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

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September 6, 2024

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?

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

I was misinformed. At some point, I read that raw milk contains lactase. As it turns out, this is not true! It is true that raw milk contains many live enzymes that are inactivated during pasteurization. But, what about lactase? I’ve heard many anecdotal stories from people who are lactose intolerant... but can handle raw milk or fermented dairy. If raw milk, yogurt, kefir, or cheese doesn’t contain lactase, then why is that?

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

Celebrating the Heritage of Corn on National Popcorn Lovers Day

You've probably heard a lot about GMO corn and its controversies, but did you know that corn, or maize as many Native Americans call it, is a cherished heritage food? Let's take a closer look at corn and learn about its history.

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

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