One-Cow Revolution

Essential experience-based advice and instructions from the authors of The Independent Farmstead for raising a grassfed milk cow as the heart of a successful low-input, low-cost homestead.

For more than three decades, Shawn and Beth Dougherty have honed their frugal methods for managing a small-scale farmstead on marginal land. In One-Cow Revolution, they share their wisdom and affection for the blessing that is the human-dairy cow partnership, addressing key questions with clear answers for those who have just moved back to the land (or are still planning and dreaming). The Doughertys begin at the beginning, advising readers on how to find a reliable dairy cow, move her to the homestead, and settle her in. They take readers on the round of daily chores, including managing their cow’s grazing patterns and monitoring pasture health, milking a cow, and handling the milk. They explain how a solar-powered cow becomes the heart of a diversified farmstead, providing food for calves, pigs, and other livestock; milk and meat for the family; and manure for high-quality compost to build healthy garden soil. The book’s exemplary how-to content is framed by an introduction and conclusion that describes their life philosophy as “cow people” and the many benefits that manifest in communities where small, food-independent farmsteads thrive as models of sustainable human land-use.

Author Biography

Shawn and Beth Dougherty are the authors of The Independent Farmstead. They have been farming together since the 1980s, for the last 26 years in eastern Ohio, where they manage 27 acres designated by the state as “not suitable for agriculture,” as well as a monastery farm of 100 acres. Using intensive grazing as the primary source of food energy, they raise dairy and beef cows, sheep, farm-fed hogs, and a variety of poultry, producing most of the food, and feed, on the farm. They have been featured main-stage speakers for major homesteading events including Homesteaders of America, Hardison Mills Homestead Festival, and the Modern Homesteading Conference. They often share a stage with legendary independent farmer Joel Salatin. Shawn and Beth have been featured in video series for The School of Traditional Skills and created online classes for the Homesteaders of America with Justin Rhodes.