"Monthly" - The Word of the Month

Well, our winter hiatus from milking ended February 28th, which was  four days after we (Gene & Kris) returned from a three week vacation. On our return, we were thinking we had a good three weeks at home to catch up on things left undone. Things got busy fast around here as calving season got underway, and our three weeks of "catch up" weren't as productive as we had hoped.  Organizing, we have decided, comes very slowly when you are busy!  We are always thankful, though, and count our blessings daily. 
   That being said, we here at the dairy want you to know what a huge blessing monthly orders are to us. We would like to thank all of you who have now become accustomed to placing monthly orders, and we encourage those who are still ordering weekly to consider ordering monthly. If you order monthly and later in the month find a need or wish for an additional product, you can always get online and order the additional product as a weekly order.  We can not express how much monthly orders help us with our production plans for all of the different dairy products we offer. And, that all trickles down to putting orders together and having products ready to go out the door in a timely fashion. We currently plan and shop and produce for around 50 families weekly that are shopping our online store and picking up their products; and, our client list grows each week. Our main goal is to make sure all the kids have the raw milk they need, and then we plan for the other dairy delights we will  create after all the milk orders are accounted for. We try hard to provide the products you want; monthly orders make doing so much less stressful and more enjoyable. Monthly orders for May were due this past Sunday a.m. (the 23rd), but we are hoping more of you will jump on the "monthly order band wagon" and get a monthly order placed now. The deadline to get this done is 6 a.m., Sunday, April 30th. Thank you all for your help in this matter.

SPECIAL - Product Alert:

• CHEESE CURDS:  We know many of you have already placed your order for May.  If you would like to add CHEESE CURDS, order them today.  We made a big batch yesterday.  Three flavors:  

1. Fire Ball
2. Mediterranean
3. Salt and Pepper                             ONE for $8; THREE for $20

• BEEF BUNDLES $35 each:  Winter is over but we finally got our BONES back in stock, and would like to offer 7 BEEF BUNDLES for $35 each.  Each bundle will have a value of not less than $50 and contain 2 or 3 packages of burger 80/20.  2 to 4 lbs Meaty Soup bones, 2 lbs stew meat, plus 5-8 pounds of dog bones.  Order today.  First come first served.

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​​Lemon yogurt - Your win! The high demand for this yummy dairy treat has prompted us to now produce it weekly, instead of just once a month as long as we can. It is now available in two sizes. This week we may add strawberry/lemon, or blueberry/lemon.  These will be added to each drop location $3 each.  Pick up an extra to give it a try and let us know your thoughts.
        Note: As with all of our products, we strive to make our lemon yogurt as healthy as possible. This means there will be lemon zest (finely grated lemon rind) only in the batches of yogurt made with organic lemons. Sometimes we are unable to purchase organic; in which case, we do not use any of the lemon rind/peel. Pesticides don't penetrate the wonderful protective rind, so we use the pulp and juice from non-organic lemons, but not the rind. This little bit of information about lemon rinds and pesticides is what keeps LEMONS off of the "Dirty Dozen" list. For more information about the Dirty Dozen" list, visit https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php. The list changes yearly.
 
​(We appreciate the feedback about our products. Keep telling us what you like, such as the lemon yogurt, and what you don't like. And remember to  get those orders in early.)

Early mornings spent at the dairy barn provide time to enjoy the baby calves and their mamas, and of course our barn cats, Alex and Tiger. Time spent with the animals, in general, can bring a person down to earth, making you mindful of all of your blessings, and bringing a smile as things fall into perspective. Working with our last heifer calves of the season is time that allows for this. The task involves haltering, leading, and lots of petting to get them used to the barn and being messed with. (Nasty work, but someone's got to do it.)  :-)  This process is done for a few weeks, and then they are turned out into the pasture to grow and be cows.  We will have the last two calves in for only two more weeks, so if any of you haven't had the chance to bring the kids out, you had better do it this week or next. We invite everyone to the ranch to get to know a bit about our dairy operation, let the kids see and pet or lead the calves, and taste our products. Spot, Sweet Pea, and Precious love to be scratched and petted!
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​Again thank you all for your support and getting your orders in online and on time.  If you struggle with the online ordering, please don't hesitate to come to the ranch to get help. We will gladly assist in setting up your account and making it user friendly for you.  The technical part of the little tiny dairy is the hardest for Kris, but she will point you to another part of the team that will fix you right up. Our IT specialist is willing to help us all.

Our little team knows you all appreciate the time and effort we put into providing you with healthy dairy products. This means using organic herbs, fruits, and vegetables. It means taking care to keep our fresh milk at its peak, and keeping the dairy and all of the equipment we use clean. And, it means raising happy, healthy cows and calves. After all, that's where it all begins! We will continue to do our best, and want you to know we appreciate all of you.
​Kris, Maddie & Linda

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