The dairy year, step by step
Interactive lesson: how much milk a family needs, how much goats, ewes and a cow give, what to make in each season and how to fill the larder for winter.
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The whole lesson as text
1. Family needs
Before the herd, work out how much milk your family really uses.
- Adults: 150 L — A family needs roughly 150 L of milk per adult a year, with yoghurt, cheese and kajmak converted back to milk.
- Children count less — Children aged 7–14 need roughly 105 L, and children up to 6 need 60 L a year.
- Cheese eats milk — 1 kg of hard cheese takes 11–12 L, butter 20–25 L, and yoghurt only 1 L. Butter and kajmak are made from the surplus, not as a staple.
- Write it down for a month — Before you buy animals, write down for a month how much milk and dairy the family eats. Multiply by 12 and compare with the calculator.
Why: The family eats yoghurt and cheese every day, all year round. Cheese "eats" milk, so the need rises fast when you eat a lot of cheese. That's why you count every product converted back to milk.
- Children up to 6: roughly 60 L a year.
- Sheep milk makes almost twice as much cheese from the same number of litres.
2. How many animals
From the family's need you work out how many animals, and which kind.
- Goat: about 500 L — A goat gives 400–800 L a year, 500 L on average. She is best for yoghurt, fresh and semi-hard cheese.
- Ewe: about 120 L — A ewe gives 80–200 L, 120 L on average, but rich milk for brined cheese, hard cheese and kajmak.
- Cow: much more — A cow on a smallholding gives 2,500–6,000 L a year. The surplus regularly goes to the calf, the pigs or for sale.
- Never one goat — A family of 2 + 2 needs roughly 510 L. That's one goat, but a lone goat suffers: two give about 1,000 L and a surplus for cheese.
Why: A goat, a ewe and a cow give very different amounts of milk. A cow depends on breed, feeding and management: a Dexter gives much less than a Holstein-Friesian.
- Milk, cheese and kajmak may be sold only with registration and under the rules of your country. Check before you plan to sell the surplus.
- Round the number of animals up and add 20–30 % for the young and a reserve.
3. The lactation curve · Locked
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4. What to make when · Locked
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5. Stores for winter · Locked
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6. The year in review · Locked
Buy The dairy year module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.