In the State of Oregon, it is illegal to deliver raw milk, to advertise that you have raw milk for sale, and if selling raw milk from your farm, you cannot have more than 2 cows, 9 goats, and/or 9 sheep that are lactating for raw milk consumption purposes. In addition, you cannot sell dairy products of any kind. These laws are restrictive and make it difficult for small local farms to support their communities with fresh, local products.

A herd share is when you purchase a “share” or interest of a herd of milking cows, meat cows, goats, or sheep. You become a joint owner of the herd in exchange for paying the boarding and care fees – at Twisted Oak Farm, these membership fees are built into the products that you and your family would like to enjoy. 

Twisted Oak Farm is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote sustainable, holistic farming and animal husbandry practices that foster health, education, and awareness about the origins of our food that focuses on nutrition. We aim to educate the future generation of historical practices of homesteading traditions.

Registration is Free – All members have a vested interest in the farm and get to enjoy the benefits of knowing and seeing firsthand where their food is coming from. Our mission to support local sustainability and provide our community with an alternative resource to large commercial chain retail stores.

Herd shares are legal in Oregon and allow for small, local farms like Twisted Oak Farm to help support themselves and the community by supplying fresh, high-quality products to our neighbors, our friends and our families. Not everyone has the time or space to raise their own dairy cows, which is why herd shares are vital for local sustainability and access to high-quality meat and dairy products.

At Twisted Oak Farm, we have two types of memberships:

1. Herdshare Membership – Access to ALL First-Come, First-Served items and Vendor products.
   For members wanting access to the milk shed to grab cheese, first-come, first-served dairy products (yogurt, milk, cream), meat products, and access to vendor products – the Herdshare Membership is right for you. There are no jar deposits for dairy product shares, but we ask all Herdshare members to return all glass jars and yogurt containers, including vendor’s containers, in order to keep costs down. If you take a jar, you leave a clean jar on your next visit. Herdshare members will have access to a limited quantity of first-come, first-served milk bottled in plastic jugs every other day.
   
2. Milkshare Membership (currently at capacity) – Reserved Weekly Milk and Access to ALL First-Come, First-Served items and vendor products.
   For members who prefer to secure a reserved quantity of milk each week in addition to the same access as a herdshare member. The minimum amount of milk reserved is 1/2 gallon per week. We will work with our milkshare members to identify a designated pickup day based on daily capacity. The cost of milk share is $5.00 per 1/2 gallon with a one-time, non-refundable $5.00 per jar/lid fee. You can also choose to bring a 1/2 gallon mason jar and plastic lid in place of paying a jar/lid fee. Both the jar and lid will become the property of Twisted Oak Farm. Members will be required to return their clean jars each week in order to pick up their milk. Milkshare members have guaranteed milk each week.
   *Important Note – Milkshares are capped at 18 gallons per day to ensure that we are able to maintain our milkshare holders throughout the year. If you are interested in adding your name to the Milkshare waitlist, when you register and select Milkshare. Milkshares will be prioritized to existing herdshare members first.
   
3. Temporary Traveler Membership – Limited/One-Time Access.
   Temporary Traveler Memberships are only provided to individuals who live outside of a 50-mile radius from the farm. Address verification will be reviewed prior to access being provisioned. Temporary Traveler Memberships are only for individuals traveling or on vacation who would like access to farm-fresh dairy and local items. Twisted Oak Farm will provide you with limited access to the milkshed while you are in the area. For more information on where to find farm-fresh milk while you are traveling, please go to https://www.realmilk.com or https://getrawmilk.com

The Member’s Milk Shed is located in Eaglecreek, off of Jackknife Rd in front of our blue shop by our lower pasture.
Address: 31165 SE Jackknife Rd, Eaglecreek OR 97022
If you are in front of a long gated driveway, look to your left across the lower pasture and you will see the Blue Shop and the Members’ Milkshed.
Please remember, the Member’s Milkshed is NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. You must be a registered member with an established access code to visit the store.

The Member’s Milk Shed is stocked before 9:00 AM and after 6:00 PM – access to the milkshed is available before or after those hours, but products might not be available.

1. Read the Members’ Terms and Conditions information
2. Complete the Member Registration Form,
3. Once the form is submitted, you will be redirected to the Registration Confirmation page. You will be required to read and understand the Member’s Responsibilities section below.
4. Text Michelle to set up your unique access code and schedule your first visit. Contact information can be found on the Registration Confirmation page.

Twisted Oak Farm only accepts Cash or Venmo.

As a member, you are responsible for reading and understanding the Milkshed Payment and Inventory Log Procedures. 

The first line of the Inventory log has been created to provide members with an example on how to properly fill out the log. For all purchases, you will need to complete the inventory log each time you visit the milkshed.

1. Write down your NAME and all purchases in the inventory log.
2. Document the number of jars returned
3. Ensure that your total in each columns add up to the totals due which should matches the payment received.
   If paying with Cash, write your name on ALL envelopes.
   If paying with Venmo, hit the send button before leaving the milkshed.
   
4. Vendor items – document the vendor # and total amount paid in the Vendor Section of the inventory log and make sure they are paid separately using their cash envelopes or their Venmo code. Each vendor needs to be paid independently, as they retain 100% of the profit for their goods. Make sure you pay the CORRECT VENDOR for their product.
   
   The members’ milkshed is a community experience focused on supporting local sustainability. Venmo QR codes are located above the inventory log or on the shelf where the item is located.

When paying through Venmo, you will need to use “Venmo friends and family” which refers to standard peer-to-peer transactions on the Venmo app, these transactions are then free when funded by a linked bank account, debit card, or Venmo balance. To ensure a payment is treated as “friends and family,” make sure you do not have the “goods and services” toggle turned on, as this will charge a service fee to the vendor. Don’t have Venmo? – Here is a link on how to create your account.

Product availability is posted on Facebook daily!
Like and Follow Twisted Oak Farm

There are two ways to add your name to the Milkshare Waitlist.

1. During registration, select Milkshare Waitlist. You will need to identify the amount of milk you would like each week.
2. If you have already registered, text Michelle to let her know that you would like to be added to the waitlist. Your registration will be updated.

Milkshares will be prioritized to existing herdshare members first. If you are an active member, you will be added to the top of the list based on when your registration was received.

Education of the process and sharing insight into what goes into the food you consume is a key part of this herdshare and a guiding principle of our operation. Unfortunately, both operators work full-time, in addition to farming full-time. 

All farm visits must be scheduled ahead of time. No drop-in farm tours will be accommodated, and as with any working farm, we ask that you not open any closed gates, as you may be greeted by livestock guardian dogs who take their job seriously.

Once you register as a member, you will be directed to the confirmation page that will provide you with the next steps and how to schedule your first visit to the milkshed and get your unique access code. Meet-and-greets with the cows typically occur when the weather is nice. In the summer months, the cows will be located in the lower pasture by the milkshed. They love treats as long as they are not small choking hazards (fruits, vegetables; they love pumpkins, garden scraps, etc.) We save the marshmallows for when they’re done milking; the girls have to watch their figures!

All members play a vital role in the sustainability of the Farm, the Milkshed, and the herd.

1. The Members’ Milkshed at Twisted Oak Farm is not open to the public.
   As a registered member, you are responsible for reading and understanding all posted signs and adhering to the Membership Terms and Conditions. Only Registered Members (and their Family) can access the milkshed and purchase items.
   
2. Clean and Return all Reusable Jars
   All Members are required to return all glass jars, metal rings, lids, and plastic yogurt containers. All items returned need to be properly cleaned.
   Milkshare Members are required to return their glass milk jar and lid prior to their next bottling day.
   
3. Follow the Payment and Inventory Procedures
   Payment instruction reminders are located within the Milk Shed by the inventory log. In addition, the first line of the Inventory log was created to provide you with an example of how to properly fill out the log.
   
   For all purchases, you will need to complete the inventory log each time you visit the milkshed.
   1. Write down your NAME and all purchases in the inventory log.
   2. Document the number of jars returned.
      In order to keep costs down, all glass jars, metal lids, and plastic yogurt containers must be returned.
   3. Cash or Venmo are the two types of payments accepted – Ensure that your total matches the payment. If paying with Cash, write your name on the reuseable envelope. If paying with Venmo, remeber to hit the send button before leaving the milkshed.
   4. Vendor items – document the vendor # and amount in the Vendor Section of the inventory log and make sure they are paid separately using their cash envelopes or their Venmo code. Each vendor needs to be paid independently, as they retain 100% of the profit for their goods. The members’ milkshed is a community experience focused on supporting local sustainability. Venmo QR codes are located above the inventory log or on the shelf where the item is located. Make sure you pay the CORRECT VENDOR for their product.
      
4. Payment must be made before leaving the milkshed

1. Understand that being in a milkshare is a commitment;
   The cows, James and I are committed to supplying you with fresh reserved milk and other dairy products on a weekly basis – we milk twice a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  As a part-owner in this herdshare, you must be committed to picking up your milk each week. You can cancel your week’s order with a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. If cancellations become too frequent, you will be asked to switch to a herdshare membership, as first-come, first-served milk is available to all members and is bottled every other day.
   
2. You have 2 days to pick up your milk: your assigned day and a courtesy day.  Please try to pick up your milk on your assigned day, but we understand things happen, which is why an extra day is given. 
   If no communication is received and you do not pick up your milk by 7pm on the 2nd day, this will be considered as a NO CALL NO SHOW, which means your milk will be pulled and your milkshare will be given to the next individual on the waitlist.  I will not be sending out reminders or notifications.  Please remember that in addition to farming, both James and I work full-time jobs in order to support this passion project.  We understand what it means to be busy and we also understand that this is a commitment. Not everyone has the means or property to own their own dairy cow, so being part of a herdshare is the next best thing.  We want all members to know that they have a role in ensuring that this herdshare remains sustainable.
   
3. Consistency will be required. For your weekly orders, the amount of your milkshare will be the amount bottled each week. If at any time you would like to increase your weekly reserved amount during the year, please let me know and I will work to readjust the schedule if possible.  If you need to decrease your order at anytime during the year, please know that your share will then be provided to the next individual on the waitlist. I will not be able to adjust weekly milkshares week by week.  A lot of work goes into supporting 80+ milkshare members and over 200 herdshare members; my mental health will take priority. If you are on the fence with the amount of milk, you can always start low and grab a first-come, first-served milk if you need extra during the week.
   
4. Payment will be made before leaving the milkshed. While this is the honor system, I trust that each of our members are following the payment procedures by documenting all purchases in the inventory log; if paying cash, writing their name on the envelope, and paying each vendor independently. I have updated the inventory log so if paying cash and an overpayment is made, you can document the credit.  I will then confirm the credit in a text to you that evening. Please ensure the total in the inventory log matches the total paid with the items purchased. If you are paying monthly for your milkshare, I highly recommend using VENMO to schedule your payments.  Here is the link on how to do that: https://help.venmo.com/cs/articles/schedule-send-payments-vhel357
   
5. CLEAN JARS and LIDS must be returned in order to bottle your milk.  Milkshare members pay $5 for milk instead of $6 per half gallon because YOU are supplying your CLEAN JARS and LIDS. When joining you will be required to provide either a $5 Jar/Lid deposit per 1/2 gallon or you can supply your own mason jars and lids. This year, you will be required to return all jars and lids in order to bottle your upcoming week’s milk. I recommend purchasing extra jars and lids to have on hand to ensure that you are able to return the correct amount to be bottled each time. Members are required to document the number of jars returned in the inventory log.  If you forget your jars, please know that they will need to be returned prior to your next bottle day. When you return your jars, please document the return in the inventory log, either on the line of your previous pickup or on a new line. 

The Member’s Milkshed at Twisted Oak Farm hosts a variety of vendors from the local community. Our mission is to support local sustainability. Our vendors, who are also members, do not pay to host a spot within the members’ milkshed. They receive 100% of the profit from their sales, which is why all vendors are paid independently. Please understand that due to limited space and to reduce competition between products, we may not be able to accommodate all vendor requests.

Interested in becoming a Vendor? Read the Vendor Responsibility Flyer

1. Wholesome Hen and Loaf – www.hotplate.com/wholesomehenandloaf
   Local micro bakery that sells homemade sourdough baked goods, eggs and Holiday Turkeys
2. Roots Movement Farm – https://rootsmovementfarm.com/
   Fresh amazing produce and other items procured from their forest garden for health and wellbeing. Focused on dry farming and hand cultivation
3. Uncle Waynes Tomatoes – https://unclewaynestomatoes.com/
   Over 350 varieties of tomatoes, 150 varieties of peppers, some eggplant, cucumber and herb starts.
4. Owl and Kestrel Soaps – www.etsy.com/shop/owlandkestrelsoaps
   Handcrafted soaps made from tallow, fresh botanicals gathered around the Pacific NW
5. Roundabout Farmette Bakery – Facebook Link
   Cottage bakery dedicated to crafting sweet and savory baked goods, focusing on pastries and yeast-filled doughs.
6. Granny Smith’s Garden
   Cottage style canning from pickles, peppers, and bourbon cherries. From Garden to Jar, with a Kick of Charm.
7. Bees Unlimited
   Local Eaglecreek wildflower and blackberry honey and beeswax.
8. Vital Pines Botanicals – Facebook Link
   Small batch, high-quality skin care products that are safe and effective for the whole family.
9. Triple R Ranch Oregon
   Organic goat milk soap and medicinal loose tea and Elderberry Tonic
10. Oil and Tallow Co.
    Whipped Tallow Balm
11. Chapel House Art Collective
    Hand-carved stamped holiday and greeting cards
12. Mystic Hollow Farm – Facebook Link
    From raising the goats to creating the soaps, it’s all done here by hand at Mystic Hollow Farm. Oatmeal and Milk Bath Tea, Goat Milk lotion, and more!
13. Sourdough Sisters – https://www.sourdough-sisters.com/
    2 sisters sharing the joy of sourdough in our microbakery, Bread Shed in the country.
14. Breeze Bakery – Facebook Link
    Small-batch home micro-bakery creating fresh, handmade goods and artisan sourdough using quality ingredients. Proudly local, baked with care, and made to share
15. Fluffy Butt Acres – Facebook Link
    Goat Milk Vendor! Small hubby and wife farm that raises Alpine goats with a focus on wonderful personalities for dairy production and packing. Truly free-range chickens and Kune kune pigs. Who are all guarded by our beloved LGDs, Shep and Louise.
16. Haven Decor by Katie – Facebook Link
    Stay at home mom with a small business creating custom Pendleton Wool Decor
17. Strange Magick Teas– Facebook Link
    Herbal Tea Blend and Seasonal Support

Sanitation practices are critical to any production farm or any location that produces consumable goods. Here at Twisted Oak Farm, the standardized practices and routines that we follow help minimize microbial, chemical and physical contamination as well as ensuring the health of the animal and the quality of the milk is our highest priority.

Milking Preparation: In the winter months, the dairy cows come into the barn at night, while in the summer months they enjoy sleeping in the pasture. At 6 am, they are ready to be milked. The udders and teats are prepared and cleaned using soapy water/iodine sud wash on one side of fresh cotton cloth and dried with another white cloth. The teats are then expressed to ensure the flow of milk is not clogged before a peroxide pre-dip solution is applied and wiped with a paper towel after 30 seconds. The inflations are then attached to clean, dry teats.

Post Milking: Once milking has been completed, the teats get dipped again with a 1% iodine teat pre/post-dip. In the winter months or if the teats start to become dry, we apply Dynamint Utter cream or a homeblend of whipped tallow with lemon balm-infused jojoba oil is applied. These girls are truly spoiled in their routine.

Twisted Oak Farm follows both the OSU Extension Service Guide and the Raw Milk Institute Guide when it comes to cleaning and sanitizing our milking equipment. We rinse our 9, 8, and 6-gallon stainless milking containers with cold water to rinse off the milk residue. We then use a two-step (alkaline and acid) cleansing system to clean the bucket, equipment, and milk lines. Twisted Oak Farm uses dairy-specific agents purchased from industry dealers.

1. A non-foaming, dairy-specific alkaline liquid cleanser is run through the inflation equipment, milking lines, and bucket. The equipment and buckets are scrubbed in a pattern of three (thank you OCD) to ensure no section is missed. The water solution is then emptied, and a dairy-specific acid rinse solution is run through the equipment using the same process. Due to the short lengths of our milk lines, a line brush is used to scrub the milk lines thoroughly. We test each solution with QAC QR5 test strips to ensure our cleaners are not too concentrated and at safe levels. Once complete, all of the equipment is stored within their designated enclosed cabinet and hung to air dry.
2. Upon collection, the milk is filtered through an in-line milk filtration system into stainless steel buckets. The pre-filtered milk is then brought down to the house within 20 minutes of milking and poured through our stainless steel mesh strainer into our 60-gallon milk tank chiller. Within 10-20 minutes, milk is cooled from 98°F to 39.2°F and stored at 37°F before being bottled every 48hours.

In addition to chemical and sanitation testing, Twisted Oak Farm is also working with Udder Health Systems, Inc. to test the quality of the milk. The dairy consultation testing services include individualized tests for:
– Standard Plate Count (SPC)
– Total Coliform (TC)
– Somatic Cell Count (SCC)
– Bulk Tank Tests

Monthly-Quarterly (depending on the season) milk tests ensure that our standardized sanitation practices are our highest priority so we can provide you, our members, with a product you can trust.

No, the milk our herd share owners buy into is raw, or as we like to call it – Farm Fresh!
Pasteurization is the process of heating milk (or other foodstuffs) to a specified time and temperature to kill organisms in the milk that may cause spoilage or disease if consumed.

Pasteurization is practiced widely to enhance food preservation and promote food safety. Conventional pasteurization requires heating milk to 145°F (63°C) for 30 minutes. Milk can also be pasteurized by heating it to 161°F (72°C) for at least 15 seconds.

Pasteurization is critical for large commercial dairy farms to ensure that the milk they produce, when shipped all across the state and continent, is free from bacteria that may grow over time and to extend the shelf life. Here on the farm, the milk we provide to our herd share members is fresh. Depending on the designated bottling/pick-up day, our members receive milk that was collected within a 48-hour period (3-4 milkings). Milk is then stored between 33°F to 38°F. In addition, because we are a micro-dairy with a limited number of cows, we are able to ensure that proper care and attention to sanitation and food safety practices are followed.

YES! The dairy herd at Twisted Oak Farm is A2/A2 certified. Initially, due to our daughter’s dairy intolerance, we focused our research on the benefits of A2/A2 milk and providing a solution so she could once again enjoy dairy products, like butter, ice cream, and CHEESE!

What is A2/A2 milk and what are the benefits you may ask?

Milk is composed of about 87% water and 13% total solids.
Water (~87%): Acts as the fluid medium carrying all other dissolved and suspended nutrients.
Fat (~3% to 4%): Provides energy, flavor, and texture, and acts as a carrier for fat-soluble vitamins.
Lactose (~4% to 5%): The primary natural milk sugar that gives milk a hint of sweetness.
Proteins (~3% to 3.5%): High-quality building blocks divided into casein (80%) and whey (20%).
Minerals (~0.7%): Essential salts including calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Vitamins (Trace): Includes both fat-soluble (A, D, E, K) and water-soluble (B-complex, C) vitamins.

Today, the beta-casein found in cow’s milk is present in one of two variants: A2 beta-casein and A1 beta-casein. Originally, cow’s milk only had the A2 beta-casein protein present (A2/A2) – which is the same primary protein found in human and goats milk. Because of this, A2 beta-casein is most natural to the human body and more easily absorbed. However, the protein in cow’s milk has changed throughout time. At some point, there was a genetic mutation in the A2 beta-casein protein that created the A1 beta-casein variant, which has resulted in most commercially available cow’s milk today to become a mixture of A1 and A2 beta-casein (A2/A1). Unfortunately, the A1 beta-casein can be difficult for humans to digest and is linked to inflammation, gut discomfort and many other health issues.

All dairy products produced for our members and available at the milkshed come from our herds’ A2/A2 milk. For many who experienced digestive issues from store-bought dairy products before, this means that you may now be able to enjoy dairy without the digestive issues. This may be the case for some, but sometimes the root of the issue goes outside the protein and you may have a true dairy allergy or be lactose intolerant.

The answer is YES.

Twisted Oak Farm does NOT use any synthetic hormones like rBST, which is used to increase milk production, or other hormones to help with breeding. All breeding is done with an on-site A2 Jersey bull. If you ever see a patch on the back of the girls, that is a standing heat-detection patch.

How the Patches Work

• Scratch-off design: The self-adhesive sticker functions like a lottery scratch ticket. When other cattle mount the cow, friction rubs off the outer black or silver layer to expose a bright fluorescent color underneath (such as red, green, or orange). This detection indicates if a cow is in standing heat.

Our cows are raised on pasture grass, local hay purchased in the fall and winter months, alfalfa, locally sourced 16% Dairy Ration purchased from Union Mills, and brewers’ spent grain (a mixture of barley and malt) from a local brewery on Mt. Hood.

In addition, they are provided free-choice block minerals, salt, and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to ensure a healthy rumen. A single dairy cow eats around 110–120 pounds of food per day, which is a combination of dry matter (hay), grain, and proteins. The amount of food a dairy cow eats directly impacts their milk production. We purchase bulk hay and dairy grains in order to keep the cost of raising 7 milking cows, 2 bulls, and 3 calves at a reasonable rate.

At Twisted Oak Farm, the focus is on the health and well-being of the herd,
not “keywords and marketing phrases”. We follow a science-based, balanced nutrition mindset: high-quality forage, energy-rich grains, vitamins, and minerals.

Do we use pesticides on our pasture? – NO
Is our dairy ration NON-GMO? – NO
Is our feed “certified-organic”? – NO
If a cow is fed GMO feed, does it produce GMO milk? – NO

If keywords and marketing phrases matter to you, we highly recommend raising your own dairy cow to manage your expectations.

We encourage all members to do their research, educate themselves, and understand the amount of work and expense that goes into farming and raising a happy, healthy, productive herd.

What is a Herd Share
Raw Milk: Do Its Benefits Outweigh the Dangers?
Recipe for a Healthy Gut: Intake of Unpasteurised Milk Is Associated with Increased Lactobacillus Abundance in the Human Gut Microbiome
Health Benefits of A2/A2 Milk
US Food & Drug: GMO Crops and Food for Animals
Clean Monday Meals: From Field to Fork: What the GMO Animal Feed Debate Actually Taught Me About Reading a Food Label