Flat Branch Farm Newsletter - November 20, 2025 - Vol. 14

Hey there Reader!

Just a heads up, I will not send out a newsletter next week - November 27th but will resume after Thanksgiving on December 4th. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

Holiday Hours

Herd Share Members - Please make sure you take a look at the last herd share update I sent out last week regarding milk pick-ups around the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year). Some days we will be closed and won’t be doing drop-offs and/or on-farm pick-ups. If these closures affect you, I’m asking for advanced notice if you are taking advantage of the alternate pick-ups. I will take no response as you are picking up as usual (if we are open on your scheduled day) or you are choosing to skip your weekly pick-up (if we are closed on your scheduled day). Please see the email update for alternate pick-ups and our holiday hours.

Non Herd Share Customers - We will not have any on-farm pick-ups on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.

Dairy Cows

The results are in from our herd checks:

When Lacey was preg checked this summer, she was already several months along. The vet didn’t use an ultrasound, so we don’t know what she’s having. As big as she is, we’re starting to wonder if there are twins in there! Rona was also further along than we expected. Due to the position of the calf on the day she was checked, the vet couldn’t verify the sex of her calf. So that one will be a surprise, too.

As you can see from the list, we are expecting quite a few bull calves in 2026, which is on the same track we saw in 2025. You can also see from the list that June, Saoirse, Martha, and Blondie are all due within a month of each other. A lot of cattle producers plan for a tight calving window, where most of their cows give birth around the same time. I actually don’t want that - LOL - but it happened anyway. So if anyone has been on the fence about trying raw milk or joining the herd share… May/June of 2026 would be an excellent time to do that!

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Re-Quoting

Life is full of give and take - give thanks and take nothing for granted.

On the Blog

As the holidays approach, there is usually an uptick in family dinner invitations, get-togethers with friends, or just hanging out at home with your people. Appetizers are always a great go-to dish to bring when you aren’t really sure what the theme is or what to bring. My go-to appetizers are usually hot corn dip, dill pickle dip, or soft cheese topped with sweet pepper jam.

This easy homemade cheese is easy, versatile, and a fun way to dip your toes into cheesemaking. And the best part is, you can make this recipe with any kind of milk!

​* Easy Homemade Cheese in No Time​

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Recipe Share

Cowboy Cobbler
​Don’t be confused by the name…this is not a sweet dessert you can top with ice cream! Instead this is a hot, hearty, “stick to your ribs” kind of dish that is a complete meal within itself. We actually had this at the Parks’ house last night and it was perfect for a damp autumn supper. To bulk it up a little, we added 1 can of green beans and 1 can of sweet corn to the filling.

​Cowboy Cobbler​

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Just for Fun

Good Advice

by Napoleon Hill

Opportunity often knocks, only to find no one home. The world is filled with unfortunate souls who didn’t hear opportunity’s knock at the door because they were down at the convenience store buying lottery tickets. Don’t wait for something to happen… make it happen!

That's it for this week! If you know of someone else that would like to join our little-but-growing community, feel free to forward the newsletter to them. Anyone can join here . Just remind them NOT to click unsubscribe in your forwarded email...because that will actually unsubscribe YOU instead of them.

Talk soon,

Lori

P.S. You can go back and see all of our weekly newsletters here . I also have a handful of “freebies” available - a Raw Milk Cheat Sheet, Benefits of Yogurt download, and several collections of recipes.