Herdshare information

If you have ever wanted to own a dairy cow but don't want to milk every day then a herd share is just right for you. A herd share is a jointly owned herd of cattle that each owner participates in both maintaining the cattle and in benefiting from the production of the herd in terms of milk. Currently for each share you own and maintain you will receive a half gallon of milk per week.  As the caretaker of the herd and manager of the herd share we care for the cattle and make sure milk is delivered in a timely manner A successful herd hare is a partnership in which both parties have responsibilities. 

Our Role is to manage our dairy herd for their best health and well-being and to have routine SPC and Coliform testing done on our herd. 

 Standard Plate Count (SPC): The SPC is an estimate of the total number of viable aerobic bacteria present in raw milk. 

Coliform detection in milk is usually an indication of poor plant hygiene. We communicate the results of these tests to our members. 

Your Role:

In short- Sign a couple of documents and pay the herd share purchase price ($75/share) and monthly maintenance fees ($24/ share) and be available for milk deliveries as agreed. 

The Forms- 

These documents have been drafted specifically for our farm by attorneys at the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which exists for the sole purpose of helping farmers and consumers interact legally. The “legalese” may look complex, even excessive, but it is not there to keep you in the dark. Rather, it’s necessary to make sure you can enjoy safe, healthy, farm-fresh food without violating state or federal law.

We are always happy to answer questions but here’s a bit of a summary of each document and what it does

First- Become an owner by purchasing your interest in the herd 

The Bovine Bill of Sale Document specifies that you pay $75.00 once per share, and  thus purchase an undivided interest in the Big Stars Farm dairy cattle herd  (and the milk it produces). The contract stipulates that, at any time,  if you wish to sell your share back to us, we will buy it.In return for one share you will receive 1/2 gallon  of fresh raw milk weekly.

Bovine Agister Agreement

This agreement lays out your monthly maintenance cost of your herd share and also goes into detail on how our dairy herd will be managed. Basically, it is all the meat and potatoes, and we encourage you to read it fully and ask questions on anything you would like clarified. 

In short: You agree to pay your monthly herd maintenance and pic up your milk as agreed and we agree to care for, feed and milk the herd and to provide a herd report once a month. 

To join us click the link on the right and print and sign your agreements and send them back in to us at samantha@bigstarsfarm.com