You should know exactly what goes into your milk. So we'll tell you.
At Cedar Cove, safety and cleanliness aren't things we do just because the state requires them. They're things we do because our family drinks this milk too. Keep reading to find out exactly how we milk, bottle, and test every batch, from the barn to your door.
At Cedar Cove, safety and cleanliness aren't things we do just because the State requires them. They're things we do because our family drinks this milk too.
It starts with healthy cows in a clean barn.
Good milk doesn't happen by accident. It starts with cows that are well fed, well cared for, and milked in a barn that's cleaned before every single session. Our herd is 100% A2A2, because we believe the genetics of the animal matter as much as everything else we do. A healthy A2A2 cow, a dry clean environment, and spotless equipment are the foundation of milk that's safe and genuinely good to drink raw. Everything else follows from that.
Our milking procedure
We follow the same procedure every milking, without shortcuts. Here's how it goes, step by step.
- Cows are brought into the barn. They know their stalls and go to them on their own almost every time. They're clipped into place and their tails are tied up to keep them clean during milking.
- Each cow is given fresh hay and access to water on demand.
- Any manure or urine is cleared from the trough before milking begins.
- Gypsum is spread under the cows to keep the area dry and absorb any remaining manure. A dry environment is a clean environment.
- All milking equipment and rags are washed with soap and 180°F water before use. Every session, every time.
- The milk agitator in the bulk tank is turned on at the start of milking to keep the milk moving and cooling evenly.
- Each cow's udder is wiped down with iodine-soaked rags. The teats are cleaned thoroughly, including every crevice, to remove any dirt or manure. Cows are wiped 2 to 4 ahead of the milkers. If a cow defecates or urinates before she's milked, she's cleaned again before the milker is attached.
- The milker is attached to the cow and runs until she's fully milked out.
- The milk is poured into the bulk tank.
- Milk is cooled to 38-42°F within 10 minutes of milking. Fast cooling is one of the most important factors in shelf life and safety. We don't cut corners here.
While milking is underway, the calves are fed from the nurse cow and given bottles of fresh milk. Nothing on this farm goes to waste.
Our bottling procedure
Cleanliness doesn't stop when the milk leaves the cow. Our bottling process follows the same standard.
- All lines are cleaned with soap and 180°F water before bottling begins.
- The bottler runs until the bulk tank is empty. Every drop is bottled fresh.
- Bottles go straight into the cooler at 38-42°F immediately after filling. They stay cold from that moment until they arrive at your door.
Watch how it happens:
State inspections and testing
We don't ask you to take our word for it. The State of Pennsylvania inspects and tests Cedar Cove on a regular schedule, and we welcome every visit.
Every 3 months: the state inspects the farm in person for raw milk production safety standards. And, they do regular testing on our milk and cows at state-certified labs, too.
Our milk is tested 2x per month for general bacteria counts.
- Standard Plate Count (SPC)
- Somatic Cell Count (SCC)
- Total Coliform Count (TCC)
Our milk is tested 2x per year for specific pathogens.
- Salmonella (zero tolerance)
- E. coli O157:H7(zero tolerance)
- Listeria monocytogenes (zero tolerance)
- Campylobacter jejuni (zero tolerance)
*Zero tolerance means exactly that. Not "rarely detected." Not "within acceptable limits." Zero.
Our herd is tested yearly for specific diseases.
Every year, a licensed veterinarian blood tests our entire herd for two diseases that carry zero tolerance in our operation and on any farm we'd ever buy from.
- Bovine tuberculosis (zero tolerance)
- Brucellosis (zero tolerance)
These tests are conducted annually by an independent, licensed veterinarian. The results are on record.
"We are licensed and inspected by the state of Pennsylvania on a regular schedule. If you want to see the paperwork, just ask."
How we verify our A2A2 herd
When we say 100% A2A2, we don't mean we assume it or hope for it. We mean every cow in our herd has been individually DNA tested and confirmed to carry two copies of the A2 beta-casein gene. That's what makes a cow truly A2A2, and it's the only way to know for certain.
The test is simple but the commitment behind it isn't. A cow that carries one A1 gene and one A2 gene produces milk with both A1 and A2 beta-casein proteins... but that isn't the same as a fully A2A2 animal. Most "A2 milk" on the market comes from mixed herds (with mostly A2 protein but not all). We don't run a mixed herd. Every animal at Cedar Cove has been tested, and only cows that test A2A2 are part of our milking operation.
Testing method: DNA
Individual genetic test on every animal in the herd
Standard: A2A2
Two A2 copies required. A1/A2 animals are not part of our milking herd.
Coverage: 100%
Every cow. Not most. Not the ones we've gotten around to. All of them.
When we bring a new animal onto the farm, she is tested before she joins the milking herd. There are no exceptions. The integrity of the herd depends on every single animal meeting the standard, not almost every animal.
If you've struggled with conventional dairy your whole life and never understood why, A2A2 may be the answer you've been looking for. Many of our customers came to us for exactly that reason and haven't looked back.
"All indigenous cattle in India are naturally A2A2. It's why dairy has been central to that food culture for thousands of years. We built our herd the same way on purpose, because we believe it makes a real difference for the families drinking our milk."
The short version.
We milk clean. We bottle cold. We test. And we've been doing it this way since the beginning, not because someone told us to, but because this is the milk our own children drink.