Note: This is a tentative date. We are scheduling a class for September or October 2017, date TBD. (4 spaces available).
Come out to our Vashon Island farm and learn what it takes to keep a milk cow of your own! The family cow is the most generous of all animals - providing bountiful milk and cream for your table, raising a calf every year, providing excess milk and whey to raise a pig or two, fertilizing your garden, and improving your land year after year. Starting out with the knowledge to keep your cow happy, healthy, and productive will make your first years of cow husbandry far more rewarding and less stressful.
The Family Cow Workshop will be offered as a series. By focusing on just a few areas of milk cow care in each session, we will be able to delve deeply into each topic and provide you with the knowledge and hands-on skill needed to handle every situation. Over the course of the workshops we will cover every aspect of milk cow ownership, from choosing the perfect cow, to feeding, breeding, calving, and milking.
Participants will receive hands-on experience throughout the workshops - particularly with learning how to milk by hand (and machine), assessing health, and handling cows and calves.
A dairy-centric feast will be served in the middle of the day.