THE GOOD LIFE
Ideas and advice for would-be smallholders in the country and the city
Our farm has been around for a few hundred years. I often think about the crops and animals kept here over the centuries, and how different things must have been when farmers relied on manual labour, heritage crops and keeping just a few animals. They would almost certainly have had a house cow. Many pre-war smallholders and family farms would have kept a cow solely for dairy. One beast alone could produce much more milk, cream and cheese than an average family could consume, meaning that the cow not only supplemented the farmhouse diet but also brought in a bit of revenue. To keep a cow producing milk, she would have to have had a calf every year, but the female calves could have been sold on, or kept to boost the herd, while the males could have been raised for the table or taken to market.
The idea of keeping a house cow fell out of favour during the second half of the 20th century – the price and availability of commercially produced milk made keeping one seem an outdated
extravagance. Yet, in the past few years, many ethically minded smallholders have been returning to the idea. Some people love the thought of producing their own unctuous, buttery raw milk, while others want to avoid the darker elements of intensive dairy farming, such as very early separation of calves from their mothers or the environmental impact of vast indoor mega-dairies.
Trailblazers are also experimenting with different ways of small-scale dairying, such as keeping the calves with their mothers for longer or taking less milk for human consumption to allow the cow to nurse her calf at the same time. (See page 112 for our feature on Taw River Dairy, which aims for the highest standards of animal welfare.)
For first-time farmers or smallholders, cows are often seen as the hardest creature to start with. Its sheer size and physicality can be terrifying and, if you’re going to keep a cow for dairy, the twice-daily milking schedule can seem daunting. You also need some big pieces of kit; many a well-trained house cow will tolerate being milked with just a head-halter or stanchion (head-holding device), but a vet will insist you have a ‘cattle crush’ – or standing stock (stall or cage) – for blood tests, injections or pregnancy diagnoses.
Anyone who keeps a house cow, however, tends to find themselves smitten. If you’re a smallholder interested in holistic, naturefriendly farming, I’d recommend reading Keeping a Family Cow by Joann Grohman. I would also suggest going on a taster course to see how being around such large animals really feels. A good introductory course should cover daily routines, essential equipment, housing and muck, health, hygiene and safety, and legal requirements.