Reflections on a burn pile, New Victory Cheese Box, Farm & Market Offerings
Farm News In the long (even not so long) life of a farm, change is inevitable. Your first design for no-waste hay feeders slowly became...
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PRAIRIE FRUITS FARM & CREAMERY
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Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jul 31, 20205 min read
A wetter world? New Victory Cheese Box, Farm & Market Offerings
Farm News The signs of climate change are soaking our clothes this year. According to our state climatologist, central Illinois has...
261 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jul 24, 20205 min read
A world apart, Market & Farm Offerings
Farm News My days are tightly programed. From the moment I open my eyes in the early morning to the time I drag myself to bed, my...
349 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jul 17, 20204 min read
The short migration, raw milk sales, market & farm offerings
Farm News Once kidding season is underway and milking resumes, our breeding bucks are shifted to a “bachelor pad” paddock somewhere far...
349 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jul 9, 20204 min read
Choose your farm steam bath, market offerings, farm open house
Farm News July. When you open the door in the early morning, and you’re hit by a wall of humidity. July. When the windmill comes to a...
324 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jul 1, 20204 min read
Dependence on Independence Day, Holiday Market Offerings and Farm Open House Details
Farm News A few years ago, I celebrated Independence Day by reflecting on our dependence as a small farm. Despite the independent nature...
263 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jun 26, 20205 min read
The making of a silvopasture, Market Offerings and Farm Open Hours
Farm News A hair-brained dream, nearly 30 years in the making, is literally taking root on our farm. As a young, wide-eyed doctoral...
560 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jun 19, 20204 min read
On to Cheese Victory, Market Offerings and Father's Day Farm Open House
Farm News Amidst the flurry of overdue outdoor farm projects, this week was all about packing boxes; “Victory Cheese” boxes filled with...
250 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jun 12, 20204 min read
The theme of busy, Market Offerings and More
Farm News The operative word of the week, from dairy to creamery to fields and back, was “busy.” As the remnants of a hurricane pushed...
343 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Jun 4, 20203 min read
Making progress, Market Offerings
Farm News Little by little, we’re checking off the long list of tasks lingering from the spring. The soil was dry enough for Wes to plant...
354 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
May 28, 20204 min read
Abruptly transitioning to summer
Farm News This is the spring of abrupt transitions. From cold and raw one week, to hot & steamy with a dose of frequent thunder storms...
377 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
May 21, 20204 min read
Operation "chef to cheeserie," market offerings and meal kit deliveries
Farm News One of the tentacles of the corona virus hydra of unintended consequences is a shortage of labor for our farm, especially in...
558 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
May 14, 20202 min read
Farmer Weather Woes, Market and Online Store Offerings
Farm News Beneath the tall very green grasses, the soil is soggy under foot. So goes another spring of too much rain and little time for...
437 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
May 7, 20203 min read
beginnings and endings, a fluid stream
Farm News The last pregnant doe kidded this morning. After one week of anticipating her delivery (she was due May 1st), Diamond delivered...
599 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
May 1, 20205 min read
There by the grace...Farmers' Market Season Starts, Mother's Day Offerings
Farm News- A dose of brutal honesty On the eve of the first farmers’ market of the season, all is NOT normal. The degree of restrictions...
1,113 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Apr 24, 20203 min read
Annual Earth Day Reflections of A Goat Dairy Farmer
Farm News This week marked the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. As goat farmers and cheese makers, we mark the occasion, not because it...
367 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Apr 16, 20205 min read
The "dried plum" versus "prune" debate explained
This week's blog features a story by my husband, Wes Jarrell, a native Oregonian fruit farmer My dad was born in Illinois, on a farm near...
6,144 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Apr 9, 20203 min read
The multifocal lens of farmstead dairying in spring
Farm News These days, I often feel like a super-8 hand-held camera filming in time lapse. Early morning texts announce the arrival of...
449 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Mar 27, 20203 min read
Farming while "sheltering in place"
Farm News Sheltering in place on a goat dairy farm in March is a contradiction in terms. For us, March is kidding season, the busiest and...
873 views
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery
Mar 6, 20203 min read
Coming out of hibernation
Farm News The ground is starting to thaw. There are only a few patches of snow remaining on the north sides of our barns, hidden from the...
661 views
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