The Biggest Hill On Our Farm Is Our Septic Mound

We call it Mt. Poop.  It's really just a long bump in the side yard, but it's the highest grade of a hill on the whole property.  We use it to sled on sometimes, but when the conditions are right and daddy has time...who needs a hill?

Bryce pulling the two big girls behind the Yamaha Grizzley (Thanks to uncle John at Gieson Motorsports in Rock Falls, IL for a killer deal)!

Oliver even got in on the action.

You still back there?!

Finish it all off with some hot cocoa!

We love the 4-wheeler!  We even tried to get it stuck!  Who needs a snowmobile?

Enjoy the snow!

Caring for Livestock in the EXTREME Cold

When the temperature drops below zero you suit up, do chores and don't complain.  When the real feel temp is around -50 you take notice!

We have to take extra measures to care for the cattle and chickens when extreme cold spells hit, and it's all about More! One reason we love our Hereford cattle is that they are very cold hardy and seem to have enough sense to take shelter when it's extreme outside.

Pedro with "The Girls" eating lots of extra hay

Cattle: More warm dry fodder (stalks from corn or soybeans) bedding, more hay and more trips to the water trough.  Bryce and Loren recently placed an extra hay wagon in with the cows.  Cattle eat approximately 20% more when the temperatures drop below 20 degrees. I imagine they are eating a much higher volume of feed today. We also spend a lot of time taking stock pots full of hot water out to thaw frozen water troughs.

We have three paddocks near the barns and each paddock of animals has plenty of access to the barns where they can go in and hunker down in the fodder.  On days like this I pray that their instinct to stay close and share body heat is strong. We also pray that it warms up so that we have enough hay to make it all the way to spring.

Chickens with two heat lamps and extra bedding

 Chickens stay in their coop when the weather is insane like this.  I used to open their trap door and wait for them to come out, but they just laughed at me! They currently have two heat lamps and we use the "deep bedding method" to keep it clean and create a bit of heat.  Deep bedding works much like a compost pile.  I thoroughly clean the coop each spring (not a fun job), we then lay out new wood chip bedding.  As the bedding gets dirty we lay down more new wood chips on top of the old ones and continue putting new chips on top of old until in mid winter we have a nice deep pile about 18" -2 feet deep.  The chips and manure on the bottom decomposes slowly and releases some heat which keeps the coop surprisingly comfortable on cold days.

Chickens roost close together in the rafters at night to take advantage of the rising heat the the chicken to chicken warmth. As you can see I have a heat lamp right next to the water to keep it partially thawed.  It has been working fairly well since our heated water tank broke. Chickens also eat a lot more feed in the extreme cold.

We even have one smart cat who lives under a heat lamp in the coop right now. I still need to figure out a trick to keep the eggs from freezing and cracking!

What is in a quarter?

For anyone new to ordering meat in bulk it can be intimidating and confusing!  I am going to lay out for you what you can expect to find in your quarter of beef.

When ordering a quarter or side you have the power to choose! You are limited by the cuts and quantities that exist on the animal, but you can choose what cuts you want as steaks, roasts, ground beef or other cuts and how large you would like those cuts.  For example you can get your round as roasts, steaks, stew meat or ground into 1, 1 1/2, or 2# packages.  You can have your T-bone and Porterhouse steaks cut to your desired thickness (but you cant have the whole quarter in T-bones...sorry)!

For a list of the questions you can expect from the butcher when placing your cutting order click here. We also have a chart to show you where the different cuts come from on the animal.

Here are some beef cuts you might find in your quarter or sampler box

We recently ordered a quarter that had a 215# hanging weight the contents of the quarter were:

• 40# of Hamburger
• 3# of Ground Beef Patties
• 4 Sirloin Steaks
• 6 Chuck Roasts
• 4 Porterhouse Steaks
• 6 T-bone Steaks
• 9 Ribeye Steaks
• 4 Sirloin Tip Steaks
• 1 Round Roast
• 1 Arm Roast
• 1 Rolled Rump Roast
• 1 package of Beef Short Ribs
• 2 packages of Stew Meat
• 2 packages of All Beef Skinless Wieners
• soup bones & liver

The size of your quarter will vary based on the size of the animal.  This is a relatively large quarter. 

I hope this helps take the mystery out of ordering beef for your family!  

Have a great day! 

Jen

November Newsletter

All Around the Farm:

As I mulched strawberries with one of the girls yesterday I realized just how blessed and thankful I am.  Yes, it's Thanksgiving, and this is the time where we share what we are grateful for.  I am grateful for many things, but none of our farming dreams would be a reality right now if it were not for customers like you that buy the sustainable products that we raise and thereby sustaining our family.  What a win-win! Thank you for your business and we are grateful to call many of you friends. Harvest time is always a very exciting time!  It is so satisfying to reap the fruits of not only our spring & summer labor, but also our winter planning, budgeting, learning and dreaming. As much as I love seeing the new life emerge in the spring, it is fulfilling to see the crops and many of the animals finish the season.  We are looking forward to the slightly slower pace of winter planning, although along with the cold comes frozen fingers at chore time!

Kissing a goat through the front door window.

Pedro our new donkey! He protects the calves in the pasture from predators.

Bryce putting the turkeys "to bed" in their pasture pen. They are now in the freezer;)

Beef Availability:

We have sampler boxes and custom orders available for early December deliveries/pick up. If you need meat for your holiday parties, now is the time! Please let me know ASAP if you would like to claim one of these quarters.  If you are looking for a box or custom order please let me know by December 7th, but depending on demand our inventories may get low again, so the sooner you can order your Christmas party beef the better. 

Place your order now for early January pick up or delivery.  At this time we have sides, quarters, samplers and custom orders available for January.  Based on the size of our steers right now it looks like we will have limited availability until early spring. If you will need some quality beef before March/April think about placing an order for our December or January deliveries. 

Enjoy a Couple of our Favorite Holiday Recipes:

Swedish Meatballs (Kottbullar):

OK, so this family has strong Norwegian ties not Swedish...sorry!...but, we are gluten free these days and have found some recipes to be even better than the original gluten filled versions.  This is a great party appetizer (I double this recipe and make the meatballs fairly small) just put some cute party toothpick next to the dish and everyone is happy!

Christmas Prime Rib Roast:

I'm not classy enough (nor am I French) to have known what Herbes De Provence was, so here's the recipe for that as well!

• Your cooking times will vary depending on the size of your prime rib roast. To calculate your cooking time, multiply the exact weight of the roast by 5. Round the resulting number to the nearest whole number. The rib is cooked at 500 degrees F for exactly that many minutes. For example, for a 6 pound roast: 6x5=30, so cooking time is 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and wait 2 hours before opening the oven door. Remove the prime rib and slice into the most perfectly medium-rare meat you've ever seen. ~tip taken from Chef John at the Food Wishes Blog

Rib Eye Steak with Sun-Dried Tomato:

Make a marinade of:

1 Cup Olive Oil

Juice from 1 lemon

1 T dried basil

1 T dried oregano

ground pepper and salt to taste

Marinade 4 large rib eye steaks and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Cook steaks:

Pre-heat skillet (I love to use an iron skillet) with a generous bit of olive oil

Cook steaks for 5-9 minutes each side depending on size of steaks and your preference.  I always have a meat thermometer available to make sure meat is at least 140 f.

Top steaks:

Mix a topping of 1 jar sun dried tomato in olive oil, 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, add 1/2 cup green olives if you enjoy them. 

Don't stop enjoying steak just because grilling season is over...get out a skillet and treat your family to a great steak dinner!

Thanksgiving wishes from our family to yours!

Jen & Bryce and kids

Kissing Goats

Someone once said "If you throw a bucket of water at a fence and the water gets through so will a goat."  I believe it! We have had Misty and Princess pretty well contained with the cattle...after all, they think they are cows now.  When the guys sort cattle though our little goat friends turn into opportunists and sneak out to their favorite spot on the farm...our porch!  I just thought this picture was to cute not to share!

50th Anniversary of the 1963 Corn Picking Contest!

Without a doubt the largest event to ever take place on our farm was the 1963 National Corn Picking Contest.  

Tent City in what is now the hay field across from our house.  I wonder if this shot was taken from the rooftop of the house. Agriculture vendors came from all over the Nation to show off their new farm technologies!

Farmers, vendors and the general public descended on this very plot of land on October 23-24th.  The state champion corn pickers from around the U.S. fired up their pickers and tried to become the National Champ by picking their corn more efficiently than the other competitors.  It was serious competition, trust me, I've seen the grainy video!  The winner....Arlyn Zee...Bryces dad's good friend who happens to live and farm only about 5 miles away! Arlyn still has his championship picker displayed in his farmyard.

The North Field where the competition took place.  This is just behind our house and farm buildings where our current corn field is.  The shed in the forground was built for the building company to show off their sheds.  Willis only had to pay for materials.

Bryces Grandparents, Willis and Lenora Riemer and their dog, Boots.  We live in their farm house in Decatur Township on Riemer Road.

We are so proud to be continuing the deep family tradition of farming on this land.  This land and home are such a blessing to our family.  We are so grateful for the legacy that has been laid out before us! We hope to live up to the Riemer family tradition of raising high quality and sustainable farm products!

Thank you to the Brodhead Historical Society for posting these pictures on their site.  Thanks also to our friend Peg from Sandhill Family Farms for turning us on to these archives on the web!

It's Fajita Night!

Our families favorite default meals tend to be Mexican foods...rather Americanized Mexican foods.  After about a year of marriage Bryce asked me if I could make anything that did not go in a tortilla?  To which I answered yes...you can put most of these dishes on tortilla chips too :)

It's tomato, pepper and onion season!  To me it's fajita and pico de gallo season!

Jens Fajitas

1 # Fajita beef
Fajita seasoning or cumin and chilli powder to taste
1 green peper
1 red or orange pepper
1 red onion
lots of firm tomatoes.  I used grape tomatoes in this dish
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
tortillas (we use corn)

1. Brown the fajita beef in a heavy skillet.  I add some fajita seasoning or cumin & chilli powder right to the meat as it browns.
2. Chop up all the veggies to desired size and add to meat when it is browned..
3. When veggies are just about cooked through add chopped cilantro.
4. Serve on warm tortillas.
5. Eat too many and rub your belly when done!