Abundance, Scarcity and the Beauty Between

Meet Caramel, our calm, capable lead cow with a generous streak, feeding her calves, other heifers, some lambs and our family!

Hello all you lovely eaters!

One of the reasons we first started farming was because we wanted to eat well and feed our family and friends delicious, healthy food raised in a way that’s better for both the
animals and the environment. In truth, we got into it for pretty selfish reasons! 

At the time, I don’t think I fully appreciated how all-consuming farming would be. Raising livestock doesn’t come with weekends or days off. Animals are quite certain they need to be fed every day, at the same time, in the same way. All creatures, even us humans, thrive on routine.

And there is nothing more routine-dependent than our milk cow, Caramel.

Moving to fresh pasture - Caramel’s steady presence keeps the herd at ease.

I didn’t set out to have a milk cow. About five or six years ago, we raised a bottle calf from some friends as a fun activity for the kids. She happened to be a dairy breed (half miniature Jersey and half Holstein). Over the years, she has raised three calves for us and is now pregnant with her fourth. She’s always fed her calves well and produced extra milk, so when they were young, I would “help” her by milking some off for the first month or two. (Last year, we even raised three bottle lambs on her milk in addition to her calf!)

This year, we brought in a group of young heifers, and Caramel became our lead cow - a calm, experienced animal who knows our routine of daily paddock moves, comes when called, and helps settle younger animals who are more skittish. Unfortunately, the heifers discovered her “milk bar” and began helping themselves, up to four at a time! She was getting run down, so I had to separate her (along with her buddy Ben for company).

The problem? She was producing 3 - 4 gallons a day. I couldn’t just separate her without a plan, so now I’m milking a cow, slightly by accident.

Milking happens at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Caramel knows if I’m ten minutes off schedule. The more precise I am, the more cooperative and content she is. And when your partner is 1,000 pounds, you definitely want cooperative and agreeable. She gets a snack of alfalfa pellets to keep her happy while I milk, which now takes about 10 minutes. In the beginning, it took 15 - 20 minutes, my hands ached, and we were getting 3 - 4 gallons a day. I’ve been gradually reducing the amount, and now we’re down to about one gallon twice a day, still slowly decreasing so she can rest before her next calf arrives at the end of the year.

What surprises me is how much I’ve come to enjoy the milking routine. At first, I missed the option of sleeping in once or twice a week. But over time, I’ve become as conditioned to the schedule as she is, and I appreciate the structure it gives my day - a quiet, steady start in the morning and a peaceful close at night.

And the milk! Our fridge has been overflowing more than once - milk, yogurt, chocolate pudding, you name it. Our son Sam has done some cheese experiments, which is a great way to use a lot of milk and take up less space. As we get closer to drying Caramel off, I’m already feeling the looming absence of all that milk. It would be lovely to have a quart a day, year-round, but that’s not how it works.

It’s all or nothing. A season of plenty, followed by a season of scarcity. A time to miss, and a time to look forward to. And next time, after the new calf, we’ll be ready to take full advantage of the abundance. My hands will ache again, and then grow stronger. I’ll fall back into the rhythm, and once again, I’ll love the routine.

Tomatoes. Milk. Chickens. Each has its season. Overwhelmed or rationing what we’ve managed to preserve.

There’s something beautiful about these cycles of plenty and scarcity. They deepen our appreciation for the moments when we’re drowning in milk, buried in tomatoes, or watching thousands of birds live their best life on pasture.

What’s your abundance? What’s your scarcity? What routines shape your days? Are there new ones you want to build?

Thank you for feeding your family well, and for helping support mine. 

I’m not willing to milk more cows, but I’d be glad to raise chickens and beef for your table.

Your farmer,
Andrea
Falling Sky Farm, Arkansas