GUERNSEY COWS ~ My First Farm Love
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When I was very young, I grew up on a small dairy farm before my father had to change it over to a beef cow operation for financial purposes. Besides horses, I had a passion for cows, and my favorites were the ones that would allow me, as a small child, to go out into the pasture and just randomly milk one of them. This became a problem with my father. I'm pretty sure I remember several spankings over this affair. I often wondered as I grew older, if I were the reason for the dairy to fail miserably. Later I learned that it was the small farm economy at the time.
We had several different breeds of dairy cows, but my favorite and first love was what my parents called the golden Guernsey. To me they were just beautiful, big and sweet and gentle for the most part, and they gave the most delicious milk and golden butter, which I quite happily helped to churn. I vowed I would have my very own milk cow someday. Eventually, when my then boyfriend (later, husband) proposed to me in 1976, he was (clearly) made to understand that this (having a cow) was to happen someday in the future, if I were to consent to his proposal. He said he would never be a farmer, but he was more than happy for me to have a farm if I wanted one. Years later, I don’t think he was still properly prepared for that condition in my acceptance (of his proposal). But, he did survive many attempts of our trying, over the course of many years, to have that family milk cow - Guernsey being the priority if we could find one.
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Peige and me in 1977
My first calf was purchased from my brother Mark soon after we married. I'm not sure what breed she was, but I loved her and proudly named her Peige I. It was obvious I planned to have more. She eventually had a calf and I promptly named her Peige II as I was beginning to invision myself a real cattle baron. However, it didn’t work out because we had to move several times, and the “herd” of two was sold. Over the years, we tried a couple of other dairy breeds including the Irish Dexter, but for one reason or another, they didn’t work out.
Finally, after many years of patiently waiting, we were able to track down a dairy farm in Missouri who was willing to sell us two little golden Guernsey heifers! I can’t even put into words the excitement and contentment I felt at the time - a little like welcoming a new child into your home - that kind of excitement! The calves were 1 week old (Bella) and one day old (LauraRose) at the time we brought them home. The calves were purchased in Ava, Missouri, only two miles from the Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder homeplace and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. Thus the LauraRose name.
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Bella and LauraRose
From that point, we went on to raising and selling the family milk cow – with the focus on Guernsey A2/A2 milk and all it’s nutritional properties and delicious cream, butter and taste. We spent a lot of time and money researching the benefits of A2/A2 milk and on drinking raw milk verses pasturized milk, etc. It was time well spent. The joys, the sorrows, the physical labor in the heat of the Arkansas summers and the cold, wet and sometimes bitter winters are nothing I would change.
We are down to one cow now, our original LauraRose who is no longer producing milk or re-producing calves (a blog post somewhere in the blog) but she is retired here on her IRISH ACRES farm.
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For farm fresh milk, I will sometimes barter with my farmgirl friend who has Jersey cow milk, or I spend my time milking the dairy goats in the spring and summer for their delicious and nutritious milk. However, nothing will ever compare to a big cold glass of fresh golden Guernsey milk or that golden butter on fresh baked bread from the oven. Gosh, I’m making myself hungry...
Peaches and calf
A page from a Guernsey calendar
Noel and calf
Just for fun!
