Sassy Cow Creamery
Sassy Cow Creamery
W4192 Bristol Rd.
Columbus, WI 53925
608-837-7766 / 608-445-2010
info@sassycowcreamery.com

"From Our Family.... Directly To Yours"

What's New?

Ice cream flavor of the month- Peanut Butter Fudge Swirl

Free Creamery Tours Here on the First Friday of each month, from 4pm-6pm. Bring your friends and family!!

Next Tour-Friday, April 2nd, 4-6pm.
 

 
Farm Happenings...
As most of you know we have had a nice warm up recently and that gives us hope that winter is nearing the end.  Since we had so much early snow there is a lot of mud to contend with after all of this melting is over with.  I don't believe we had a good hard frost in the ground this winter which is abnormal but can happen.  Now is the time of year when we start making sure our seed for spring planting is arriving and everything is in order.  We also need to start making sure the equipment needed for planting is in working order as well.  Thirty days from now is certainly reasonable to have some early hay seeding in the ground so the countdown has begun.
     In the meantime though while we are waiting it gives me an opportunity to tie in to the subject of this months newsletter's topic of different dairy cow breeds.  On our farm we have mostly all holsteins.  They are by far the most popular breed in this country and like a lot of things in life if something is that popular and widespread there must be good reason for it.  For us it is simply that they are the most productive cows and the best at earning enough income to get all the bills paid. 
     The only drawback to having so many holsteins is that it does get a little boring after a while.  Since the time we were kids we have always had a few different breeds and crossbreeds in the herd to make things a little more interesting. Our dad was the same way so I am sure we got it from him.  I will only tell you about the most bizarre ones we have had the pleasure of working with mainly because they are the most memorable to me.
     You may or may not know that it is possible to milk a beef cow.  When you think of beef breeds names like Angus and Hereford come to mind.  When we were kids our parents had sold the dairy herd and began raising beef cows for a short time only to go back to dairy cows soon after.  When it was decided to go back into dairying we purchased holsteins again but Dad had figured it was worth trying to milk a few of these beef ones we had left.  They didn't milk very well but my brother and I figured out real quick that this was a bad idea.  On the spectrum of domesticated on one end and wild on the other the beef breeds definitely fit more on the wild end.  Keeping a milk machine on an Angus was a challenge.  One of them was bad enough that she would kick the milker off the cow standing next to her. 
    The other beef breed we had was Charolais.  They are an all white cow with no markings.  Trying our hand at milking one of them proved not much better.  They weren't as kicky but you could never get them locked in the stanchion to milk them.  Then they would cause enough excitement that all the other cows would get worked up as well.  So from my own experience I would say the beef breeds are best used for what they were meant for and try to avoid milking them if at all possible.
     To make matters more confusing though there are breeds that are dual purpose. They do give enough milk to be considered dairy but they also do a good enough job putting weight on to be used as a beef breed.  One such experience we had with a breed like that was with a cow named Stawberry.  About the time I was twelve or thirteen there was a lady from a few miles away who didn't dairy but she had a few animals on her farmette.  She had a big pet Shorthorn heifer named Stawberry that she wanted to sell because it was going to calve soon and she didn't want to have to milk her.  Dad thought the price was right so he brought her home.  The thing about the Shorthorn breed is there are milking shorthorns and then there are beef shorthorns.  This animal was way more of a beef shorthorn.  For supposedly being a pet all I can say is this animal was evil.  To make matters worse I will  politely say she was big boned and never missed a meal. So imagine trying to put a milker on a big wild hairy red beast that doesn't really think she is a cow because she had been someones pet.  For her size she sure could kick so fast the only way you would have seen her leg was to film it and then view it in slow motion. Needless to say for the safety of us kids and the future of our farming careers that cow eventually ended up fulfilling her true purpose in life as a shorthorn beef cow and not a dairy cow.
     For good reason now you won't find any breeds other than the dairy ones in our herd.  We do get some very interesting looking ones when we crossbreed two different breeds together.  We do occasionaly cross some holsteins and jerseys as well as the occasional holstein and brown swiss cross.  The brown swiss we don't cross very often because we don't have a lot of them in our herd to begin with.  They are actually my favorite breed and if I could milk all of one breed of cow besides the holstein it would be the brown swiss.  If you are ever out to one of our farm events you can see them mixed in with the black and white ones and I can tell you a little more about them than the holsteins because I know them a little better. 
     Over time newer imported breeds come along and they get talked about for a while and tried on a few daries but I would be surprised if anything came along that would ever take the place of a holstein in this country.  Who knows, maybe some day our kids will be milking an animal that looks entirely different than what we have today.  Maybe a milkable beef cow is even possible.

                                                                                James Baerwolf
  cows
 

  
 
Recipe of the Month
Shamrock Shake
Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
  2. Stop blender to stir with a spoon if necessary to help blend ice cream.
  3. Pour into 12-ounce cups and serve each with a straw.
Happy St Patrick's Day!

We hope you enjoy this recipe...please submit recipes for upcoming newsletters to kara@sassycowcreamery.com
 
 
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