A Different Kind Of Dairy

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Raw Milk Products Becoming More Popular In Area

As farmers across the country celebrate National Dairy Month, the image of barns full of hundreds of cattle comes to mind, each having their milking done by machine before heading off to be pasteurized.The traditional farm, boasting a few cows where milking is done by hand, has become a novelty in America. However, for the Lapp farm in Cassadaga, the demand for raw milk and milk products made owner Kellogg shift from a farm of 60 cows to six.``My family has owned the farm for many years, having founded it in 1971,'' Mrs. Kellogg explained. ``Eventually the family got smaller as people moved away.''As her parents and 11 siblings eventually departed, Mrs. Kellogg was left with the farm, and decided to take the farm in a different direction.In 2003, the herd was dispersed, and the Kelloggs were approached by individuals seeking raw milk. At the time they were legally not able to sell any, but after applying to the state they were certified to sell raw milk. All of the milk is antibiotic-free and rBGH-free, and the pair is seeing a high demand for their products.``We realized that if people are coming out here to buy milk, it's better (for them) if there are other options as well,'' Mrs. Kellogg explained. In October 2007, the farm opened a brand-new cheese-making facility, and began retail sales at the farm. Her sister, Lydia Lapp, and niece, Lapp, work four days a week in the facility making raw milk cheddar cheese and cheese curds. Additionally, the farm produces yogurt with raw milk.Mrs. Lapp and spent a few years practicing making cheese in their own kitchen, before moving into the new facility. The curds are pressed into molds, then wrapped with cheese-cloths to give them smooth, rounded shapes. They are then drained for some time before being put into the freezer.``The cheeses we sell are usually aged about six months,'' Mrs. Kellogg said. ``The longer they're aged, the sharper they get. I've heard they can stay in the freezer for up to two years, but since we've just opened last October, we haven't even been in business that long.''She said one of the reasons why her products are so popular are because of the cows. The six Brown Swiss and Jersey/German Red cows live in a specialized barn on 20 acres of land. The barn is built to be very open with sawdust bedding, and each cow is hand-milked daily. The herd is raised in a very natural setting, with rotating pastures, meaning the animals are moved to different patches of land throughout the day to ensure fresh grass. They are fed all natural products, and the diet is designed to be one adapted by cows if they were to live in nature, meaning there are no hormones and no corn.``It was quite a change going from 60 cows to six, but I like it,'' Mrs. Kellogg said. ``I feel like I have more of a relationship with the animals. Each one is named, we treat them very well — it's a very different way of farming.''A DIFFERENT BREED OF MILKFor Carl and Ann Schultz, owners of Small Meadows Farm in Ashville, the idea of farming a large, commercial dairy of cattle held no appeal. Instead, the couple maintain 40 heads of of goat, some of which are used for milking while others are sent to auction for meat.``Working with goats is just a preference for us — the animals are smaller, and easier to clean up after,'' Mrs. Schultz said. ``There's still a lot of management involved, however. The goats tend to have more illnesses, but that's only what I know from having grown up on a beef cattle farm.''The farm actually started, she explained, as a 4-H problem for the Schultz children. The farm grew from just a few goats to its 40-plus size today. The milking capacity of the farm is about 50 goats, and Mrs. Schultz said in the past there have been more, but she prefers to keep the number lower so as not to overcrowd the animals.``It's much easier to increase your herd size than it is to decrease it,'' she said. ``A doe will have anywhere from one kid to triplets, so you can have the herd grow very quickly.''Her husband explained once the kids are born, each goat will be inspected and decisions will be made regarding who will be kept on the farm to milk and who will be sent to the auction block.With three grown children, the pair maintains the entire operation themselves. The animals are milked by machine, led into the area through one small door and out the other to make sure nobody is milked twice daily. The couple are also responsible for a majority of the animals' health care.``A lot of it is done over the phone — Dr. Fales has been very good to us,'' Mrs. Schultz said. ``We've starting making our own pamphlet of different sicknesses, signs and symptoms and what to do.''Once a doe gives birth, she is milkable for about a year afterward. At that point she will dry up for six to eight weeks as a resting period before starting the process again. The Schutlz's have the animals giving birth on different schedules so fresh milk is supplied throughout the year.The farm itself opened in 1998, and the past decade has changed in terms of the demand for the dairy products. The couple have applied for a grant, hoping to open a facility to produce raw milk products, such as cheese, at the farm. They are expecting to receive a certificate in the next month for raw milk, but in the meantime have found a larger demand for the goat meat. Since they are unable to sell the dairy products at markets, but can sell the goats through auctions, they are looking for new ways to make the dairy end more in-demand.``It takes about eight hours a day for me to do my general chores, and that limits the time I can spend working on other products,'' Schultz said. ``A commercial pasteurizer cannot be in the same room as a milk tank, which means we'll need an additional room. We want to make it something new — friendly for visitors, and produce smaller of wheels of cheese, just six to eight pounds at a time.''Meanwhile, the Schultz family is making plans to expand the farm further. Schultz is setting up a greenhouse for the animals, in addition to growing a variety of vegetables to bring to the weekly farmer's market in town. The couple remain active with local 4-H groups and host a number of tours each year to young farmers interested in learning more about the unique aspects of goat diaries.

Article Photos

Four cheese wheels wait to go into the refridgerator for the aging process.P-J photo by Wasmund

Fact Box``The longer they're aged, the sharper they get.''• Kellogg, Lapp farm

By Wasmund jwasmund@...