Ah.. November… Fall…

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoy the transition of the season from summer to late summer and on into the fall.  Summer is always full of a busy flurry of activity, never-ending activity that ends in late sunsets and tired muscles.  By the end of the summer, I so look forward to the quiet dark of the fall and winter.  Secretly, this is my favorite time of year–the time when a cup of warm tea (with cream of course) starts each day.  The time when the fire in the woodstove warms the center of our house.  That cozy fire next to which my arm chair sits beckoning my children and I to sit and read and craft through the darkening of the days.  Sentimental, YES!  I have much to appreciate about this season.

November also marks my personal favorite holiday–Thanksgiving!  In my family, Thanksgiving is a big deal, and everyone takes a week out of their busy lives and their busy farming schedule to slow down, cook, eat and enjoy the company of those around them.  I will be traveling to eastern Oregon to spend the holiday with my family, and I very much look forward to the home-grown turkey, the scalloped potatoes and the pumpkin pie that is to come.

But fear not!  We spent much of October transitioning over, and I have two very capable milkers who are handling the day to day milking chores of the farm.  The cows have moved mostly into the barn and are eating their sweet, delicious alfalfa hay, chewing their cuds, making milk for you to drink all while they lounge in their well-bedded stalls.  I am lucky to have found the capable help that has been doing the milking, and things are running very smoothly.  I taken bacteria tests from the milk and am happy to report that the milk is as clean as it ever has been.  Hooray for well-oiled milking systems and milkers who like to get up early to hang out with cows!

Thank you so much for your patronage of our farm through the darkening of the year.  The cows are still milking their hearts out for you even as it gets colder and darker outside.  Also, we have two new babies due in December, which of course means there is always more milk to come.

Oh…. I’ve almost forgotten, my pregnant self has been craving egg nog like crazy lately, and if you haven’t made egg nog out of our fresh, creamy, raw milk, you might want to give it a try.  I guarantee you won’t be sorry!

Enjoy your milk!

Fall has arrived, and it seems like Mother Nature wanted to announce it with finesse by sending us a bona fide typhoon this weekend!  We got almost 4 inches of rain in three days here at the farm.  Luckily, the water table was able to handle that amount of rain, and we held up pretty well.  Not a whole lot of mud, no flooding in the barn, and the river even seemed to behave itself and stayed in its banks.  Meanwhile the cows took advantage of their plush quarters in the barn.  They watched the storm go by in deeply bedded stalls, munching on alfalfa while making milk for you!  We are looking forward to some sun later this week so that the cows can head back out to the pasture and take advantage of that nice green, fast growing grass out there.

I spent September running through my winter checklist, and I managed to get all the major projects wrapped up the first day of fall.  Everything is prepped and ready for the livestock to hunker down for the long, wet winter.  It feels good to transition from the crazy “harvest” mode into the more relaxing and slower paced “winter” mode.  We’ve had our first fire in the wood stove and I’ve been bedding down animals in straw–definitely feeling like fall, one of my favorite seasons times of year to be sure.

I am heading into the home stretch of what has been a very challenging pregnancy for me.  I’ve been asked to slow down start to take it more easy.  As a result of this, I have started training my replacement milkers, and starting the second weekend of October, I will only be milking one day per week.  Don’t worry, I looked long and hard for my relief milkers, and they are both really great people who have worked with cows before and know about milk and food safety.  We have the ability to do bacteria and coliform counts on the farm for the milk, and I will be pulling frequent samples to make sure that the quality of the milk does not waver while I focus on our family.  Don’t be surprised if you don’t see me a whole lot over the next few months.  I am always available by phone or by email.  If you are not friends with Cast Iron Farm on Facebook, now would be a good time, as that is how I will be updating everyone as to the goings on this winter (including the arrival of the baby).

As a gentle reminder, we still seem to be coming up short on the jar front, so if you could look around and gather up anything you have when you come to get your milk, it would be much appreciated.  I put almost 100 more jars into circulation in September–totaling almost 500 new jars since June!

I hope that the sun comes out and you are able to enjoy the changing of the seasons that October has  to offer.

Enjoy your milk!

Farmer Christine

Welcome September!

It’s Labor day, which marks the ends of the summer and time for all of us to and get back to work (and school)!  I know that my checklist of things to do for the winter is long, and I am slowly checking things off.  I am preparing in earnest this year as not only will we have a winter to get ready for, but we will have help around the farm while I have the baby!

Recently, I have had many requests for beef, and we now have an ongoing opportunity for you to purchase beef!  I was raised on a cattle ranch in eastern Oregon, where all of my living relatives (4 generations) still live and work.  It has long been my intention to bring beef to our farm patrons, and that is now possible, starting immediately. These cattle spend their entire lives on pasture.  They are finished on a local, non-GMO grain ration.  The quality of this meat is very high!  We will sell ¼, ½ or a whole animal.  The cost is $4.00/pound hanging weight (including cut and wrap), which of course varies with the animal.  Generally speaking, the hanging weight of a whole animal is approx 650 pounds (325 pounds for a half animal or 163 pounds for a quarter).  Please let me know if you are interested in beef and I can reserve one for you.

In other news, we will be processing 12 rabbits the first week of the month, and some of them are still available for $18.  These are the last rabbits until late winter!  There are also 3 chickens and 3 ducks left up for grabs.  We will not do another batch of poultry until after winter, so it is your last chance to stock up!

Now for a few farm “housekeeping” points that have come up recently. This communication is not directed at anyone in particular, but is written as a general request to help keep the farm operating well without raising prices.

Please remember your milk jar etiquette.  We do not require a deposit for our milk jars and lids. As such, the jars that are engraved with “Cast Iron Farm” are the property of the farm.  PLEASE DO NOT USE THEM OR THEIR LIDS FOR ANYTHING ELSE!  Return your your jars clean and dry.  The lids mold when they are put on a wet jar, and it is usually not possible to scrub out the mold.  I have had to throw a lot of lids away due to mold, someone writing on them with permanent ink, breakage or dogs chewing on them.  If I constantly have to replace the lids, it will drive up the price of your milk, which I am sure you can agree would be an inconvenience.  Lastly, please, please remember to bring back your empty jars.  Over the past month alone, I have had to add over 100 jars into circulation due to jars not coming back to me.  This is not a cost I can cover in the future without having to charge a jar fee.

We have also had a some instances of property damage recently.  We love our community and the people that we provide food to and we are so happy to share our farm with you, but it is really hard to come home and discover that someone has used our property and damaged it.  There have also been instances of our livestock being fed without our consent!  For those and legal/insurance reasons, I must ask that when come to pick up your milk that you not go into the barn or explore around the farm unless you have made an appointment to do so beforehand, and please keep an eye on your children and don’t let them play on the trampoline or play structure without a farmer present.

Along that vein of scheduling, I now have two school age children!  I have spent the last month transitioning into being a full fledged, homeschooling mother of two!  Though the kids and I are around the farm a lot, a good deal of that time is now dedicated to schoolwork.  To be able to keep our schedule in order and our schooling on track, I ask that if you would like to come out to the farm and will need extra attention from me that you please, please first make an appointment with me.  I’m most available by text.

All that said, I hope that you enjoy the next few weeks as the summer bleeds away, the leaves begin to change and we transition into the rainy, Oregon fall.  Thank you for your patronage to our beautiful little farm.  It really is a pleasure to produce this quality food for you.  And, as always, ENJOY YOUR MILK.

Farmer Christine

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!

Hello all,

We have finally made it to summer!  I am in the camp of Oregonians who love the rain and complain about the heat, mainly, I don’t like to see the livestock hot, so my days have been spent doing what I can to keep everyone cool and to stay cool myself.  Of course, part of the fun of that has been to spray the pigs down several times a day with the hose and to make mud holes for them.  It is so much fun to watch them display their piggy natures.  The mamas have even taken to getting into their water trough when they are feeling too hot.  As you may have noticed, we have 17 little piglets running around, growing by the second.  We still have one or two available to go out as weaner pigs, ready the last week of July.  Now is your chance to grow out your own family hog.

The ducks will be ready after Saturday the 6th, so those of you who have reserved them will be contacted to make sure that you get them.  Chickens still have another three weeks of growing on green grass before they will be ready to stock your freezer.

Summer seems to be the time when milk is plentiful because of all of the green grass that the cows are eating. That said, we have plenty of extra milk available right now, so if you wanted to increase your milk order or get a friend on, now is the time.  For the month of July  , I will be offering an incentive of 1 free gallon of milk to anyone that refers a new customer to me.  Summer is the time when everyone is on vacation, but we still have to milk those cows every day, so if you know of anyone who might be interested in raw milk, I’m asking for your help to connect us up.

Have a nice summer, get lots of fun in and stay cool.  And as always, enjoy your milk!

Farmer Christine

June!

I like June, especially when we have these mild, cloudy, rainy days.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the sun too, but I swear I would rather live in Iceland than any other place on Earth.  I hear that the highest recorded temperature ever in Iceland was 82 degrees.  I can get behind that!  Anyway, all this rain has meant one thing, GRASS!  With the dry weather, we were already having to irrigate the pastures in early May!  Needless to say, these inches of rain have really helped out, and will ensure lush, green grass for all of our hooved animals on through into the fall.  For you that means healthier milk and meat.

This newsletter is going out early this month because as of this morning I am packing up the kids in the car and heading over to my hometown, Burns, in eastern Oregon.  My entire family lives over there and I am going over for a vacation.  You guessed it, I’ll be milking cows and moving irrigation pipe, but at least I will be with my family and the kids with their cousins.  I love to visit even if it means that they still put me to work.  I have left the farm in very capable hands, but feel free to contact me if you have questions or need anything.  My phone # is on the milk fridge.  Again, please don’t hesitate to call.

The chicks and ducks are out on grass and are growing fast.  I expect to see some major growth this month and we have a butcher date scheduled for next month.  Our freezer has been lacking chicken for the past 6 months and oh have we been sorry.  I do still have a few left available if you want some.

Stay tuned as our sow, Marigold is due to deliver piglets on the 10th.  It will be fun to see baby pigs, and we will most likely show them off to you when you come to get milk.

We will be welcoming a new cow into our herd on June 6th.  She has been carefully selected and carefully tested over the past month to make sure that she will fit into our program.  She is a gorgeous Brown Swiss!   There will be plenty of extra milk at that time, so feel free to increase your milk supply to tell a friend.

As a last note, please try to get your payments in toward the beginning of the month as that helps us cover expenses more readily.

Enjoy your milk!

It is Mayday!

Sometimes in the depth of winter it feels like the warm sun and flowers of May will never be reality again.  Yet, here it is for us to love and appreciate!

Miss Fancee, my very favorite cow calved yesterday.  She gave us yet another beautiful heifer calf that I named Laurel.  Laurel is doing very well.  Each new calf brings me such joy is a highlight of milking.

The ducks and the chickens are on the ground and growing like crazy.  The ducks are already eating the grass in our orchard and are growing bigger by the second.  The chicks aren’t too far behind and will be on the grass this week as well.

We are expecting some pigs due this June and are taking reservations on some weaner pigs.  They are purebred American Guinea Hogs and we have had a blast raising them.  Feel free to contact me if you are interested in them as we now officially have a reservation list for them.

Please note that it is unlikely that we will have eggs for sale until the fall.  We are transitioning into a new flock and have thus passed on some of our older hens who were providing the surplus of eggs.

We have had some problems recently at the farm and wanted to take an opportunity to remind us all of some of the rules.  Please take the time to read these simple rules and help me follow them.  This farm is also our home, and we would like to keep it nice and be able to continue to provide milk.

Please try to pick up your milk between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm. I realize that it is a bit of a drive for some of you to come and get your milk and that it can be sometimes hard to fit into your schedule.  That said, we have had quite a few people picking up milk at midnight and later (3am!).  If you cannot make it in the above hours, feel free to text or call me so that I know when you plan to come and can be aware.

Please ONLY return your jars to the yellow fridge in the creamery.  The jars sitting on the pour table are clean and sterile jars that have come out of the dishwasher and are ready for the next milking.  If someone puts their returned jars on that table I cannot always tell what is clean and what is dirty, and I often have to rewash the whole batch.  If the yellow fridge is full, feel free to put the jars on the floor beside and in front of the fridge.

Please return the CAST IRON FARM engraved jar including the lid.  If you cannot find a jar, I would rather wait for it to turn up then to get a jar that has been used for something other than milk.  I had someone return a jar that was not my jar that had stored chopped onions in it.  I discovered it only AFTER I had poured milk into the jar.  The milk and the jar had to be discarded.  If you lose or damage a lid, I ask that you replace it.  The lids are actually almost as expensive as the jars themselves.  Please take good care of them and return them clean and in good repair.

Please keep track of your family and your children while on our farm.  Feel free to poke around and say hi to goats or cats or cows, but watch your children.  Our electric fence tests at 9000 Volts and it hurts (and can be damaging to kids).  Also, we have had some property damage from children who were unattended.  This is our home, and while we are happy to share it, it is disheartening to see our property damaged or destroyed.  Also, while we make an effort to keep the property safe, there are unsafe elements at times.  We would hate to see anyone get hurt.

Please do not open barn doors or gates without permission.  If you don’t see me around to ask, you can always call me to get permission, but if the barn is closed, there is a reason.  If you do get permission you are responsible to close the door or the gates back up securely behind you.

Also, please put your payment in an envelope with your name on it  and put it in the wire basket on the shelf.  I pick them up every day or so.

We did have a bit of a milk shortage through April as Hazel had a bit of inflammation.  Now that Fancee has calved everything is back on schedule.  Feel free to text me with any requests for extra milk.

Lastly, Christine will be out of town from May 30 through June 5.  Our very able relief milker, Emma will be milking.  Christine can always be contacted on her cell phone at if you have any questions.  Invoices will go out before May 30, which is a little bit early.

Have a good month and enjoy your milk!