Frequently Asked Questions

» What is Raw Milk?

Raw Milk is milk that has not been pasteurized.

Pasteurized milk is milk that has been heated to a high temperature for the purpose of killing pathogens.

Pasteurization was instituted in the 1920s to combat once common diseases passed between cattle and people, which are fortunately now rare.

Pasteurization does kill pathogens, but it also affects the integrity of the milk; pasteurization deactivates enzymes that aid in the digestion of milk, diminishes vitamin content by destroying vitamins C, B6, and B12 and kills beneficial bacteria that help our intestines absorb nutrients from food.

» Why drink raw milk?

Because it tastes great!

In addition, raw milk contains naturally occurring probiotics that help us digest milk and absorb nutrients.

Many of our share members have lactose intolerance or display allergic symptoms when they drink pasteurized milk, but are able to enjoy raw milk.

» Is raw milk safe?

There are possible health risks associated with drinking raw milk.  Drinking raw milk is a personal choice.  Please do your research, get to know your farmer, and make sure you are comfortable with your descision!

Windsor Dairy is committed to the highest standards of sanitary milk production methods. We are a licensed Grade A dairy, and our cows are routinely tested for Brucellosis and Tuberculosis. We test every batch of fluid milk for milk-borne pathogens -Listeria, E coli 0157H7, Salmonella, and Campylobacter- at a USDA certified food safety lab. No other dairy we know of - conventional, organic or raw - tests their milk as much as we do.

We post our weekly test results on our web-site:

http://www.windsordairy.com/weeklytestresults.html

» What makes Windsor Dairy milk so delicious and nutritious?

Cows evolved to eat grass. Grass-fed cows are healthier; they produce a lot less milk and their milk is more nutrient dense.

Because our cows are 100% grass-fed, our milk has 3 to 5 times more omega-3-fatty acids than milk from cows that eat grain.

Raw milk from 100% grass-fed cows also has 3 to 5 times more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a fatty acid that has strong cancer fighting properties.

The essential fatty acids in our milk also help the body regulate healthy ratios of lean muscle to fat.

Because our milk is certified organic, you can be assured that our cows have never been treated with antibiotics or hormones. They graze on organic pastures and are fed only forage that is raised without pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers.

Windsor Dairy milk has the highest levels of protein and healthy fats we have seen.

Organic, raw milk from 100% grass-fed cows is naturally full of minerals and vitamins (more vitamin C than a glass of orange juice!) plus vitamins A and D, which are essential for the absorption of calcium and protein into the body.

» What is a Cow Share?

In May of 2005 the Colorado state legislature recognized that people should have the freedom to consume raw milk. It is now legal to drink fresh milk from a cow that you own.

This means you can buy a share of a cow in our herd. In exchange you have access to the most delicious and nutritious milk we know of.

A cow share is a required legal purchase which gives you ownership of part of our milking herd.

Share purchase depends on the amount of milk you use per week. One share costs $50 and will allow you to have one gallon of milk per week when you have paid the cow boarding fees for your share in our herd.  This is a one-time purchase of a share in our herd.

You will pay a yearly boarding fee for us to take care of your cow, milk your cow and bottle the milk. The boarding fee is $416/year per share.

Delivery Fees:
If you pick up at the dairy or participate in a driving co-op, there is no monthly delivery fee.

If you participate in a co-op drop-site that we deliver to, your fee is a flat 10% fuel charge on all deliveries.

If you pick up at the Boulder Outlook Hotel or the Denver Urban Homesteading drop-sites, there is a flat 10% added to all transactions to cover our costs of delivery and tax.

» How do I get Windsor Dairy milk?

Come out to our Dairy!

We give free tours every Friday & Saturday at 3pm.

Once you have had a tour of our Dairy and have had your questions answered, you may become a share owner.

As a part owner in our herd, it is important that you meet your cows and see how we operate.

Milk can then be picked up at Windsor Dairy.

» What kind of container does the raw milk come in?

Windsor Dairy raw milk comes in half-gallon glass Ball jars.

We RE-USE these jars and metal bands.

We charge a $2 deposit per jar, to be refunded on the return of a clean and covered jar.

If a jar is returned without it's metal ring, there will be a $1.25 fee to be refunded when the ring is returned.

» Is there a bottle deposit?

We use glass Ball jars in varying sizes.

We RE-USE these jars and their metal lid-bands. We charge a $2 fee per jar that is not returned.

IT IS IMPERATIVE TO THE SMOOTH OPERATION OF OUR DAIRY THAT YOUR JARS ARE RETURNED EACH WEEK!

It is important that you bring the jar and metal band back every week.  If a jar is returned without it's metal ring, there will be a $1.25 fee per ring to be refunded when the ring is returned.

After the milk in each jar is consumed, wash the jar and metal band in the following way:

First, rinse it in cold water. This helps to keep milk stone from forming.
Next, wash it with soap and hot water, either in the dishwasher or by hand.
Make sure it is dry. If needed, use a clean dishtowel and wipe out any remaining drops of water.

Cover the clean jar using the metal band and some sort of material to prevent anything from getting into the jar during transport. You can use paper towel, foil, plastic wrap, re-use the foil top it came with, wax paper, napkin, etc.

We need the jars covered so that they are AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE before we put them into our commercial-grade sanitizer machine.  (Any debris - dust, dirt, leaves, etc. - gums it up).

Bring the clean, covered jars back to the dairy or designated milk drop-off point.

IT IS IMPERATIVE TO THE SMOOTH OPERATION OF OUR DAIRY THAT YOUR JARS ARE RETURNED EACH WEEK!

PLEASE CLEAN THE JARS AND TREAT THEM AS YOU WOULD TREAT YOUR OWN KITCHEN DISHES!

» How long am I responsible to pay my monthly cow-boarding fee?

You are responsible to pay your cow boarding fee until you sell your share.

Your share is transferable, so you may sell your share to another responsible party, or you may donate it back to the dairy.

» What is the delivery fee?

If you pick up at the dairy or participate in a driving co-op, there is no delivery fee.

If you participate in a co-op drop-site that we deliver to, your fee is a flat 10% fuel charge on all items delivered.

Example:

• one share = $457.60/year  ($416/year/share boarding fee + $41.60/share 10% fuel charge).
• half share = $228.8/year ($208/year/half-share boarding-fee + $20.80/half-share 10% fuel charge)
• three shares = $1372.80/year ($1248/year/three-shares boarding-fee + $124.80/year 10% fuel charge)

» What does it cost to get started with a raw milk cow-share?

To get started picking up your weekly raw milk cow-share, you must first decide how much milk you use per week.

• If you use one gallon per week, that is a full share.
• If you use a half-gallon per week, that is a half share.
• If you use three gallons per week, that is three shares.

You are responsible for three basic costs:

1. Purchase of your share in our herd (the cow-share).
2. A yearly boarding fee for your cow (with this fee, you receive your weekly milk).
3. A delivery fee, if you are not picking up your milk directly from the dairy.

The cow share purchase is $50/share and is a one-time, transferrable purchase. If you move, or do not want your share any longer, you may re-sell your share to another responsible party, or donate your share back to the dairy.

The cow boarding fees are as follows:

If you pick up at the dairy there is no delivery fee.  Driving co-ops are not charged a delivery fee by the dairy, but there may be a fee to cover fuel/time/electricity expenses as decided by the driving co-op.

If you participate in a co-op drop-site that we deliver to, your delivery fee is a flat 10% fuel charge on all items delivered.

Your yearly boarding fee may be paid up front in one lump sum (we prefer this because it makes the money available to us to cover farm expenses), in quarterly installments, in four equal payments, or in monthly installments.

» Terms & Contracts

In order to begin your shares, the following four (4) documents need to be filled out completely, signed, initialed, dated & returned to Windsor Dairy.

We can e-mail you these documents so that you may fill them out electronically.

If you prefer snail mail, you may also print and mail them in:

Windsor Dairy
6427 WCR 68.5
Windsor, CO  80550

or Print and fax them:  (970)674-0445

2012 ShareOwner Terms

2012 Bill of Sale

2012 Cow Boarding Contract

2012 Herd Health, Testing Program & Health Warning