August 2013 Newsletter

We’ve made it to the very heart of the summer!  Sorry that  this newsletter and the invoices are going out late this month.  I’ve been working on the to-do list and the month started to get away with me!  We have some very, very exciting things coming up in the next few months!  I will keep you posted as they progress.  All I can do now is hint at them. 🙂

July and August are always harder months for a farmer serving their local community as this is the time when families go on their annual vacations. We have been managing  to weather the slow of this season as we have grown to expect and plan for it over the years.  However, these last two months have been a reminder to me personally how much I appreciate all of you.  Milking is a job that must be done 7 days a week and 365 days a year.  The cows don’t know if it is Christmas or if I have a sick child that needs me or if I want to go on my own vacation.  Even if I am not there to personally greet you each time you get your milk, it makes me smile every morning when I label a jar of milk knowing exactly which individual or family is going to make use of this amazing, nutrient-dense food that I am so devoted to.  I appreciate each and every one of you, and it it is an honor to me that you tell your friends and family that we are the place to get milk from.

I spent much of July educating new raw milk producers (from as far away as Pennsylvania, Ohio and California) on our property.  I also attended a seminar held by a leading vet who studies raw milk.  She offered us some incredible insight into biosecurity that we have been able to put into practice on our farm.  Yes, as a RAWMI listed farmer, I am always studying and learning and evolving about the very best way to put raw milk on the tables of each of you.  Once again, our test results were stellar proving that our hard work really does create a healthy product that is clean and really does do a body good.

On another note, the ducks and the chickens have now been processed and are available for you.  They are in the chest freezer in the creamery (not the freezer above the fridge, but the chest freezer next to the ice machine).  Any of the ducks or chickens that are in the freezer are available to take, and they are labelled with their price.

August is the month that we clean the barn, get all of the hay put up and ready to go and that we harvest food from our garden for the winter.  The sun is starting to rise later than is was a few short weeks ago, and I can already feel the chill in the air when I milk.  My to-do list is especially long this year as I prepare things for the winter as I am due with our third child in early winter.  I’m managing all the farm tasks pregnant, but it definitely makes me appreciate how unburdened I feel when I am not pregnant.  It makes a huge difference when bucking hay!  Savor these last little bits of summer and as always, Enjoy your milk!