Gianaclis Caldwell: Once-a-Day Milking - Production, Profit & Quality Impacts

Once-a-day milking is a viable option for dairies of all sizes to reduce labor costs, the volume of cleaning chemicals, water usage, and grain consumption ─ while only slightly reducing milk production. For the small dairy farm, twice a day milking can impact quality of life for the farmer. What are the implications of moving to a once-a-day schedule? This Oregon dairy farmer and author addresses all aspects of this issue both from her own experience and through research that has been done all over the world. Learn what it can mean for production volume, udder health, reduced labor, feed and water savings, and milk components.

Gianaclis Caldwell grew up on a small family farm in Oregon, where she milked cows, ran a dairy cow 4-H club, and learned to raise organic produce and meat. In 2005, Gianaclis returned to the property with her husband and their two daughters where they now operate Pholia Farm, an off-grid, raw milk cheese dairy. Gianaclis’ aged, raw milk cheeses have been recognized and applauded by America’s foremost authorities on cheese. Pholia Farm cheeses have been included in many major books on artisan cheese, the latest being Max McCalman’s Mastering Cheese, in which her Elk Mountain cheese is included in a short list of “rock stars of the 21st century.” She has been teaching all levels of cheesemaking for years, as well as speaking and teaching about the business of farmstead cheese. Caldwell is the author of The Small-Scale Dairy, The Small-Scale Cheese Business, and Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking. Her photographs and writing appear regularly in numerous publications, including Culture magazine.

(59 minutes, 19 seconds) Recorded at the 2014 Acres U.S.A. Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, December 6, 2014.