RAW MILK
Available exclusively at the farm store, our fresh, raw (unpasteurized) milk comes from our herd of 35-40 rotationally grazed cows.
Our milk is available exclusively in our farm store, 1255 Oblong Road, Williamstown, MA.
Per Massachusetts state law, we are only permitted to sell whole raw milk directly to customers at our on-site farm store. We are not permitted to sell raw milk at farmers markets or other off-site locations, nor are we permitted to deliver raw milk or make raw cream. We are only permitted to sell whole raw milk directly to customers at our on-site farm store.
Our calves get first serve of the milk. When they are young they are bottle fed milk.
Some calves get their milk supply from special cows called Nurse Cows.
CURRENT PRICING:
Plastic Gallon — $10
Plastic Half-Gallon — $5
Glass Half-Gallon — $9 ($5 + $4 glass deposit)
If you have been in our farm store to buy raw milk lately you may have noticed the absence of our beloved glass milk bottles. The cost, time, and labor of meticulously hand washing our glass bottles has drastically reduced the number we are able to fill. We are in the process of acquiring a mechanized bottle washer which will greatly improve our efficiency and return glass to regular rotation.
Reducing our plastic usage is very important to us and we appreciate your patience as we go through this transition.
These dates are sell by dates. Your delicious raw milk should last at least a week from date of purchase. Raw milk will not spoil, but it will start to sour and at that point can be very useful for baking.
People around the world have milked animals (cows, sheep, goats, camels, etc.) for thousands of years-consuming the raw milk directly and preserving it in the form of dairy products.
Pasteurized milk (heated to over 160 °F) is a relatively new product. Pasteurization came about less than a century ago, as a reaction to milk produced in urban dairies from cows kept in confinement and fed industrial waste-largely from distilleries. Contamination of such milk was controlled by heating it (“pasteurizing” it) to kill all bacteria, both the good and the bad.
Eventually the urban dairies disappeared, but pasteurization remained. Now a growing number of people are learning that fresh milk from nearby dairy farms-where cows still graze outside and are managed using organic and sustainable practices-does not need pasteurization. It tastes better, is more beneficial to human health and the health of the environment, and directly supports local farmers and communities. In Massachusetts there are about 2 dozen farms that pass rigorous inspections and are certified to sell raw milk from their farm stores.
Cricket Creek Farm is currently the only Raw Milk provider in Berkshire County.
The information above is from a NOFA/Mass brochure, Raw Milk in Massachusetts.
Why is Raw Milk So Good?
Raw milk is the ultimate whole food. It contains many nutrients essential to human health, and comes complete with companion enzymes and amino acids necessary for the human body to make use of those nutrients.
Raw Milk Contains:
- High levels of calcium and other minerals, and the enzymes necessary to metabolize these minerals. Those enzymes are destroyed in the pasteurization process.
- An abundance of beneficial bacteria that can rebalance a digestive system unable to process many foods, and can restore the immune system. These good bacteria help produce and assimilate vitamins and minerals, fight off illnesses, and regulate bodily processes. Pasteurization destroys all bacteria in milk.
- Water- and fat-soluble vitamins, two-thirds or more of which are destroyed during pasteurization. Vitamins B6 and B12 are almost entirely destroyed during pasteurization. More than 50% of milk’s Vitamin C value is lost to pasteurization as well. Milk from grass-fed cows is higher in Vitamins A and D and has more omega-3 fatty acids (“the good fats”) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
- A level of fat necessary for the body to absorb milk’s calcium and protein. Pasteurized reduced-fat or skim milk is an ineffective source of calcium.
- The enzymes phosphatase, essential for the absorption of calcium; lipase, which aids in the digestion of fats; and lactase, which helps with the digestion of lactose. Pasteurization, however, destroys all three of these enzymes.
- Amino acids, essential to the body’s ability to repair tissue, metabolize protein and generate energy. Pasteurization renders these acids useless.
The information above is from a NOFA/Mass brochure, Raw Milk in Massachusetts.
Economic Benefits of Raw Milk
In 1950, Massachusetts had nearly 5,000 dairy farms. In 2008, there were fewer than 180 and today there are less than 100. The main cause for this tragedy is economic. Rising fuel and feed costs in the Northeast mean local dairies cannot compete with large, industrialized confinement dairies operating in the Midwest and Canada.
When you buy milk directly from our farm you are helping to preserve our collective community by paying a fair price. This, in part, helps us to cover farming costs.
Environmental Benefits of Raw Milk
Farms selling raw milk and receiving a retail price are more sustainable, meaning long-term preservation of open space and the use of management practices that are beneficial to the environment.
Cows are healthiest when they are able to be outdoors, grazing on pasture. In turn, they fertilize the soil and experience fewer animal health problems. When cows graze on pasture, less energy is needed to mow, bale, and move hay, reducing fossil fuel use and cutting the carbon impact of producing a valuable food.
Our small grass-based dairy fosters long-term sustainable farming practices, protecting the environment, and the preservation of the rural and agricultural character of Massachusetts.
How Dairy Cows are Regenerating the Landscape in Massachusetts (pdf)
Practical Benefits
Raw milk is extremely versatile. The milk and cream can be separated and the cream can be used to make butter, buttermilk, cream, ice cream, and sour cream. The milk can be consumed directly or used to make kefir, yogurt and cheeses.
The freshness and purity of farm fresh milk leads to very little waste. Milk purchased fresh from the farm will keep up to two weeks when refrigerated. If it sours, the milk — unlike pasteurized milk, which goes bad — is still healthy and can be used for baking, biscuits, pancakes, etc.
The information above is sourced from a NOFA/Mass brochure, Raw Milk in Massachusetts.
There is a lot of information available about the dangers of Raw Milk and data that tells a story of easily transmittable disease and unsanitary practices. Because Raw Milk in not federally regulated, regulation varies state by state and can impact how Raw Milk is defined and how it is distributed. Our milk is produced for human consumption from grass-fed cows and we have additional safeguards and considerations that milk being produced for a pasteurized environment may not. We follow state guidelines as well as best practices from the Raw Milk Institute.
In addition to state mandated testing, we take a number of safety measures to ensure that the product we are providing is safe and nutrient rich.
Animal Health: We ensure the health of our dairy herd and are committed to feeding them a diverse grass based diet, limited in additives and free of pesticides. Our cows diet impacts the quality of their milk and its nutrients. They are given ample space to roam, which also reduces their exposure to disease. Our dairy herd live primarily on pastures, rest when they please, and have shelter from severe weather which contribute to a life of limited stress and 2 to 3 times the longevity of industrial dairy cows. When a cow does get sick it is isolated from the herd and treated back to health before milk is extracted for human use again. We use antibiotics sparingly, but when necessary to treat cows and keep them healthy. Having a farmer perform the milking each morning (as opposed to moving to robotic milking) also allows us to catch issues quickly, inspecting feet and utters for any problems as they pass through the milking parlor.
Sanitation of equipment: Our piping mechanisms that move the milk from the utter to the tank are washed after each milking using a Clean-in-Place (CIP) system, which is a mechanized washing and sanitization that doesn’t require any of the equipment to be dismantled or handled in the process to create an isolated hygienic system. We use our creamery sanitization practices to ensure the bulk tank is thoroughly washed and sanitized after the bulk tank is emptied.
Temperature Control: Milk is stored in a bulk tank and quickly brought to a holding temperature of 38-40 degrees and regularly monitored.
Bottling: Glass bottles are washed and sanitized. Bottles are spot tested with an ATP Tester to ensure the quality of washing has removed all molecules.
Since August, the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR) has been taking monthly samples from all milk facilities in the state, including ours, to test for Avian Influenza (H5N1). There have been no positive samples in Massachusetts to date.
Even with the announcement that the USDA will begin taking samples, Massachusetts will continue their own testing, which means we know our milk will be tested each month.
Our newborn calves are vaccinated to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. There are no COVID-19 mRNA vaccines licensed for animals, as some online have suggested.
For more information, please visit this link from AP News: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-mrna-vaccine-livestock-mandate-covid-564035224253
When it is necessary individual dairy cows are treated with antibiotics. They are restricted from our milking process until they no longer have traces of the antibiotics in their system.
To learn more about Raw Milk and the practices that shape our ethos check out these additional resources
Northeast Organic Farming Association
BOOKS:
Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World
Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages
Devil in the Milk
ARTICLES:
Dairy farms in Massachusetts, and across New England, are evaporating.
Two Types of Raw Milk – Is All Raw Milk Dangerous