Three Forks Dairy
Twelve Jersey cows, grass-fed at 9,000 feet, milked by hand twice a day.
About Three Forks Dairy.
Three Forks sits in the South Park basin, where the South, Middle, and North forks of the South Platte come together. We keep a small herd of Jersey cows — Daisy, Pearl, Maggie, Buttercup, Ada, Vera, Hazel, Iris, Lucy, Annie, Wren, and June — on rotated pasture from May through October, and on local grass hay through the winter. Our members own a fractional share of the herd. State law in Colorado requires monthly milk testing; results are posted here and texted to every shareholder.
One share, two gallons a week
A 1/30th share entitles you to two gallons of raw milk each week, year-round. You may collect more or less in any given week; we keep a running balance.
A boarding fee, not a milk price
By Colorado law we do not sell raw milk. You pay a monthly boarding fee — $115 — for the labor of caring for your portion of the herd: feeding, milking, vet care, pasture.
Tested monthly, transparently
Standard plate count and coliform results are posted by the 5th of every month. We use the Colorado State University extension lab.
1/30th cow share
- ※2 gallons of milk per week, by allotment
- ※First option on cream, butter, and yogurt at cost
- ※Annual herd visit & pasture walk
- ※Right to be present at calving (with notice)
- The dairy, Fairplay COSaturday, 8:00 – 11:00am
- Bailey, Park County LibraryWednesday, 4:00 – 6:00pm
Questions, asked & answered.
The sale of raw milk is not legal in Colorado. Herd shares — private contracts in which you own a fractional interest in the cow — are. Your share purchase makes you a co-owner. You are not buying milk; you are consuming milk from an animal you partially own.
We hold your allotment for two weeks. After that it goes to the staff or, with your permission, to a neighbor on the waiting list.
Yes. Saturday mornings during pickup, anytime by arrangement. The cows will remember you faster than you'll remember them.