Raw, local and certified Grade A for human consumption.
- Not organic - see below for more details.
- Jersey cows, not A2.
- Not 100% pasture-fed/grass-finished. Cows are fed a traditional diet of pastures, organic hay, and non-GMO grain-based dairy feed.
- Bottled into glass bottles and delivered fresh. Please return your bottle for reuse.
WHAT BREED OF COWS DOES CLARAVALE FARM HAVE?
We have Jerseys. This breed is world renowned for the quality of its milk, which contains higher concentrations of proteins, solids, butterfat, and beta-carotene than other breeds. Milk sold in supermarkets comes mostly from Holsteins, which produce larger quantities of more watery milk. Due to their breeding, Holstein milk also contains higher levels of Bovine Growth Hormone than Jersey milk.
"Claravale Farm is not certified organic by choice. We do not want to be certified organic because we do not agree completely with the organic regulations, both with their strictness in some areas and their laxness in others. Nor do we want to be associated with other conventional certified organic dairies which have some of the worst conditions and poorest quality milk on the market.
As with other good ideas that have been taken over by corporate America in order to make more money, rather than the dairies meeting strict organic standards, organic standards have been made more lax so that dairies can meet them without altering their procedures.
With respect to our organic status what we have chosen to do is maintain our own standards independent of a certification process and simply let our customers know what those standards are.
We feed our cows and goats a combination of organic hay and non-GMO grain. They are on pasture that has been fallow for decades.
- We do not use pesticides or antibiotics on the milking herds.
- We do not use any GMO feeds or products.
- We do not use bovine growth hormone or any other substances to increase milk production artificially.
- We do not use chemical fertilizers or herbicides.
- We do not bottle milk from any dairy other than our own.
With respect to antibiotics and worm medicines, we do use them when the need arises. We do not use them prophylactically, as is the case in many areas of the livestock industry. Since we have a very healthy herd the need arises infrequently. If a cow does have a condition which requires antibiotics we remove her from the milking herd, treat her, and when the antibiotics have cleared her system and cannot be detected in the milk she returns to the herd. This is standard practice in the dairy industry. Antibiotic use in dairy cattle is strictly regulated by the CDFA and milk containing antibiotics cannot be sold. Therefore—contrary to popular belief—antibiotics in conventional milk is not a problem, and was not even before the instigation of organic certification.
We believe that a strict ban on antibiotic usage in livestock is irrational and abusive. To not use any antibiotics because some areas of the livestock industry use them irresponsibly is silly. To let a cow suffer and die when she could be easily saved is criminal. We have a lot of respect for our cows, give them the best of care, and that includes a course of antibiotics if they need it. If you think cows are happier or healthier without antibiotics, you are wrong. We visited a conventional certified organic dairy recently that had a high rate of hoof rot among the cows and a barn full of sick and dying calves - both of which could be treated and eliminated with the judicious use of antibiotics."
