Keeping A Family Cow [Paperback]

Joann S. Grohman (Author), Bret R. Luick (Editor), Max J. Luick (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0963181440 | ISBN-13: 978-0963181442 | Edition: 5th

Keeping a Family Cow (together with its early edition The Cow Economy) has sold more than 20,000 copies since 1976. Thinking of getting a milk cow? Wonder how much space you'll need, and if it's OK to drink raw milk? This book contains practical advice for the everyday, thoughts on farms and small farming, and procedures for cow emergencies. Plus, answers to FAQ's like, 'Should I get a cow?' and 'How Much Space do I need' etc. A lifetime of practical experience, bound into one volume. Find out more by searching for Keeping a Family Cow Heifer Diary, and happy milking!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

At 85, Joann still milks her cow every day. If you want to know more, read The Heifer Diary, a daily diary of cow milking - the oldest blog on the web - just search for Keeping a Family Cow Heifer Diary, and find Joann on Facebook at Keeping a Family Cow.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Coburn Press; 5th edition (March 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963181440
• ISBN-13: 978-0963181442
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 143 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Convinced me to leave the city and buy a cow! March 23, 2004

By Laura Grout

At the time when I ordered this book, I was living in a trailer park, and researching nutrition carefully. I am a mother of five children, and our family keeps growing, so I want to be sure that our family gets the best nutrition we can. I feel that good nutrition is something every mother should strive to give her children, no matter how rich or poor.

So, after learning that untreated milk (unpasteurized, unhomogenized) is better for your health, I went looking for a legal way to obtain raw milk for my family. I started out at [...] (the Weston A. Price organization is aimed at getting nutrient-dense foods onto America's dinner tables) and could not find any suppliers in my area.

I started looking at the possibility of getting my own cow to milk, and ordered this book. In the first few chapters, Joann explains the value of the cow, and untreated dairy products. Then, she goes on to explain all the how-to's of having a cow. This book alone convinced me that I wanted to leave the city and the trailer park and have some land with a cow!

Since owning the book, I have referred to it often. When my cow got bloat, I quickly referred to the book to find out what to do. I saved my cow's life because Joann's words were right there, even though she lives far away from me. I'm so glad that she wrote this book, and even more glad that I own it. Joann also has an online diary (which I LOVE to read) and an online discussion forum that has been very helpful.

Oh, and one more thing, there is nothing comparable to the taste of food that you've raised yourself, not to mention the superior nutrition and absence of hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, and herbicides. It is a wonderful life, and this book helped me to have the confidence to jump in with both feet and do it!

84 of 85 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars no family cow should be without it June 5, 2003

By wyomama

This is an excellent book! It covers all areas of keeping a milk cow for your family practically, clearly, and concisely. It covers caring for your cow, feeding and health concerns, milking, breeding and calving. It also covers caring for your milk, making butter and other home dairy products. My copy is dog-eared and butter-stained, I refer to it often.

91 of 102 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading just to savor the first couple of chapters. June 7, 2003

By A Customer

Why is modern America so dissatisfied with life? We're rolling in wealth to the extent that we can afford vacations to Europe, boats, swimming pools and $100 concert tickets. We don't have to bother raising or even cooking our own food, because multinational corporations continue to discover ways to produce technologically advanced, highly processed food products at lower and lower cost. We don't have to repair our own cars, clean our own houses, or mow our own grass. We own multiple automobiles, televisions, computers and even places to live. We take advantage of a standard of living that exceeds most other countries on the planet. To quote a popular song, "The Future's so Bright, We Gotta Wear Shades." Why then are so many of us taking Prozac, seeing therapists, and finding less and less joy in our daily lives? It's difficult to contemplate, but many of us somehow feel disconnected from our daily existence. Despite being surrounded by incredible riches, we somehow long for a lifestyle that no longer seems attainable. Something important seems to be missing. No only can't we identify what's missing, we don't have a clue on how to restore it to our lives. Joann Grohman's book, Keeping a Family Cow, provides a great deal of insight into this very issue.

Keeping in character with the book's premise, the author provides a detailed guidebook for nurturing and managing a dairy cow while successfully integrating such a creature into a modern lifestyle. Presented in an easy-to-understand, straightforward manner, the book offers up a plethora of information designed to turn the most inexperienced neophyte into a competent dairyman.... The book provides details on animal acquisition, feeding, disease prevention, breeding and food hygiene, and is written in such a way to offer enlightened reading to a diverse audience. Joann also maintains a free web site,..., that provides a discussion forum for cow-related issues. If you've ever contemplated adding a bovine member to the family, this book will go a long way toward helping to make this project a success.

Even though these technical topics make the book worth the price of admission, I strongly believe that there is more to this book than initially meets the eye. During my undergraduate years, I stumbled upon a book called The Continuum Concept (authored by Jean Liedloff) that contrasts Western child rearing techniques with those of more primitive cultures. Even though I was not yet married, and had no interest in starting a family, I realized that there was something about her ideas that resonated with my innate sense of right and wrong. I couldn't identify why I could so easily relate to her views on nurturing infants, but it just seemed as if Liedloff had illuminated obvious truths about human nature that no one had previously discussed.

Joann's writings resonate in the same fashion. The first couple of chapters in the book seem to emanate from someone who shares Liedloff's understanding of human nature. Keeping a Family Cow demonstrates a remarkable insight into the cultural, technological and market forces that have produced the frenzied pace that we all take for granted, and demonstrates how the acquisition of a family cow can restore some of the "rightness" that seems to be missing from our daily existence. There's something incredibly satisfying about Joann's arguments to support the family cow concept, and her writings offer a glimmer of hope that we can somehow find our way back to a lifestyle that is more in tune with our expectations, our evolutionary experience as human organisms, and our hopes and dreams for the future. I can't recommend this book enough. Read more ›

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars New to farming January 14, 2009

By Janet Crowley

We're city folks who have just gotten our dream place in the country. I've gotten all kinds of books on everything about gardening, livestock, cooking, canning, farm ponds, biofuel, windmills-you name it..I've been reading it. I've gotten several books on cows and cattle, and this is by far the best. Totally full of practical and useful information for the novice. Everything, step by step...How to milk by hand, how to feed her properly, problems to be aware of, emergency care when a vet is not readily available. Not just general information (I have another book that ends vertually every page with "contact your veterinarian or county extension agent)but complete with every detail and all the little tips that only come with experience. It may be a small point, but I especially liked the fact that Joann Grohman's cows have names. She lives with them, works with them, talks to them, and respects them.
We don't have our cow yet. We need some better fencing, and I'm not really satisfied with the quality of our pasture (too many woody weeds), but I do believe she will become a reality in the not too distant future.
Thanks Joann-your book is an inspiration.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars New cow owner March 8, 2007

By Corinne

Amazon Verified Purchase

Even though my cows are beef and not dairy I found this to be one of the most valuable books I have read. Easy to follow information that applies to anyone thinking of raising cattle on a small scale. Highly recommend !!