In our years of farming, we’ve learned a lesson recently: it’s very hard for one place to do all things well.
In fact, most farms do one thing really well, and a number of other things fairly well. In the evolving small farm economy, it seems to us that the better part of wisdom is cooperation. We can each focus on our main thing and work together to offer consumers a variety of really good food things.
To that end, we are now working cooperatively with a dairy farm in Standish, Michigan to provide milk to dairy herd share owners. Joe and Brenda Golimbieski are experts in cow dairying, and we look forward to carrying their milk and milk products, beef burger, and their neighbors’ eggs and lamb to our customers, while they share our chicken and pork with their customers.
Hill High Dairy, home of BJ’s Cowboarding is a certified organic dairy in Standish, MI. Joe and Brenda Golimbieski have milked cows for a living for most of their lives. They have been certified organic for several years now. Their cows enjoy pasture in season, hay from their farm in the winter, and snack on GMO free corn or small grains that Joe grows for them at milking time. The herd is comprised of Jerseys, Belted Dutch, Shorthorns, Holsteins, and one Brown Swiss cow. Joe has sought out A2 bulls so that the milk is nearly 100% A2 beta-casein protein. (You can read more about that here if it’s a new issue to you.) He milks approximately 80 cows twice a day and supplies milk to several folks, including Horizon and Jenny Samuelson’s herd share Co-op in southern Michigan. The milking system is modern and Grade A. The milk is piped from the cow into the bulk milk tank, where it is quickly cooled and held at 40 degrees.
Joe and Brenda have experience working with herd shares and are excited to co-op with Baker’s Green Acres. Because they specialize in dairy, they bring opportunities and products that we didn’t have the resources to offer. We look forward to offering cream and butter “services” down the road. They also offer beef burger and work with other local producers to offer eggs and lamb. We are excited to be able to add more services and items to the chicken and pork we already specialize in.