Victoria and Taylor began their childhood romance playing cowboys and Indians in the woods of our farms.
Taylor, convinced he was a half-blood native, recently discovered, much to his disappointment, he is actually Russian. We have created all sorts of stories about his ancestors being Russian spies, but that is another story for another day.
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Winter Egg Production
One of our most sought after products from the farm is our pastured eggs. With the hens' diet mainly consisting of forage and an added dose of Creamy Hills' milk, the golden goodness inside the egg tastes nothing short of exceptional. The sunny yellow yolks of our eggs have been known to turn a white cake yellow, and they are a fantastic addition to breakfast or a royale burger any day. We know our customers love them because we do, too. However, certain times of the year eggs are in short supply. While this is a problem for those of us who want eggs, this cease in egg production comes as a welcome relief for hens. The livestock are fed and taken care of, our bellies are full, and now I’m sitting here watching the drizzly snow fall outside the window as I enjoy a cup of warm tea.
I’ve been thinking how our farm has added lots of new faces over the past year, and that made me realize some of you may not know who we are. Since our goal is for you to know your farmers, I want to change that. Let me introduce ourselves. We’ll start with mom and dad. That seems like a logical place. Really though, we should probably back up a few generations to summers spent on their family farms, to times spent strolling down long cow lanes, and hours spent watching glass pump over jars. I faintly remember Papa (pronounced pa-paw) John’s dairy farm, where mom was introduced to the dairy life. While she enjoyed the beauty of the farm, her experiences there left her with no wild whims of being a milk maid when she grew up. Dad’s story, on the other hand, found him scouring over farming magazines and dreaming of the farm he would own someday. You may have read our farm introduction before, “Herd sire magazines scattered across the bed, milk parlor pump over jars exploding over with creamy goodness, hundreds of years of agricultural heritage backing his ten-year-old little self- Jason knew then and there- when he grew up, he was going to be a farmer, but not just any farmer. Jason was going to be a dairy farmer.” That’s how Dad got his start, but that’s not how his story will end. While we have, for years, introduced ourselves as dairy farmers, over the last few years we have grown to realize we are so much more than that, and Dad has been heard more than once saying things like, “We’re dairy farmers, chicken farmers, hog farmers, grass farmers, soil farmers...” The list goes on, but you get the idea. We are farmers, but not just any farmers. As I said before, Mom didn’t want to be a dairy farmer, or any farmer for that matter. She fell in love with dad’s charming good looks and character. She even forgave him for making fun of her pallazo pants in biology class (Although, she said she never wore them again). A convenient arm injury left dad out of a high school baseball game mom had attended to watch a friend. After a few innings of visiting, mom had a new ride home from the game. The rest is history. They’re romance continued into college, where Dad chose to play football at Pitt State in order to stay close to Mom. They married during college, and Victoria arrived toward the end of Dad’s college career. By this time, Dad decided his body wasn’t going to hold up for professional football, and he made the decision to follow a career outside of sports. Mom, having always wanted to be a mom, set her elementary teaching degree aside and stayed home full time with Victoria. Those first years of marriage and parenting were hard from a financial standpoint. Two kids, surviving on one income, with a new baby can be challenging for anyone. You’ve probably been there. You’re familiar with the sacrifices, but you’re also cognizant of the blessings. Our family was built on the love and hard work of two parents dedicated to one another and to the Lord. Our farm has grown out of those same values. Mom and Dad began their farming ventures with a herd of registered Angus. During that time, Dad managed Tindle Feed Store in Neosho where he worked until he began his career with Premier Turbines, formerly Rocketdyne. There he would start on the shop floor and eventually work his way up to a management position. In the meantime, Dad’s dairy farming dreams were still alive, and he made a dear friend of Darren Wilson, a local dairyman. Darren convinced Dad that Jerseys were the way to go, and he introduced Dad to his low maintenance, rotationally grazed little brown cows. With the help of friends, we retrofitted an old tractor shed into a Grade C dairy barn (Grade C only because the ceilings were too low) and we brought our first herd of milk cows home from the Wilson’s Little Dairy on the Prairie. Before the dairy started up, I was born, and I have distant, but fond memories of that first milking. Fresh green manure splattered the perfectly white walls, the little brown cows barely graced Dad’s waist from where they stood on the flat parlor floor, and the first taste of warm milk from OUR cows seeped into me with a magical essence. Milk prices were good then. Mom and Dad raised all four of us in that little three stantion parlor. With Emma still in the womb, Mom would squat down under the cows to wash and dry their udders while Eli swung back and forth in the doorway situated between the tank room and parlor. Victoria and I scurried around outside taking care of the chickens and the bottles calves, occasionally making our way into the milk parlor to help with milking and to listen to Paul Harvey on the radio. At that time, we owned thirty well managed acres and rented an additional forty, but we needed to expand the farm if it was going to be financially sustainable. After lots of searching and praying, Mom and Dad settled on our farm where Creamy Hills Dairy is located now. We weren’t direct marketing at that time, but friends and family were coming to us for our eggs and half or whole beef and pork. People were begging for our broilers, offering their assistance in butchering and/ or their willingness to pay extravagant prices for our pastured chickens, and a few gallivant souls were coming for our milk, unable to drink the milk in the grocery store. We made the move to Creamy Hills Dairy where we knew with the current state of the dairy industry we needed to get big or get out. We expanded the farm. Dad’s off the farm job demands grew tremendously. Victoria and I were finishing up high school and making our way into college, and mom had two younger children underfoot who she was trying to educate and cherish, not try to run the daily operations of a farm. Victoria and I were at a point where we needed to decide our involvement with the future of the farm. Dad was working in Dallas and Denver during the week, flying home on the weekend to spend time with family and catch up on as much farm works as possible. We watched as one dairy farm after another in our county slowly shipped their last truck load of milk and stood with tears in their eyes as the last pot load of cows rolled out of their drive. That wasn’t going to be us. For years, Dad had devoured Joel Salatin’s books and implemented his farming practices. Now, with many of the farming responsibilities falling on our shoulders Victoria and I began taking a personal interest in the farm management. We both chose to commute back and forth to school in order to stay involved with the farm, and as a family we discussed daily the future of our ventures. I was sitting in a career planning class at Crowder College, faced with the assignment of creating a mock business plan. Numbers and Madelaine don’t go along, but dinner table discussions for years had revolved around taking the middle man out and becoming our own marketers. My ag advisor sat down in the empty seat beside me in the computer lab. Class was over. The lights had dimmed. “What are you thinking, Madelaine?” “I want to keep my family farm going.” “Ok, then do it.” “But what if...” “Just do it. Live your life, and don’t worry about the ‘what if’s.’ The right man will come along and want to be a part of it.” He knew what my traditional heart was thinking. I came home, and Dad and I sat down with pencil and paper, and laid out a business plan for the next year, five years, and ten years. We figured out how many customers we would need to survive, and how much growth we needed to happen in order to be sustainable. I took it back to class and presented. “I think this might work” was the response I got from underneath the perfectly groomed, handle bar mustache. It was going to work. I had watched too many years of hard work and sacrifice for it not to. Now, I don’t want you to think this business is here because of me. It’s not. I am blessed with one of the hardest working families I know, and they each have an integral investment in the farm. This is merely the beginning of our farm story from my perspective. And really, if you have read to this point you’re probably thinking, “I thought this post was supposed to be about your mom and dad.” You’re right. It was, and it is. Perhaps you can see them through me. I hope you can see their work ethic, their love and passion for life, and their rock solid determination to do the best at whatever they put their mind to. But aside from all of that , you should know a few things about my parents. They are die hard St. Louis Cardinal’s fans. Well, at least, Dad is, and Mom loves them because he does. This love is similar to the love Dad has for coffee. Dad loves Mom. Mom loves coffee. Therefore, Dad loves coffee. It’s as simple as that. Dad attributes his love for baseball back to his Aunt Bev playing catch with him for hours at the family farm. She was a cardinals’ fan, and so, he is, too. They love to travel, and through some of Dad’s employment over the years they have been blessed with the opportunity to do so. They set a goal of visiting all of the national parks before they die (I don’t think they knew how many national parks there were before they set that goal, but we’ll let them keep dreaming). Dad loves to eat good food. Mom is a good cook. Actually, she’s a superb cook, which is rewarding for us and dad. Her favorite dish is crepes, but she settles for farm table dinners to satisfy her family. Dad is a dreamer and a visionary. Mom is a perfectionist and a realist. They balance one another well. That’s really what life is about, right? Balance. Balance and relationships- two things which go hand in hand. Sometimes we struggle with finding the balance, but our relationships with one another and with the Lord usually bring us home. We may not know you that well, or know where you’re at in life, but we would love for our farm to be a part of your balance in this chaotic, over stimulated world. Let us be a part of the simple, traditional, grounded part of your life. Let us be your farmers. Well, how did week one of the new year go for you? Personally, my week was great, but I don’t feel like I made too many drastic changes. I am working on changing my mindset this year, rather than just focusing on changing habits. For you, I would love to see your mindset toward Creamy Hills Dairy simplified this year, and I have brainstormed seven ways to help you in that process. Think of Your Food as an Investment This Year. At the age of fifteen Eli made his first investment. I know. Everything but simple, right? Bear with me. Every month he gets a report on how his stocks are doing, and he informs us of the rise and fall of the U.S. economy. He recently told us he is thinking about investing in Amazon Prime. He may have a point there- two-day turn around. I wish I had been that financially savvy at fifteen, but I was probably flipping through cookbooks or baking a cake or something. At age fifty, I will probably still be baking cakes, and Eli will probably be making charitable donations to sustainable farming organizations. Either way, everyone gets fed. Investments are something we may not think about on a day-to-day basis; however, we make daily investments in our health. Our physical activities, the thoughts we allow in our mind, and our food choices all affect our overall well-being. Plan ahead of time to invest in real food this year, and when it comes time to make that purchasing decision you will already know how you want to feel when that food graces your table, or better yet, how you want to feel when you wake up the next day. Consider Setting a Standard Weekly Order. We know how busy your life gets because we live a crazy, busy life, too. If it was not for mom and her schedules, we would be lost. Her favorite thing to recommend to customers is our weekly standard order. Pre-planning gives her a peace of mind like you have never seen. In fact, I think she feels inner peace for you when you make the decision to set a standard order. No more nine o’clock messaging. No more waiting for a response. You just set your order and pick up the same day every week, only contacting us if you need to make a change or add on an extra item. You also get first priority on eggs and product availability because we can count on your loyalty. It is our best solution for simplifying both of our lives. If you choose to go this route, schedule your order for a day you normally go to the grocery store anyway, or plan it for a day your spouse or competent child can swing by after work or school. We see this a lot with our standard weekly customers, and their family adjusts well to the routine. Make it a One-stop Shop. One of the things people say they love about our farm is that we are not just a dairy. We love our milk, but we have so much more to offer. Around the dinner table, we often talk about how we can make your drive to the farm more worthwhile and help you maximize your time and budget. Trying to provide a wide product offering is one way we seek to do that. Rather than shopping from multiple locations, add on some hamburger, sausage or ask us about our current cut meat options. When we say we want to be your farmers, we really mean that, and we want to fill your fridge and your freezers with local goodness. Plan Your Menu. Sometimes I wonder if we could make money creating weekly menus for all of you. You know, like how a personal trainer writes your daily workouts or schedules your runs? My mom is the menu-making queen, and as a little girl, I thought everyone operated off a weekly menu. I hope, as a mom someday, I can be a master of meal planning like she is. She starts by writing our schedule out for the week and then plans meals around our activities. For example, on Sunday and Wednesday nights she knows we will be at church, and so she will make a casserole, meat loaf, or another make-ahead item ready to toss in the oven when we walk out the door. On nights where she will be gone for hours at a baseball game or other kids’ activity, she will put a roast or pork chops in the crockpot or leave a cooked meal with reheating instructions for the family members still at home. On nights where we are home and she doesn't have to go to the barn, she will make a more hands on meal such as salisbury steak or smothered pork chops. Nights where we get in late, we will quickly scramble some eggs or eat leftovers. We love leftovers at our house. Try not to overthink it. Start by looking at your schedule for the week, and then pick out some of your favorite recipes. If you do not know where to start, fry up a big batch of hamburger, put it in the fridge, and in less than 10 minutes you can make spaghetti, tacos, or spoon on burgers (aka sloppy joes). Your family won't even know they are eating hamburger multiple times that week because they will be amazed at your homemade creations. I will say this, make sure everyone in your family understands and supports what you are trying to do. It will be tempting to swing through fast food on the way home from that ball game, or to stock up on tv dinners when you run into the grocery store, but try to resist the urge, and stick to your menu. If you do make a quick stop at fast food or give into the frozen food aisle, don’t let it become a domino effect of bad eating choices. Let go of the guilt, and wake up the next day committed to nourishing your body again. Invest in a Larder. Did you know you are more likely to cook if there is meat in your freezer? Rather than think about your menu from week to week, consider filling your freezer for the month with a random assortment of pork chops, ham steaks, beef roasts, round steak, etc. You don’t have to know exactly what you’re going to do with the meat when you buy it, but at least it will be in the freezer and you can plan your menu around the items you have at home. If you’re still wondering what a larder is, think of the cellars and smokehouses our grandparents and great-grandparents used to stock full of food. A larder is the idea of always having food on reserve. I think this is a concept I took for granted growing up because we were always blessed with a freezer full of meat, I am learning now that most people purchase food for a week at a time. I will post another blog soon with a longer explanation of a larder and reasons why you should have one. Partner Up with Another Family. We often hear that getting out to the farm once a week is difficult for you. We understand with schedules being busy and many of you driving from a distance that maybe true for you. Our first suggestion would be for you to come on a bi-weekly basis, if once per week is challenging. The milk and eggs will stay fresh if stored properly, and you will cut your drive time in half. Another option is to partner with a neighboring family. As long as you have both been out to the farm for a first time visit you can pick up for each other. Many of our customers find this system to work well. If you collaborate with 2 to 3 other families you might only have to make the drive once a month to every other month. Redeem Your Drive. Redemption is something we talk about a lot on our farm, and if you read The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs you understand why. We are in the redemption business. On a daily basis we redeem the soil quality, the biomass, and the diversity formerly present on our land. The idea of redeeming our time is no different. When I was commuting back and forth to the University of Arkansas, I was driving around two hours round trip each day. It didn’t take long before I realized I needed to gain that time back. I began listening to class lectures, recording and replaying my notes, learning from podcasts, and enjoying audiobooks. One semester, I listened to Gone with the Wind all of the way through. Prompting a series of tears multiple times, as I walked to class. How could Scarlett be so foolish, and Rhett so inept to show his true feelings? We may never know, but I digress. I would recommend listening to podcasts about nutrition, sustainable farming, or overall wellness. Download the Spotify app, and search for whatever you are looking for. Although, I don’t endorse everything they support, I find the Wise Traditions podcast by the Westin A. Price Foundation very thought provoking. If you are trying to gain a deeper understanding of whole foods and natural wellness, Wise Traditions is a great place to start. I also can provide a wonderful list of book recommendations if you are interested in our farming practices or food choices. Just let me know. I hope some of these recommendations are helpful to you. Remember, the idea is to simplify. Which means you should not try to conquer all of them at once. Rather, pick one (#1 seems like a good place to start) and go from there. What would you add to our list? |
Our Farm's Voice
Hello! I'm Madelaine Paige, and I'm so glad we've met. I love mornings, milk cows, and musings. Archives
July 2021
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