Curious about our milk?

Our parlor runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Each cow gets milked 3-5 times a day depending on when she had her baby and how full her udder is. "Farm Fresh" means that the milk that is bottled is available for you to purchase the SAME DAY! Our milk typically lasts 3 weeks from the date of production as long as you keep it in a fridge colder than 41° F.

The room that cows are milked in on a dairy is called a parlor. There are different types and styles of parlors. Ours is called a parallel parlor.  That means that after being carefully sanitized, the cows are milked side by side from the rear, 20 at a time and are released at the same time. It takes 3-5 minutes for a cow to get milked and they are milked 3-5 times per day at our farm.

Our farm was built by us, as a family, and still 100% run by us, as a family, alongside our trusted employees. My parents, who are in their 70's, still come to the dairy daily and help wherever they can! 

Our dairy farm is made up of 100% Jersey cows. It is one of the 6 main dairy breeds out there. 

The others include: 

- Holstein (black and white)

- Guernsey (golden brown and white)

- Brown Swiss (large and tan with fuzzy ears)

- Ayrshire (dark red & white)

- Milking Shorthorn (red & white more speckled)

There are two types of protein in milk: Beta-Casein & Whey. There are two types of beta-casein: A1 & A2. Scientists have found that when you consume milk containing only the A2 beta-casein compared to the milk with both beta-caseins, people are seeing huge differences compared to regular milk. This phenomenon is resulting in less upset tummies, more omega-3 fatty acids and even benefits to your blood pressure and mood. We have been breeding our cows for generations to produce the A2 gene only.

All milk from mammals comes from females giving birth to their young. This is not able to be done without healthy and natural hormones, therefore all milk contains small amounts of the natural occuring hormones. At Copper Cow Creamery, we do not add any hormones of any kind to our milk or give hormones to our cows to produce more milk.

*for more info about "rBST" see our FAQ page. 

When milk is processed at a processing plant, one of the things that it undergoes is "homogenization". This means it is pressure forced through a screen with incredibly tiny holes to break up all the fat globules in the milk so that they can not stick together and float to the top. This is why you do not see the cream rise to the top when you buy milk from the store. At Copper Cow Creamery, we do as little to the milk as possible so be sure and shake that cream in before you pour a big glass!

Standardization is another process that happens to most milk. This refers to taking all the cream and fat out of the milk and slowly adding back certain amounts incrementally so that it produces the most consistent product every time. In addition, this gives the processors extra cream to turn into other products to sell. Finally they are adding vitamins and minerals to fortify the milk. Our milk is straight from the cow, so it hasn't undergone any of these things.

Organic dairy farms are not allowed to use antibiotics of any kind on their farm. We are a conventional dairy. This means that we are legally allowed to use them on our farm, but we usually do not. We use natural and healthy products in place of antibiotics whenever we can to help our cows stay healthy and well conditioned. We do still have and use antibiotics as a last resort on animals that would die without them; however, the milk from treated cows never reaches our product milk line in any w

Once the milk reaches 161° there is a chemical change in the proteins that denatures them and mildly changes the flavor. In addition, when held at this temperature for 15 seconds or more, there is a significant amount of bacteria that is killed (good AND bad). Our milk is never heated up to this temperature so it is still full of good bacteria and is an excellent product to make butter, buttermilk, sourcream, and yogurt still. 

*see pasteurized below

Dairy farms in the United States undergo regulatory inspections regularly and must maintain a certain level of cleanliness as well as standards to be considered "Grade A". MooRiah dairy (the source of all of our milk) is approved as a Grade A dairy in the state of Idaho. 

If you have ever tried ice cold milk- straight from a dairy farm, you will not need any explanation for this one. For everyone else, the proof is in the bottle! Unlike any storebought milk, any description doesn't do it justice! 

Since our milk is from our Jersey cows, it is extremely rich and thick. The cream rises to the top and is often 30-40% of the jug. Your family should expect a product that is a lot more similar to half 'n' half when you buy our milk. It is the PERFECT product to use for a thick and creamy clam chowder, sausage country gravy, delicious ranch, alfredo sauce or any other cream based recipe you have. If you are looking for skim milk, you can simply let the cream rise and scoop it off. 

Milk is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, particularly calcium. It has an important role in bone health. Nutritionists recommend that people have milk and other dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese, every day (in fact three times a day) as part of a balanced diet.

Perfect, just the way God made it. 

Our milk is straight from the cow, so at times it will contain 4.8% fat while other times of the year (winter) it will be near 5.6% fat. Whole milk from the store typically only has 3.5% so our milk is going to be quite a bit richer with a more full flavor. The National Library of Medicine states that dairy fat intake is not typically accompanied with a higher risk of weight gain, CVD, or type II diabetes in healthy persons within the range of the recommended calorie intake. *www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go

Nothing added, nothing taken away. 

Produced from local cows that eat hay and other natural ingredients farmed right here in the Treasure Valley of Idaho.

Bottled right here on our farm. 

Sold right here on our land.

Consumed right here in the Treasure Valley. 

By choosing to use low temp pasteurization, we believe that you get the best of all world's: all the good bacteria for gut health as well as a stable fresh product that is safer and has a longer shelf life. Our milk is not heated to the point of cooking and still contains all the natural, healthy and good bacteria that raw milk does. You can't buy milk in regular stores pasteurized with this method. Only buttermilk, sourcream and yogurt. 

*see our FAQ page for more details about pasteurization