Farm raised goats milk in Michigan

[kumudini]

I really don't know where my thread belongs. This is about finding goats milk to use in CP soap, that's why I started here. Mods, please feel free to move it wherever you think it would be appropriate.
I have been wanting to try goats milk in a soap, but I need it to be from cruelty free farm raised goats. I live in Michigan, I guess central Michigan. Is there some place I could find it or someone here on the forum who live in the state and could help me in my quest? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[shunt2011]

Good luck with that. I've been trying to find a goat farm for a couple years with no luck. Lots of cow farmers but no luck on the goats. I've been looking north of Saginaw. In farm country yet. I did find one but they made soap as well.

 

[TeresaT]

I'm sorry, V, your stipulation of "cruelty free farm raised" made me laugh. All I could think was, "Oh, that's too bad. I've got some abused-city-goat milk you can have." I am so evil. (BTW: I used to have goats. I would NEVER hurt any animal. I like animals more than people. I'm just very warped and irreverent.)

 

[kumudini]

Laugh away, T! I didnt mind at all. I had to ask it otherwise how would I find information? There's a ton of information to be found on this forum and I keep my eyes open and try to assimilate as much as I can. This info is not here, so I asked.

 

[Yooper]

In Michigan (and most other states), it is illegal to sell unpasteurized (ie "raw") milk. In order to receive such milk, you have to own the goat or cow. The work around is a "share". You pay a small fee, and then own part of the herd. As a result, you can get milk weekly for a fee- here it is around $6/gallon for goat's milk.

In order to do that, you'd have to find someone selling a "share". You could try Craigslist if you don't know of another resource such as a food co-op to find someone.

 

[Obsidian]

Do you have any amish around? They might have some goat milk you could barter for.

 

[kumudini]

Thanks yooper for the info. I was just looking at some Google search where I came across these milk shares. I didn't find one farm that didn't sell meat along with the milk. I think I will rest my search for now. Unless, you have info about a cruelty free farm in yuppee, and I can buy few gallons from them on my next trip. I'm ok with buying pasteurized goat milk.

 

[Stacyspy]

I second Obsidian. The Amish can sell or barter raw milk... I trade my goats' milk for raw cows' milk here.

 

[lsg]

What do you consider "Cruelty Free?" If you have milk goats, you have to get them pregnant for them to produce milk, so what do you think happens to the male offspring?:???:

 

[doriettefarm]

You could try searching on localharvest.org. It's a directory of farmers markets, farms, CSAs so you might find someone selling goat shares.

http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?jmp&scale=8&lat=43.014202&lon=-83.68892&nm=goat+milk

 

[TeresaT]

In TN it is also illegal to sell unpasteurized milk for HUMAN consumption. Many farmer at the local markets sell their raw milks with labels on them stating "pet food" with disclaimers clearly stating it is NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. It makes me laugh because everyone that buys it pretty much pours it on their kids morning cereal. It's just a protective measure for the farmers. So, with that said, do you have any local farmers markets or coops near you that sell "pet food" to the public? Another option is to let them know it is for soap and not consumption; they may be more inclined to part with it.

 

[Susie]

In Louisiana, it is illegal to sell raw milk for anything.

 

[snappyllama]

Just a thought, you could check with the 4H local chapter near you. Chances are there's a high school kid with more milk than they know what to do with...

 

[kumudini]

Thank you folks, you are all just awesome. I really appreciate your willingness to help me. With people becoming more aware of where everything comes from and are able to excercise discretion, based on their perceived values, I thought there must be some farm catering to folks like me or atleast some farmer with a few goats who could sell me some milk so I could make a GM soap and experience all that awesomeness that so many of you talk about.
If I don't get to try it, it's not the end of the world. I could still use the cruelty free cows milk that I get to buy. I did like the milk in soap.

 

[kumudini]

What do you consider "Cruelty Free?" If you have milk goats, you have to get them pregnant for them to produce milk, so what do you think happens to the male offspring?:???:

I know what happens to them in a conventional factory farm and I'm not ok with that. That's the reason why I went from a vegetarian to some sort of a vegan.

Thanks again for all the replies, but I want this thread to end here as I somehow am not comfortable using the word cruelty/free on this forum, I'm afraid that I might end up aggravating someone and I don't want to do that.

 

[shunt2011]

I knew it was illegal to sell it unpasteurized but was still hopeful to find someone to trade with. I'm going to a county fair next weekend up north and they have 4H animals and stuff so I'm going to see if perhaps I can find someone there that may be interested in trading. I'm not giving up yet. I've been looking for a couple years though. In the mean time I use the canned goats milk.