EXCITING NEWS- we now have available FRESH CHEESE CURDS...stop out at the store and some today!
Ice cream flavor of the month-PB Bannana Buster (bannana ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate chunks)
Next event- Sassy Cow Creamery Ice Cream Extravaganza
Saturday, August 21, 12-5pm
Rootbeer Floats & Pie and Ice Cream
Featuring pie from Julie's Java House in Columbus
Events include-
*Learn more about ice cream making
*Taste unique ice cream flavors
*Farm and Creamery tours
*Tractor Display
*Contests for kids
*Meet our newest baby calf
and much more....
Free Creamery Tours Here on the First Friday of each month, from 4pm-6pm. Bring your friends and family!!
Next Tour-Friday, August 6, 4-6pm.
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As summer rolls along at it's usual speedy pace, so too has the farm's activities. June was almost a washout as far as rainfall which meant that a lot of the haying that should have gotten done the first three weeks of the month, actually got done the last few days of June and right into the fourth of July. Having a serious amount of catch up to do meant having several long days of haying that went well into the night. In the end though everything went well and the only downside, which is a big one, is the fact that the quality was not as good due to how mature the hay was. This means that the cows won't give as much milk eating that as they would a hay that was less mature. The biggest difference between young hay and old hay is the protein content.
This is the first summer in a very long time that we have wheat to harvest. A dairy farm doesn't have a big need for wheat because the grain is not used very much in a cow's diet. The grain we will sell but the straw that remains will be used for bedding the expectant mothers as well as calves. We will still have to buy a fair amount of additional straw, but this at least gives us some supply. Lastly, taking a crop of wheat off in July allows us some acres of land to put some manure on from the cows.
Another first for us is keeping weaned calves close to the house this summer which in hindsight may not have been the best idea. For the first six to eight weeks of a calf's life they get one gallon of milk per day. When they are a few days old we train them to drink from a pail so the chores can go a little quicker. After six to eight weeks though a calf is ready to go on a 100% forage and grain supplement diet. The only problem with this is sometimes the calf doesn't always agree with that. Even though they have plenty of hay, grain and water, when the day comes that they don't get milk any more it can be a loud one.
I have a small wooded area behind the house that we fenced up for the summer because it seemed like a nice summer spot for the calves to hang out until fall when it will become cooler. We had nine calves that were old enough to wean so the plan was to take them from their calf hutches and put the group into the newly fenced area. All went well until night time when these calves thought that we must have just forgotten to give them their milk so they were going to remind us of that fact. If you have never heard a calf moo, it is very loud. Even though they are a tenth of the size of a full grown cow, their moo is about ninety percent the decibal volume of a cow. So all night long we got to hear nine voice their displeasure about the circumstances of their new dwellings.
As most of you are aware, sounds are always louder at night than during the day so that makes matters worse. The chorus of mooing that keeps you up all night is almost enough to make a person go out and give them milk. You get the same feeling as if you were breaking your child of a pacifier. The lesson learned is that thirty feet from your house is way too close to wean calves. After two or three nights things calmed down and the peaceful quite was restored. They seem to enjoy their wooded summer camp environment now and there is plenty for them to do and explore there. All I have to figure out now is what to do with the next group of calves that are soon to be weaned.
James Baerwolf
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Deep Fried Cheese Curds
Ingredients
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2 cups Panko bread crumbs
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2 teaspoons cornstarch
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1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
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1 cup all-purpose flour
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4 eggs, well beaten
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1 pound Sassy Cow cheese curds, 1" to 1-½" wide
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Oil for deep frying (high smoke point oils include avocado [520°F], safflower [510°F], soybean, corn, peanut and sunflower [450°F])
Directions
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Combine bread crumbs, cornstarch, cayenne pepper and chopped thyme in food processor. Process until bread crumbs are finely ground. Place in a pie plate.
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Place beaten eggs in another pie plate and flour in a third pie plate. Dredge the cheese curds in the flour, then the egg and lastly the bread crumb mixture.
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Place battered curds on a baking sheet. Set in the freezer for 20 minutes.
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Heat 3 inches of oil to 365°F to 375°F. Fry the cheese curds in batches until they are crisp and warmed all the way through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
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