Where does our milk come from?
We make our ghee from the non-homogenized milk of grass-fed, organic, dairy cows that graze on healthy green pastures from the spring through the fall. This beautiful, nutrient-dense milk is rich in fat soluble vitamins and naturally occurring Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). Specifically, the milk we purchase comes from small US farms that conscious, knowledgeable, passionate dairy farmers own and manage. They treat their cows with respect, like family members. These farms raise many different breeds of cows, all of which are grass-fed and raised organically. The milk is Certified Organic by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA). This ensures the milk comes from cows that never feed on anything with GMOs, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The farmers also do not administer hormones or antibiotics.
What does Grass-fed mean?
It’s natural for healthy dairy cows to be raised on a traditional diet of green pastures. However, it’s also natural that healthy dairy cows receive some amount of organic and GMO-free hay and grains. That’s why we never claim that the milk we purchase comes from 100% grass-fed cows. Although in recent years, “grass-fed” has become a trendy buzzword, it’s important to understand the difference between raising dairy cows and raising cattle for beef. Dairy cows require greater nutrition than what can be provided by grass alone whereas beef cattle can thrive quite well on a diet of 100% green grass.
Throughout history, dairy farmers have understood that in order to produce large quantities of superior quality milk, their cows must have the addition of hay. This includes dried grasses, legumes, herbs, as well as grains (grass seeds). As the grass grows and ages, it dries and mellows and loses much of its nutrition and vital life force. Nature then moves the nutrition out of the stems and concentrates it into the seeds, which are grains. The cows are still eating (and loving) the pasture, only in the concentrated, highly nutritious form of hay and grains. It makes perfect sense that dairy cows should be on pasture while the grass is green and growing. But as the cycle of the seasons change, so must the cow’s diet. The last thing a farmer wants is a stressful situation for the cows. They need a constant source of good nutrition to keep them free of stress and disease, and to assist with proper lactation.
Considering the sheer amount of weight that a healthy dairy cow must gain, raising these animals throughout the year entirely on pasture would be neither feasible nor natural. In many circumstances would require a farmer to attempt to create an unnatural climate and environment. This would take a great deal of energy and resources. This is why we choose milk from well-cared-for, grass-fed, organic cows fed a nutritionally diverse, traditional diet that is entirely appropriate for their health and well-being, and good for Earth as well.
For more information:
You can read more about cow’s milk here.
Learn more about milk proteins here.
Find our ghee here.
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