Sunrise with the Cows PHOTO STORY

written by

Wesley Shank

posted on

August 22, 2023

Morning milking ends as a new day dawns.

Streams of sunlight brighten the sky while mist rises slowly off the land. Cows eagerly trot out the field-lane to find their waiting breakfast of lush pasture grass.

It is a beautiful morning to be alive on the farm!

Cows-grazing-at-sunrise.jpg


I wish you could've been out there in the cow pasture with me. But since that wasn't possible, I'll do my best to tell the story with photos and you can just pretend you were there too. :)

------------------------------------------

Breathe deeply, relax, and imagine yourself out in our organic cow pasture at dawn. The early morning milking is just being completed now... The cows are anxious to get to new grass and will be arriving shortly...

 

Dewy-grass-sunrise.jpg

The grass is heavy with dew and sunlight sparkles in each droplet. Birds are singing. You are surrounded by a thriving ecosystem – The very essence of peace.

 

cows-sunrise.jpg

You hear them before you see them. Then the first cows come into view through a veil of fog.

 

Cow-Sunrise-Silhouette.jpg

This is the day's golden hour in full glory!

 

Cows-frisking-in-fresh-spring-pasture.jpg

Of course, grass is a priority... but first a bit of playful frisking by these truly happy cows! :)
 

Cows-grazing-in-field.jpg

Soon the cows settle down and spread out across the pasture to leisurely enjoy their organic salad bar breakfast.

 

two-cows-grazing.jpg

Notice the hoop buildings in the upper right background of this picture... Those are the mobile pastured turkey shelters so we can move our turkeys to fresh grass each day just like the cows.


cows-grazing-with-chicken-buildings-behind.jpg

And in the background of this picture are the pastured meat chicken shelters. They get moved to new grass each day too....

Everybody is out enjoying fresh grass, clean air, and bright sunshine just as God designed them to live. :)

Jersey-cow-grazing-close.jpg

Cheers to the gentle creatures we have to thank for rich, creamy Jersey Milk and exquisite raw milk cheeses... For nutrient-dense, golden butter and deluxe servings of thick Greek Yogurt.

I’m going to pour myself a tall glass of Raw Milk now and cut a thick slice of Cheddar Cheese to go along with it. (For maximum flavor, raw cheese should be near room temperature before serving.)

We finally have most of our Truly Raw Cheeses in stock again after being sold out of several varieties over the past couple months. Of course, Cheddar is our #1 Best Seller but the one-year-aged Cheddar Fromage Affine is our most popular aged cheese.

Now we are excited to announce a 2-year-aged Cheddar for the sharp cheese lovers in our tribe! With twice the age maybe it will be twice as good... :)

Thank-you for choosing to support our regenerative farm.

In return, we count it a privilege to provide you with clean, nutrient-dense foods your family can eat with confidence.

Blessings on your day,
Wesley

~5th generation on the farm

Wesley-Profile-picture-with-cows-in-pasture.png

More from the blog

Pork now CORN-FREE as well as free from all Soy, Chemicals, GMOs, Antibiotics, etc.

Pork now CORN-FREE as well as free from all Soy, Chemicals, GMOs, Antibiotics, etc.

Good morning, Farm Family! This month feels like it has been a flurry of activity as I finally get to share the many long-awaited announcements we've been working on all throughout last year. Today brings this news: Our Pastured Pork is now CORN-FREE as well as Soy-Free! :) Soy-free has been our standard for years. Since we've had so many folks express appreciation for allergen-friendly pork, we decided to push even harder to reach the next level. Our family set a goal to bring you the Corn-Free status without raising pork prices. The task was daunting but the effort worth it. We are committed to raising our own grain to verify our livestock feed is always Chemical-Free & GMO-Free. It would be much easier and cheaper to buy organic grain on the open market but we believe there is too much risk of organic grain fraud considering that around 50% of the organic grain in USA has been imported. So now we not only had to face the hurdle of formulating a new Corn & Soy-Free diet but it also had to be ingredients that we could grow on our regenerative, organic farm in southern Pennsylvania. Thankfully I have two talented brothers, Winfred and Roland, who are dedicated to the difficult work of raising the specialty grains our chickens, turkeys, and pigs require. They also grow the hay to supply our grass-fed cattle during the winter. In a future post I'll share more of the grueling farm challenges they face so you can enjoy foods guaranteed chemical-free & GMO-free every time. After much experimentation to learn what does or does not work we finally settled on a feed blend we've proven over the last year.All our pork inventory is now officially Corn-Free & Soy-Free! As planned, your pork prices remain the same although it does cost us more on the farm... It's our pleasure to do this for you. Our freezer is now stocked with pork raised on lush fall pastures so we are prepared to fill all orders. In fact, February we plan to offer our best deals of the year for all who want clean, pastured pork. The new Corn-Free protocol is exciting, but of course, all our other top-notch standards are still in place as well. Our pastured pork is always Humanely Raised & Harvested, Chemical-Free, GMO-free, Antibiotic-Free, Soy-Free and now Corn-Free so your family can eat nutrient-dense pork with confidence. A picture is worth a thousand words. Because we also run our own butcher shop, this meat is NEVER exposed to Citric Acid, Nitrates or Nitrites, MSGs, preservatives or any kind of fillers! All of our bacon, sausages and ham uses super clean recipes and the butcher shop smokehouse uses real Hickory Wood and NEVER liquid smoke.Order now to enjoy clean, nutrient-dense Pastured Pork direct from our family farm to your family table.Your Farmer,Wesley ~5th generation on the farm God Designed it... We Respect it... That Explains it!   P.S. Grocery store Industrial Organic foods aren't truly pastured. And sadly, too many small pastured farms allow chemicals in the animal feed.Your family deserves chemical-free AND truly pastured foods so you can eat every meal with confidence.That's why our farm is dedicated to only high integrity foods... that taste amazing. We are committed to raising our Pastured Pigs with zero antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. Everything they eat is Chemical-Free, GMO-Free, Antibiotic-Free, Corn-Free, and Soy-Free. We even grow the grain to verify these high standards.It's our goal to treat you like friends and feed you like family.

Read more
Beef Price Freeze for 2 weeks

Beef Price Freeze for 2 weeks

Good morning Family Cow family! The last week here on the farm has been more like spring than early January, so we are enjoying every minute of it. :) It's the start of a new year and a new season of life for me. I haven't done very well with sharing farm stories in 2025 and so I plan to carve out more time to make it happen this year. A lot of exciting and crazy busy days over the last 12 months, but that's not a valid excuse. You trust us to grow nourishing food for your family and we will do our best to repay that trust by sharing as many farm life details as possible. Be sure to stay tuned for regular farm emails from me or maybe even my dad, Edwin, over the coming weeks... We have a lot of exciting news on the horizon! Today this email brings the one hard fact to announce... Seems the year shouldn't start like this, but I want to get it out of the way so we can save the best for last in coming emails. And this truly is the only negative point of what I plan to share. The next weeks are all full of exciting news and fun farm announcements. :) As we reviewed our 2025 financials, the niggling fears were sadly confirmed. Our beef margins have not kept up with inflating costs.Regenerative, 100% Grass-fed beef farming is beautiful and plays a key role in restoring health to our rescued farm land.But that's not enough. It must also be financially sustainable for family farms to continue from one generation to the next.Beef prices need to go up nearly 5% on average. Some items won't move at all but others, like burger and steaks, will bump more.Our family does not take any price correction lightly.In an effort to help make the change easier for everyone, we will freeze all beef prices at the current rate until January 27. Now is the chance to fill your freezer with 2025 Beef prices.Our family and team truly appreciates your understanding of the need to keep our cattle farming sustainable!All the best of food and blessings, Wesley~ 5th generation on the farm Real farmers. Real Caring. Real Food.YourFamilyFarmer.comP.S. Our frozen meats will easily last a year or more in your freezer. We recommend stocking up now. If a package becomes unsealed just use it first to avoid freezer burn taste.

Read more
Return To Top

The Family Cow

  • 3854 Olde Scotland Rd
    Chambersburg PA 17202
  • (717) 491-4004


God Designed it...   We Respect it...   That Explains it!

Genesis 1:31 & Revelation 4:11


"We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it."

– Numbers 13:27


Privacy Policy