Happy Cows, Delicious Milk!

The day starts early in the pasture. First, the calves get their turn — they nuzzle in and drink just enough to get the milk flowing (thank you, oxytocin!).

Each udder is washed clean, and the teats are dried. Hands are dried, too — this improves milk quality— and then the real work begins. Milking looks simple from the outside, but it’s harder than it seems. Our milkers have forearms like iron from years of practice, able to strip each quarter clean.

I try, but I’ll admit it: my desk-soft hands give out long before the udder does. I usually get about halfway through before our farmhands have to step in to finish the job. The cows don’t seem to mind — they flick their ears, swish their tails, and stand patiently as the warm milk streams into the bucket.

When we’re done, the calves are let back in. They drink their fill while we carry our share away. It’s fresh, rich milk from cows who live as they should — in big, grassy fields under the Nicaraguan sun.

We sell our milk to local families and use it to make soft cheese. Let us know if you are interested in following along one morning at 6 am to try your hand yourself, and take home some milk for your coffee!