—
—
You qualify for home delivery!
Pantry
There is only one reason soy is in animal feed - it’s cheap!!!
Soy is government subsidized. About 70% of the cost of soy is paid by the government, which warps the actual cost of soy.
On top of that, the soy in animal feed is a byproduct. Most soy is grown to be made into soybean oil. What’s left is the soy fiber, which is toasted (to make it “digestible”) and added to feed.
Feeding animals soy leads to a plethora of negative health consequences.
Fed with soy is bad for the animals, the soil, the environment, and the humans that consume food produced with soy. It’s a lot to write about. If you’re curious, you can read more about the benefits of feeding chickens a soy-free feed here.
For a small farmer, this is a tough place to be. Produce more expensive healthy food or more affordable less healthy food? You can’t do both.
Farmer Aaron wants the healthiest animals that will produce a bounty of naturally healthy food for his customers and naturally healthy soil for the earth. That’s his purpose.
But… that means that his quality food and land is more expensive and not accessible to all. That is a sad thing.
Let’s think about this in a different way. Soy-free food is more expensive right now but will likely save you lots of money in the long run.
Eating a naturally healthy diet makes you healthier. We have personally heard anecdotal stores from so many of our customers!
And, this means less healthcare costs in the future! And wouldn’t that be great? It seems that the cost of healthcare keeps going up and up. People are getting sicker and sicker, becoming more and more dependent on the medical monolith. Let’s turn it around with real food.
All of Miller’s Bio Farm’s products come from animals fed a soy-free diet (with the exception of the “regular eggs” offered from time to time).
Right now, we have a LOT of soy-free eggs, which means that farmer Aaron can offer a super deal for a limited time.
Buy a 15 dozen soy-free egg bundle and save about 20% on soy-free eggs!
I know what you’re thinking - that’s a lot of eggs!!! Here’s a few tips for handling an enormous amount of eggs.
1 - The “sell buy” date for eggs is set at 6 weeks past the pack date. That is what the USDA requires. However, when refrigerated, eggs should easily last about 4 weeks past their “sell buy” date.
2 - Deals like this are worth shouting out to your like minded community. Buy 15 dozen and split it with a couple friends.
3 - You can freeze eggs! Crack them, stir them up, and freeze in portions. They will last up to a year with no degradation in the freezer.
Enjoy the food, and enjoy the eggs!
The other day, I read a great opinion piece about how the stress of the pandemic is different from any other stress we may encounter.
It explained how we have a certain “surge capacity” for dealing with disaster. Humans adapt mentally and physically after difficult situations like natural disasters, life changing medical diagnoses, or other traumatic experiences. We are able to cope pretty well with these short term stresses, even if the recovery period may be long or unknown.
But… the pandemic is different. We don’t know when it will end, how it will end, what measures will be put in place next. It’s like having an earthquake and the tremors just keep going... FOREVER. Our body is NOT designed to deal with this. It is stressful.
I chatted with farmer Aaron about this. The next day, I got an uplifting fax from him with some fantastic remedies for overcoming bad days.
(View image to print and hang on your fridge)
When I asked Aaron how he tackles a bad day, he said “Well, I don’t know, because I don’t really have bad days. Within a bad day, you can have a good day.”
Here’s an example. A new family moved on the farm last week (they are going to help with farm chores). Before their arrival, Aaron and his family sacrificed many hours of sleep, scrambling to prepare the house for their arrival. They had many repairs and lots of cleaning to do.
Running out of time, they hired a painter to help, and he did an awful job. He not only painted the walls but also the windows and the floors! Oh no!
Aaron and his wife Rebecca called the girls that work on the farm, their parents, and their brothers and sisters. They asked for help on Friday afternoon. It turned into a community effort and pulled everyone together in a fun work party.
Somehow, someway, they scrubbed that paint… and that negativity... away. They chose to see the positive in a difficult situation. Without even thinking about it, Aaron used many tips from the sheet he shared with me.
He looked for the positive in the situation. He told people they are appreciated. He dealt with conflict by attacking the problem, not the person. He solved the problem, and moved on. And, he made work fun!
OK OK OK I know this is an example of normal “surge capacity”. But, I think what’s remarkable is that farmer Aaron didn’t need to think about it. Positivity is a life practice for him.
The same goes for the farm staff. The farm staff sing while they pack your orders. Lena, the on farm manager, aims to make work fun. She rotates jobs so no one gets bored. They spend a good amount of time laughing every day.
I’m not there yet. I have work to do. I have the “Ways to Tackle a Bad Day” sheet hanging on my fridge as a daily reminder. And, I will use these strategies to deal with the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic.
How are you dealing with stress? How are you incorporating positivity into your life? Anything new you’d like to try?
You’ve likely heard the sayings “turn lemons into lemonade” and “don’t cry over spilled milk”. But what do you do with too much milk or sour milk? There certainly should be a saying about that.
If you accidentally over-purchase milk or your raw milk sours faster than you can drink it, please don’t dump that wonderful liquid down the drain. The ladies on the farm worked so hard to produce it.
I have a solution for you - “Ricotta get going!” Turn your extra milk into ricotta cheese!
Ricotta cheese is a soft semi-sweet cheese. There are many delicious possibilities. You can eat it with a spoon like yogurt, make a sweet or savory dip, use it as a filling for lasagna or to make a cheesecake or cannolis.
Ricotta is really easy to make. In fact, traditional cultures have been making it for 4,000 years! It’s traditionally made using whey, but you can also make it with whole milk or soured raw milk.
Ricotta literally means “recooked”. That’s because you heat fermented milk to make it. The heating process (with a little acid to help) turns the protein into curd. Then, you strain it for a few minutes.
Want to give it a try? It’s a great activity to do as a cheap date or as a fun and meaningful educational activity with your kids. Check out this recipe:
Miller’s Bio Farm is a zero waste facility.
We make most things to order. Extra milk is made into cheese, butter, and ghee. And, any food that is too old to sell is fed to the animals or composted. Nothing gets thrown in the trash!
Please join us in reducing food waste at home! Ricotta get going!
Farmer Aaron and his family needed help. Completing all the farm chores, running a business, holding down a household, and being active with their church and community was getting to be too much to handle with sporadic help here and there.
The Miller’s needed some relief. They needed some freedom. They needed some more sleep.
So, farmer Aaron put an ad in the Busy Beaver (a local Amish newspaper) a few months ago looking for full-time farm help. He got a big response with about 10 people from his local Amish community interested! After a hefty interview process, Aaron hired Daniel to help on the farm.
Daniel, his wife Rebecca, and their four young children moved into one half of the farmer’s house a few weeks ago. Welcome to the farm Daniel and family!
Daniel previously worked in construction. Then, his family got into farming. They worked a conventional farm for about 2 years, but he soon got tired of it and quit.
Conventional farming didn’t work financially, and he realized that the chemicals weren’t good. Daniel started reading lots of farming and grazing magazines, and his eyes were opened to the world of natural and regenerative farming. When he saw Aaron’s ad, he knew he had to go for it.
Daniel has been training with Aaron for a couple months now.
His main responsibilities are moving and feeding the cows, milking the cows, seeding and making hay, taking care of the pigs, and record keeping. He also helps a bit with the chickens and turkeys.
At Miller’s Bio Farm, it’s all about the details. This is why training and double checking is really important.
Are the cows moved to the right place? Is the right amount of feed being given to the pigs? Is the hay harvested at the right time? Is the equipment spotlessly clean?
The first three are pretty easy to monitor. But that last one needs some precise measuring.
Luckily, Miller’s has a pretty easy way to tell if Daniel and his family are cleaning the equipment properly - on farm testing! Every batch of milk is tested on the farm. If there’s ever a high reading… well, Aaron knows he needs to quickly diagnose the issue and provide guidance in solving the problem.
The Miller’s team is so happy to have Daniel, Rebecca, and family on board. As the team grows, so does our ability to inspire healthy generations.
Of course, I relay all feedback to farmer Aaron. So, he started looking into it. We went down a rabbit hole of knowledge on this one. It turns out, there’s good reasons we use beef rennet.
To make cheese, you add culture to milk and let it ferment. Then, you add rennet, which separates the milk into curds and whey. Then you press the curds and age them. Voila cheese!
Sure, you can also use vinegar or citric acid to separate the milk for fresh cheeses like paneer, ricotta, or even mozzarella. But, for an aged cheese, you need to use rennet.
I called Ephraim at Alpine Heritage Creamery, our cheesemaker (you can read more about them here). I asked him why he doesn’t use vegetable rennet.
Alpine Heritage Creamery follows traditional cheesemaking techniques that have been used for 10-20 generations.
This really got me thinking. He had a lot of great info about different types of rennet but wasn’t sure about the nitty gritty details. He referred me to his rennet distributor, Dairy Connection. Of course, I gave them a call! Here’s what I found out from the technician.
Chymosin is an enzyme that coagulates (or curdles) the casein (or protein) in milk. The best chymosin comes from calf gullet (the pre-stomach).
There are three main types of rennet and how they’re made:
Veal/calf rennet: Made by grinding calf gullet and mixing it with salt. The powder is put in a solution that extracts the chymosin. It’s a liquid rennet, and this is what the cheesemaker uses.
You only need a little bit. Ephraim said he uses 60ml of rennet per 1,000 pounds of milk. That’s 1.93ml per 1 gallon of milk.
Using calf gullet makes sense in a strange way, as calves are a byproduct of the dairy industry.
The calf gullets used in our rennet are sourced from milk-fed veal calves mainly from New Zealand and Australia. I’m not fond of the veal industry; this is an ugly truth.
Fermentation-produced chymosin: It’s a genetically modified organism! They splice genes in a mold to produce chymosin.
The lab tech I spoke with wasn’t sure how they can make the claim that it’s GMO-free, but somehow the rennet and cheese companies make that happen.
Fermentation-produced chymosin is the most popular rennet for “certified organic” and “certified vegetarian” cheeses. It makes a good product.
Microbial rennet: Made when Rhizomucor miehei mold grows on a nutrient base that’s primarily soy. Yes, that’s right, soy. And, that means that the nutrient base is most likely GMO!
Mold rennet is also used in “certified organic” and “certified vegetarian” cheeses. However, it’s not the best. It tends to produce undesirable bitter flavors. It also does not age very well.
You can use squares of dried salted calf stomach, which has been done for thousands of years. You can use thistle, which is traditionally used for specific cheese in Spain and Portugal and is really expensive. You can also make soft cheeses from wild rennet from plants like sorrel, cardoon, artichoke, and fig.
However, these rennets are typically used for making cheese at home. They would not produce a cheese that’s consistent, tastes good, and holds up well. Most farmers and cheesemakers would not want to dabble with them, as they’d end up with a lot of waste and unhappy customers.
In fact, I asked Ephraim if he would use straight up calf stomach from farmer Aaron’s farm. He said that they’ve considered it. But, it would not be consistent. The rennet would vary in strength based on the season, the calf, the age of the rennet, and so many other factors.
Food is too complicated these days. I’m happy that there are still small farms like Miller’s Bio Farm that are willing to wade through the muck, constantly learn more, and make educated choices.
It seems that we are trying to measure and track a lot of things these days. Whether the data is actually valuable or useful or accurate is another story.
There is one tool that I use regularly in my kitchen, and it is data that is certainly useful and reliable.
This is a shout out to my meat thermometer. Thank you for all you do to cook delicious meals for my family!
I made a London broil on the grill this week. It’s a more affordable cut that, when cooked properly, is absolutely the best.
I seasoned it simply, with a generous amount of salt and pepper just before putting it on a preheated grill (you can read more about the importance of salt timing here). I cooked it for about 5-8 minutes per side until my handy meat thermometer read 138F, then let it rest for 10 minutes.
The result was a juicy, tender, absolutely delectable meat cooked “medium”. The inside had a thick band of light pink. The sides had a rich brown color. And the top and bottom were charred and crispy.
The entire London broil was gobbled up by my family of five. Thank you meat thermometer!
For cooking beef, a meat thermometer helps with doneness, whether you like it rare, medium, or well.
For cooking poultry or pork, it helps you cook it until just done. This means you won’t have the utter disappointment of serving uncooked inedible unsafe meat. And, you also won’t overcook it, having the tough realization that you’ve prepared a tough meal. Instead, you will have juicy, just right meat.
Sure, you can also test for doneness by feeling the “squishiness” of the meat or “just knowing”. But this can take a lot of practice. And some people (maybe myself included) cannot develop this “second sense”. Why not objectify the process with a simple meat thermometer?
Using a meat thermometer is really easy. Here are some basic tips:
A meat thermometer is small and inexpensive and easy to use, and I believe that every kitchen should have this tool. If you love delicious and perfectly cooked meat, make use of a meat thermometer!
Don't waste - eat the whole beast. Plus, the organs are packed with major nutritional value!
Here's the status of bones and organs as of today.
A customer asked a question about what organ meats we offer (check out a complete list with the status here). I take all customer questions seriously and do my absolute best to answer honestly and accurately. This particular question led me down a rabbit hole and to a fascinating and timely revelation.
I called the meat processor. I asked what organ meats they could butcher for our customers. They needed to do some research themselves!
You see, the USDA heavily regulates the meat industry to protect public health and safety. Here are the absolute basics of how it works.
A processor typically hires a consultant (yea, it’s that specific and detailed) to create a HACCP plan. The HACCP plan contains all the steps a processor takes when killing and butchering animals.
The USDA then approves or denies the plan. If approved, they inspect the facility. A processor is “certified USDA” when they operate using an approved HACCP plan in a USDA inspected facility.
All of our meat is “certified USDA”.
There are certain parts of an animal that are not permitted for sale at all under USDA regulations.
For example, the thyroid from a cow is never allowed for sale. And, any other organ or part connected to the spine (brain, adrenals, spleen, T-bone steak, etc) can only be processed if the cow is younger than 30 months (which is the case for nearly all of our cows).
Why is this? Mad Cow Disease!!!
Mad Cow Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease thought to be caused by cows eating a specific protein. In rare cases, when a human eats nerve tissue from an infected cow, the human variant of the disease is transferred to them, even if the meat is cooked. If a human does get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), it is fatal.
The Mad Cow Disease epidemic hit its peak in Britain in 1993. Since there is no cure, over four million cows were slaughtered to prevent the spread of disease. Wow!
The epidemic stirred up fear internationally. Meat prices went up incredibly, and many people stopped eating hamburgers.
Because of this outbreak, the USDA (and the WHO) enacted many regulations regarding screening, testing, and disposal of infected animals. And those rules exist to this day.
Here’s the kicker. Only six cows in the United States have been found to have Mad Cow Disease. Six! The first was in 2003, and the last was in 2018. And, in that time period, about 663 million cows have been processed.
So, tell me this. Is this level of caution appropriate? Of course, no food producer wants its customers to get sick. But, is this overly cautious, especially since the risk is close to none but the benefits of eating organ meats are many?
In New Jersey, there is a law prohibiting slurping. That’s right, slurping the last bit of a smoothie through a straw is illegal. Why? Because 150 years ago, slurping startled horses and that was dangerous in cities. This law is undoubtedly outdated (and also unenforced). But still. Let’s get with the times!
How long should we live with a specific fear? A few months, a few years, a few generations? How long will it take society to leave behind the fear of COVID, and how long will these new rules live with us?
Of course, there are no direct answers to these questions… only debate. And today’s profit-driven media only makes things more complicated.
What I think is that with life comes risk. We cannot avoid fear. We cannot avoid suffering. It is as essential as love and happiness.
As with all emotions, we take it as it comes and let it go when it passes.
Just like the USDA requires expiration dates on food, I think the government should require expiration dates on laws. It would force our representatives to reassess what freedom, equality, and justice means as the world changes and we grow as a society.
Miller’s Bio Farm is fearless in its food production. We are constantly learning and questioning the status quo. Every week we share our journey with you, both the good and the bad. We are constantly forging a new (and I hope better) path forward.
As you probably know, almost all of our weekly news stories are inspired by our awesome customers. I’ve been getting a lot more questions than normal lately. They’re on a variety of topics but all have an underlying theme - trust.
Some examples - How can we be sure your milk is A2? How do we know you do not give your cows hormones? How can I be certain that your animals are treated humanely? Are you sure there’s no soy in your feed? It didn’t say “sourdough” on the bread label, is it really sourdough?
You get the point. Our customers want to know that what we say about our products is true!
Miller’s Bio Farm prides itself in transparency. I mean, can’t you tell? We send out lengthy posts about what we do every week.
Do you want quality info on the website? We try our best to keep the website up to date and continuously add more info.
Do you want reviews? We have that! Check out our Google reviews (oh and if you haven’t left one already, we’d love your personal and honest feedback).
Do you want excellent customer service? We have that, too! You can email any questions to hello@millersbiofarm.com, and I’ll reply. I try to reply ASAP but definitely within 24 hours. Consider me your farm liaison. I speak with the farmer nearly every day. And I visit the farm multiple times per year. And, I’ve been buying Miller’s food for my family for 8 years, way before I became an employee.
But, I get it. Especially in our current world, it can be so hard to trust information. How can we know what’s true and what’s “fake news”?
Add this to the fact that, as a society, we’ve become so very disconnected from our food. According to recent polls, about only 27% of Americans cook every day and 35% of households grow food at home or in a community garden.
Really, the only way to 100% be certain about how your food was produced is to grow it and cook it yourself. Not so easy these days considering busy work/school schedules and lack of garden space (especially me on my 0.15 acres in the woods).
What else can Miller’s Bio Farm do? How can we be more transparent?
Do you want food labels? Labels like “certified organic” and “fair trade” and “GMO free” and “certified humane” can make you feel safe and supported. But, if you’re reading this, you likely know that the labels can be misleading. Miller’s Bio Farm is not certified in anything. Farmer Aaron feels that it’s a waste of time and resources. You can read a bit more about that here.
Do you want photos and videos of the farmer and his family? Or how about social media? I’m sorry, farmer Aaron does not do this. He is Amish and does not participate in things that promote an individual’s vanity. At first, I was shocked and disappointed by this. But now, I have a profound appreciation for these convictions (anyone watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix?).
Do you want to visit the farm or meet the farmer? Usually we host at least two events a year where this is possible. This year all events were unfortunately cancelled due to… you guessed it... the pandemic. Also, we know that not all customers live close enough to make attending an event on or near the farm possible.
That being said, if you do live close enough, you are welcome to schedule a short and private farm tour with farmer Aaron. If you live far away, you are also welcome to speak with farmer Aaron on the phone. To do either of these, leave a message at 717.786.7895 ext 0. The farmer is usually good about calling back quickly.
What else can we do? What can we do to help you feel secure in your food sources? Videos or info sheets on certain topics? Signed affidavits from all farmers we source from? More info about our local vendors? Is there particular information that’s lacking from the website? Any ideas?
We want to hear from you!
It seems that there’s a lot of confusion and even misinformation out there about A2 milk. I’m hoping to bring some light to the topic. How can you be absolutely certain the milk is 100% A2?
It’s NOT the breed of the cow. It’s NOT the fat content. It’s NOT whether it’s raw or homogenized. It’s NOT the nutritional content. It’s NOT what the cow is fed. It’s NOT how a cow lives.
The “A2” in A2 milk refers to the type of beta-casein protein in the milk.
It’s that simple, and it’s absolutely objective. It’s not like Grade A and Grade B maple syrup, which is certainly subjective.
The only way to tell if a cow produces 100% A2 milk is via a genetic test.
It’s a simple test done with a hair sample from a cow’s tail. You send it to a lab, and they send back the results. The test result tells you if the cow produces 100% A1, A1/A2, or 100% A2 milk. See some examples of what the test results look like below.
It’s black and white. There is no wiggle room.
The farmer tests every cow to determine what type of milk it produces. Only cows that produce 100% A2 milk are in the milking herd.
You might be asking, why do cows produce different types of protein? And, why would I want to drink A2 milk? Those are great questions!
You see, all other mammals - humans, goats, sheep, buffalo, whales, bears, pigs, platypuses, etc - produce 100% A2 milk. But...
A few thousand years ago in Europe, cows underwent a genetic mutation. This mutation made them produce a new type of beta-casein protein - A1.
Genetic mutations generally happen under stress. Perhaps it was a switch to an unnatural feed (like leftover brewer’s grain) or a change in environment (cows living indoors or in cities) that prompted the mutation. We know a mutation happened but we may never know why.
Those European cows made their way to the United States. Now, basically all American milk is A1/A2 milk. On the other side of the world in Asia, cows were unaffected.
I’ve heard many stories about people from India or China coming to the United States and developing chronic digestive issues. When they switch to A2 milk, the problems go away.
Similarly, I’ve heard stories of children’s behavior improving when they switch to A2 milk. Farmer Aaron himself had this experience. When his fourth child Hannah was a baby, she had terrible colic and had issues breastfeeding. Aaron’s wife Rebecca made her formula. When she switched to A2 milk in the formula, Hannah was much happier. This is what inspired him to produce 100% A2 milk for others!
It seems that some people are intolerant to A1 beta-casein protein. It seems that 100% A2 milk may be more digestible.
To be clear, this does not have to do with lactose intolerance. Lactose is milk sugar. It has to do with A1 protein intolerance. It seems that some bodies cannot digest it properly.
More research certainly needs to be done on the A1/A2 milk debate. I want to know more! For example, I’ve read that the A1 beta-casein protein may only be a problem when the milk is pasteurized…?
If you’d like to learn more about A2 milk, I suggest reading the book The Devil in the Milk.
Miller’s Bio Farm is proud to produce 100% A2 cow milk. We are also proud to be certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for raw milk production.
It’s less than a month until Thanksgiving, and that means it’s time to start sending our turkeys to the processor!
Here are some quick notes about our turkeys:
In case you didn’t know, Miller’s Bio Farm is a zero food waste facility. I didn’t realize the extent to this conviction until I visited the farm last week.
My family ate dinner with the farmer’s family, and I was helping clear the table. There were maybe 5 beans left in a pot, so I asked the farmer’s wife Rebecca if I should put it in the compost. She said “Oh I’ll save it and put it in some soup.” She put the 5 little beans in a tiny container in the fridge.
This level of zero food waste astounded me. I had always considered composting food as not wasting it. This is not so in the farmer’s Amish community. They are taught as little kids not to waste food.
It actually relates to their Christian religion. According to the Bible (which the Amish read in High German), food is wasted by the foolish.
At the farmer’s table, each child serves themself. They are expected to eat ALL of their food. And, by all of their food, I mean scraping their plates nearly clean.
On the farm, no food is ever wasted. Extra food is shared with family and friends. Skim milk and curdled milk are fed to the pigs. Any meat that’s too old to sell is fed to the dogs. Extra produce is canned or fermented. They do have a compost pile for food scraps from cooking, but it’s small.
Oh how I wish all of America would catch onto this. America may not be a leader in many regards, but it certainly is a leader in food waste! Here are some stats:
While 37 million people in the US are suffering from food insecurity, why are we wasting food!?!? It’s a combination of culture and our failing mainstream food system.
Culturally, many Americans are confused by “best buy” and “sell by” labels and throw away perfectly good food. Americans may tend to be impulsive with food buying and only pick “the best” looking produce or meat. And, since many foods are so darn cheap, it makes food seem disposable.
Our food system itself is not set up for zero food waste. Have you ever checked out a dumpster at a supermarket or school or restaurant? And what happens on a producer level if there is oversupply?
Sure, we can legislate the heck out of this. But, I really think the change needs to come through education and personal action.
Check with your food sources and find out more about their food waste practices. Avoiding the supermarket and buying direct from farms is always a good step in reducing food waste.
Check your personal practices at home (I know I am!). Some ideas - find ways to creatively use leftovers, get better at sizing portions, meal plan so you don’t overbuy, and preserve food by canning, freezing, and fermenting. If you have more ideas, I want to hear them!
At least one thing’s for sure. If you buy food from Miller’s Bio Farm, you can be assured you are supporting a zero food waste facility.
Miller’s Bio Farm is so proud to produce the highest quality foods. We know our beef is awesome. Here are 5 reasons why Miller’s beef is the best.
1- 100% grass fed and finished beef has fabulous color and flavor.
You know beef is fed 100% grass when it has a yellow fat and a nutty flavor. Yes, it has taste and texture, especially when compared to conventional beef. Once you go grass fed, you can't go back. Read more about the unique color and flavor of grass-fed beef here.
2- When raised properly on regenerated soil, beef is packed with nutrients.
Beta-carotene is a natural form of vitamin A that's abundant in grass and stored in the fat of animals that eat grass. When cows are 100% grass fed, the fat is yellow because of the beta-carotene. And, when the grass is grown on regenerated soil, the beef is also loaded with Omega-3s, CLA, TVA, saturated fat, carotenoids, and trace minerals. It's a nutrient-dense and nourishing food.
3- Raising truly pastured 100% grass-fed beef improves the soil and the environment.
All that manure makes for excellent and biodiverse pastures that need little input. The soil at Miller’s Bio Farm gets better and better every year. Healthy soil plays a key role in adapting to climate change and in the carbon cycle. You might be asking - What about CO2? What about methane? What about water consumption? If you raise beef conventionally these are big problems. Read more about how beef farmers can save the world here.
4- Our beef is processed at small and old timey USDA processors.
Our beef is processed at two small and local processors. They treat animals humanely and work with us to maintain the integrity of our naturally raised animals. Get the inside scoop on one of our meat processors here.
5- Our beef is frozen when fresh.
This gives you the freshest, safest, highest quality meat a small farm can provide. It also limits waste and lets you save big on bundle deals by stocking your freezer. Find out more about why you want frozen meat here.
-----
PS: Sometimes it can be hard to choose what to buy. Here are tips ---
Need a meal plan for this week?
Ooh I have so many ideas!!! A simple pot roast, hamburgers, spaghetti and meatballs, beef sausage and peppers, bologna sandwiches, steaks on the grill, braised beef short ribs, and soup with beef broth.
Going on an outing?
Beef stix and beef jerky are awesome snacks on the go. I bring them on every hike!
Have room in your freezer?
Stock up and save with some of our great beef bundle deals.
Because we care about the health and well being of the next generation, sustainable packaging has been on Miller’s radar for years. Honestly, we would have made the jump already... if it wasn’t such a challenge.
--- Most conventional packing materials for perishable items are simply awful for the environment.
Styrofoam box liners, ice packs filled with chemicals and wrapped in plastic, plastic bubble wrap, and plastic tape. That’s today’s standard. The cardboard box may be the only thing that’s ok.
These materials are used because they’re cheap to produce and perform well. But this comes with a cost for the environment.
Styrofoam and plastic take 500 - 1,000 years to decompose in landfills. And, scientists still aren’t sure if it actually can fully decompose. Research shows that it may just break down into smaller and smaller particles until it all becomes micro-plastic, which will spread over the entire earth - in our water, in our soil, and in our bodies. We don't fully understand how microplastics will affect us yet. Only time will tell.
Beyond the issues of decomposition, many awful chemicals are used to make conventional plastic and styrofoam and ice packs, and, one way or another, those also get into our water supply and our soil and our bodies. This issue hits close to home, as my well water is contaminated with PFAS.
---- Although limited and sometimes expensive, there are a number of new plant-based, biodegradable, and non-toxic packaging options.
Cardboard and paper decompose in 4-6 weeks. We will continue to use cardboard boxes and paper cushioning. Cardboard rolls will replace the bubble wrap. And, an uncoated and unbleached paper tape with natural rubber adhesive will replace the plastic packing tape.
The box liners used for UPS shipping are made from recycled denim, which takes about 5 months to decompose. We love that the material is recycled. The bad side is that it’s made from conventional cotton clothes, which are most likely made with chemicals. Although they are compostable, we do not recommend using the compost on edible or medicinal plants.
Plastic bags were tough. We needed to find something waterproof and durable. We found compostable bags made from plant starch that are nontoxic and, even though flexible, are strong and work! Yup, you can put them in your home compost. We will be replacing all plastic bags with these.
The ice packs are the best we can find and the only thing holding us back from being 100% compostable. The gooey inside is nontoxic and safe for food. To dispose, you cut them open and pour the contents safely down the drain (whether municipal wastewater or home septic systems). Then, the thin plastic that remains can be recycled where #4 plastics are accepted.
---- Farmer Aaron’s goal is to be fully using sustainable packaging materials in 2021. However, this doesn’t come without challenges.
Because these products are NEW, finding suppliers and cost are the biggest hurdles. Even if you find a company that sells the product you want, their warehouses may be so far away that the price of delivery makes the cost exorbitant. And, because of the newness, there is limited supply. Aaron will do his best to order ahead.
The farm staff do their best to test materials on the farm before using them on your orders, but really only time and real life experience will show how these new materials will perform. Please please please, if you have an issue with how your order was packed or received, let us know! We rely on that feedback to improve what we do.
---- Please please please, if you love the planet and want sustainable packaging, let the farm know with a short message explaining why you want it. All the farm staff would love some motivation while making these big changes.
At this time of year, spend some time reflecting on what we are thankful for.
Here's a special note from the farmer and his family...
This address must match the selected delivery ZIP.
Select when this item should be added.
Select which order should receive this item.
A2/A2 Dairy
Meat & Seafood
