Acreage per cow

[chippie]

yes i am. it is to say that i would not be working in the ranch. it is ( i belive to hard work for me) even though i would love to hang around there to give a hand!!! ( probably only for the first week :cboy: ). it is a good idea actually, but is it possible to adapt the farm to a different breed?

dun gives good advice.
Are you planning on living on site or are you going to be an absentee owner?
What are you going to do about a farm manager and employees? You might want to research the area you want to have your dairy to make sure that there are knowledgeable people who can run your business.

I second dun's suggestion about subscribing to Hoard's Dairyman. We get it and it is very informative. It has a lot of resources in it.

Even though you will be using water buffalo, you will still be in the dairy business and the laws and regulations will apply to your business too. I think that your ideas are interesting.

We have Jersey cows and I make a soft cottage cheese out of our raw milk. A friend makes mozzarella cheese using cow's milk. I haven't tried that yet.

 

[msscamp]

However thoughout winter the animals will need to be shelterd and heated. this is what happens here in italy. they pasture from april to november then they are put in a shed thoughout winter. could this work there? (i am just the person financing the plan, i am a total ignorant in this matter and i am trying to document myself).

Thank you all for the help

You will not be able to pasture from April until November most years - more like May through September, maybe October. Even the southern parts of Wyoming almost always have received their first snow by Halloween, the northern parts/mountains get it sooner. First frost is usually around the 20th or so of September, last frost can be anywhere from the first of May to the middle of June - 2 years ago we had a killing freeze on the 13th of June. What are the temperatures like in Italy during the winter? How many days of below zero temps do you get? How much snowfall?

 

[tommaso]

I will be staying in chicago most probably to run from there the office an relations. but a farm manager will stay on site at all time.