The Small-Scale Dairy: The Complete Guide to Milk Production for the Home and Market

By Gianaclis Caldwell

 

Published in 2014 232 pages

 

 

The Small-Scale Dairy includes everything you need to know in order to successfully produce nourishing, healthy, farm-fresh milk.

 

Whether for home use, direct sale to the consumer, or sale to an artisanal cheesemaker, high- quality raw milk is a delicate, desirable product. Successful and sustainable production requires the producer to consider and tackle many details, ranging from animal care to microbiology to good hygienic practices—and, for those with commercial aspirations, business plans, market savvy, and knowledge of the regulations. Applicable to keepers of cows, goats, or sheep, The Small-Scale Dairy offers a holistic approach that explores the relationships between careful, conscientious management and the production of safe, healthy, and delicious milk. A historical overview offers readers a balanced perspective on the current regulatory environment in which raw milk lovers find themselves. Included are options for designing a well-functioning small dairy, choosing equipment, and understanding myriad processes such as the use of low-temperature pasteurization where raw milk sales are prohibited.

 

Whether you have a one-cow home dairy, a fifty-goat operation, or are simply a curious consumer, The Small-Scale Dairy is an accessible and invaluable resource for achieving your goals.

 

Kudos; œIf you're considering taking your passion for dairying full time, this is absolutely the book for you. The Small-Scale Dairy expertly and comprehensively guides you through the entire process of making milk products for home and market. From the science of microbiology and the function of udders, to what's needed to create a milking parlor and even sample floor plans for dairies of all sizes and scales, everything you need to run a dairy is here.â€? —Ashley English, author of Home Dairy with Ashley English

 

 

Gianaclis Caldwell grew up on a small family farm in Oregon, where she milked cows, ran a dairy cow 4-H club, and learned to raise organic produce and meat. In 2005, Gianaclis returned to the property with her husband and their two daughters where they now operate Pholia Farm, an off-grid, raw milk cheese dairy. Gianaclis aged, raw milk cheeses have been recognized and applauded by America's foremost authorities on cheese. Pholia Farm cheeses have been included in many major books on artisan cheese, the latest being Max McCalman's Mastering Cheese, in which her Elk Mountain cheese is included in a short list of €œrock stars of the 21st century.

 

Her Hillis Peak cheese was the centerfold cheese in the winter 2010 issue of Culture Magazine. She was one of the spotlighted cheesemakers in a recent publication, Cheesemaking, by Hobby Farms magazine for their Popular Kitchen Series. She has been teaching all levels of cheesemaking for years, as well as speaking and teaching about the business of farmstead cheese, both at Pholia Farm and other venues, including the American Dairy Goat Association annual convention, the American Cheese Society Conference, and the Mother Earth Newsfairs.