Farm Visit Feedback

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August 17, 2017

I visited the farm yesterday. As always, it was a joy. I saw the shiny new barn in progress, helped milk the cows and said hi to the many pregnant ladies, took a hair sample for A1/A2 genetic testing, held a cow by her slimy nostrils to give a homeopathic treatment, and had a sit-down meeting with the farmer.

I had lots of time to reflect on my 3-hour drive home. Out of all of yesterday’s farm adventures, what stuck out most to me was the kind and generous nature of the farmer, his family, and his staff. Especially in today’s political climate, it is refreshing to spend time with people who highly respect people no matter their culture, animals no matter their breed, and the land no matter its history.

The day did not go quite as planned. There was an unfortunate death in the community. Despite a seemingly endless amount of farm chores to complete and the fact that they had English visitors for the day, the farmer and his wife stopped everything, readied their buggy, and were off to pay their respects. When they returned, the farmer’s wife prepared us a delicious supper and somehow all the chores got accomplished.

The farmer spent a good amount of time caring for a lame cow. A couple days ago, a thorn got stuck in her hoof, and she developed an infection. The farmer inspected her hoof for signs of healing and her body to make sure that she was eating enough. He then gave her a homeopathic treatment to aid in her healing. Additionally, as a preventative measure, he gave the entire herd homeopathic remedy in their drinking water.

The farmer excitedly showed me his new manure pit. All of the cows’ excrements are funneled into a tremendous concrete pit that’s about 50 feet wide. Very little is wasted on the farm. This manure is liquid gold. When the time is right, it is pumped back onto the fields, adding nutrients, texture, and microorganisms back into the soil. The fertilized soil is then ready for a new crop of alfalfa grass. It has been over 16 years since the farm was touched by chemicals. By using these sustainable farming practices, the farmer has brought an abundance of life back to the fields.

I am continuously honored to work for Miller’s Biodiversity Farm. It is my pleasure to serve both the farmer and our members. Many thanks to you for your patronage!

Farm Updates

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

Farm Visit Feedback

More from the blog

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566