Posted by Niki Adamkova on 3/4/2023 to Food

How We Do Things Around the Farm

At Miller's Organic Farm, we treat our animals with respect and we take pride in feeding them their native foods as the seasons allow. Our animals are raised in the open fields as nature intended. We have a zero-cruelty policy and we go above and beyond to avoid suffering.

At Miller's Organic Farm, we never spray harmful chemicals, only natural fertilizers are used, necessary to build healthy soil. We use ocean algae to remineralize the soil and provide you with the best, beyond organic foods across the USA. Brown and red algae are the types of algae commonly used as farmland fertilizer. Both of these types of algae are rich in potassium. Potassium aids root growth and improve the plants' drought resistance.

All of our cows and buffalo are born and raised on our farm and are free of soy, GMO, or antibiotics and hormones throughout their lives from birth. Our commitment to 100% chemical-free farming means that we are dedicated to environmentally sustainable production practices, exactly how it was before the advent of “modern” farming.

To graze our cattle and make sure their grass intake is at its best and most nutritious, while not harming our pastures or the environment, we use a management technique called Rotational Grazing. It is a very neat but astoundingly simple system. We aim to mimic the herding and movement patterns of ancient herds of ruminates. This method has been scientifically proven as the absolute best soil rebuilding and carbon sequestering method. We fence off sections of our green pastures into different paddocks. We then give the animals a section of fresh grass in the morning and another section in the evening. This way, the cows and buffalo move forward onto fresh grass every day and leave their manure behind to fertilize the grass so it can re-grow rapidly.

A few days later when the cows have made a full circle over the pasture, the grass has re-grown, and our animals have fresh young grass to eat for another rotation round. During the bounty of the summer, the grass is growing faster than our cattle can eat it. We closely watch the maturity of the extra pastures and cut them at the ultimate nutritional point to store the grass for winter feeding. The best grass is infused with plenty of sunshine, so the ultimate cutting point will be when the blades of the grass split in two, and the sunshine has penetrated those spaces within. Some of this grass we "dehydrate" by drying it in the sun and we store it as hay in the barn, which makes excellent winter feed for the herd.

Another method we use for storing the summer’s bounty is to pack the still-moist grass and other herbs and weeds that grow on our pasture into large plastic bags to ferment the hay to Haylidge. After packing the grass into the bags, we seal the bag tightly to reduce oxygen and allow it to go through at least a 60-day fermentation period. The end product smells a little like sauerkraut. The cows love it!

If you are an existing Member, you can see the difference in the color of the milk and cream produced in the summertime vs the colder months. In the summer, all of our dairy products are more yellow/orange in color.

Our real cream-top milk comes from entirely pastured, grass-fed, and genetically verified A2/A2 breeds of Jersey cows, water buffalo, camel, goat, and sheep and it contains all the fat. Our raw milk is the old-fashioned kind. It’s non-homogenized. It’s entirely raw, straight from the udder, and the true definition of whole milk.

Our milk, cream, butter, yogurt, and cheese are 100% raw and nutrient dense. Grass-Fed Our milking cows as well as our beef, buffalo, goats, and lamb for meat are entirely grass-fed. They eat fresh grass in the pasture and hay enriched with nutrients in the barn. Our goal is to raise the healthiest animals possible. Our poultry is free to roam on the land and we never feed soy or GMO.

All of our animals have access to ample pasture to graze and play in. Really Fresh We make fresh dairy products, produced on our own farm from our own milk. These include yogurt, kefir, smoothies, and a variety of raw, soft, and hard cheeses. We bake our own bread from heirloom grains and flours, properly soaked, sprouted, and/or leavened to make the most nutritious bread, cookies, and pies.

Our own farm-grown vegetables are fermented or pickled via lactic acid fermentation. Seasonal fresh vegetables or fruits are also available.

Our organic nuts and seeds are prepared by first soaking and then low temp dehydration, to remove phytates and enzyme inhibitors, for ease of digestion.

At Miller's Organic Farm, we also raise our chickens and turkeys on our lush pastures. We move them to new grass every day, following the cow’s path. Our chickens follow our cows in the rotation through the lush pastures. They have a symbiotic relationship with each other. The chickens and cows are in their heaven because they run free and have lots of bugs and grass to eat. We move the "egg mobiles" to fresh grass every morning. Moving them daily also keeps the chickens away from yesterday’s droppings. It is the best for the health of our soil, the grass, and the chickens too. This move is extremely important. It allows our birds to forage a diet of bugs, grubs, flies, and maggots and a complete salad bar of plants and grasses. This high foraging component of their diet makes their meat extra high in CLA and Omega 3 “good fats”. You can certainly notice the difference in the more yellow look of the fat and skin of our poultry!

Even in the cold winter when snow is covering the ground, the chickens as well as the cattle still find some fresh grass under the snow blanket and soak up a little sunshine. To supplement their pasture diet during winter, they have a mix of a free choice of organic soy-free feed. There might not exactly be abundance, but the routine remains the same. We do add more dried peas to the poultry mix, to increase the protein content during the colder months. All of our poultry is 100% Soy-free, GMO-free, Antibiotic-Free, and Hormone-Free.

If you are looking for truly free-roaming, nutritious poultry you need to know how the animals are raised. If the growing environment is different, the chicken will simply not be the same. The cleanliness and purity of a pastured chicken are directly proportional to the pureness of its environment and the quality of its diet.

At Miller's Organic Farm, we are particularly well known for our fantastic pastured fertile eggs. Our truly pastured chickens (and ducks) are free to run, scratch, and fly on the lush green pasture and they still have their beaks, and yes, roosters are there as well. All of our Eggs are fertile. Most eggs, even certified organic eggs, come from de-beaked hens. We never de-beak our chickens. We leave their beaks because the chickens need their beaks to eat the grass and insects that give their eggs the rich color, taste, and nutrition which you have come to love and expect.

We provide the same service for our free-range ducks. Our ducks are year-round engaging in outdoor activities, free roaming on the farm, eating grasses and algae from the ponds, insects, worms, and a little bit of substituted, organic and soy-free feed. All of our eggs are nourishing and brimming with nutrients and a dark-colored yolk. The color of the yolk is reflecting the diet of any poultry. The more grasses and bugs, the darker orange the yolk will be. The whites are firm and compact, almost like a contact lens. Runny egg whites are the easiest giveaway about poor quality of eggs.

Our pigs are raised the traditional way. They have plenty of outdoor access to forage for fresh grass, roots, and anything else they can dig up with their snouts, a mud puddle to bathe, with room to run and develop their muscles. We grow the heritage breed of pigs which is known to be quite a bit more fatty, such as Tamworth or Old English Blacks. But due to their diet, they produce award-winning tender and flavorful meats. Whey-Fed Pork Hogs are the farm’s garbage disposal. They are a very important part of the symbiotic relationship and operation of any farm. They fill a niche by consuming the by-products from our own food production system. Our pigs are given organic oats, soaked in raw milk and whey from the cheese-making. Whey good pork is simply the best pork you can buy. It is raised responsibly without confinement, the use of antibiotics, chemical fertilizers, or pesticides. The pork reaching your table is nutrient-dense, pure, and incredibly delicious.

What is Whey? A probiotic superstar! Whey is the liquid drained from milk solids in the cheese-making process. It is comprised of lactose, water, and protein. It smells and tastes delicious! Additionally, our hogs enjoy eating anything leftover from our farmer's meal. Amos Miller, his wife Becky, and all their children and soon also their grandchildren, eat the very same foods our Members at My Healthy Food Club get to enjoy. Some folks say our hogs eat a “cleaner” diet than most people on the standard American diet! Regretfully, the farm circle is broken with distribution outside the farm. Ideally, all eggs shells, leaves, bones, and other leftovers from our tables should be returned to the farm circle.

We hope you will find this information helpful and we are proud to be providing you with good, healthy, and nutritious food. We prepare and grow our food according to the traditional principles of Dr. Weston A. Price.

Thank you for your support of Miller’s Organic Farm and My Healthy Food Club in Miami.