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Author: Marie Reedell

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Lovely Farm Day recap with pics and videos. And the sour milk debacle. Our milk really does last.

Despite a little rain and chilly weather, this year's Farm Day event was simply lovely. Thanks to everyone who came out!One family reported, "This is better than Hershey Park!" Another family reported that they're very selective with the natural foods they eat, and that can be a challenge at parties and events. The best part for them was that they could say "yes" to every food that was there. And we heard from a lot of people that the Farmer Panel Discussion was extremely educational. Many thanks to our farmers! They said we could have simply done that the entire day, and maybe I'll take that tip for a new event next year.Here's a short 1-minute video recap of the event: Honestly the food was incredible. We served a smorgesboard of snacks. Our vendors were giving out samples. And there was a hot lunch of smoked brisket, chicken leg and thigh, a loaded salad bar, baked beans, potatoes, and veggies. Here are some pics of the food: We had lots of fun activities, too. A mini petting zoo, making flower crowns, milking a cow, and wagon and pony and camel rides. Here are some pics of that excitement: We also had a Farmer Panel Discussion. We had Aaron representing his two brothers, our raw dairy farmers. We had Daniel, who raises our chickens. We had Lamar, who's our beekeeper. And finally Raymond, who's one of our egg farmers. Here are the first 7 minutes of the panel. It's the intro, before we got into the nitty gritty questions. Overall, Farm Day went off without a hitch. There was one issue --> the Sour Milk Challenge.  You see, raw milk naturally sours as it ages. The living microbiology that's inside the cow ferments the milk, breaking down the lactose (milk sugar) and turning it into lactic acid (which is sour). The warmer it is and the longer it sits, the more sour it gets. Drinking sour milk is not a safety issue, it's a palatability issue.I put milk aside way before Farm Day. One was 25 days old, one was 15 days old, and one was 8 days old. It was simply sitting in our cooler. The day before the event I tasted them, and all of the milks tasted the same! They all tasted fresh!!How could I have a sour milk tasting with no sour milk!? I had to think fast. So I put one milk in the culturing room (at 98F) overnight. Another I left on the counter overnight. The one in the culturing room did get a little sour. But, the challenge overall was very difficult (dare I say impossible). Here's what the challenge looked like: This really made me think about how important our milk safety standards are.I mean, given the amount our farmers clean when milking, there's zero manure or urine or dirt in the milk. There's no external bacteria or yeast mixed in.Most raw milk farmers don't do what we do (and pasteurized milk farmers definitely don't). It's kinda gross when you think about it. But, having any manure or urine or dirt or residue from equipment in raw milk definitely makes it sour quickly. It also made me think about temps for storing raw milk.Our cooler is kept at 35F. It seems that this nearly stopped the fermentation. Compare this to a regular home fridge, which is usually 40-42F. Those 5-7 degrees matter! It makes me want to get a separate mini milk-only fridge at home that I keep colder.Anyway, I digress. Farm Day was amazing!!! If you came, we'd love for you to leave your comments below. We'll be attending a few more events this fall, and we'd love to see you there! Healthy Food, Healthy Body. An Event for Healthy Living.October 19, 1-4pmTenafly NJWise Traditions ConferenceOctober 25-27Orlando, FLDocumenting Hope ConferenceNovember 15-17Orlando, FL

We're many small farms. We let farmers do what they love - farm.

Our name is Miller's Bio Farm, and honestly it should change. It really should be Miller's Bio Farms (plural).Why? That's because we aren't just one farm - we are collection of likeminded, small, local, (nearly all) Amish, family farms. We are so lucky to be in Lancaster County, where more and more people are getting into natural farming and food. When Aaron, the founder, started out, he did a lot of things himself. He milked cows, he raised pigs in the woods, he had mobile coops with chickens, had a few beef cattle, and even butchered some chickens.But he never raised laying hens or kept bees. He never butchered his own meat. Besides pasture, he never grew and mixed his own feed. I mean, there were so many things he didn't do.And really, it was never just Aaron, it was his wife Rebecca and their kids too. I mean, doing it all that would be A LOT for one family! And, with smaller properties in Lancaster County (compared to expansive ranches in other parts of the US), there's not enough space either.  It's always been a collaboration of farms.We value our farmers' independence. They join us if they align with and can meet our natural standards. But, we want them to own their animals and operations, to make decisions for themselves, and be able to do what they love - farm. Right now, here's where our natural foods come from: Dairy: Aaron's two brothers, John and David, have two small 100% grass fed dairy herds. John's herd is on site and produces all of our fluid milk. David's herd is about 20 minutes away. His milk is used for dairy products like cream, cheese, and yogurt.Eggs: We have a handful of local farms, all within 1.5 hours of the farm. They all follow the same exact farming practices and give the hens the same quality feed.Beef: We have one beef farmer. He's actually a bit of trek, nearly 3 hours from the farm. But his property is just so beautiful.Pork: We have one local farm that raises pigs in the woods. He also grows produce, so in addition to what they forage and their corn & soy free feed, the pigs get lots of yummy seconds and thirds of fresh veggies. Chicken: This comes from one farm about 1.5 hours west of our main farm. Daniel, the chicken farmer, used to be our on site dairy farmer. But he decided that he likes chickens more than cows. And plus, he kinda wanted his very own operation, too. Turkey: This comes from a very local farm that raises turkeys just for us.Seafood: From Wild for Salmon, which is a collection of fishers all following the same natural standards and sustainable harvest practices.Honey: From two different honey farmers. One makes our regular honey and has hives on our main dairy farm. The other makes our creamed honeys.Produce: This is from Lancaster Farm Fresh, which is a collection of farms. They have great transparency, so we're able to find out the growing practices and where it comes from. We'll be pulling another produce farmer in soon to get it even more local. Farmers became farmers for a reason. And it's not because they like computers or talking to people or packing orders. So we do the processing and manage the website and pack orders and do the customer service and help spread the learning around. And our farmers... well... they farm and provide you that amazing food. How do you feel buying from a collection of farms? What's most important to you when buying food?

Is your raw cheese actually raw? Or has it been greenwashed?

Imagine that you're shopping in a cheese department. You spot some raw cheese. Hooray! So, you buy the cheese. But then, you read the fine print on the back of the label. For example, on Organic Valley's raw cheeses, it says "Heated to 158F for 15 seconds". Ugh!!! What's up with this? Another greenwashed label? Shouldn't raw cheese not be heated at all? Doesn't heating to 158F negate the purpose of purchasing raw? Let's dive a little deeper into what raw cheese is, why it's important for your health, and the regulations on raw cheese.

Macadamia nuts are one of the "healthy nuts". Here are 5 scientific reasons why.

I know a lot of you don't eat a lot of nuts... but maybe you kinda miss them? I know I do. It's so much work to soak and dehydrate them at home (to get rid of the antinutrients). It's easier to just not buy them at all. If you want to purchase presoaked nuts, they're hard to find and prices can be crazy. And then of course there are PUFAs to consider. I mean, don't you wish almonds didn't have a 2010:1 omega 6/3 ratio? Don't you wish walnuts weren't so ridiculously high in PUFAs? Don't you wish Brazil Nuts didn't have so many oxalates? Enter macadamia nuts...

Supplements our dairy cows get for the best possible health and nutrition

Our cows are 100% grass fed. They are never fed grain. But, it's more like "100% grass fed +" since they also get natural supplements so they can be in optimal health. Our supplements change based on the forage quality (and therefore our soil quality), the weather, and any particularities with the cows. We give molasses, minerals, homeopathic remedies, and energy pellets (which are alfalfa and flaxseed oil). Here's why and how.

Bird Flu. What's going on? Should milk drinkers be worried?

There's a lot of scary headlines about bird flu recently. Is it real? Is it hype? Let's look at this with a level headed approach. The main thing is that there is zero evidence of viral transmission of blue flu through milk (even raw milk). This blog post has more info about transmission, our dairy herds, unanswered questions that make me wary, and links to sources.

A2 beef vs A2 dairy. What's the difference? One doesn't even exist in the US.

Every once in a while, a customer sees that we offer A2/A2 dairy and asks, "Do you sell A2 beef?" When this happens, I let them know that A2 beef isn't a thing... at least not in the United States. But, A2/A2 dairy is. The dairy vs. beef classifications are based on two completely separate things. One has to do with marbling in meat, and the other has to do with the type of protein in milk. Here's the explanation of both.