Spring Update 2008 

This was the first year we milked through the winter.  Thanks to our hired man, Ben Gotschall, who brought his own cows to our farm from him home dairy, we were able to keep up with milk demand through the long, gray winter.  Ben did a great job organizing our customer contacts and running the dairy.  He also made Dunlop cheese - an Irish cheddar that has a nice, mild cheddary flavor.

With the arrival of spring and the green grass, Krista has returned to the cheeseplant and the cows have returned to the pastures.  Doug has been busy working on thebarn remodel and the cheese plant expansion.  Ben continues to manage the dairy herdand pastures.  We've had some very nice rains this spring which will keep the grassgoing well into the summer.

Farmer's market season started May 3rd.  Branched Oak Farm cheeses and Ben's Clover Cove Dunlop are available at the Saturday Haymarket Farmer's Market from 8am-noon, and at the Omaha Old Market Farmer's Market at 11th and Jackson from 8am to 12:30pm.  On Sundays we are in Lincoln at the Old Cheney Farmer's Market at 55th and Old Cheney, behind the Raquet Club. 

As of May 9th, we've had 13 calves and are on the way to milking nearly 25 cows this summer - this is over double the number we have milked before!  Krista is busy developing some new cheese varieties including:  Graskaass, a Dutch spring specialty made when the cows first go back to eating green grass and mixed with nettles.  It looks beautiful!!  We'll likely cut into the first wheels in July. The mozzarella will be back in time for tomato season and the first camemberts are coming out of the aging room this week.  Quark, our first cheese variety, is available regularly and is also found at Ideal Grocery, Open Harvest in Lincoln and Whole Foods Market in Omaha.