Flat Branch Farm Newsletter - December 4, 2025 - Vol. 15

Hey there Reader!

I hope you and your family had a happy Thanksgiving and a nice relaxing weekend. We took a quick trip to Missouri to see Ian at Tech School on Friday. That was the first time our whole family had been together since the beginning of August!

I think it's safe to say I will soon be the shortest member of our family. 😒 Oh well, I guess there are worse things to be...

Holiday Hours

Herd Share Members - Please make sure you are looking ahead regarding milk pick-ups around the holidays (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.

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

Dairy Cows

With the recent and drastic change in the weather it's easy to fall into the "woe is me" mindset, especially if we have to go outside to care for pets or livestock in the winter. (Fun fact - according to the University of Illinois, November 2025 was the 3rd snowiest November on record for our region!)

Yea, it takes a little longer to do chores. Yea, water freezes. Yea, our loft that was full of straw a month ago is dwindling quicker than I'd like to see. Yea my dog comes in covered with snow and slush. But the cows aren't complaining - at least, not to me. And I love seeing them all settled in the barn at night, laying down and chewing their cud. That's actually one of my favorite things about winter. As long as they have a place to get out of the wind and hay to keep their bellies full, they are the happiest bunch of... well, if you've seen the movie I'll let you finish that thought.

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Re-Quoting

What if the problem is not the problem? What if the problem is simply the way you're thinking about it?

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On the Blog

Anyone who is, or has ever been, a raw milk drinker knows that “the cream line” is one of the best things about raw milk - after the incredible health benefits, of course. If you’re new to this topic, let me explain…

When raw milk is left alone for a little while, the cream naturally separates itself from the milk and rises to the top of the container. If milk is in a clear container - like a glass mason jar - you can see this magical process. The cream line is an actual line you can see where above it is thick cream that’s more of an off-white/almond or even a yellowish tinted color for some cows. Below the line you will find thinner, more opaque-colored milk.

Check out our latest blog post to learn How to Separate Cream at Home!

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Recipe Share

Christmas Caramels

Three reasons this recipe is worth trying: 1) Homemade caramels are delicious. 2) It uses real ingredients...no corn syrup or canned milk. 3) It uses raw cream.

Ingredients:

• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (+more for the pan)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup raw cream (heavy cream from the store works, too)
• 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
• real salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

• Make sure you have a heavy-bottomed saucepan (or pot if you decide to double or triple the recipe). You will need parchment paper, too.
• Mix together melted butter and cream in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Set aside. It should be warm but not hot.
• Heat the sugar in the heavy pot/pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar melts and turns to a deep amber color and reaches 350*F. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
• Remove from heat immediately - it can go from amber to burned quickly.
• Add in your melted butter & cream SLOWLY while stirring.
• Stir in vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt. Add in the lemon juice last.
• Keep stirring until mixture reaches 250*F. If it cools off quickly, return to medium heat to get back up to 250*F.
• Carefully pour liquid caramel onto parchment paper-lined pan. It's best to coat the parchment paper with melted butter or cooking spray. The size of pan you use will depend on how much you make and how thick you want the caramels to be... single batch - standard bread pan, double batch - 8x8 pan, etc...
• Let the caramel sit and cool for at least 3 hours. Garnish with coarse salt (optional) after it's cooled but still a little tacky so it sticks. Cut into individual pieces and wrap in wax paper or enjoy right away.

Just for Fun

I see this every year... and every year it makes me giggle.

Good Advice

Birds of a Feather by Kit Pharo

A positive attitude is contagious. A negative attitude is even more contagious. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to find a positive message in agriculture – even with these current cattle prices. Misery loves company. Instead of looking for a positive and encouraging message, many farmers and ranchers will gravitate toward those who whine, complain and blame. Birds of a feather flock together. If you ever find yourself surrounded by people with a negative attitude, you need to find a different flock of birds to hang out with.

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.

Stay warm!

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.