FARM

Farm Life Never Stops

1 Life on a farm never stops; nor do the chores. Work on a farm begins when the sun comes up and keeps going until the sun goes down. There are times when farmers even have to work well into the night. What happens on a farm that makes it so busy?

2 Some chores, mainly those involving animals, must be done, day in, day out, every day of the year. Each morning, someone feeds and gives water to the chickens and collects their eggs. Another morning job is to milk the cows. First, someone herds the cows into the milking barn. While the cows are milked, a person shovels hay and grain into feeding troughs. Another person shovels manure from underneath the cows, replacing it with fresh sawdust. This process is repeated again at night. The other animals are fed each morning and sent to the pasture. While the animals are in the pasture, their stalls are cleaned.

3 In addition to these everyday chores, there are seasonal chores. In the spring, someone walks the pasture fenceline, repairing it as needed. There may be miles of fenceline, making this a large task. Also the fields must be prepared for crops. First, the farmer plows, or turns over, the soil in the field. Then, the field is checked for large rocks that could bend or break farm machinery. One field may have anywhere from a hundred to a thousand large rocks. After the rocks have been removed, the farmer smoothes the field and plants the seeds. If the farm has a vegetable garden, someone needs to prepare this ground as well.

4 At the same time, the farm is also very busy with animal babies. Chicks are moved into the chicken house. In the barn, someone checks on the lambs each day. Another chore is to bottlefeed the calves and eventually teach them to drink from a pail.

5 In the summer, the crops grow quickly. There are many garden chores to do each day, such as weeding and tending to plants. Someone harvests vegetables that ripen during the summer months.

6 Hay is grown to feed animals through the winter, and this creates many summertime chores. First, the farmer mows the tall grass. After the grass dries in the sun and wind, it is raked into rows and bundled into squares called bales. The bales are then put into a hayloft. Care must be taken in the hayloft to look for barn cats that may be hiding with their new kittens.

7 Farm children head off to school in the fall, but they are still expected to lend a hand before and after school. There is corn to be cut, chopped, and stored in a silo for the winter. Fruits and vegetables are harvested each day from the garden. Hours are spent canning, pickling, or freezing these vegetables to keep for the winter. Once the crops are harvested, the fields and gardens are fertilized again to make the soil ready for the next year. The hayloft is packed fully, and animals are prepared to be sold at market.

8 The growing season is over during the winter months, but the farm is still busy. Eggs are set under a heat lamp to hatch into new chicks. They are watched closely. Farm machinery is repaired and cleaned. Next year’s crops are planned, and seeds are ordered.

9 Life on a farm is busy, every day, every season. Some chores change with each season of the year, and some chores stay the same. Everyone in the family must pitch in to lend a hand because there is always plenty to do.

How Cheese Is Made

1 There are different types of cheese, each with a special flavor. Interestingly, there are many different types and flavors of cheese even though all cheese comes from the same ingredient: milk. The answer to how that happens lies in the cheese-making process.

2 The very first step in cheese making plays a large part in the type of cheese to be made and its flavor. The first thing a cheese maker must do is select and collect the milk. Cheese often comes from cow milk, but it can be made with the milk from many types of animals, including goat, water buffalo, sheep, horse, or reindeer. Each type of milk adds a slightly different flavor to the cheese. Some types of milk tend to work better for certain varieties of cheese. For example, water buffalo milk is often used for mozzarella. About ten pounds of milk must be collected to make one gallon of cheese.

3 After the milk is collected, the cheese maker heats the milk. When the milk has reached the correct temperature, two special ingredients, bacteria and rennet, are added to the milk. The bacteria adds to the cheese’s final flavor and texture. The rennet makes the milk break apart into lumpy solids, called curds, and watery liquid, called whey.

4 Next, the cheese maker drains some of the whey off the curds. The curds are squeezed and stirred. They are also cut into smaller pieces and heated until the desired amount of whey has been removed. For a soft cheese, such as cottage cheese, the curds may only be squeezed a few times. Other soft cheeses, such as ricotta and mascarpone, are made by keeping curds large and heating on a low temperature. Soft cheeses are finished at this point and put into a pot. To make harder cheeses, such as cheddar and Parmesan, curds are cut smaller and heated at higher temperatures.

5 Once the curds have reached the right texture, the cheese maker may add salt to the cheese. The salt helps remove more liquid. It also adds flavor. Other flavorings, such as herbs, may also be added at this point.

6 The curds are pressed together into a mold to shape the cheese. The cheese may be left alone on a shelf to dry. Over time, the cheese is said to age. As the cheese ages, its flavor grows stronger and stronger. The cheese maker allows the cheese to age until the desired flavor has been reached.

7 There are many decisions in the cheese-making process that determine the final flavor and texture. The cheese maker chooses the type of milk, the type of bacteria, and whether to add any salt or flavorings. The amount of whey left in the cheese and the amount of aging are other important decisions. It is amazing that one ingredient, milk, can create hundreds of varieties of cheese.