Grass-Fed Organic Dairy, Raw Milk Sales & Virtual Fence Collars | Dakota Finch | 217

Dakota Finch grew up on his grandfather's conventional dairy in upstate New York, spent six years in the Air Force, and came home with a plan: start a grass-fed organic dairy from scratch. He had no land of his own. He found an internship, built a relationship, and bought 23 cows plus yearlings and calves from a farmer who was willing to help him get started. That was 2017. Today he milks 40-50 cows at Finch Family Farm in central New York, recently opened a farm retail store selling raw milk, beef, pork, chicken, and eggs, and is deep in the learning curve of marketing direct to consumers. He's not pretending it's all figured out. This episode covers the real questions he's still working through — and that's exactly what makes it worth listening to. What we cover: → How an internship and one key relationship made his farm purchase possible → Fall seasonal dairying and why his milk market pays more for winter milk → The 10-and-7 milking schedule, milking 10 times in 7 days to protect family time → Hay vs. balage: making feed on marginal ground nobody else wanted → Breeding strategy: Jerseys, Ayrshire bulls, the Black Angus that hit the calf market perfectly, and AAA mating → Opening a farm store with Barn2Door and a small business grant → His son's pig farrowing operation, honest about what's working and what isn't → First year with meat birds and egg layers: losses, lessons, and what changes this year → Gallagher eShepherd virtual fence collars: real-world experience from a dairy farmer — what works, what hiccups to expect, and why he's still excited Famous Four: 📚 Favorite resource: Grazing Grass Podcast, Ranching Returns, Farm for Profit 🔧 Favorite tool: Gallagher eShepherd virtual fence collars 💬 Advice for beginners: Stay positive and remember a younger you was dreaming of exactly where you are now 🔗 Find Dakota: Facebook (Dakota Finch) | Finch Family Farm | finchfamilyfarmny.com --- The Grazing Grass Podcast is a producer-to-producer interview show. New episodes every Wednesday. 🌱 grazinggrass.com