Raw Milk Virginia Herd Shares – Traditional Nutrition

What and Why Herd Shares

Herd shares in Virginia enable you to enjoy the freshest, most natural raw milk products available. Unless you have a cow in your backyard, you need a herd share to enjoy our great raw milk, raw milk cheese, raw milk butter, and yogurt in Virginia.**

It works like this: We do all the work – milking, grazing, doctoring, delivering etc. We do all this for a boarding fee of just $48.00 a month, per share ($24.00 for 1/2 share). It’s that simple. The size of your herd share subsequent boarding fee will be dictated by the amount of milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and/or cream you wish to receive each week. I’ll let you know how much of the herd you need to invest in to meet your goals. 

Our cows are milked seasonally. We start milking in the spring after momma has her calf or has “freshened”. And we stop milking or “dry her off” in early winter so she can properly prepare for her next calf. This ensures optimal health for the cows and their calves.

At the onset, you pay a one-time non-refundable fee of $70 for a full portion of the herd ($35 for a half share). That percentage of the herd will provide you with 2 lbs of raw milk cheese per month (1 pound for a half share). Raw milk butter can also be part of what you receive. If you want raw milk during the summer, you will need 4 jars per share (2 for a half share). A set of 4 jars is $12 (that’s 4, ½ gal jars). You can provide your own, but they must be the same size and shape as the ones we use. The jars are for the rotation between your home and our farm or your pick up site. You will pick up milk and drop off empty clean jars. We drop off milk and pick up your empty jars to fill them again. Pick up for raw milk and yogurt must be weekly. Cheese can be picked up weekly, biweekly or monthly.

Startup costs include your herd purchase, jars (only for those who want milk in the summer), and first month’s boarding fee (prorated to the first of the month). After that, you settle into the routine Boarding Fee due at the beginning of each month. To get started just contact us by e-mail, or give us a call (276-694-4369). Simply let us know how many shares you’d like, whether you want to pick up at the farm or Independence Farmer’s Market, and when you’d like to begin receiving raw milk cheese, raw milk butter, raw milk, and/or yogurt. Once we have your initial payment and signed paperwork we’ll get the deliveries coming!

• Jar Cleaning Protocol
• Frequently Asked Questions

You are not an active Herd Share Holder until we receive your completed paperwork and initial payment. We will confirm with you by email, phone or in person when all required aspects are in order. No deliveries can or will be made until all legal and financial aspects are in place.

Products are available for pickup at the following dates, times and locations:

Peaceful Heart Farm

• Wednesdays 10 am to noon
• Saturdays 3 pm to 5 pm
• Other dates and times by mutual agreement

Independence Farmer’s Market

• First Friday in May through 2nd Friday in October – 9 am to 1 pm
• Weekly and/or 2nd and 4th Wednesdays (depending on whether fresh milk is available) November through April – 3 pm to 4 pm

** – It is illegal for anyone to sell raw milk in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each state makes up its own guidelines and the Commonwealth of Virginia has chosen to follow the FDA regulations regarding the sale of raw milk and raw milk products. A Share Program is legal in the Commonwealth of Virginia, there are no regulations regarding the consumption of raw milk from an animal that the individual owns or owns a stake in.

http://www.westonaprice.org/ and http://www.realmilk.com/ are two websites with valuable information about the benefits of drinking raw milk.