Archive for the ‘Dairy’ Category
You can now buy Raw Milk at the Glasbern
Raw milk, that is, unpasteurized milk, has many fervent aficionados—and just as many foes. Consumers of the straight-from-the-cow (and then directly to the cooling tank) nutritious food claim that the enzymes and beneficial bacteria in the milk help prevent disease. Opponents worry that it may be unsafe. The state of Pennsylvania issues “raw milk permits” to farmers after they have followed a set of rigorous procedures.
The Glasbern Farm, no surprise, passed every test with flying colors! Annie, Marion, Nellie, Fancy, and the rest of the lactating bovines were declared healthy; the water on the farm was tested and found to be free of harmful bacteria. The refrigeration equipment is capable of cooling the milk to less than 40° within two hours. Three successive milk samples came back clean, and ongoing regular testing will ensure that only safe and healthful milk is sold at the farm.
So why do people feel so strongly that raw milk should, or shouldn’t, be sold? After all, for the thousands of years before Louie Pasteur’s method of heating milk to kill bacteria came into commercial use, there was no other kind of milk available. History provides a clue: In Pasteur’s time, bovine tuberculosis was a serious concern, and pasteurization put an end to the threat of contracting that disease, as well as typhoid and other diseases. And once a decision is made in the name of Public Safety, backtracking can be a tricky business, especially if you’re in the governing game. It’s ironic that in our modern times the farms that produce raw milk are often the ones that give their cows access to pasture land and fresh grass. These animals are far less likely to contract the illnesses that afflict grain-fed ruminants, and are also less likely to be have been treated with antibiotics.
Fortunately, Pennsylvania is one of the 28 states that allow the sale of raw milk to consumers. And even more fortunately for locals who like their milk unpasteurized, Annie and the rest of the Glasbern Devons are producing enough high-butterfat milk for the inn’s ice cream, coffee, and cereal … and then some.
To purchase raw milk, drive up to the main entrance of the inn. It is available for $2.50 a half-gallon in the refrigerated case just inside the door. It is not homogenized (so a layer of rich cream floats on top of the milk!) and may remind you—if you’re of a certain age—of the milk delivered to your door in a past era.
New farm building is unveiled
On the rolling hill looking over the Glasbern Inn is a handsome new multi-use structure, built just for the herd of Devon milking cows that owner Al Granger has introduced to the farm. These heritage milkers are renowned for the high butterfat content in their milk and their aesthetically appealing long horns. They’re also known for having stubborn dispositions, which led Granger to acquire an assistant for herdsman Jason Angstadt—a spirited Australian Blue Heeler (also called an Australian cattle dog). Shelby will facilitate moving these beautiful cows from place to place so that they always have access to fresh grass. She has an easy time convincing the herd where they need to go, explains Jason. “Shelby is 
persistent to say the least and as long as she gets them going the right direction we have a pretty good result.” The Glasbern herd of milking cows will number about a dozen. “Twelve milking cows will give us enough milk produced from grass to fill our needs,” explains Granger.
Diners will soon see yogurt, butter, ice cream, and eventually cheese, all produced in the building up on the hill, on the menus in Glasbern’s dining rooms. This will bring the restaurant and Inn another step closer to being reliant on its own land. Grass-fed products are significantly higher in good Omega-3’s, CLA’s, vitamin A, E, and Beta-carotene, compared to grain-fed. They are simply healthier.
The Herdsman
- Jason and Shelby are a herding team!
Jason Angstadt had just returned from cattle school when I caught up to him. He was muddy (and I don’t even want to get into the constituents of said mud) from the knees down so I climbed into his 4-wheeler with him and Shelby, his rambunctious Australian cattle dog puppy, and said, “Take me to your favorite spot on the farm.” Up we went to the new dairy barn. Oh those lucky cows! You will be hearing more about the dairy barn as the operations there get into full swing. Jason showed me the milking stations and schooled me in basic cattle language, so that we could talk about what he learned in cattle school, namely, the ins and outs of “AI.” That’s Artificial Insemination in cattle talk. I will avoid the indelicate details and focus instead on why a herdsman on a hundred-acre property of an inn and restaurant needs to know how to “AI.”
First the basics:
A heifer is a female who has not yet had a calf.
A cow is a female who has had a calf.
A steer is a castrated male.
A bull is, well, you know.
Jason introduces new bloodlines to make better heifers, steers, and cows. Maybe an occasional bull—a single bull is able to service the Glasbern’s herd of 70 beef cattle and 13 milking cows (think about this) so steers are much more useful than bulls if your aim is producing grass-fed beef. And what does “better” mean in cow talk? Simply put, better is a heavier weaning weight, a shorter time to market, more milk. You guessed it: It’s all about the food.
You will see, if you wander around the farm, Jason’s carefully selected mix of breeds and hybrid crosses. There are russet-colored milking Devons, Devon-Highland crosses, assorted calves, and the photogenic Scottish Highland steers and heifers—they’re the ones with flowing hair and horns. You’ll see them “mob grazing,” that is, all together in the same fenced area. This is good for the soil, the grass, and the wildlife … and it means Jason has to move the entire herd to a new pasture every day. It’s a big job, he says, but help is on the way. Shelby is in training. Before long Jason will be putting his feet up in the 4-wheeler and watching her work.
Right, Jason?
Cattle in motion on the Glasbern farm
Home on the Range
This is a cowboy's smile
Not everybody gets to be a cowboy.
But when Al Granger, the owner of the Glasbern Inn and farm, gets an idea into his head there’s no stopping him. It was in 2003 that Al decided the inn could use a few Scottish Highland cattle—nobody who knew him was even slightly surprised to see them out on the range within weeks. Now, six years later, Al has learned a thing or two about raising grass, which, as it happens, is the key to raising cattle. Ask him what gives him the most satisfaction about the multifaceted inn/farm/wedding venue/restaurant that he built and his answer is decisive. “I’ve loved watching the land come back.”
Back in 1985, when the inn consisted of a farmhouse, a barn, and a few dilapidated outbuildings, the land was chemically farmed. By spreading compost and loads of aragonite, a soil conditioner made from seashells, thus making conditions right for growing vigorous grasses, Al has literally brought the fields back to life. Successions of Katahdin sheep and Devon-Highland cattle now graze the pastures. Hens follow the cattle rotation, foraging for insect larvae that hatch in cow patties, and redistributing the nitrogen. Like a giant game of musical chairs, animals are moved daily from pasture to pasture. And who knew that in the world of grazers, a revolution is happening—Al is looking ahead to having his cattle forage the little mini solar collectors we know as blades of grass year-round to produce meat you can feel really good about eating. But I’ll leave the details of how he keeps track of all that motion, and the question of how a cow can nibble grass through snow, for another time. The subject at hand is a boy named Albert and his cowboy fantasy turned reality.
What’s your dream?