The farm's intentions for 2022 might surprise you. We're always moving forward!

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December 31, 2021

It’s that time of year. I’m happy to share the farm’s 2022 intentions. After all, it all wouldn’t be possible without your amazing support!

Sustainable Packaging

This was also an intention of 2021. Although we made good progress, we’re certainly not 100% there yet. And, pandemic-related supply chain issues are adding an extra challenge.

You can look forward to butter wrapped in paper, labels that can be easily removed to make reusing jars more enjoyable, more products offered in glass, and other sustainable packaging options.

Expanding the Cured Meat Selection

This may include products like salami, soppressata, pepperoni, and kielbasa. And, they’ll all be made with transparent and natural ingredients. You know, the kind of ingredients that you can pronounce and know exactly what they are.

This is such a tough thing to find in a store (in some places it’s nonexistent), and we’re so happy to have finally found a processor to work with on this.

Introducing Pasteurized Dairy

I know, you may be thinking, “Wait, don’t you support raw dairy!?” Well, yes, we absolutely do! But, even more important is that we support our customers’ choices.

The fact is that not everyone is comfortable with or is able to consume raw dairy. Since we support optimal nutrition for all, we will also be offering the highest quality, minimally processed, pasteurized A2 milk and more pasteurized dairy products, too.

Miller’s pasteurized A2 dairy will be made with the same amazing 100% grass-fed and 100% A2 milk from happy, naturally healthy animals… just heated 145-180F to kill any potentially harmful pathogens. We’ll make sure to make the difference between raw and pasteurized very obvious on the store.

Keeping up with Inflation

Inflation is real and is definitely affecting the farm. Prices of boxes, jars, bags, fuel… just about everything… has gone up significantly, and we expect it to continue to do so. Unfortunately, this means price increases. We never like to do this, but it’s our unfortunate reality.

Farmer Aaron has made a plan for 2022 for gradual price increases, in different categories, spaced throughout the year. He will keep a close watch on his numbers and only continue to increase prices if necessary.

We thank you so much for your support. The Miller’s team knows how very important its mission is and is honored to inspire healthy generations with farm direct food.

Do you have any 2022 intentions? I’d love to hear about them!

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 😊

The farm's intentions for 2022 might surprise you. We're always moving forward!

Sustainable Packaging

Expanding the Cured Meat Selection

Introducing Pasteurized Dairy

Keeping up with Inflation

Do you have any 2022 intentions? I’d love to hear about them!

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