According to Alberta Milk, you are not a dairy farm if you only have 1 dairy cow and do not have an official producer licence.
If you feel like growing your herd and jumping into becoming an “official” dairy farmer, here is a licence you’re best to read over our Producer Handbook, learn about quota and supply management and learn about our consumer confidence program called proAction. You’ll also need better accommodations for your herd, so you’ll need a barn and a milking parlour (all approved by your banker, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Natural Resource Conservation Board, and your local county, of course). Alberta’s dairy farmers are highly regulated, so you might need to brush up on your paperwork skills as well.
Here’s a great snapshot of the life of a local dairy farmer!
As well, one of our industry regulations states that to become a licenced dairy farm, you have to produce more than 50 litres of milk per day. One Jersey only produces about 20 litres of milk, so you’ll need to get her a few cow friends.
If you’d like, you can be a honorary dairy farm. It only requires you give extra scratches to your Jersey and another bale of straw for her bed.