Grow Your Own Dairy Products

Grow Your Own Dairy Products

Have you ever noticed all of the packaging involved with yogurt, cheese, milk and butter?  If you eat very many dairy products, all of that packaging really starts to add up. And what’s with the ingredients?  If you look closely at the ingredients, especially in yogurt, you will see some suspicious items that really shouldn’t be in any ingredients list.  If you want to be healthier and create less waste, grow your own dairy products.

Even if you have very little space, you can raise a couple of goats.  There is a miniature dairy breed, the Nigerian Dwarf, that can live pretty happily in a spacious backyard.  I raise these goats, and they are a delight to have around.  They also have very rich milk and require less feed relative to the milk they produce when compared with full size goats.

If goats aren’t your thing, old world milk cows, such as those our pioneer forefathers brought over, also require less space than modern breeds and produce more milk for their feed.  Look into miniature Jerseys or Dexters, and enjoy milk that is fresh, tasty and free from chemicals.  Cows are ideal for butter production, having a much higher butterfat content than goats.

Whether you like goats or cows, you can easily adapt an existing place to care for one of the miniature varieties, ensuring as much milk products as your family can eat while saving on all that packaging waste and living healthier in the bargain.  Now who could argue with the logic in that?