Cost of herd share??

[yourbadd]

The dream of owning my own goats is a ways off and I'd like to get started now enjoying the benefits of fresh milk and cheese. Recent health problems have dictated a major change in mine and my family's eating habits.

I have been looking into local herd shares and was hoping to find out what to expect price-wise. I am so new to this I have no clue!! I know it'll be higher than what I'm spending per month at the grocery store but with the higher quality and capability to make good, healthy (non-chemical laden) cheese and yogurt, I'm okay with that.

I've only come across one farm here in central Ohio (Morrow county). I would like to stay close to home since my drive time to pick up the milk factors into the cost. But if you know someone who has either dairy cows or goats with a share available I'd love to have their info. My hubby works near Marysville so that area and Delaware are not unreasonable locations either!!

 

[BeccaOH]

I've had interest too. Talked to one farm about it, but it didn't work out as they were overwhelmed by the paperwork. We didn't even get into costs. I feel your pain. I'd like to find a good source of milk in Ohio near me, but so far no luck.

 

[CrimsonRose]

There is an ad on craigslist... it's in zanesville though...

http://zanesville.craigslist.org/grd/2558235152.html

 

[BeccaOH]

There is an ad on craigslist... it's in zanesville though...

http://zanesville.craigslist.org/grd/2558235152.html

Wow! What a bold ad. I wish Zanesville was closer to me.

 

[BeccaOH]

So, you got me expanding a Craigslist search, and I found one near me for goat's milk. I'm nearly dancing in my seat!

http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/grd/2523675636.html

Thanks for the idea for check CL. I didn't really think it possible to find that easy or that close.

 

[CrimsonRose]

That's awesome! so far closest one I've found is the zanesville one... that's a 2 hour drive... the milk would be sour by the time I got it home... ROFL

 

[yourbadd]

I'm kinda wary of someone who's so blunt and open about the raw milk thing after what went down the the Amish farmer. While I think it's absurd that we can't purchase raw milk but are allowed some if we have a herd share, I want to make sure I am on the right side of any transaction. I've got a husband, kids and fledgling hobby farm going...don't have the time or money to get caught up in a legal battle over the glass of milk I used to wash down my cookies!!

I will check out craigslist and ask at our next 4-H meeting too. I was hoping someone could give me an idea of how deep into my pocket I'll need to dig!

 

[FarmerJamie]

So, you got me expanding a Craigslist search, and I found one near me for goat's milk. I'm nearly dancing in my seat!

http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/grd/2523675636.html

Thanks for the idea for check CL. I didn't really think it possible to find that easy or that close.

Becca, your link needs re-done.

Link to craigslist ad

 

[PamsPride]

The woman that bad mouthed me on Facebook after one of my goats died has an EVEN BOLDER AD in our local paper!! NO mention of a herd share and that her goats milk is $8 a gallon with her name, phone number, and Facebook URL!!

 

[Leta]

Yeah, CL is how I found my herd share (and some cool friends, too! ).

In my case, I posted the ad, stating that I was looking for one. I said either cow or goat would be fine, and just said I wanted "farm fresh milk". (I wanted to keep a relatively low profile, because MI's raw milk laws make me SMH. Our friends laugh at us because we never use our farmer's last names. My DSS compares it to arms trading.) I got two calls from the ad, and in one case the caller, B, ended up hooking me up with my goat mentor/herder S. In turn, when B and S both expanded, we talked to folks at DH's work and got our farmers more shareholders.

Word of mouth is the way to go, but CL can be a great way to get things started.