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Raw Milk: The Heart & Soul of our Farm

written by

Edwin Shank

posted on

April 12, 2021

Raw milk is what The Family Cow is all about. Raw milk defines us. It's who we are and why we are. It's where we've been, how we got here, and where we're going.

Raw Milk is why Dawn and I chose the name "The Family Cow." The name expresses our vision most perfectly. What do we get from The Family Cow? Raw Milk!

Raw Milk is the most remarkable, healing, immune boosting, nourishing, enzyme rich, perfect-in-every-way whole food we've ever provided or hope to provide for your family.

Our family and team pour so much energy, imagination, innovation, midnight oil, along with blood, sweat and tears into the outstanding purity, quality and safety of our raw milk.

And because Raw Milk is our Main Focus... it's the one food that we almost never run short on.

I gently remind you... because occasionally folks get frustrated with food shortages. We don't like shortages either, but please remember... our family has produced raw milk on this farm for 100+ years. We're experts at dairy. But we are somewhat novices with only about 12 years of experience with all of our other foods. We ask for and thank you for your patience as we refine the art of growing these other complimentary foods.

Note about A1 vs A2 Milk: We've been getting a lot of questions recently about whether or not our milk is A2. I'll explain more later, but for now, suffice it to say that for for the last 7 years already we've been working towards the goal of 100% A2/A2. And while we don't know for sure that every drop is 100% A2, we do know that those of you who are sensitive to A1 milk report that you can handle our milk perfectly fine.

Not sure what A1 and A2 stand for? Google it. :)

More from the blog

Pork now CORN-FREE as well as free from all Soy, Chemicals, GMOs, Antibiotics, etc.

Good morning, Farm Family! This month feels like it has been a flurry of activity as I finally get to share the many long-awaited announcements we've been working on all throughout last year. Today brings this news: Our Pastured Pork is now CORN-FREE as well as Soy-Free! :) Soy-free has been our standard for years. Since we've had so many folks express appreciation for allergen-friendly pork, we decided to push even harder to reach the next level. Our family set a goal to bring you the Corn-Free status without raising pork prices. The task was daunting but the effort worth it. We are committed to raising our own grain to verify our livestock feed is always Chemical-Free & GMO-Free. It would be much easier and cheaper to buy organic grain on the open market but we believe there is too much risk of organic grain fraud considering that around 50% of the organic grain in USA has been imported. So now we not only had to face the hurdle of formulating a new Corn & Soy-Free diet but it also had to be ingredients that we could grow on our regenerative, organic farm in southern Pennsylvania. Thankfully I have two talented brothers, Winfred and Roland, who are dedicated to the difficult work of raising the specialty grains our chickens, turkeys, and pigs require. They also grow the hay to supply our grass-fed cattle during the winter. In a future post I'll share more of the grueling farm challenges they face so you can enjoy foods guaranteed chemical-free & GMO-free every time. After much experimentation to learn what does or does not work we finally settled on a feed blend we've proven over the last year.All our pork inventory is now officially Corn-Free & Soy-Free! As planned, your pork prices remain the same although it does cost us more on the farm... It's our pleasure to do this for you. Our freezer is now stocked with pork raised on lush fall pastures so we are prepared to fill all orders. In fact, February we plan to offer our best deals of the year for all who want clean, pastured pork. The new Corn-Free protocol is exciting, but of course, all our other top-notch standards are still in place as well. Our pastured pork is always Humanely Raised & Harvested, Chemical-Free, GMO-free, Antibiotic-Free, Soy-Free and now Corn-Free so your family can eat nutrient-dense pork with confidence. A picture is worth a thousand words. Because we also run our own butcher shop, this meat is NEVER exposed to Citric Acid, Nitrates or Nitrites, MSGs, preservatives or any kind of fillers! All of our bacon, sausages and ham uses super clean recipes and the butcher shop smokehouse uses real Hickory Wood and NEVER liquid smoke.Order now to enjoy clean, nutrient-dense Pastured Pork direct from our family farm to your family table.Your Farmer,Wesley ~5th generation on the farm God Designed it... We Respect it... That Explains it!   P.S. Grocery store Industrial Organic foods aren't truly pastured. And sadly, too many small pastured farms allow chemicals in the animal feed.Your family deserves chemical-free AND truly pastured foods so you can eat every meal with confidence.That's why our farm is dedicated to only high integrity foods... that taste amazing. We are committed to raising our Pastured Pigs with zero antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. Everything they eat is Chemical-Free, GMO-Free, Antibiotic-Free, Corn-Free, and Soy-Free. We even grow the grain to verify these high standards.It's our goal to treat you like friends and feed you like family.

Beef Price Freeze for 2 weeks

Good morning Family Cow family! The last week here on the farm has been more like spring than early January, so we are enjoying every minute of it. :) It's the start of a new year and a new season of life for me. I haven't done very well with sharing farm stories in 2025 and so I plan to carve out more time to make it happen this year. A lot of exciting and crazy busy days over the last 12 months, but that's not a valid excuse. You trust us to grow nourishing food for your family and we will do our best to repay that trust by sharing as many farm life details as possible. Be sure to stay tuned for regular farm emails from me or maybe even my dad, Edwin, over the coming weeks... We have a lot of exciting news on the horizon! Today this email brings the one hard fact to announce... Seems the year shouldn't start like this, but I want to get it out of the way so we can save the best for last in coming emails. And this truly is the only negative point of what I plan to share. The next weeks are all full of exciting news and fun farm announcements. :) As we reviewed our 2025 financials, the niggling fears were sadly confirmed. Our beef margins have not kept up with inflating costs.Regenerative, 100% Grass-fed beef farming is beautiful and plays a key role in restoring health to our rescued farm land.But that's not enough. It must also be financially sustainable for family farms to continue from one generation to the next.Beef prices need to go up nearly 5% on average. Some items won't move at all but others, like burger and steaks, will bump more.Our family does not take any price correction lightly.In an effort to help make the change easier for everyone, we will freeze all beef prices at the current rate until January 27. Now is the chance to fill your freezer with 2025 Beef prices.Our family and team truly appreciates your understanding of the need to keep our cattle farming sustainable!All the best of food and blessings, Wesley~ 5th generation on the farm Real farmers. Real Caring. Real Food.YourFamilyFarmer.comP.S. Our frozen meats will easily last a year or more in your freezer. We recommend stocking up now. If a package becomes unsealed just use it first to avoid freezer burn taste.