Our Visit to the Dairy Farm

In an effort to be healthier this year, we found a farm (not too far from us) that has free range cattle and chickens. What this means is that we can now get our milk, meat, and eggs all fresh without chemical additives. In fact, the milk is so raw that when it settles the cream rises to the top and you can skim that off to make butter, buttermilk, sour cream, cheese, and yogurt.

Now, does this mean I will be doing all those homesteading things? NO! But, this farm is closer to us than the grocery store so not only will we be able to eat healthier, but it will cost less in gas.

Because it was our first visit, the farmer met us and gave us the tour. The kiddos were so excited to learn that they would be privy to the milking of the cows. He only has seven!

Looks tasty, right? Okay, it looks creamy, right?

Here is the farmer pouring the fresh milk through a strainer and into a cooling machine that will drop the temperature of the milk to 33 degrees.

There is a spout on the machine where you align the jug and out comes ice cold fresh milk! Delish!
Here we go out to another area of the farm. As you can see in the background he has many, many, many acres. Wish I had asked how many. What a dream. Can you believe all that rye grass? In February? What a blessing. Do you also notice that we are not wearing jackets? Unbelievable!
Two calves that just came off the bottle and are now bucket trained. He raises all his own Jersey cows so he knows what goes in them and he keeps them healthy.
Then, of course, we have the chickens! Free range, except at night when they have to be caged to keep them from predators.
Prez was invited to feed them.
Here he is chunkin' the stuff.
Even Sweetness got in on the fun.
I'm afraid those poor chickens will never be the same.
This one might just lay a scrambled egg!

I'm sure I'll keep you posted of our ongoing saga with the new foods, but one very good, instantly noticeable benefit. Prez, who has an extremely sensitive milk allergy, has not had a single reaction to the new milk, small or big! Hallelujah!