How to make hay when the sun shines

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April 26, 2019

Spring is here. The grass is growing. You know what that means. It’s time to make hay!

I had the pleasure to visit the farm this week. The sun is shining. The grass is certainly green and at least two feet tall. Yup, it’s time to make hay.

Hay is integral to agriculture. It’s how you can sustain animals in the colder months. And, you need to plan ahead.

As the saying goes, you need to “make hay when the sun shines.”

The average American nowadays is pretty disconnected from producing their own food. However, the saying can relate to many aspects of modern American life.

For example, let’s take your family. You need to “make hay” with your children.

Especially when your kids are young, the sun is shining, and you take the opportunity to spend time with them. Whether this is through eating meals together or playing games or going on vacation. Every minute counts. Bonding with family when you can ensures that you can stick together when your kids grow up or through troubling times.

Another example is with your health. You need to “make hay” now to ensure the healthiest future.

Taking good care of your body when you are in good health is so important. This includes eating food that is nourishing, exercising regularly, and taking time to nurture your soul. The stronger you can be in health gives you the best chance for your body to overcome illness, disease, and trauma.

My last example is financial. You need to “make hay” when you are financially stable.

This may mean saving for retirement or college or investing in real estate or an investment account. Even if you only have a little left over, it’s important to save for the future, when you will need it.

Making hay is not easy. It’s hard work. And it takes time.

The farmer needs to plan to make hay. He waits for the grass to grow and for the weather to be dry. He cuts the grass and tedders it (spreads it out). Then, it must sit and dry. Patience is needed to wait for it to have the perfect moisture content for baling, which typically takes 1-3 days, depending on the weather. He needs to coordinate with his neighbors to help with baling. He cannot do it alone. He needs more horses and more workers.

The same is needed for “making hay” as a modern American. You need planning, patience, perception, and coordination. You cannot do it alone.

Once you are done “making hay”, however much you need to nurture your life, you can be assured that you will be ok through the cold winter.

The farmer knows that he needs about 15,000 bales of hay to make it through the winter. So, when the sun is shining, he’s always making hay.

How much hay and of what type do you need to make? I suggest making some now in solidarity with the farmer.

Best wishes for your hay making this season!

Opinion

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.

How to make hay when the sun shines

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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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