Cows Despise Hot Weather
Our cows are on a staggered birthing and milking schedule. The summer is when we produce the least amount of milk. Let me explain.
Our cows are on a staggered birthing and milking schedule. The summer is when we produce the least amount of milk. Let me explain.
We all know it. Miller’s Bio Farm food costs more - certainly more than conventional food and sometimes more than organic farm food. We cost more because we produce the most digestible and nutrient-dense food possible. Every aspect of our farming practices is considered to grow the health of our soil, our plants, our animals, our environment, our staff, and our members and their families.
The farm has been exploring different fermented dairy products. Last week I tasted our blueberry kefir for the first time. Normal kefir is not palatable to me (or my kids). However, the blueberry variety is. It’s not just the blueberries and maple syrup. The actual taste of the kefir changed. Of course, this made me curious and want to learn more.
This week the farm staff developed a new drink: blueberry grain kefir. The farm’s grain kefir is particularly special, because the grains used to make the kefir have been passed from farmer to farmer for generations.
The farmer is remodeling the barn this summer to make new facilities for storage, fermentation, and general food and order preparation. This past Saturday he hosted a frolic to tear down the top of the barn. They got half done on Saturday and finished the rest yesterday. Hard work!
The farm staff invented a couple new drinkable yogurt flavors this week - tropical blend and berry blend. Yum! This got me thinking about yogurt, why it exists and how it’s made.
I watched the Netflix documentary What’s with Wheat the other day. It’s about how grain’s omnipresence in modern America has created a health crisis. Since you are already a Miller’s Bio customer, I may be preaching to the choir here. However, one part of the documentary really stuck out to me. The film explained how the best diet for humans to follow is the one they were eating about 150 years ago, just before the industrial revolution. It was a time when people thrived on biodiversity!
I’ve been buying whole fryers chickens from the farm for quite some time. I mean, at $5.50/lb for a pastured chemical-free soy-free chicken, it’s a pretty good deal. I’ve always wondered, why are they called whole “fryers” chickens? So, I decided that it’s time to do some research.
We all know it. There are just some people that are chronically late. This doesn’t mean they are bad people. In fact, I believe that late people often have a lot going for them. They are usually optimistic and hopeful. They believe they can fit many, many tasks into a short period of time. They think big and don’t sweat the small stuff. And, they typically just enjoy life and take opportunities to stop and smell the roses. Late people, I get you.
I had the pleasure of visiting the farm this week and was astounded at how much I learned about our cows and grass. As you know, our cows eat grass. During the warmer months, the grass that they eat is not only green but also fully grown. The farmer moves the cows to a new paddock 3x per day. They waddle into a waste high field of green and begin chowing down.