Blog
  • Spring Projects Abound! 5/20/23
    Life has been busy here on the farm this spring! We’ve been working through a long list that we made, and we’re making good progress.
  • It’s Almost Grillin’ Season! 4/21/23
    As the title implies, it’s springtime here in the Yoop! I can almost taste the grilled goodness that is in store. Things are about to get busy on the farm here too, equipment is being prepped for field work, some last minute touches are going to be done on our livestock fences here, and then we’ll be off into planting for most of May. I don’t help with the planting very much, although there was that time I was the grain drill monitor for Andy a couple years ago…. So planting season is pretty busy for me too in that…
  • All Things Milk! 4/14/23
    Today, while I was bottling for our members, I was contemplating how many different variables of milk I could actually come up with. Who thinks about these things?
  • Some Short Spring Ramblings & a Recipe- 4.6.2023
    As I start to come out of my winter sabbath, I figured I would share this recipe with you all! The pictures have been waiting on my phone since February!
  • A Comfort Food Recipe- Chicken and Dumplings
    Growing up, this was one of my favorite meals, and mom made it regularly. It takes some old fashioned loving care, but that is what makes it soooo good.
  • My Word of the Year– 1/5/23
    In order to focus on my faith and health, 2023 will NOT be a year of BIG announcements here on the farm!
  • Making cheese with your Instant Pot– 12.29.2022
    …with the help of my trusty Instant Pot, I’m able to make small batch, high quality, raw milk cheese efficiently in my kitchen all year round.
  • A Moo-racle for Kookie!–10/24/2022
    I started this article wanting to tell you all about our busy October, but I decided to let this article be just about my favorite cow, Kookie. Gosh I love her
  • UP State Fair 2022– 8/19/22
    We hope you all got to enjoy the fair this year, if not, enjoy this taste of it through the eyes of a thankful farmwife.
  • Slow Living for a Busy Wife– 8/8/22
    I thought I would put a spin on my Ancestral Eating series of posts, and address three more WAPF principles in an post written just for busy women out there.
  • Six Months Later– 8/7/2022
    There’s not a lot philosophical about this post, just a ‘catch you up’ kind of article since its been so long since I wrote.
  • Grandma’s Homemade Bread Therapy- 2/21/22
    Few things bring as much comfort as the smell and taste of Grandma Bell’s homemade bread.
  • Our Cows Wear ‘Fitbits!’ — 2/8/22
    Our plan would have worked great, if you could tell when our darn cows were in heat! Enter, technology to keep happy, healthy cows.
  • Ancestral Eating for a Busy Family- Part 2- Dairy– 1/18/22
    The second group of principles I want to cover are related to dairy, which sometimes also touches on fats, ferments, & cultures.
  • 2021 Year in Review- 12/31/21
    2021 was a year of growth and change here on the ranch. We started off the New Year with a full barn and full hearts…
  • Un-Social Post #1– A Trip, Cows & Christmas- 12.27.2021
    I started writing this post on the fourth…. that’s how my December has gone. December started with a quick trip out to Tacoma, WA…
  • Ancestral Eating for a Busy Family- Part 1- Fats– 11/12/21
    The first in a series of articles to help busy families implement Dr. Weston A. Price’s principles for healthy eating! In this article, we go over the fats.
  • A Quick Anytime Soup to Warm You! — 11/4/2021
    The other thing that happened last week was this soup. There is nothing better to warm you up than a nice hot, spicy and sweet, pumpkin soup!
  • A New Day in Our Life- 10/23/21
    We hope you can take pieces of what we share in this post to enrich your life too.
  • Plum tired out… Pun Intended 9/21/21
    My mother-in-law called me last week and asked if we could use some plums, like ‘a bunch for canning, freezing and cooking.’ Sure! Why not?
  • Fall, and the Harvest Begin– 9/19/21
    While I’m over here cooking and preserving ‘people’ food, the guys over at our sister farm are doing the same for the livestock- ours and theirs.
  • A Weekend Off and A Week-night Meal- 9/14/21
    Sometimes you just need to do hide away for a few days and be with family. I thought I’d share a recipe mash-up we enjoyed last week to make up for my absence
  • So We Decided to Get Some Sheep- 9/5/2021
    The reason we decided to get sheep was based on information I acquired by listening to the Wise Tradition’s podcast (one of my faves!) episodes 32 & 33. In these particular episodes, Hilda interviews Allan Savory of the Savory Institute, which is based in South Africa. Their sole purpose in life is to ‘facilitate the large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands and the livelihoods of their inhabitants, through holistic management.‘ They have over 100 hubs worldwide, including one at Michigan State University! The Institute works with many different groups to accomplish their mission, including farmers and ranchers, showing each how…
  • Where We Become a Ranch Community! 8/28/21
    We’ll be sharing recipes, homestead tips, and stories of our daily life here on the ranch, all you need to do is let us know you’re interested by subscribing.
  • Is Raw Milk Safe? – 3/3/2021
    I’m going to tell you about how safe, healthy, raw milk is intentionally produced for direct human consumption.
  • Jorasz Family Dairy- Centennial Celebration Article- 7/2015
    Our family comes from a long, long heritage of farmers- this artical is from back when the Jorasz Family Dairy celebrated it’s centennial year in 2015. It was such a fun-filled day! U.P. Family Farm Set to Celebrate Centennial WILSON – As one might expect from a farm operated by the same family for three generations, tradition plays an important role at Jorasz Family Farm, which celebrates its centennial this month. However, as co-owner John Jorasz said, this doesn’t mean the farm hasn’t changed with the times. “If my grandfather came back today, I don’t know if he’d recognize it,”…
  • Ranch (and Life) Seasons- 11/11/2020
    We had to make a choice- our farm, or my career…
  • Augie Fudala Barn- Campbell’s/FFA Restoration- 6/9/2010
    The Augie Fudala Barn was completed on June 9, 2010 in Bark River, MI. The volunteers included FFA members and FFA alumni members working together to restore this classic barn. The barn projects are sponsored by Campbells Soup.
  • A Polish Tradition- Pierogi! 4/4/2020
    Since we’re all cooped up during this pandemic, we have tons of time to explore our family traditions, specifically of the culinary nature! Yesterday’s adventure took us to Poland- Andy’s family homeland.
  • The Miraculous Chicken! 3/13/20
    We just love our chickens here on the ranch- they are a fun project for our little ones to help with, they’re docile (usually), easy to feed and water, and they provide us and a few clients with farm fresh eggs. Our daughter, Brianna, will even be showing a couple at the UP State Fair this year! Right now we have 17 hens and also a rooster because he. is. beautiful. I love looking in the coop to see them going on about their day, clucking and squawking at each other. I wonder what the heck they are talking about?…
  • Winter Days on the Ranch- 3/4/20
    There’s always enough to keep us all busy, and it’s hard to imagine that in a few short weeks we’ll be adding planting to this routine!
  • Sally the Hereford- 2/27/20 *Trigger*
    *Trigger* A real post about when farming is really hard.
  • In The Beginning…. 3/1/2005
    This is the ‘one where we tell you our life story…’