Dairy Herdshare
About
A herdshare is like boarding your family milk cow at someone else’s farm. Milk is not sold; instead, members buy into the herd and pay a monthly maintenance fee in exchange for a share of the yield. Find details about joining below. Shareholders’ milk is available for pickup once a week.
The herdshare is seasonal, meaning that during some months, there won’t be fresh milk. During those months, shareholders won’t be charged maintenance fees.
We pursue milk quality through herd management practices, rigorous cleaning practices, and on-farm testing.
Any questions, want to try a sample, or want to come for a visit? Please get in touch by email: robert@lakeroad.farm.
Joining
To join, email me at robert@lakeroad.farm. We’ll get the documents below signed and arrange start date, pickup location, billing.
These documents constitute the legal basis of your membership in the herdshare. (They were prepared by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.)
One share in the herd entitles its owner to one gallon of milk per week.
Costs
Joining the herdshare costs $50. This will be refunded when you’re done participating in the herdshare.
As a shareholder, you’ll receive one gallon per week and be charged $12 per week per share.
| Cost | Amount | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Share Purchase | $50, one-time, refundable | Buy into the herd. When you’re finished, the farm will buy back your share. |
| Boarding Fee | $12 per week | Pays for caring for your share of the herd, along with harvesting and distributing your milk. (One gallon per week) |
| Bottle Replacement | $6, as needed | Your share purchase serves as a deposit on 4 half-gallon mason jars. If one is lost or broken in your care, the farm can replace it for this price. |
Pickup
Your milk will be available for pickup at the farm each week.
Your milk will be bottled in half-gallon mason jars. Wash last week’s bottles and return them when picking up milk. If you don’t return a bottle in time for your next pickup, there won’t be milk waiting for you.
All bottles are sanitized before refilling.
The Milk
Producing excellent milk is a top priority at Lake Road Farm. We pursue this through:
- Herd health: The herd is rotationally grazed, providing frequent access to fresh, clean pasture. Grass-fed milk is healthier and richer.
- Rigorous cleaning practices: The milking shed and dairy are kept clean. The daily cleaning routine includes pre-sanitizing, a warm rinse, hot wash with alkaline or acid detergent, and a sanitizing rinse.
- Quality checks: Microbial tests are performed on the farm, using 3M Petrifilm tests and a small lab incubator, to monitor milk cleanliness. Additionally, fermentation tests (as described by Peter Dixon and Gianaclis Caldwell) provide feedback on the cultures present in the milk.
Each cow is milked once per day, resulting in a higher butterfat and protein content than twice-a-day milking. Then, the milk is rapidly chilled in the bulk tank.
The Herd
Our cows came from Meadow Creek Dairy, a grass-based cheese dairy in Galax, VA.
They are a mix of New Zealand Jersey and New Zealand Friesian.
In 2024, we plan to dam-raise calves for 12 weeks before weaning.
The Season
The herd is managed seasonally, so there won’t be fresh milk during some months of the year. Our plan is to milk during seasons when the grass is green and growing, producing the best milk – roughly March to December. The next planned dry period is January to March 2026.