<![CDATA[Chisholm Family Farm

<![CDATA[Chisholm Family Farm - Ramblings]]>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:07:35 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Why Raw Milk? - Warning... on my soapbox today. ]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:41:10 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2012/01/why-raw-milk-warning-on-my-soapbox-today.html“Raw Milk? WHY Would you want to drink that?”

This is a question I hear quite frequently, and from educated people who spend much time and money promoting their health. We have all been taught how bad raw milk is for us, how deadly it is, how dangerous… Why in the world would ANYONE want to drink that when perfectly safe milk is available at any grocery store? Let’s take a moment and look a bit deeper than just what mainstream media tells us.

First off, pasteurization of milk is a relatively new idea. Documentation of milk used for human consumption dates back to Biblical times. Milk and milk products are mentioned about fifty times in the Bible. This milk was not treated, or changed other than if to make cultured products. Cows, sheep, goats, camels, horses, and other ruminant mammals were milked; it depended upon what animals were present in a particular location. They all were outside eating a natural diet of forages present in their climate.

Here in the US, things began to change here after the war of 1812. This ended the import of whiskey from the British West Indies and led to the beginnings of distilleries in the US. More cities were springing up and it was getting harder to find adequate pasture close to the cities and someone had a “bright” idea. When whiskey is distilled from grain, there is a lot of sludge-like waste left over. Someone along the way decided see if it could be used to feed animals. They began to house cows next to the distilleries and feed the cows the hot slop directly as it poured off the stills. It was discovered that this swill did nothing towards fattening cattle, in fact it made them sick and emaciated. But, when given to dairy cows in large amounts it did create a nice volume of milk, even though the cows did not survive very long. The make-shift milking areas next to the cows and distillery were often unsanitary, as were the employees doing the milking, the cows were diseased, and there was little or no cleansing of buckets or utensils. The milk that resulted from the cows being fed slop alone was bluish in color, so additives were created to help it look like milk. It's not surprising that people began getting sick and were dying from drinking this “milk”.

Pasteurization was brought as a solution to the milk problem in cities in early 1900. At this time, there was also the beginnings of a medical milk movement in which doctors were insisting upon certified raw milk for their patients' health rather than pasteurized swill milk. The Medical Milk Commission was founded and consisted of physicians who worked together to certify dairies. They founded the Certified Raw Milk program. The program consisted of dairies that were regulated with certain standards that must be met. All cows were to be on a pasture based diet, kept out on pasture rather than in lots, and standards were set for clean milking conditions and equipment. The certified raw milk and pasteurized milk products co-existed peacefully for years with both options available in cities and most people in rural areas purchased their milk from a local farmer. Things began to shift in 1940 when the numbers of certified farms were so small in comparison to non-certified farms that many states simply began to outlaw raw milk sales.

Many are surprised to learn that in the first half of the twentieth century raw milk was widely used a treatment for many illnesses. The Mayo Clinic even had a raw milk diet prescription for many issues including IBS, autoimmune issues, and Crohn's disease. For centuries raw milk was cherished as a life giving food and it only took less than 50 years of industrialized farming techniques to denature it and change the way we view milk.

Now, let’s look at the differences between raw milk and it’s pasteurized counterpart. Pasteurization does far more to milk than just kill any potential pathogens. This was discovered early on in its use. In 1916 The American Journal of Diseases in Children released a study in which researchers discovered that scurvy often resulted when pasteurized milk replaced raw milk in an infant's diet. In 1925 the Journal of Biochemical Chemistry published a study that showed how heating milk results in a loss of calcium and phosphorus and it was in proportion to how high the milk is heated. There were articles and studies showing differences in children on raw milk versus pasteurized milk and the marked differences in dental health and tuberculosis infections. There were no more studies on the nutrient differences between raw and pasteurized milk after 1950. The solution seemed to be to add vitamins back to pasteurized milk, so no more studies were funded. During the 1930's and 40's there were several magazine articles claiming widespread illnesses from raw milk and while founded in fiction, they did their job of spreading fears and pasteurization became the gold standard. Even today, the FDA has web pages and brochures touting the dangers of raw milk and disputing the negative affects of pasteurization on the nutrient content of milk.

Big AG has taken over and the cost has been the end of the family farm. Fifty years ago, most farms had a dairy cow or two and most raised their own livestock and even sold a bit of milk or meat to neighbors, family, or friends. Most family farms are now devoid of livestock, the family dairy cow is a rarity, millions of acres of beautiful pastureland have been turned over to corn and soy. Dairy cows are no longer housed next to distilleries and fed swill but their diets consist mainly of corn and soy and they spend their lives in dry lots rather than peacefully roaming grasslands. Today, a small dairy is defined as one milking less than 300 cows, it's practically impossible to range that many cows. Right now, the federal government is waging war on raw milk and looking to make it unobtainable in all 50 states. Why? In my opinion, the answer is simple. Ten years ago, the organics movement was gearing up, it was easy for big Ag to compete there... all they had to do is switch the dairy cow ration to organic grains but today the raw milk movement is growing as fast as organics was back then. There is simply no way that the large dairy to compete... their business model is dependent upon pasteurization! As was proven back in 1900 you CANNOT place a cow on artificial feed and drink it's milk raw. Cows have a four chambered stomach, full of rumen which is required to break down the proteins and fiber in grass. When a large amount of non-grass based feed is given to a cow, the pH in the rumen changes so as to facilitate the growth of e-Coli as well as other pathogens. Today's modern dairy cow has been bred and fed to produce an unnaturally high volume of milk; their udders are generally so huge they can hardly walk. Because of this, they usually require antibiotics to keep mastitis down and to keep them well. Most milk today (even Organic milk) comes from a cow that has spent its entire life indoors, never touching a blade of grass.

So, let's look at WHY I would want to drink raw milk. First off, raw milk from grass-fed cows is full of many nutrients essential to my health that are not easily found in modern processed foods. Vitamins A and D are naturally present and its naturally high in Vitamins B6 and B12. It is also contains all of it's natural butterfat. The butterfat is rich in short- and medium chain fatty acids which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system. The butterfat also contains glyco-spingolipids which prevent intestinal distress and conjugated linoleic acid which has strong anticancer properties. Lastly, raw milk has not been heated so it contains all of the natural enzymes that aid in the assimilation of the proteins and sugars naturally found in the milk. The naturally occurring beneficial bacteria in raw milk helps to feed our immune systems and in my opinion is one the most key ingredients to keeping my family healthy. Raw milk, unlike pasteurized milk, contains no additives. It sours naturally, never turning putrid like pasteurized milk. The standards are different; the quality of the milk is different. Typical large dairies have extremely elevated white blood cell counts in their milk, so much so that when the milk is pasteurized the processors must use centrifugal methods to spin out the resulting pus and slime.

Another important reason why we choose raw milk for our family is that we have a dairy allergy. I spent most of my adult life dealing with stomach pains and nasal congestion related to a dairy allergy. My oldest daughter was colicky as a baby so I removed dairy from my diet and she improved. I later learned just how allergic she was when she was given her first bite of ice cream and her lip blew up looking like she had been boxing. We were dairy-free for years. I could not find a replacement that was even close to comparable so just gave up my beloved cheese and ice cream. I happened to stumble upon an article about the healing properties of raw milk and allergies. We gave it a go, starting slowly with yogurt I made from the milk. There was no adverse reaction from either my daughter or myself. We moved onto fresh milk and the result was the same. We have never looked back.

References:
Crewe, J. E. Raw Milk Cures Many Diseases, article, 1929
Porter, S. Charles Milk Diet as a Remedy for Chronic Disease, 1905-1923
The Lancet, May 8, 1937, 1142
Thomson, James C. “Pasteurized Milk, A National Menace: A Plea for Cleanliness.” Kingston Chronicle, Edinburg, 1943
http://www.realmilk.com/abstractsmilk.html

]]><![CDATA[A New Year]]>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:50:04 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2012/01/a-new-year.htmlWhy does it always seem that the only time I get to blog is late at night when I am so tired I can barely hold my eyes open? Maybe that is when I ramble the best. I was shocked to see I had not made an entry here in three months; shame on me! :o)

It's hard to believe that is January and 2012 already. Wow... time really flies. Tomorrow is Hannah's real 11th birthday although we celebrated it Sunday. I actually took most of a whole day off of farm business, didn't even check my emails. I am awe struck at the idea that the little five pound baby I brought home is now eleven years old. You would think I would be getting used to watching these kids grow up, but instead I would really rather they just slow down a little and let me enjoy them more. I long for a day when we are less busy, less hectic and more organized with more family time. But I know we are doing a good thing with this farm and all this work will pay off. Anyway, back to the kids. We have only had one real snowfall this year, much to the small people's dismay. Hate to disappoint all you folks back home... but we did NOT have a White Christmas. Hannah kept saying it didn't feel like Christmas without snow on the ground... all I could think is "Nope.... no one can call these kids Southerners anymore..." Missing the snow; they did decide to plaster the house with snowflakes.. which I really loved!

Our first calf of the season was born on New Year's Eve... silly guy. Just five hours later and he would have been the first calf of the year, but instead that honor went to the little guy born today. We have also had our first set of lamb twins born. Twin girls. I must admit, I especially love it in the winter when our barn is transformed into a nursery. The heat lamps give off a soft glow and Mommas and babies are fun to watch. It's just so peaceful in there. Of course all newborns have an audience of kids, I love that we have such warm relationships with our cows that they trust us to be there during birth and afterwards. It's awesome!

Mouse with her newborn " Sam I Am"

Mom was here for Thanksgiving. She is so stinkin' awesome! She spent most of her time playing cards with the kids, teaching them all sorts of games. She seemed to almost always have one kid in her lap. The certainly caught the card bug and even still seem to always be playing some card game somewhere; there are stacks of cards all over the floor, remnants of games interrupted by little brothers or chores or in the case of the little guys... just plain ol' forgotten.

Games seem to be the new passion around here.. I love that! And crafts... boy do they enjoy crafts. Little art and craft sets procured at the dollar store have brought much joy around here. Someone pointed out to me that my kids find joy in the simplest of things... and I realized how much I love that about them. They could care less about the latest fashion trends, they don't know much about what's hip or trendy.. they are just happy to have what they have.

We were visited this Christmas by the Christmas Angel... and want to take a moment to thank our angel. You really have no idea how much your gift meant and helped us. We thank you.

OK It's really late now. I will leave you tonight with one of my favorite Christmas pictures... the kids and Santa taken at Bass Pro Shops when Mom was visiting. I call it "Santa needs a potty break". Is it just me or doesn't he look like he's gotta GO!

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year. We are looking forward to 2012, the fresh start it brings and all the excitement this year holds for us.

Hugs...
Laura

]]><![CDATA[Falling....]]>Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:32:10 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/10/falling.htmlFall is here and boy am I crashing. The summer was long and hot.. too hot and too wet. Weeds overtook our pastures because the heat along with last year's flood sucked the life out of the ground. We now have an operational tractor thanks to good friends who like working on engines and lots of dents on my Tahoe. We decided I could drive a dented up vehicle and Andy could drive a tractor. Seemed like a fair swap.

Here is his new toy. It also now has a loader with a bucket and grapple useful for moving bales of hay around all winter.

It's officially an antique... but it runs smooth and gets the job done. It can pull the mower from the little tractor and Andy has already knocked down the weeds in the pastures. This will be a huge help to us this year and next and help us keep atop of pasture management.

Hay has gone through the roof and we are having to feed it already with the pastures so poor in nutrition. So, we had to raise our milk prices by $1 per half gallon. A very tough choice... two weeks of upset tummy and fried nerves for me in the decision... but really there was no decision. It was do it, or not be here to provide milk all winter. Our customers have been so supportive and understanding. A few have dropped out but for the most part were immediately replaced by new folks waiting for milk. I never fail to be amazed by how good God is and how He cares for us. In reality winter is a really scary thought for me. We have fifteen cows calving between Christmas and March. We will have to be on top of things, watching these mamas closely to keep those new babies safe and warm. It's gonna be a wild ride!

Andy has been busy! He is making amazing progress on clearing junk and debris from the "once a hay barn" reckage. Tonight he was working on clearing out our basement so our junk can go down here. We need to clear the area so we can demo the area and hopefully construction can begin soon. I am really hoping we get a barn with doors that keep chickens out! The old barn was open and a favorite roosting spot for about 20 chickens... POOP CENTRAL. All of Andy's tools were in there and the work benches were a constant source of needed cleanup.

I got the chance last month to dabble in event planning again. The Nebraska Food Coop was in need of a fundraiser and I wanted to see the movie Farmageddon.. so an idea was born. :-) I threw out the idea to try to get a screening planned and to serve a dinner or something with foods from farmers in the coop and try to raise funds. It worked out better than I could ever have imagined. I got the opportunity to work with and get to know some amazing women as we planned and orchestrated the event. We screened the movie at Aksarben Cinema in Omaha. We charged $15 per person. We had tons of amazing foods donated and the Top Chef team at the culinary school in Omaha wowed everyone! The food was just out of site! Gorgeous and delicious.

The movie really broke my heart. I knew what it was going to be about... but to watch what other farmers and families have been put through was just gut wrenching. What a wake up call! I hope everyone here has an opportunity to see this film. As a nation... it's time for us to stand up and say NO MORE! There are things we can all do. Check out our Activism page I just created. There are links there to petitions, a House Bill being introduced, and a grassroots Ballot Initiative with ways we can all get involved.

We had a little media blitz last month. First the barn segments on the news. Then two magazine article interviews, one about Farmageddon and one about raw milk laws. I was invited to be a guest on The Morning Blend.. and Omaha morning program. They have a Village Pointe Farmers Market segment every other week and I got the be the farmer that week. Here is a link to the segment on The Morning Blend . I found the experience scary and confusing. No one warned me there would be no cameras. I had this internal dialogue of "where are the cameras" followed by "look I'm on TV" and "crap.. pay attention!". If invited again, I would be more relaxed and able to function a bit better. It was just unnerving on the first go.. but exciting and fun too!
I was on the radio a couple of weeks ago! I was invited to be a guest on Talk Back Omaha! I very much enjoyed the experience. Here is a link to the podcast if you would like to listen to the segment: Talk Back Omaha Podcast

Other things going on family related: Ashley has her first day of college today! She was able to get a full ride scholarship to SCC in Lincoln. She is taking her classes at the downtown location. She has also signed her lease on her new apartment and is moving out this weekend. Big changes.

Hannah and Jamie are growing too fast. Too fast! Two pre-adolescent girls in one house is interesting... and loud. They seem to fight a lot more lately.. and the DRAMA is off the hook! Jamie is in the "project" stage.. spends her days cutting up little pieces of paper and whatever she can find and creating stuff. Today the boys found a butterfly and Jamie saved it... fed it a pear and nursed it back to health. The picture here was taken by Jamie of her butterfly. Pretty cool shot I thought! Hannah and Jamie have both been such fun all summer at the farmers markets. Now, if we could get them to give the same attention to helping clean the house life would be almost perfect! LOL

The boys are just busy busy busy. Alexander loves helping with barn demo.. his job is to hold the magnet stick and pick up the nails. The hard part is getting him to keep his shoes on while doing it! Michael is talking more now.. a relief. He is suddenly using sentences and even relaying events and stories. He told me the other day about a dream he had. A bad bear was biting him outside. Poor little guy. :-( He woke up crying. At least Mama was right there laying next to him and he settled down pretty quickly... but he talked about that dream all day.

It seems like I am always working on this blog late at night... when the house is quiet. it's 11:30 now... I better hit the sheets... our day starts early around here. My next project is to work on an online store for the off season. We are planning on making monthly drops (maybe more often too) to the spots were we have been all summer at market. I am hoping to create an online store where folks can pre-order what they want and I can drop it off. Wish me luck! It's quite an undertaking.... but a needed project.

Nite nite... Don't let the bed bugs bite!

]]><![CDATA[How Did The Barn Go Down?]]>Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:08:24 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/09/winds.htmlWanted to update everyone and give one place for pictures. Friday night around 9m we think we had a tornado take out the barn right next to the house. Very scary. No warnings at all, not even severe thunderstorm. It just came out of nowhere.

This is what I saw outside my back door. When we ran downstairs to the basement, I could see large items flying through the air but didn't stop to see what it was. It was parts of the barn!

We are so thankful... we were all upstairs and we easily could have lost a kid or all of us had this thing hit the house. Scary.

Rubble in driveway

Here is the driveway next to the house.... crazy.

Standing and looking in what was the barn....

View inside the barn

View from the road

Back side of barn

Hay bales held up this wall.. sort of

This beam was thrown across the farm, landing in the roof of the milk barn, and extending 6 feet inside the barn!

Inside view of the beam

Check out my car! That is a beam under my car! Rubble all around the car but nothing in the car! All I have are smashed rear view windows, scratches, and dents!

I was shocked to welcome our fist hero helper at 7:30 am! He was a workhorse! Cleared most of the upper driveway and worked on the huge piece of shed in the swingset in an hour or two! Amazing!

Thanks Rebecca for loaning us your husband!

Rex was here early too!

Always the knight in shining armor that one! :-)

All the kids got into the action!

Alexander too!

So many people showed up to help! We really were amazed... all day long it seemed like people showed up and other left.. it was constant stream of help. The phone rang and text messages of support came in all weekend. We really are blessed with wonderful friends and customers!

Before dinner.... yard, driveway, and pasture cleared! How incredible is that! When I looked at the mess in the morning.. I figured it would be weeks of work!

Got a phone call Sunday afternoon from Jim... one of our customers and friends. He took some video footage and said they wanted to air it on the 9:00 news... was that OK? Sure... why not. So we wait and watch Fox 42 9:00 news and about died laughing at the video footage aired - about 30 seconds of Alex running around the barn naked as a jaybird playing with one of his friends. Geez.. I thought he stayed dressed all day Saturday! Oh well... so goes life..

Yesterday, another phone call. Fox 42 wants to send a reporter out. Is this OK? Sure... what's another naked butt on TV gonna hurt? Right? It's gonna happen... best not to fight it. I can have those darned boys dressed and ten seconds later they are streaking. But wait... they are all at Cynthia's house playing! Woo Hoo! We can do an interivew without naked people! What a concept... sure come on over!

Turns out they want to come because apparently the weather service says the winds were only 25 miles an hour. Naturally he waits to tell me this till I am on camera and captures my response. Seriously, the reporter was a super nice guy. :-) I would love to kick the editor though. :-) Why is it that they take 30 minutes of footage and choose the most bizzare comments to air. Like me pointing out our junk... that wasn't even part of the interview.. I didnt realize I was being taped. How funny. I watch the news last night and all I could think was how silly we looked.. and how I need to loose a bunch of weight. We did say some great stuff that actually made sense... but that didn't get aired. LOL Oh.. and of course they re-aired the naked boy footage. GREAT.

Here is a link to the news segment.. if you need a good chuckle.. CLICK HERE

I will leave you with a couple interesting shots Andy took... I think they are pretty cool.

Our love to all... and again THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who came out to help, called, emailed, left gifts, expressed concern and generally showed us LOVE.

]]><![CDATA[HOT!]]>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:38:25 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/08/hot.htmlDon't know about all ya'll back in GA but here in NE its been HOT! We had weeks with the heat index over 100 daily.. the hottest day it was 107! How crazy is that! All of our cows have spent their days laying around seeking shade and cool... and not eating much. So, a few weeks later and here we are with a decline in milk. No cheese. Sad mommy over here with no new cheese.

Our English Cheddar sold out in about three weeks. That was insane! Guess folks liked it! We have about two buckets of feta left and a few rounds of the jacks. The raw milk feta was a total loss.. not sure what happened or how but it ended up with mold in it and feta is not a cheese that mold tastes good with. So, we ditched it. Sad.. but a learning experience non the less. All of our cheeses sold well..people seemed to enjoy them. We start calving again in January so hopefully we will be able to start making cheese again soon after the new year.

Market season is kicking my butt! I stay exhausted, but I really do enjoy it. I have met some wonderful families and have formed some farmer friendships for which I am very thankful. :-)

Here is a shot of the sky last Sunday at the Aksarben Village market. We got a good shower that was over briefly and learned just how wonderfully waterproof our tent is. We moved our tables in a bit and gave some folks a chance to get in out of the rain and taste some cheese! Love it when things work as they should!

We have had some fun lately too! A friend had an open house at their farm so we went along and enjoyed some wonderful food and the kids all got a chance to ride a horse. It's been a while. I miss having Tater around.

Hannah's ride

Its so awesome watching the boys. They are so different from the girls. Makes me wonder about the nature vs nurture theories. I guess its a bit of both. But man... these boys are a handful.. and precious! They are full of life and mischief. The things they get into... we can't seem to child proof enough. (As if we could really child-proof a farm. ) Today Andy came home to discover they had unplugged the electric fencer, plugged in an extension strip, found various tools and were having a field day. Sooo dangerous!

The really scary part is how quickly they snap into gear. One moment we look out the window to see a sight like this picture... two little guys just playing and having fun. Sweet.. right? Two seconds later (literally) the trike is empty and they are in search of power tools, ropes, buckets, ANYTHING, and they are up to some elaborate plan to destroy SOMETHING. Little turds.

Out we go in search of the terrors.. and we find this. Who could stay mad at a face like this? Not me.

Well, I guess that's about it for this month. Fall seems right around the corner. I need to get to work on putting the garden to bed for winter. So much to do here and there never seems to be enough time. It's hard to believe that tomorrow is September already. Where did the time go?

]]><![CDATA[To Market To Market....]]>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:56:10 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/07/to-market-to-market.htmlSummer is here! And so is our CHEESE! Our journey to farmers markets has finally arrived. WHEW!

Just the process of choosing a market felt overwhelming at first. So many choices! We are so blessed here in the Lincoln/Omaha markets with so many wonderful markets to choose from! I have been a frequent visitor/purchaser at the Lincoln markets but had no idea where to start with the Omaha ones. So, we started checking them out. Fun... all in itself! A new market was opening in Lincoln so it seemed natural to start with that market as it would be smaller and we only had a two cheeses to choose from. Also, I could bake bread.. one of my greatest loves!

So, sporting my new haircut (thanks Linda!), armed with 14 loaves of my whole wheat cinnamon roll bread off we went. I was thinking the bread would be a fun addition and I could talk to folks about healthy fats and introduce them to our cheeses. I spent the better part of a week (or two) carousing Lincoln's thrift shops for everything I thought I needed. I assembled all my goods, brought eggs, meats, cheese, and that bread. All anyone was interested in was the bread. I came home so bummed. I couldn't figure out what went wrong. Back to the drawing board! The market uploaded some pictures of my table on their FB page and boy was that helpful! Something stuck out at me when looking at my set up from that viewpoint. NOTHING! My signs were hidden, all that really stood out was the bread. No wonder that's all anyone wanted! I also realized how bland my color set up was. I thought I was being really nifty ... my whole set up matched my cheese labels... sunflower yellow table cloth with a cute little red and greed plate.. . just like my labels. Boy.. did I have a lot to learn. All this great cheese and it was hardly noticeable. Two things I did do right was to make a big white board poster with pictures of the animals and I was handing out Weston A Price brochures.

Sooo.... week 2! Lost the yellow tablecloth... used Grandma's red and white checked ones. Added another table so we had an L shape. Didn't snap any pictures though.. it was the Grand opening of the market and we were occupied talking to people and listening to the radio station blaring next to us. OK.. so singing along and goofing off a bit. Hannah came with me to this one.. I hate that I dont have a picture of her. I only baked six loaves of bread and set them to the side. Cheese more front and center in a groovy red basket and plate. We sold a bit more cheese and a few meats. Not brillant but better. Learning, learning. I spent a lot of time creating these cute little signs for Ground beef on sale, signs with colors and framing in clear plastic stands... and spent the whole evening picking them up off the ground or table! Pretty frustrating! Looking at my table that night I realized that as much as I love my Grandma's red and white tablecloths I really needed ones that fit my tables and matched each other better... bummer. As usual... my MOM saved the day! In the mail I received some gorgeous bright busy country checked tablecloths! With a matching plastic mat upon which to showcase that cheese! Woo Hoo!

So, week 3 approaches an I think I have it all figured out! (silly woman) I made these great signs to hang from the beams of my tent... got my gorgeous eye catching tablecloths.. what can go wrong?? I should learn not to ask. It was 105 degrees AND windy! My signs flew off their hooks... so I taped a few to the poles. My big picture board kept flying off it's stand and finally broke my big easel ... :-( And we needed table cloth clamps- stuff flying everywhere! It was so stinking hot... after setting up I just wanted to pass out! Very few people at the market... (can't imagine why!). But Jamie was WORKING IT!. She had her little cute self standing outside of the tent catching folks as they walked by giving them brochures on the farm. She even brought in a few folks... one guy said he was just buying those lamb chops because she was so cute! I came home so incredibly exhausted.. it's just too hot in the evenings! So... starting to think about weekend early morning markets. And.. we have more cheese coming ready.

Last weekend we went to Village Pointe market in Omaha. I couldn't believe the difference! People were there to shop! They came prepared to buy groceries! We actually sold meat and cheese! It was awesome! We had our jack cheeses and our cheddar bites (which sold out!). The heat didn't set in till the last hour and it was much more manageable. And.. no bread... as much as I love baking... it was taking up all my extra time and energy.. I was spending two days solidly baking. A week of not baking was certainly welcomed. I was able to spend a little time in my garden... I found baby cabbages in all the grass! How fun! Andy made me this awesome big wood sign for the markets that works great to catch attention and DOESNT FALL OVER!! I have taken to taping my picture board to the tent poles.. still need to work on a better plan for for that. But, we are starting to feel like pros... set up is much easier and we are learning more and more every day! Why just last weekend I learned my tent goes up much higher! Today we attended an indoor one day market at OPPD District offices in Omaha. We premiered our Raw Milk English Cheddar and our Fresh Feta. Both girls came with me and they had a blast. Quite the little sales girls they are making! I figure its a great learning experience for them... talk about real socialization!

On a non-farm note: Ashley Graduated! :-) Not that we ever had any concerns... she is so stinking smart! Nonetheless it was a wonderful thing to celebrate.

We took a day off this month to celebrate our July birthdays. Michael turned 3 and Jamie is turning 9! This is just all going by too fast. It seems like just the other day when asked how old Michael was I said 2... (actually it WAS just the other day!) Then it dawned on me.. my baby is 3. How did that happen? It seems too fast. Anyhoo.. we took a day off from the farm.. Andy milked in the morning and we went swimming all day! Such fun! Andy was smart and left his shirt on.. me.. not so much! I have quite the burn on my back and right now am often imitating the pigs scratching myself on posts and walls. Totally worth it though! We have decided to stick with morning milking... it has opened up all kinds of avenues for family fun! Andy gets more sleep too... which he desperately needed.

oops!

my hot cheese date!

Feeling thankful these days for our wonderful friends here in Nebraska. We couldn't do this without your support. Thankful for all the times friends just show up to help or are willing to be my hot cheese date and help me cut up and package cheese late at night.

I still miss my Georgia friends but is is just so great that I have developed some dear friends here. On my birthday my closest friends here surprised us by just showing up with food, cake, and weeding gloves! They went to work on my garden and uncovered so much goodness in there! Plants that were being choked out by grass and weeds were given new life! I can't even tell you how much that meant to me. And if not enough, the next night they took me out for dinner! We had big fun goofing off, walking around the Haymarket and making Facebook mischief by posting we were getting tattoos. Been too long since I have had so much fun!

]]><![CDATA[Rolling Along.....]]>Sun, 22 May 2011 22:43:13 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/05/rolling-along.htmlAs usual.. life here keeps rolling along. The past few weeks have been very eventful.. and busy. Andy lost his job which while scary is just a blessing in disguise. Things here were getting unmanageable for me alone with the kids all day. Milk orders were getting confused, I was exhausted.. and the house just beyond help. Since Andy has been home we have put the garden in, did some gardening around the house, worked on fences, fixed up the store, CLEANED HOUSE, baked bread, made cheese, and the list goes on and on! Things around here are looking quite spruced up! Mom was here for a visit last week, she was TREMENDOUSLY helpful! Thanks Mom!

Hopefully we will get all the backlogged stuff completed soon and begin to enjoy each other a bit more. It would be wonderful to have time as a family to do the normal stuff families do. The budget is going to be a stretch at best.... Andy's income was a huge help around here... but that too I am sure will work itself out in the end. We have meat in the freezer, I still have some veggies in the freezer from last year and the garden will be producing before too much longer.. in fact the lettuce looks pretty darned close! Thank goodness I have bought in bulk for years; things like oats, rice, corn, and wheat we have plenty on hand to last a while.

Our first cheese is ageing. I worked last week and got our cheese labels done.. they should arrive next week. Its looking like I will be at Village Point Farmers Market in Omaha on Saturdays starting in July. We will have pasteurized cheese to sell there.. we will be doing a fresh Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Fresh Cheddar Bites and Pepper Cheddar Bites for sale. Deciding to produce cheese that would require us to pasteurize our milk was a tough choice but it allows us to be at the market in July, bringing in much needed revenue, and I can talk to people about the value of pasture based farming. Its a good opener. By late summer we will have a supply of raw cheeses to offer and things will be different. Our raw cheeses will be English Cheddar and Aged Monterey Jack. We may also venture into Colby... I want to keep it simple and wanted to provide cheeses that families can use in their everyday meals.

Did you see our new webpage header photo? This is Mouse.. one of the original four cows purchased here in Nebraska. The shot was taken by our friend Dianne Merrill. She is just starting out a photography business... and she sure does great work!

The calves are doing a great job of keeping the lawn mowed! Its fun having them right here next to the house.. .they are so darn cute! We had another little guy born yesterday... Daisy.. she has had three bull calves in a row... whats up with that?

Last week's cold snap really stalled the growth of our grass... its getting tight out in the pasture. Hopefully things will stay warm now and that grass can grow grow grow! All this rain has to help.. right????

Our pigs are back out to pasture! They are digging up our winter area... one bit at a time. As you can see in this photo taken by Mom they enjoy their work!

We have piglets due in July.... looking forward to that!

While Mom was here we took the kids bowling. Found a great website... www.kidsbowlfree.com. You can totally sign your kids up for two free games every weekday all summer long! Totally awesome! You can even purchase an adult family pass for up to four adults to play along with the kids all summer for $24 total. Awesome deal. We enjoyed our game... Micheal was so very cute...( his ball rolled so slow he would just crouch and wait) and Alex has quite the style! Its was great fun to get away for a few hours and just goof off.

Well I reckon I should head off to bed. It's been a long day. I revamped the webpage, added galleries with slide shows.... still much to do... will keep working tomorrow. I hit the sheets exhausted.. but as always -- thankful.

]]><![CDATA[Life is Good]]>Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:00:36 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/04/life-is-good.htmlWell... it seems spring might be here to stay! Our cows are out to pasture and things are beginning to dry up around here. Putting the cows out to pasture is something we look forward to so much around here. The cream on our milk has already turned yellow signalling the return of all those precious CLA and Omegas properties!

We finally completed the finishing touches on our milk room! We now are a Grade A dairy, licensed by the state of Nebraska!

One of the big perks of our new status is that our milk will be tested by the state monthly for both somatic cell counts and bacteria levels. Our initial tests came back with excellent numbers, which confirmed for us what we already knew... our milk is good! Seriously... it is nice to be see our numbers and know we are doing things right.

Andy tests the cows daily for somatic cell counts, anything that is even remotely positive, is milk that we never put in our tank, and Andy uses a separate milker to milk. This has kept us free from mastitis so far. We are able to catch any potential problems way ahead of the game, are able to address any issues with a cow before it turns into a problem, and we keep from spreading anything around the herd.

I know.. boring boring boring.... but there is another reason why we wanted to get to Grade A standards -- CHEESE!

We doubled our herd in March with the purchase of 20 grass-fed jersey girls from Iowa! This was such a scary decision.. I had to completely let go of it and let Andy have the final say-so. Milking 36 Cows! 26 caving in April! What was he thinking??? But then the answer came to us..... CHEESE!

We will have raw milk cheddar cheese available come early July. We have to age the raw milk cheeses for sixty days here in Nebraska so that is why it will have to wait for a little while longer. But I am so excited about this!

Its hard to believe but just a mere two and a half years ago we were starting over here in Nebraska. Milking four cows on a dirt floor in the barn... and now we have 36 cows and a functional real milking parlor and milk room! Its been a long journey to get here, and at times we have been so close to giving up. But here we are..... right where we want to be. God is good - and we are thankful. Yes, I am exhausted.. and yes at times overwhelmed. But thankful.

Ashely's senior prom was in April. Back in March she and I took a whole day just the two of us for prom dress shopping. What a treat! I had dreams of dresses all night, but we found just the right one! My friend Linda graciously offered to do Ashley's hair for prom and ended up doing both hers and her best friend, Cass's hair! She did an amazing job of recreating what each girl wanted. The both looked amazing! Thanks Linda!

Ashley also turned eighteen this month. WOW! I am screaming proud of that kid... it's hard to keep it in sometimes. She has really turned out to be an amazing young woman. Its exciting to watch her make plans for her life, to see her thinking things through and making adult decisions. Its also bittersweet; she is planning on moving out after graduation... to an apartment with friends. She will be starting college in the fall..her life is really taking off. I am incredibly thankful for the relationship she and I share. She is not only my daughter but my friend. I was a single parent from the time she was one until she was six. At times it felt like it was her and I against the world. Now, I get to watch her go out and take on the world.. it's wonderful!

There is one major downside to a TV-free life... I miss out on the daily news. I need to discipline myself to check the news app on my phone regularly. I only learned through Facebook of what happened back home last week. Here is a picture stolen from Ciara's Facebook page of the tornado in Ringgold, Georgia. I was relieved to see that my friend is fine. I am still waiting to hear from family that my Aunt in Alabama is well... I am guessing she is since bad news travels so fast. No news is good news... right?
Bartow County Georgia sustained a lot of damage, and that is where our farm was located. Looking at pictures of the ruins brought me right back to the tornado that hit our home back when Ashley was just a little one and it was just us. I don't ever remember being so scared, so helpless trying to keep her covered and under my body, feeling the walls move back and forth, knowing the tornado was at my house. We were lucky, very lucky. We lost our roof but were safe and sound. My heart goes out to all those that lost their homes or worse, their family members. They remain in my prayers.

On a positive note: Hannah, Jamie, and Alexander had their last week of Awana's this past week. Hannah and Jamie took second and third place respectively. Our neighbor Karen took them to Awanas this year and they really enjoyed it. It hit right at milking time so I never got to go and watch but I am pleased they had fun and did so well.

I will leave you with a shot of Michael collecting eggs on Easter. One would think my kids would tire of egg hunting - huh, But... treat-filled Easter eggs are hard to resist!

One of these days I will have to cut his hair.... not yet. I am so in love with his unruly curly unkemp locks! It took five kids to get curls...

]]><![CDATA[Ups and Downs]]>Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:31:23 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/02/ups-and-downs.html

After a week of spring like weather... here is how the farm looks tonight.

Boy, am I ready for March! This past month has felt like a rollercoaster ride. We have had some exciting moments and some tragic ones as well.

We have some new piggies! We have added some Hereford pigs to our family. Hereford pigs are a heritage breed that believe it or not originated right here in Nebraska. They are known for their gentle disposition and are excellent grazers. IF you are curious you can check out more on the breed by clicking HERE.

They are really fun little pigs... curious and very friendly. They love a good nose scratch so feel free to greet them when you are here... (mind the white fence - it bites).

These guys will be here close to the house for a few more weeks... we will be moving them out to pasture once we have grass. So, say hi while you can!

stole this off her facebook account! :-)

Ashley is home! She decided that she wants to attend college here at home rather than in Georgia so she came home this month. It was a difficult decision for her but she seems very settled and centered and at peace with her decision. Ashe is back at Lincoln High and will graduate from there this May. She only needed 17 credits to graduate so she only has to attend a half day at school.

I cannot begin to tell you all how absolutely wonderful it is to have her home. She is such an incredible, bright, alive, young woman... her spirit and exuberance fills our home! We are all so thrilled to have her back!

Candy

We added four new cows to our herd this month. Welcome Milly, Molly, Mandy, and Candy. Four beautiful jersey girls!

They are doing great.. they have adapted to our laid back milking style and are getting along with the other ladies just fine. We couldn't be happier with them.

We had a tragic accident this month. Weirdly enough it was actually the night that Milly, Molly, Mandy, and Candy arrived. The power lines on the road came apart at the insulator and fell on our fences. This caused quite the fireworks show which scared the cows and calves here next to the house. They ran. One hit the fence and was electrocuted and three others ran into her and were lost as well. The whole experience was horrific... we waited an hour for the power company to come shut down the lines and make our farm safe again... very nerve wracking. All in all... we are lucky... we could have lost many more cows than four, as bad as loosing four is.

We are blessed beyond words that this accident happened at night, that Andy did not touch the fences when he went out to check on everyone, and that our children slept through the whole event. We were able to tell them what happened in as gentle a manner as possible, they were spared from witnessing any of it.

The next week was one of waiting. Waiting on OPPD, waiting on the insurance folks, waiting to bury our four lost cows. The children mourned and the other cows mourned.. it was heartbreaking to watch. The children laid roses on the cows and we covered them with a tarp and waited. One of the adult cows lost her calf eight weeks early and we waiting and watched to see how many more would suffer the same fate. Electricity is such a funny thing.... one moment it's a necessity and the next it is devastatingly dangerous.

Miraculously we had a beautiful calf born last week! Her Mom is Tippy and one of our best cows. They were in the area with the accident so we did not expect the calf to survive. We named the little girl Tiffany and I have some incredible shots of her birth. Tiffany's birth leaves us with hope that maybe we have turned the corner and the rest of our cows will be well. btw... she is named after a friend of ours.. Tiffany Baker. This may seem a strange way to pay tribute to someone but she just reminded me to Tiffany... long, leggy and gorgeous!

All is well with Tiffany.. she is a gorgeous calf.. very tall and leggy and full of beans!
She is in the barn keeping warm right now but will join the other calves soon.

All of these new additions means one thing - MORE MILK! Our milk shortage is now a thing of the past! The past two weeks have been a blur of farm tours as we have opened up our waiting list and have been able to accept new customers. It also means the return of one of everyone's favorite things - CREAM!

Our cream separator has been chugging away and so has my food processor with butter! LOVE butter! LOVE CREAM!

We are bottling over 36 gallons of milk a day right now. Our family has been enjoying treats such as homemade raw cream top yogurt again! Last week I made flavors such as honey, maple syrup, and succanat vanilla which were all huge hits. I also tried molasses yogurt....( that one needs work).

Our new baby arrived today! His name is Shep. He is a Great Pyrenees puppy. He is such a big boy.. only eight weeks old but HUGE!

Shep will be a working dog... his job will be to guard the sheep. In a few weeks he will go to live with them and learn their ways. They will be his pack... not us. This is kind of sad since he is such a love... but our sheep need him.

Even though there is snow on the ground and it's 23 degrees outside.... spring is on it's way! The eggs are a sure sign! Look at what Hannah gathered tonight!

It's almost here... it's almost here! Before we know it we will have cows out on pasture, sheep shearing, and flowers everywhere... and milk will go back down in price! I could not be more excited!

Ya'll stay warm out tonight... its a cold one! I am off to make more yogurt.

]]><![CDATA[I am a slacker]]>Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:51:30 -0600http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/1/post/2011/01/i-am-a-slacker.html

Hi all....

A few reminder emails from some of you and here I am finally getting around to updating our blog. Thanks for the nudges.

Last weekend's snow was fun. Andy is quite the man with a shovel! It took him the better part of five hours but he made sure our customers could come get milk. I was super impressed with what a neat job he did... he even created pathways to the water and house so we didn't have to trudge through the snow. He never fails to impress me.

A slacker he is NOT!!

As is probably somewhat imaginable... winter is a rough time of year to be milking. Its rough on us and its rougher on the cows. To give our cows (and ourselves) somewhat of a rest we switched to once a day milking at the start of winter. We have certainly been enjoying the extra time together and have been finding ways to make the most of this time. I have been baking more.... the smell of fresh baked bread is just intoxicating and when combined with a pot of bubbling chicken broth in the works..it's just pure heaven. For me, snow days are spent playing with the kids and baking!

With February fast approaching and cabin fever setting in... I am finding myself focusing on spring. It's time to start planning our garden.... always an exciting venture. As usual we will stick with heirloom varieties of veggies and fruits. Last year we didn't get a garden in since we moved in July. I am super excited about this year's garden! We have some serious projects lined up for spring... one of which will be building a bridge! We are planning a couple of farm work weekends to get that project completed..... so for those of you itching to roll up your sleeves and pitch in we can put you to work! I will have more information on dates, etc much much closer to spring. For now... we are planning and budgeting.

Our first calves of the year are due in Feb! Keeping our fingers crossed everything goes according to schedule and without complications. Our milk supply is so tight right now... looking forward to some breathing room and cream! I really miss cream.

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