Milk with dignity? Yup, that's us. What everyone does on the farm with pleasure.

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posted on

September 2, 2022

A customer recently shared the Milk with Dignity program with us. Although the farm won’t get this certification (we only get certified for what’s required), it did make me think.

Human rights is a big issue in today’s conventional farming world, especially the dairy industry.

Migrant and underpaid workers, unsafe or unsanitary working conditions, lack of breaks or housing, etc. are all sadly commonplace with conventional supermarket food (including certified organic). It’s a big reason that food can be as cheap as it is.

I spend a lot of time educating customers about what a wonderful life our animals live and how healthy the soil is and how what we do is sustainable and good for the environment and why eating farm direct food can nourish your health. But, what about the humans that work on the farm?

Miller’s Bio Farm is proud to be an awesome place to work. All of our 18 employees are treated with respect and have good morale.

All employees get lunch and work breaks, are paid fairly, and get bonuses for meeting their goals. It’s a safe and super clean place to work. If they don’t have transportation, the farm will provide it. And, of course, there’s plenty of time for socializing and having fun.

In addition to the most exciting day of the year - Farm Day - we also have annual staff events.

This year, we all went to Crystal Cave for a day in July for general employee fun and bonding. The cave was cool, but the wiffle ball games were epic. We also have a Christmas party in December with a white elephant gift exchange. And, of course, all of our events have amazing homemade farm food :)

Miller’s Bio Farm isn’t just a place to work, it’s a place to learn.

There are a gaggle of Amish girls (teenagers) who work part-time on the farm. They help with things like making raw pet dairy, stamping the boxes with our logo, packing orders, and cleaning.

There are also a few Amish boys (teenagers) who work part-time on the farm. They help with farm tasks like moving the cows or making hay. And they help with fulfillment tasks like moving inventory, bottling milk, and receiving or sending shipments.

In the Amish culture, kids go to Amish schools through 8th grade. Then, they work in their community and get educated experientially. Their farm job is part of their educational journey.

The first year of high school, the Amish go to school one half day per week. The rest of their high school time, they’re not sitting at a desk, they are working and learning hands on.

The idea is that they’re getting real world experience. They are able to hold different types of jobs and figure out what work they’d like to do as an adult. It’s experiential education.

Side note: The Amish have fought with the US government over this, and the current education model is the result of a compromise between both parties.

The farming side of the business is managed by Amish men.

Although we still call him “Farmer Aaron”, Aaron doesn’t really do much farming anymore. He manages the business. He makes sure everything is running smoothly and that we’re upholding our standards. He lends a hand wherever and whenever it’s needed.

Daniel and his wife Rebecca and their 4 children live on the main farm, in one half of Aaron’s house. He tends to our 50 cows and does the milkings. He also tends to the pastured and the turkeys and the chickens and whatever else the farm’s growing.

Aaron is the oldest of 11 children, and his brother David runs our second dairy farm. He has a herd of 45 cows in Bird-in-Hand, on the farm where Aaron grew up.

If either of our farm managers need help, they get it! Aaron will take over farm tasks for Daniel. And, David lives down the road from his parents and can call on his brothers for help when he needs it. They’ll just run down the road.

And, then there’s the fulfillment management, which is done by a mix of Amish and English men and women (“English” is the Amish word for a non-Amish person).

Cameron (who’s English) manages the freezer and meat inventory. Kevin (also English) manages the packing team and orders the dairy. Lena (who’s Amish) manages the paperwork, non-meat inventory, and so much more. Rich and Justin (a husband and son team who are both English) are drivers and deliver our Farm Driver Home Delivery orders.

Sara and I (both English) work remotely. We do the email customer service, manage the website and social media, write the newsletters, and basically take care of the farm’s online presence.

Miller’s Bio Farm has a pretty good thing going. And as we grow, so does our team. It’s such an exciting place to work!

You don’t have to believe me. I just did an employee survey, and you can see the results and some comments from staff below.

It was wonderful, although not surprising, to get overwhelmingly positive results :)

Do you have a note of appreciation to pass to the farm team? Everyone on the team works so hard, and I’m sure they’d love to feel appreciated.

I’d love to hear from you. Comment at the very bottom of this post (no account required - start typing for the guest option to appear) or contact us . I'll make sure everyone's messages are relayed to the farm team.

-----

Employee Survey Results

How do you rate your overall employee experience?

91% ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

9% ⭐⭐⭐⭐

0% ⭐⭐⭐

0% ⭐⭐

0% ⭐

The company work environment is safe and comfortable.

82% Strongly agree

18% Agree

0% Neutral

0% Disagree

0% Strong Disagree

Teamwork and collaboration are encouraged and practiced.

82% Strongly agree

18% Agree

0% Neutral

0% Disagree

0% Strong Disagree

The company encourages and supports a healthy work/life balance.

66% Strongly agree

17% Agree

17% Neutral

0% Disagree

0% Strong Disagree

I receive adequate opportunities to interact with other employees.

82% Strongly agree

18% Agree

0% Neutral

0% Disagree

0% Strong Disagree

I feel welcome at company events, meetings, and social interactions.

91% Strongly agree

9% Agree

0% Neutral

0% Disagree

0% Strong Disagree

I love working at Miller’s Bio Farm.

73% Strongly agree

27% Agree

0% Neutral

0% Disagree

0% Strong Disagree

Please give us an open review of your work at Miller’s Bio Farm. How has the experience been, or what have you learned?

Here are some of the responses:

I am grateful to have so many opportunities to learn new things and be paid for that experience! -Lena

I appreciate the experience of getting to know all the amazing girls @ Miller's Bio. -Linda

Miller's has been such an amazing company to work for. No drama and a smooth-flowing team-oriented workplace makes every day enjoyable and one to remember. Over the past year I have learned so much about this industry and can't wait to continue learning! -Cameron

My experience has been amazing and I have learned to try to communicate clearly with other people. -Barbie Lapp

I am very thankful for my experience working for Miller's Bio Farm. I have not only learned ways to improve my own health but I have also learned skills I can take with me for the rest of my life. It is a special place! -Sara

Opinion

Farming Practices

Raw Dairy

Our bone broth tested negative-ish for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. Similarly, if an animal is exposed to heavy metals via food, water, air, dust, or soil, those heavy metals accumulate in the bones. Maybe the farm's soil or air is contaminated from a nearby factory. Maybe the pipes for the water has lead solder connecting them. Maybe the feed a farm is buying was grown on contaminated soil or processed on contaminated equipment. And, of course, a main purpose of bone broth is drawing out as much as possible from the bones. If there are heavy metals in bones, they will make their way into the broth. This is especially true when you pre-soak with apple cider vinegar and simmer for 48 hours to make it thick and gelatinous (like our broth). And that led me to my second question --- Should I be concerned about every bone broth? Where is the fear coming from? Well... it seems it might be a little political. There was a study done in the UK in 2013 that scared a lot of people. It's titled "The Risk of Lead Contamination in Bone Broth Diets". This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead: (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! All we get is that it was one "organic chicken" that created a lead issue with broth. Another curious thing is that the broth with skin and cartilage contained more lead than the broth made with just bones. Bones are where lead is stored, so why wouldn't the broth made with bones only contain more lead? It's an odd result. Moreover, the abstract of the study specifically called out "bone broth diets" like GAPS and paleo. They even go so far as to write, "In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets." That's quite curious. Why are they worried about these diets? Are the researchers anti healing through food? Who funded the research? Is it political? My opinion? This study is not comprehensive. It does not speak to all bone broths. But it does cover a potential issue if the water or animals are overloaded with heavy metals. What I glean from this study is that we need more research. We don't need fear to spread and people to stop drinking broth from this one study. Regardless of whether the fear was fabricated or legit, we tested our bone broth anyway. After all, it's always nice to validate that your food choices are as clean as you think. For Miller's, here were my concerns before testing: What if there's mercury in the fishmeal in our chicken feed?What if the soil that our animals live on is contaminated?What is the well water that the broth is made with is contaminated?What if the Celtic sea salt has lots of heavy metals? We got the test results back. I was super excited. But, I was also confused. At face value, it appeared that our bone broth tested NEGATIVE for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. You can find the test results right here! You'll notice that, for every sample, the results are "<0.01 mg/kg" and "<0.02 mg/kg". I asked the lab what the "<" means. They said that it indicates their limit of quantitation (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So the results simply report that none of the metals tested were found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQs. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that is not provided by the test. When talking to the lab, I told them what we needed and assumed that this test would go below a 1 ppb. So, when the results came in, I assumed that a "mg/kg" was the same as a part per billion (ppb). Ummm... that math wasn't write! A "mg/kg" is actually a part per million (ppm). That means that the test we ran had results saying that the broth had less than 0.02 ppm (or 20 ppb) of arsenic and lead. And, it had less than 0.01 ppm (or 10 ppb) of cadmium and mercury. For some reference, the EPA says that less than 15 ppb of lead is safe in drinking water. Not saying that I agree, but it's a good reference point. These results are good. It means the broth definitely isn't overloaded with toxic heavy metals. But, it's not good enough!!! We need to test again! We really need to a lower LOQ. We need to know the results with an accuracy of as low as 1 ppb. It looks like the lab we sent the original samples to doesn't have an LOQ that low. So here I am on the hunt for a lab to do it again. As soon as I can, I'll send samples in again and paying for more expensive testing to get the info you deserve. Stay tuned! I hope to have the new results in by the end of April 2025. Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research Review

Milk with dignity? Yup, that's us. What everyone does on the farm with pleasure.

Human rights is a big issue in today’s conventional farming world, especially the dairy industry.

Miller’s Bio Farm is proud to be an awesome place to work. All of our 18 employees are treated with respect and have good morale.

Miller’s Bio Farm isn’t just a place to work, it’s a place to learn.

In the Amish culture, kids go to Amish schools through 8th grade. Then, they work in their community and get educated experientially. Their farm job is part of their educational journey.

The farming side of the business is managed by Amish men.

And, then there’s the fulfillment management, which is done by a mix of Amish and English men and women (“English” is the Amish word for a non-Amish person).

You don’t have to believe me. I just did an employee survey, and you can see the results and some comments from staff below.

Do you have a note of appreciation to pass to the farm team? Everyone on the team works so hard, and I’m sure they’d love to feel appreciated.

Employee Survey Results

How do you rate your overall employee experience?

The company work environment is safe and comfortable.

Teamwork and collaboration are encouraged and practiced.

The company encourages and supports a healthy work/life balance.

I receive adequate opportunities to interact with other employees.

I feel welcome at company events, meetings, and social interactions.

I love working at Miller’s Bio Farm.

Please give us an open review of your work at Miller’s Bio Farm. How has the experience been, or what have you learned?

More from the blog

Raw milk or fermented dairy and lactose intolerance. Why might it help?

Our bone broth tested negative-ish for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

Celebrating the Heritage of Corn on National Popcorn Lovers Day

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