The theory is that a cow is the centre of a homestead. Despite my farm life being wrapped up in my goats I have to agree with that statement. Having lost our sweet Molly 18 months ago - a jersey cross guernsey - we decided to get another cow. This time a pure jersey. We raise calves and it is far more natural letting a cow adopt them than bottle raising them. So we recently began our search.
We imagined that living in an area which is equally divided between grape farming and dairies meant it would be easy and inexpensive to find a jersey. Little did we imagine! The only time a dairy cow is available for sale is when she is very old or has a damaged udder, and then the price is extremely high. Until we found HER!
Because we would like to make butter a jersey with high butterfat content is the best option. Jersey's are well known for their heat tolerance, very important in our extremely hot climate. While a jersey bull has a reputation for being the worst tempered the cows have a docile temperament. Immediately on meeting our girl we could tell she was a keeper.
Sarah comes from another homestead whose animal are part of the family. And we don't have to mortgage the mountain to buy her. Being only two years old she is pregnant for the first time, hopefully with a little girl cow. Everyone is very excited about her imminent arrival. I hope that she will be as special an addition as our Molly girl was
