Do you want to own part of a dairy herd?

We do. Not that we have always dreamed of owning a dairy herd, on the contrary, we've known enough dairy families over the years to know that a dairy herd is a big commitment. Much bigger than what we are looking for. When your dairy farmer neighbor asks if you want to own part of a herd, now that's another matter.

Marjo Acres is the dairy farm a few hundred yards from our home run by the Todd and Mike Steiner families. In the last 60 years, at least four generations of Steiners have grown the dairy operation to the 150+ milker, pasture-fed, organic showcase that it is today. Now the farm is beginning a new chapter. Their herd share program will allow farmers and non-farmers alike to buy a fraction of the herd and pay for the boarding costs of that fraction in return for fresh milk. The deal sounds pretty good to us: fresh, organic, whole milk with plenty of real cream in each gallon while leaving the manure, cow wrangling, and milking to the Steiners.

We attended their first information meeting for the new venture on Saturday, and became the first official co-owners of the herd under this new program. Here are a few pictures from that event:

This must be the way to get there....

Here's Todd Steiner allaying the fears of potential buyer Dale Koch while Chad Plattner contemplates the investment in the background.

Mike Steiner explains the legal documents to a wary Bryan Evans. That's a tough decision when your family drinks 14 gallons of milk a week!

The Steiners gave us a clue about their views on fresh milk by leaving a copy of Nourishing Traditions sitting around. To the right is a good list of websites that extol the benefits of milk straight from the cow. If you can't read the list, let me know and I'll list the websites in a future post.

Fortunately for you, we didn't buy the entire herd, so you can own a share also. If you're really interested, let me know and we'll put you in touch with the Steiners.