Dairy Farming: The Beautiful Way

This book is a jewel to the owner of a "family cow." Our family has 9 acres and 3 Dexters, and we were thinking of sprouting grain and buying an old tractor - not anymore! Adam Klaus is thorough and his explanations are clear and succinct. It was a delight to read this book in only a couple of hours, and come out with so much clarity on so many issues - from how to handle cows/bulls to what kind of hay to buy. The "pasture riddle" was dealt with in a way that a "newbie" like me could finally understand this better (most books are for bigger operations and/or too technical); our cows struggle with fescue toxicity last summer, and now I have more clarity on how to approach this issue. We are now looking for a cow with horns, a difficult task! Also, don't want to continue with Dexters because the butter comes white even in the spring/summer and it is hard to make. But, after reading this book, won't get a Jersey either...

I have read several books on keeping a family cow; this book picks up where they leave off by identifying the tools and tasks necessary for creating and managing a small, commercial family dairy. Goes into a lot of details about pasturing and milking your cows in a manner that is healthy and beneficial for the environment and the animals. I specifically liked the fact he only milks once a day and keeps his calves with their Mothers until they are 3 months old. I have been told again and again by other people that approach to a commercial dairy would not work - he proves them wrong! Really recommend this book for anyone considering getting a family cow just because of the section on creating and maintaining pastures; whether you want to go totally grass-fed or not; this was quality information!

I got my copy, and finished reading it in about 3 days! An easy read, tons of really great, relevant information for anyone wanting to start a raw milk dairy. Adam has a nice writing style that flows well and conveys his information accurately. The information on selecting an easy keeping, high production animal was awesome! What I would really like to see in a future edition, or addition to the text would be some nice illustrations. Maybe floor plan sketches of the milking parlor layout, barn and paddock set ups, etc. I think this would really help folks who are more visual in these areas to learn how to set something like this up. Add the illustrations and it would be even better. A great read that will be at the front of my library for years to come as I start to expand my cattle ventures into dairy!

Great book!

Very good information is contained in this book! I had almost lost interest in having a dairy cow after the last book I purchased on the topic. The last book made me feel that the average person couldn't raise a cow without having a bovine vet on call 24/7 or I would loose my cow or calf, or both, at any stage of their lives... like nearly all deliveries will require intervention. This book certainly dispelled the fear the last book caused and gave me hope that I can attain my dream of a small herd in the future. The principles and ethics are right in line with how I want to raise my animals. Extremely valuable information is within these pages!

Having worked on a small-scale dairy farm in New Mexico, I can say that this book has everything one needs to run an efficient and profitable grass-fed organic dairy. From the details of daily operations to the bigger picture considerations of site planning and infrastructure, this book gives you the information you need to be successful. There is no better resource out there, trust me, I have read them all, that approaches dairy farming in such a natural and holistic way. The knowledge in this book will reassure you about how to achieve your goals with dairy farming, whether for your family or as a commercial business. We can only hope that more farms in the future will utilize dairy cows for the betterment of the land, the farm, and the farmer.

I like the spirit in which this book was written, especially the reverence for cows the author extols. However I just finished chapter 5 on milk handling and was surprised at the lack of reference to state and national requirements for milk processing. The last chapter of the book briefly addresses the legalities of raw milk but does not address the laws regarding processing. We have a licensed grade A raw milk dairy in a state where inspected and licensed raw milk sales from farm and retail are legal, and the guidelines the author recommends for the processing of raw milk to yogurt would never pass our state's processed raw milk standards. The authors directions are wonderful for home use but would be unacceptable for legal sale in most states. Likewise several of his recommendations for setting up the milk room would have been unacceptable to our our dairy inspector as well. This book is great for the homesteader or non licensed dairy, or to read about dairy cow management, but if you are interested in establishing a licensed dairy buisness Caldwell's books would be a much better choice. From a dairy management perspective and quality of writing I would give the book 3 stars, but from a buisness perspective 1 star.