This is Sweet Georgia Brown. I spend a lot of my time with her. Georgia and I have had to work some things out between us, but we’ve finally settled down into a routine and hold each other in mutual respect. Here’s how I manage the responsibilities of milking while keeping my sanity and a somewhat-normal life.
1. Milk only once a day. This technique is not an urban myth. It works. And I like to have freedom to go out to dinner or out for the afternoon.
2. Find a milking buddy (preferably out of the family). Before we committed to a milk cow, we made sure that we had a milking conversation with our neighbor and two family friends. Even if we didn’t plan on ever vacationing, this is still an important factor. Weddings, emergencies, and the flu are facts of life.
My mom and I also had agreed to share milking duties, but as time went on, we discovered that I was connecting more with the milking side of things. Now, she is the yogurt and cheese maker, and I am the milkmaid.
3. Be flexible. Sometimes things just won’t go as planned. The cow put her foot in the bucket? These things happen. Give the milk to the chickens. Stuck in traffic and have to push milking an hour late? Not ideal, but it’s ok. The cow refuses to come? Try to get her to come, but if she really doesn’t want to be milked, let her make that call.
I’ve learned to work with Georgia. Sometimes I have to decide what’s best, and sometimes I let her have her way.
4. But try to have a good routine! This is beyond frustrating for some humans. (These people probably shouldn’t keep milk cows). But cows love routines. They will even happily do things that they hate if they are allowed to do it every day. Keeping to a routine will make milking much less stressful.
5. Enjoy that dry season. A dry season (a time of non-producing right before a new calf) is critical for the health of a milk cow. During particularly busy years, we lengthen the dry season a few months. Georgia never suffers from it, and it gives us some off time. This is a good time to travel.
6. Don’t feel pressure to perform. Come on – you’re keeping a milk cow! That’s awesome! You don’t have to make brie cheese and peach yogurt. It’s ok to buy cheddar cheese from Costco. It’s ok that your milk cow doesn’t produce enough cream to make butter. Maybe there will come a time when you have time to stir curds slowly with a wooden spoon for an hour, but if it’s not happening right now, it’s ok.
7. Have fun with it. I like raw milk, but if every morning milking was just another chore, I wouldn’t keep a milk cow. But cows are fun; Georgia is one of my close friends. I sing and quote poetry during milking. I watch the sunrise through the open gate. Mornings with my friend Georgia draw me closer to God and the important things in life, and this is what truly keeps my sanity.