Keeping a Family Milk Cow - Interview with Jody Camilletti
Jody Camiletti is a woman that can do it all! Jody says she has far too many hobbies! She keeps bees, has chickens and sheep, and she breeds McNab herding dogs. Jody also serves on the local school board, the Colorado Cattleman’s board, and is the founder and director of the McNab Stockdog Foundation.
Jody Camiletti was born, raised, and currently lives in northwest Colorado where she ranches with her husband. The Camiletti’s run yearling cattle on their land during the summer. They have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren making 6 generations to live on their ranch.
Q: What has been your favorite breed of dairy cow to own?
A: Another hobby of Jody’s is her dairy cattle. She has owned dairy animals off and on for the last 48 years. She has owned many breeds including Brown Swiss, Milking Shorthorn, and several Jerseys. She is partial to the Jerseys’ but loves the temperament of the Brown Swiss. They are very gentle and don’t seem to be as prone to transition problems.
Q: What is one of the biggest things you have learned over the years caring for your cows?
A:"I think some things I have learned in the last 6-9 months have been most helpful. I participate in a FB Group called “The Science of Owning Dairy Cattle”, and I have learned many things from some of the admins. Mariah Gull, Juliette Albrecht, and Brent Lokai.
The older generation of our family fed our dairy cattle one way and that was all. The milk cow didn’t get anything special except her grain twice a day. Naturally that’s how I started doing it too. In the past, without realizing it, I did not get a lot of cream. I calf share and I always just thought the calf was taking the cream.
The change up with my feed this year has increased my milk volume and cream levels. The downside of all that is I can’t get very far from home! In the past that wasn’t such an issue! Usually by the time my calf is 3 months old I can leave for a couple days at a time and not have to worry too much. This year my cow was producing more than even my 3-month-old calf could take care of and I had to employee my grown children to milk for me this summer while I was away to a family function."
Q: What kind of rations have you feed over the years?
A: Prior to this year I did not feed a transition ration. That has been a learning curve for me to start introducing grain before calving and then increase it with production post calving. Beyond putting out some mineral and Redmond salt, in the past I strictly fed 3-way, which is only 8-9% protein.
Per advice given by Mariah Gull, I met with my feed mill, and we added soybean meal to a beef finishing feed to get the protein up to 18%. My cattle also get good quality alfalfa and have access to good pasture. Like I said it has made a big difference in both my milk volume and my cream line. This year I also started adding Surveillance iL to all my animals’ diets.
Q: What are some of your favorite things to make with your milk and cream?
A: "Of course we drink the milk, I make a lot of yogurt, and this year I was able to make a lot more butter with all the cream I got. I keep the extra butter in the freezer for when I am not milking. I like to make cheese, Cheddar and Colby, I discovered a new byproduct of yogurt. Labneh, is a strained yogurt you can add herbs and spices to and use as a cracker dip. We have been going through a lot of the labneh, and my cracker budget has increased drastically!
I enjoy sharing my hobby with others. We went to have dinner with friends the other day, I made the appetizer tray and included 3 cheeses that I had made. I have also entered my cheese, yogurt, and labneh in the fair. This year I got grand champion with my cheddar cheese and judges’ choice overall!"
Q: How did you get started milking cows?
A: "What is funny is that when I got started it was because at the time we were still running sheep. My husband’s father was the one taking care of the milk cow and they were out with the sheep and hadn’t gotten home yet. I felt bad for the poor cow, and I didn’t want her to wait until they got home to be milked. I sat myself down under her with my stool and I milked her by hand. It took me forever to get the hang of it but once I understood the rhythm of milking it got a lot easier."
Q: What advice would you give to someone that wants to get their own milk cow?
A: “There are so many people on the homestead band wagon that think they need a cow. Most of them are not prepared for the commitment, both the time and finances that it takes to care for a cow. A lot of people want that unicorn cow for next to nothing, and it does not work that way. If you are a first-time cow owner, start with an older cow, not a heifer. It takes knowledge to train a heifer and even though an older cow may be more expensive up front, it will be well worth it in the long run.”
Q: Do you still milk your cow by hand?
A: “Yes ma’am! That is one of the reasons I transition to milking 1 time per day. I will leave the calf on the cow until the first part of December because I will be leaving for a weeklong school board meeting in the first part of December and I won’t be able to milk while I am gone.
The calf is separated and night and with the cow during the day until then. I really don’t mind hand milking, but I do so in an open barn, and it is not a lot of fun at 20 or 30 degrees below freezing. That’s primarily why I am moving to milking once a day as we move into the colder months of the year. Also, once I pull the calf she won’t need to produce as much volume to provide enough to meet our needs. I can make smaller cheeses, and we consume less as well. As I get ready to dry her off, I will put some skimmed milk in the freezer to get us by until she freshens again.
If you haven’t milked a cow by hand before, get a couple of hand exercise balls and start squeezing them each day for a month or so before you need to start milking. It will help to build up those hand muscles to be ready for milking. I have them and I use them!”
Q: If there was one thing you could change about your management, what would it be?
A: “I have typically done a 60-day dry period. This next go round I am going to try a 45-day dry period as suggested by Brent Lokai, a dairy man and family cow consultant that participates in The Science of Owing Dairy Cattle FB Group.”
Jody, thank you for sharing all of your experience with us! We have learned a lot and appreciate the difference you make in your community by sharing all of your talents!
Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.