Hello Folks,

Our little place on earth that we call home has seen quite a few families. The Howes, the Bragdons, and eventually the Morrisons, which is Steve’s last name.

Sometimes I imagine 100 years’ worth of these salty farm families sitting down together over a meal (steak probably). The common link between us all is that we’ve raised cattle in some shape or form. We would likely share our most epic “chase the cows down the road” stories. 

Steve’s parents bought the farm in the mid-1970s when Steve was 10. As Steve tells it, his first day on the school bus there were a lot of mumblings and side glances about the new kids who lived in the haunted farmhouse. We’ve never had to call the Ghost Busters, however. 

The Morrisons started to build their Jersey herd shortly after their arrival and began selling wholesale milk. Steve eventually left for college but returned to the farm in the mid-1990s. One of his first moves was to certify the land as organic. Then, he started scheming about how to transition the cows to organic and find a milk truck and milk company willing to come to this part of Maine. 

This was before you could buy a gallon jug of organic milk, let alone have four options in every grocery store. It’s easy to overlook how far the organic farming movement and community has come in the last three decades.

Steve was able to find one other nearby farm willing to take the organic milk plunge, and the Organic Cow of Vermont agreed to buy the milk. Does anyone remember their iconic Jersey cow with a garland of flowers logo? 

He shipped milk to the Organic Cow of Vermont, then Horizon, then Organic Valley, briefly to Maine’s Own Organic Milk, and then back to Organic Valley. 

In 2022, we decided to sell our milking herd. But because we’re cow people, we decided to stay in the game. Maybe breaking 100 years of tradition would bring the ghosts out of hiding? 🙂 

We bought two red Angus bulls and started breeding our younger Jersey females. In April of 2023, we welcomed our first four Jangus crosses. We’ve also been buying some certified organic Jersey/Limousin crosses from another dairy farm to help jumpstart our beef herd. 

They look fantastic, and we’re looking forward to enjoying this beef with our family and yours! 

Cowtastically yours,

Sonja