured cow that is not as stressed and has more chance of an easy calving. Now the herd is a mixture of lots of breeds such as Brown Swiss, Normande, Montbeliard, Swiss Red, Dairy Shorthorn and most recently Ayrshire.
What happens to the calves?
The heifer calves are kept to go into the herd and the male calves are sold to other farms to be raised for beef. This is the other advantage of having mixed breeds in the herd.
What is homogenisation?
Homogenisation is the process of physically breaking the fat globules so small that they cannot float to the surface to form the cream layer we used to get. Virtually all milk is now homogenised although it is a cosmetic procedure that does not benefit the consumer.
Is your milk homogenised?
None of our milk in cartons is homogenised which allows the cream to rise to the top. This gives you the choice of using the cream or shaking the carton to mix it up.
