A Tail of Two Old Dogs

This is a story about two very different dogs. One started at a rural animal shelter and then to our farm. The other at a city shelter in Iowa, to an apartment in Wisconsin, to the sub-burbs of Illinois and finally to our farm in Wisconsin.

Misty, whom I refer to as "the super farm dog" has been grandpa's faithful farming companion for over 10 years now. She is a Border Collie mutt and loves nothing more than working! She is in her golden years now and has very few teeth, but that does not stop her from following every pass of the tractor or attacking every dirty rotten raccoon that comes lurching out from under the corn auger. Actually, the cause of her toothlessness is countless bouts with the aforementioned horrible little bandits. She's not much of a lover, but if a cow gets out her tail goes to wagging at the idea of getting to herd her. Misty is so geared to protect the farm that even on the most bitterly cold night she will not go into the garage to sleep. She must have a fear of missing some nigh time intruder from her front porch vantage. It's even hard to get a photograph of her because she must think us frivolous, up to something or maybe she just does not like that kind of attention.

Above are recent photo's of each dog doing what they do best.

Oliver on the other hand is really a pretty terrible farm dog. There's just no other way to put it. He somehow manages to scare the cows out of their pasture and causes steers to break fences just trying to get away from him. He tries to bark our kittens to death...those furry little monsters. He uses the same kitten tactic on raccoons. He must believe that the louder and longer he barks the "intruder" will somehow be deterred. Misty just stares at Oliver and we imagine her thinking something like..."what a stupid city dog." We thought Oliver would learn the ways of the farm dog once we moved, but he still has the idea that large trucks are to be chased and that tractors are the enemy. We have finally come to the conclusion that Oliver is a better indoor companion, footrest, friend for the girls to dress up than a farm dog...we'll leave that to Misty.

Winter Chores

Daily activities on the farm look very different depending on the season. During the winter, chores are done as quickly as possible and major outdoor projects are put on the "things to do in the spring" list.

On a daily basis, the cattle, pony, dogs and cats are fed. In the winter, when the cows are not out on pasture they stay around the barns. We have three small pastures of about 3 acres each, with access to water in the barns. The cattle are divided into three groups, and each group of cattle has access to fresh water, shelter, and fresh hay that is grown on our farm.

Group #1 consists of about 34 pregnant cows. These cows need a lot of hay to keep their energy up to stay warm and gestate.
Group #2 is made up of the 32 newly-weened calves. These calves are half grown now and have plenty of space to eat their hay and wander around. They sleep in barns on beds of corn-fodder (stalks and leaves).
Group #3 is the group of 16 steers and heifers that is being finished for harvesting. These range in size from the animals ready to go any day, to the ones that will not be harvested until May. These animals enjoy free access to hay, and a limited access to corn grown on our farm.

Twice a week, all the animals get fresh fodder bails in the barns for bedding to keep them dry and warm. Bryce's dad keeps track of the day to day chores for the cattle (while Bryce finish's his last year of commuting to Illinois to work as a Guidance Counselor), and on weekends we tackle the bigger jobs like fixing fence, barns and sending Bryce up the silo to adjust the corn auger. There are always a thousand things to be done on the weekends and we are so thankful for Bryce's mom and dad for their farming expertise and willingness to help!

The girls also have daily chores, feeding the more domesticated animals...cats & dogs. They are also in charge of making sure the bird feeders are kept full and bringing the mail in each day.

When everything is complete, you would find us warming up in front of our corn-burning stove.

Happy New Year From Riemer Family Farm

Happy New Year! We were so blessed to get to meet many of you this year and have a chance to raise quality natural beef for your families. We hope that 2011 brings you great joy and lot's of fun!

From our Family to yours have a fantastic new year!

Cincinnati Chili

It's a little known fact that Bryce and I spent our first year of marriage living and working just north of Cincinnati, OH. It seemed to us that chili is to Cincinnati as Cheese is to Green county WI. It's a big deal! According to Wikipedia Cincinnati style chili is a regional style of chili characterized by the use of unusual ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice or chocolate, (yes-CHOCOLATE) and by the absence of chili peppers or chili powder. It is commonly served over spaghetti or as a hot dog sauce.

While served in many regular restaurants, it is most often associated with several fast-food restaurant chains, including Skyline and Gold Star. Let me tell you everyone down there has a strong opinion about which chain makes the best chili. I never did try the ever popular Skyline/Gold Star chili because of my long standing disdain for fast-food and my rule to never order meat from a restaurant unless it's local and/or organic. In most restaurants you never know what kind of horrible factory farm the meat came from. If you want to learn more about that watch "Food Inc.", "Fast Food Nation" or look up the "Meatrix" on You Tube!

Click here for the Cincinnati Chili recipe I used this week. My family loved it! I had to cut Bryce and Kalena off after two servings! I used a full pound of Riemer Beef instead of just 3/4 lb and yummy fresh local Cheddar cheese. We will definitely make this one again. Enjoy!

What's With The Price of Underwear?!

I went shopping for some essentials and early Christmas gifts at Kohl's yesterday. On my list: Christmas dresses for the girls, a sweater for me, electric toothbrush....and underwear. WHAT $19 for a 3 pack of Hanes!? It seems like a couple years ago they were $6-7 bucks. I realize that prices have been artificially low and that this is probably a price correction, but could we ease into this a bit?

Each morning Bryce and I listen to the Wisconsin Farm Report with "The Fabulous Farm Babe" from 5-6 am (yes, we are crazy). We find information that is valuable to our lives and farm almost every day. A couple weeks ago she discussed the price increase of a few key products that everyone uses and that are increasing in price, quite dramatically. Top 2 on the list Cotton & Beef! The summary of the interview can be found at the WI Farm Report Website. I have included a short excerpt from this link.

"Number one," Blohm says, "Cotton! It's at all time highs, so Gramma giving you socks or t-shirts for Christmas this year might actually be a good idea!" Second - beef! Blohm says with the lack of expansion in beef production - supplies are tight so prices will be headed higher. She says now might be a good time to invest in a freezer, and buy a quarter, half, or whole beef animal to ride out the wave.

My conclusion: Stock up on socks, underwear and Riemer Beef! :)

Yummy Fall Hamburger Stew

I love cooking with squash in the fall. I found this yummy recipe on my favorite recipe site www.allrecipes.com. My family loved it and it is quite healthy. I make lots of soups and stews in the fall and winter. This one calls for cabbage but by the time I got to my cabbage it was yuck. So we skipped it and that was just fine too. They call it a soup on all recipes but I would call it a stew. My family likes things a bit bland, but I kicked up my serving with some additional "Emerald Legosi Southwest Essence".




OK, so I admit it does not LOOK like the most fantastic thing in the world but hey...it's what's on the inside that counts...right? At least that's what my mom always told me :) Enjoy !

Successful Meat Party.

Good friends of ours in Cary IL hosted the first ever Riemer Family Farm "meat party". Yes I think it sounds funny too. Imagine a jewelry or Tupperware party, but the subject of discussion is the difference between a sirloin steak and a sirloin TIP steak.

It was very fun! We met some very nice folks and sold some beef to boot. Buying beef in bulk can be an intimidating idea for first time customers. We continue to hear people say "Oh...my parents used to buy beef by the quarter or side when I was growing up. It was so good." Some meat party goers also talked about how they never really thought about where their food came from until recently. It really is a novel thing for most suburban residents to know a farmer!

Raising beef without added hormones, antibiotics and steroids is not new at all. Farmers raised their animals on small diversified "natural" farms for centuries. It is only during the last few decades that the industrial model for farming has become the norm. It's the food "industry" that has changed and become, well, industrialized. The vast majority of food comes from what many would refer to as "factory farms." These are the sprawling, overcrowded, unclean and stinky places that inspire scary documentaries such as "Food Inc." and cartoons like "The Meatrix" or movies like "Fast Food Nation". There are many reasons for this change, but that is a topic for another time.

We enjoy raising our cattle and providing humane treatment for them. We love to meet new people and to educate folks about what we do and why we care so much about sustainable farming practices. We are both educators by training and extroverts by nature so selling beef directly and taking part in creative events like “meat parties” just seems like a good fit and a fun way to spend our time.