What does it mean to be a share holder in a dairy herd? ‘herd share’
It means that YOU:
–have purchased a share of a real, living, breathing, eating, dairy cow!
–are guaranteed a percentage of the whole fluid milk that that animal produces!
–are responsible for your cow’s care by paying board to the agister who will make sure all of your cows nourishment, milking, medical, shelter and reproducing needs are met.
–get to observe your cow’s condition and wellbeing every time you visit the farm to pick up your share of the milk!
–are entitled to transparency regarding the agister’s practices in regards to care of the herd and bottling and handling of your share of milk.
This also means that:
–the animal is cared for by the agister, and all her needs are met, even when you are in Florida on vacation with your family and not using your share. You still partially own the animal! (do you cancel your cable and electricity while you travel?)
–if you need more milk than you are currently guaranteed, you need to purchase additional ‘cows’ to meet that need, so that you are guaranteed more milk.
–if you no longer need all the milk you are currently receiving, you can reduce your board by forfeiting that share to another member.
Also:
–A quality, A2A2, healthy, cow is not cheap and only provides a limited number of shares. Dry cows who are preparing to give birth, provide no share milk, but still require care.
–One-time share purchase fees help us buy quality cows to provide for our members and also cover veterinarian and breeding costs for them. None of those fees are passed on to our members. Monthly board covers monthly costs- feed, minerals, software subscriptions for cow monitors, and our livelihood (wage, health & dental insurance, utilities, taxes, payroll for employees, administration fees. etc.)
–The agister is not permitted to sell unused share milk (illegal in Michigan), so if you aren’t picking it up or paying board, the agister is caring for that animal without any income to cover those costs. Cow shares that aren’t being provided for are forfeited and offered for sale to new or existing members.
–The agister takes on all of the risk in this situation, and it comes from all directions- members, MDARD, even the USDA… and this requires the agister to pay dues to legal organizations to make sure they are protected.
We hope this helps explain some of the policies that we hold firm to as we navigate the intricacies of a herd share together. We’ve been doing this quite a while now, and we want to be transparent with all of you about how this all works.