Every morning at 8am, after she’s dropped the kids off at their bus stop, Lis Martinac drives along the meandering driveway through her 77-acre farm to collect the morning milk. She parks near a paddock and gently leads Mabel, a Jersey-Friesian cross, into the shed, placing beside her a bucket, a milking stool, and a jar of coconut oil. Lis then rubs coconut oil over her hands and begins massaging Mabel’s teats. In a gentle, mellifluous voice, Lis starts to sing. It’s a basic mantra, yet instantly Mabel relaxes, her huge frame softening as Lis rests her head against the cow’s belly and releases fresh milk into the steel bucket.
The touch, the singing, the rhythmic pulse of the milk hitting the pail – all of it makes for a deeply intimate process between human and animal. According to Lis, that’s how hand-milking must be.
“Cows love affection and attention,” she says. “It’s really important to have a trusting and mutually respectful relationship with them. We need to be able to trust them that we’re not gonna get kicked and that they’ll stand still when we’re milking them. And they need to trust that we’d never do anything to hurt them. It’s just a nice time together. It literally is such a beautiful start to my day and I’m so grateful for it.”
With 20-odd cows and 30 calves on Rise to Shine Farm, the property that Lis owns with her partner Peter, milk is a big part of daily life. But it all started with Mabel – the couple’s beloved house cow who came to the property shortly after they purchased it three years ago. Although Lis grew up on a dry stock farm, she had never milked a cow before. But Peter had kept a house cow on a previous property in the Hokianga and saw Mabel’s potential as the source of daily dairy. They put a bull over her, and, when the calf came along, started the process of training her to be milked.
So enamoured was Lis with the process of milking Mabel, and the close bond she formed with the animal, that she and Peter realised they wanted to share the experience of keeping house cows with other small landowners. They bought in four Dexters, a few White Galloways, and a bull from each breed.
With Lis working part-time as draughtsperson and Peter working on the land full-time, they began the process of growing and training their herd of cows to be hand-milked with the aim of selling them to homesteaders and lifestyle block owners. Knowing waves of people were moving to rural properties to connect with their own food and practise self-sufficiency, they wagered that there would be at least some interest in their cows. That turned out to be an understatement.
“It’s crazy,” says Lis. “I’ve had so many enquiries. We’ve pre-sold some already, and all we’ve done to advertise is put an ad on Trade Me selling pets, with one line at the bottom saying: ‘We are taking orders for house cows.’”
“I think after COVID people realised how important it is to have their own food in their backyard rather than to rely on a supply chain.”
While ex-dairy cows are common and easy to purchase in New Zealand through the likes of Trade Me, they are usually used to machine milking and haven’t been trained to have the temperament and trust required for hand-milking. That’s where Lis and Peter are establishing a unique and compelling offering.
“I don’t know of anyone else raising cows to be hand milked or to sell to people,” says Lis. “I guess when you get them from a dairy farm, they’re used to being cupped. The farmer wouldn’t have hand-milked them and so can’t form that connection or that relationship with them that we have.
“It’s really important that we create a connection with the cows from a very early age. With the females, we touch them all over their bodies and around their udders when they’re young, so when it comes time to milk them, it’s no big deal, they’re not wondering what we’re doing. They’re used to our touch.”
The connection
Before she bought the property, Lis hadn’t kept cows as pets before, only sheep and lambs. Expecting it to be a straightforward dynamic between humans and farm animals, she wasn’t at all prepared for their complex personalities, and the emotional relationships she naturally formed with them. It started during the COVID lockdown, when she and Peter were raising a group of bobby calves. Spending hours with them each day, learning their personalities and realising how sweet, affectionate and unique each animal was, she quickly discovered that they were “giving us more than we were giving them.
“The joy that they bring us is just so abundant and I feel really lucky to be able to enjoy that every day. Every cow on the property has got a name and they know their names. They really enjoy connecting and spending time with us.
“I’m amazed at the relationship that’s possible with a cow. It’s really unique and beautiful and just something I hadn’t experienced with any other animal. They’ve got such big hearts and they’re so gentle, even though they’re really big, powerful creatures.”
Also deeply involved in both the milking and husbandry, Peter feels the same way. “Someone asked me recently what I’ve been up to the last week, and I realised I’ve spent more time talking to animals than people,” he says.
“Milking cows is a lovely feeling – a beautiful space to be in,” he says. “You just rest your head against them, and some of the cows actually get teary-eyed when they’re happy.”
Because she milks her everyday, Mabel is naturally the cow Lis has formed the closest bond with. When they first got her, she was quite a bossy animal, and Lis didn’t think she was suitable for a house cow. She initially rebuffed Lis’ approaches, but after receiving some fodder poplar as a treat, she began allowing a few pats, and then her energy and nature completely softened to Lis and Peter.
“And she’s the one in the paddock that looks after everyone else’s babies. She’s got such a beautiful nature, but it wasn’t until
we really connected with her that we were able to experience that and see her potential as a house cow. Milking a cow is actually next level. It’s sort of taking that relationship even further.”
Although they have a reputation as simple animals, through Mabel, Lis discovered just how intuitive and emotionally complex cows can be. They are capable of perceiving and responding to human moods – their behaviour is often in direct correlation to how Lis is feeling that day.
For instance, if Lis is feeling low and tries to milk Mabel, the cow may not allow her to do so. Lis had one experience when she and Peter had to euthanise an older cow on the farm. Feeling quite upset, Lis went to milk Mabel but the cow wouldn’t stay still, moving forward to avoid being grasped.
“In the end, I just said, ‘it’s okay, we’re not gonna do this today’, and I put her back in the paddock. But she was actually upset as well and fully understood what was going on. She was picking up on my energy. And I just went and sat out in the paddock with her and spent some time with her and had a chat, which made both of us feel better.”
Buying and selling
Because a cow needs to have a calf to produce milk, Lis and Peter only take orders after she’s pregnant. Buyers can then choose a cow and put a deposit down to secure her, with the full price being around $2,500.
However, the cow still needs to be trained. Heifers – first-time mamas – can have quite sensitive teats when their milk comes in, so Lis and Peter wait for three weeks after they’ve given birth before they start training her to be hand-milked. After another three to six weeks, she’ll be ready to be sold or delivered to her new owner, along with
the calf.
Ideally, buyers will take the calves along with the cow they purchase for both animals’ wellbeing and the workload of the new owner. A cow will produce around 10 litres of milk a day, but sharemilking with a calf means someone can take a small portion and leave the rest. It also means someone can miss a day’s milking without it leading to injury, illness, or the milk drying up, as the calf is there to take the surplus.
“If you don’t have a calf you actually have to be really consistent and have that milking routine of morning and night. It’s a bit easier when you’ve got a calf because you can miss a day if you need to.”
Because a calf will naturally wean before it’s one year old, a cow will need to become pregnant and calve again to ensure an ongoing milk supply. A mama cow can be put back in with the bulls between 40 and 60 days after birthing. Her gestation period is 10 months, and she will continue producing milk until two months before she gives birth.
“A mum really needs the two months’ rest, as she is growing a baby and it’s what is best for her body,” says Lis. “I find with Mabel, she naturally starts to wean me and her calf at this time anyway. Her milk supply reduces. If I kept milking her, it would affect her body condition, and be quite hard on her.” Milking can resume ideally two weeks after birth.
If the new calf is female, she can be kept or sold as a house cow, or kept simply as a pet. If it’s a male, it can be kept as a pet steer, sold as a bull or used for homekill.
While it’s clear that a house cow can provide plenty of financial value, it’s important that they’re viewed not just as money-saving or money-making assets, but as pets to connect and form bonds with. Buyers should always come to view the cow before purchasing so that they can meet with her and learn her personality.
“It’s quite interesting to see which ones they choose and connect with,” says Lis. “Some people go for looks, like with other pets. The Galloway’s are pretty cute. They’ve got these little black noses and black fluffy ears and the rest of them’s white – they look like teddy bears.
“But it’s definitely not always about looks. People do tend to get a feel for who they have a connection with, which is a really nice way to do it. It’s quite important actually, especially with a house cow.”
What cows need
Of all the caveats that come with keeping a milking cow, the most critical is knowing what’s involved in the day-to-day care and maintenance. As Lis stresses, these animals are intelligent and sensitive, and she ensures that any buyer will provide a good home and life for them. They need daily interactions with their people, along with plenty of treats and affection. Unlike cattle beasts which are destined for the freezer, these house cows are bred to be companion animals for a household or community, living long and happy lives while providing ongoing benefits to the owner.
Other than training the cow to be milked, Lis and Peter provide new owners with plenty of information about how to form the best relationship with their animals, and encourage them to get in touch if they ever need advice.
“Offering consultancy work around setting up a property is part of what we do. We’re happy to give people advice about what they need before we sell the cows. That’s really important. We want the people who have purchased the cows to be happy, well set up and confident in what they’re doing, and we want our cows to go to a good home.”
In terms of land requirements, it depends on the cow and geography, but generally someone should have at least two acres of grazing land per house cow. Good fencing and water supply is essential. An owner should have more than one 25,000-litre tank and a trough. The cow will also need some shade and shelter from the elements.
When it comes to pasture, Dexters and Galloways are known as hardy, low-maintenance breeds that will happily graze on kikuyu – a common grass found in the upper north island – when nothing else is around.
“Generally, I would recommend seeding other types of grasses, such as plantain, which is really nutritious for the cows. But
at certain times of the year when some of the other grasses aren’t growing, you’ve got the kikuyu, So I actually feel like it does have its place.”
Lis and Peter can arrange delivery of the animals within a two-hour drive, which
also gives Lis an opportunity to see the new home, help settle them in and make sure they’re comfortable before saying a difficult goodbye.
“That makes it easier for me, knowing that they’re going to a good home. We just sold a couple of our boys that we raised for two years. But they went to a really nice home, just a little homesteading property and we’re allowed to visit whenever we want. So that made it easier too. Seeing these people come and really connect with those boys. It makes me happy to see people falling in love with them.”
Permaculture cows
One of the most compelling reasons for keeping a house cow is knowing and controlling the quality of the milk you drink. Organic raw, or unpasteurised milk, is growing in popularity because of its perceived health benefits, and a house cow raised a certain way will provide an abundant supply straight from the teat.
Although their farm is not certified, Lis and Peter strive to raise the cows as organically as possible. They use no chemical sprays, fertilisers or drenches, instead treating their cows for parasites with garlic and apple cider vinegar in line with the moon cycles, (See sidebar.) They are also big fans of raw mānuka honey, and apply it topically to treat any wounds or skin conditions such as ringworm.
Lis with Mabel, her beloved house cow.
Lis patting one of her Dexters.
Fresh milk and halloumi straight from the farm.
The farm house and pond.
Both she and Peter have studied permaculture, and manage the farm in line with those values. The pasture consists of a diversity of plants, including medicinal species such as plantain (both varieties), red clover, self-heal, dandelion, chickweed, dock, mugwort and wormwood, which the cows can graze as they see fit.
“They’re very intelligent and know what they need. When we might not necessarily know what it is that the cows are lacking in, they do and they eat the right thing. It’s definitely beneficial if they’ve got that buffet of food available to them.”
They also practise a form of regenerative grazing, where paddocks are left to rest to reduce parasite burdens in the soil. After the cows have grazed a paddock, they are moved on, allowing the pasture to rest and recover for at least a month. Cow manure is also a prized asset, fertilising gardens, trees and soils across the farm.
Although Lis favours a holistic and natural approach to her farming, she’s not fixed in her position and will engage a vet if necessary.
“There’s always a place for the vet. We’re definitely not hard-nosed about that. We do what’s best for the cow. If we can do it naturally, we believe that that’s what’s best for the cow. But if it’s not working and there’s some risk of it getting worse, then we’ll get the vet out here.
The property consists of around 77 acres of pasture, with 10 acres in protected native bush under QEII covenant. Managing such a big property without outside help can be an endless task. However, the couple’s permaculture training has allowed them to put systems in place that improve efficiency while reducing workload.
“For me, permaculture is about being observant and thoughtful, and we take that approach with everything on the farm. We don’t just jump into setting things up without actually thinking about it and taking a step back and looking at it.
“For example, we’ve got a lot of water on the property and we’ve got a lot of ponds that feed all the troughs. So we know that if there’s a drought, we’re not going to run out of water. So it’s about setting up simple systems that allow us to do the work.”
A renaissance
Much like the current revival of food growing, preserving, seed-saving, and self sufficiency – practices that were widespread in our great grandparents’ time – hand milking is seeing something of a renaissance. For many people, the idea of a house cow is extremely romantic and appealing, a way to secure a natural source of high quality milk supply, independent of the corporate, mechanical system that oversees the vast volume of milk in New Zealand.
While Lis and Peter know they are bringing back an ancient, yet incredibly practical mode of animal husbandry, they’re not interested in increasing commercial numbers of cows to sell. That would defeat the purpose of what they’re trying to achieve.
“We’re not intending to increase the numbers at all. A lot of farms will push the cattle, especially through winter, when the grass isn’t growing as much, but we want to be gentle on the land and ensure we have plenty of feed so we can keep them healthy, especially the pregnant mums. So it’s about caring for the animals the best we can. That’s really important.”
It all fits into their ethos of love and respect, where cow’s milk is a gift, not taken or extracted, but received with gratitude; a fair trade for grass, water and the utmost devotion and care.
“With hand milking, you’re putting a lot of love into the cow and she’s feeling the love while you’re milking her, so that’s all going into the milk as well,” says Lis.
“I think that’s about as good as it gets.” •