The Cowgirl Whey

The days get shorter and the goats milk less- fall is here! While there is less milk, cheese yields are way up. How can this be? The secret lies in the butterfat. :)

When our goats freshen they generally milk around a gallon a day. We participate in program called DHIA. It helps us track how much each of our dairy goats milk and analyzes the different components of her milk.

Let's look at Louise's, the "herd queen", numbers. She is a 4 year old Nubian who has freshened (kidded, or had babies) 3 times.

The first month she was "fresh" (the term used for milking) she milked 11 pounds each day (1 gallon is about 8 pounds). The butterfat made up 3.1% of her milk.

After milking for 6 months, she is now milking 4 pounds each day- but her butterfat makes up 5.9% of the milk.

For us,the cheese yield per gallon of milk increases by about 30% in the fall, which helps offset the drop production.

Louise, the "Herd Queen" and her human, Mackenzie.