Grass-Fed Cheese - Available from where?

Liz D · Post by **Liz D** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:30 pm

Beautiful Anna! Interesting about the white mold x contaminating! Looks like there are some reds and browns too... I love cheese!

Anna · Post by **Anna** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:10 pm

My cow has been in a strange and different mood for a few days. Not that she is in heat or very moody or something like that, but I feel she has been trying to tell me something while I milk.

Yesterday I realized that she might have access to "the cloud", and that she knows that I have been disscussing her milking ability on an open forum. Seems like she is unhappy whith that, and that she has been trying to say "Hey, look who has grown fat from drinking all these Dexter Lattes, eating Dexter Yohurt and gormandising on Dexter Cheeses. How dare you talking me down on the DCFS forum?" And she is absoultely right! As I said earlier in this tread; I have never been fatter or eaten better. I am spoiled rotten. I owe her an apology.

My favourite meal of the day is the second breakfast, Dexter milk in many shapes:

Since she seems to have access to the web she might know something about the supply and demand model, and knows how to keep her values on top?

I honestly wonder how she can know about the forum discussion. If she don´t have access to the web I am at least sure she have been reading my thoughts while I have been thinking about it. She is very sensitive towards what I think during milking. Greedy thoughts affects her let down noticeable. She prefers when I manange not to think at all. And no chatting or singing! Dexter girls are determined little cows.

Today she was back to normal, she knows I have reconsidered. Might prove she is reading thoughts and not telepathically surfing the web, since she knew before I posted this?

PS. I am normally not an animal talker.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:30 pm

I am sure any cow you are milking will pick up your mood and will change to some extent, either in her behaviour or in her milk let down, or both. When I had my herd of milkers I noticed that they didn't like loud noises, loud music, raised voices etc. It would all have an adverse effect on milk let down and cow behaviour, so I would end up cleaning more muck up at the end and milking often took longer. Also if milk let down was poor, butterfat and all milk solids would also be poor.

If a stranger came to the parlour to see me I would always ask them to keep thier voice down and even now I don't like a stranger to walk amongst my dexter herd and talk loudly - I think they are more at ease if a new person amongst them can be quiet in both movements and voice.

Stephanie

Edited By Saffy on 1298637071

Anna · Post by **Anna** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:38 pm

Some information about grass-fed cheese I stumbled on:
If cows are fed silage during winter the fatty acids in the cheese are dominated by saturated fatty acids.
Cheese made from milk from cows who eat hay contain good fatty acids, is much better for health.

Anna · Post by **Anna** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:52 pm

Saffy wrote:I am sure any cow you are milking will pick up your mood and will change to some extent, either in her behaviour or in her milk let down, or both. When I had my herd of milkers I noticed that they didn't like loud noises, loud music, raised voices etc. It would all have an adverse effect on milk let down and cow behaviour, so I would end up cleaning more muck up at the end and milking often took longer. Also if milk let down was poor, butterfat and all milk solids would also be poor.

If a stranger came to the parlour to see me I would always ask them to keep thier voice down and even now I don't like a stranger to walk amongst my dexter herd and talk loudly - I think they are more at ease if a new person amongst them can be quiet in both movements and voice.

Stephanie

Strangers, dogs or noises during milking, all thoose things would make milking impossible, or at least very unpleasant, and are strictly forbidden. But even what I THINK makes a obvious difference, they are pretty sensitive..

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:22 pm

Anna wrote:Some information about grass-fed cheese I stumbled on:
If cows are fed silage during winter the fatty acids in the cheese are dominated by saturated fatty acids.
Cheese made from milk from cows who eat hay contain good fatty acids, is much better for health.

It is supposed to be the other way round Anna in the research I have seen. The beneficial omega-3's are fragile and they get lost in the wilting process very quickly (within hours sometimes), so the less wilting there is, the more of the fragile fatty acids you retain. The haymaking process is supposed to kill off these fatty acids because it is so dry/wilted.

But maybe there's more to it when it comes to milk? Have you got details of the tests, or are they in Swedish!!!

Mind you, you said just silage, so maybe it wasn't grass silage? Or maybe they get lost during fermentation.

Edited By Broomcroft on 1298654665

Anna · Post by **Anna** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:50 am

Broomcroft wrote:It is supposed to be the other way round Anna in the research I have seen.

I thought so too, so I asked again and made sure I had not misunderstood the message. It was mentioned by a French artisan cheese expert, Michel Lepage, during a class. I think the study was Swiss or French.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:25 pm

Anna wrote:I thought so too, so I asked again and made sure I had not misunderstood the message. It was mentioned by a French artisan cheese expert, Michel Lepage, during a class. I think the study was Swiss or French.

In the UK most dairy cattle, or a lot anyhow, would get maize silage. Maybe that's what the cheese he is testing was made from? I don't know anything about it really or what they feed in France.

Edited By Broomcroft on 1298719530

Anna · Post by **Anna** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:00 pm

Broomcroft wrote:In the UK most dairy cattle, or a lot anyhow, would get maize silage. Maybe that's what the cheese he is testing was made from? I don't know anything about it really or what they feed in France.

Could be the case.. I THINK it was grass silage, but I am really not sure. There was a translator involved, and it was some time ago, so I can´t exactly recall.

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:42 pm

HI everyone - at the 2nd World Congress (in Austalia) we had a cheesemaker in Qld - milking Dexters - share her cheeses with the Congress delegates - it was yummy - lovely soft cheeses.
Believe she no longer milks or makes cheese - more is the pity.

Also we had another Dexter person whose soft cheeses used to beat the soft cheese produced by goats - and win trophies that were donated by the Dairy Goat people! Thought that was a good giggle - grin!