Hello and welcome to the July newsletter for Laughing Duck Farm. I hope you have been enjoying your summer! These days have been very nice here. The pasture is loving all of the rain and the animals have been loving all of the pasture. All of our animals except the rabbits are raised outside. We tried several times with the rabbits but it was always just one problem after another. Rabbits are very sensitive to heat, love to dig out of their containment system, and can get very sick on grass that has had too much rain. And then the eagles discovered that we had a nice all you can eat bunny buffet.

I remember the day we came home from church and I was delighted to see maybe twenty eagles circling our farm. Then I discovered why the eagles were circling our farm. The rabbits had dug out of their containment once again and we went from fifty rabbits to maybe five once the eagles noticed. I’m not sure how those eagles notified and gathered all of their friends and family, but it was a disaster.

Now we raise the rabbits in the cool barn and bring the pasture to them. They love to eat dried hay and weeds from the garden are a special treat. They reward me with lots of good fertilizer for the garden as well as meat that is very high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol. Keep reading and I will give you an easy recipe that is a great introduction to rabbit meat.

On the Farm

To me the farm feels like pure chaos right now. The garden is always in need of weeding, I’m racing around moving all of the animals, the chickens are laying eggs like crazy but since they free range it is like an Easter egg hunt trying to find all of their hidden nests and the constant daylight makes me think that I need to be working at full speed from 4:30 am until 10 pm.

Animals are so helpful for me though. Animals don’t move fast. Our livestock have little to worry about other that eating the pasture that is right in front of them and how to best enjoy the day. Luckily I am the kind of person who feeds off of the energy around me and the energy around me is good. It is calm. As a person of faith, it reminds me to “be still”.

As far as baby animals go, we have chicks, we have baby rabbits, we have baby goats and we have kittens. In August our heifer, Flower, is due with her first calf. Flower was born on the farm and I am so excited to have helped bring her from a sweet newborn all the way to a momma.

In the Store

The store expansion is done! I am so excited. We now have tons of room for loads more product. I am very much looking forward to the day where people can do most of their grocery shopping here, perhaps rounded out with the local produce farm and a trip to a small bakery, and once traffic is consistent enough here, we could even have those places sell here!

That is the dream, but for now we are adding new products all of the time. Stop in and check it out, it is pretty exciting and maybe you will see the dream too!

Party

It is time to mark your calendar for the Laughing Duck Farm Customer Appreciation Party. It is always the first Saturday in August. This year that would be August 2nd. There will be fantastic food, farm tours, lawn games, door prizes, and an awesome variety of people to get to know. It is all free of charge because we want you to know how much we appreciate you!

Bulk Food Order

If you are interested in saving money and being prepared for personal or natural disaster, I would encourage you to think about ordering items your family uses in bulk. As someone who has gone through financial difficulty, I can tell you that there is great comfort in knowing you have one less thing to worry about. There are some things to think about to make sure you are saving money and doing yourself a favor, though.

1. Does my family actually like this product? If your family doesn’t like beans, don’t stock up on them. You would just be adding so much more stress to your life if you lost your job and then were forced to eat something you hated as well.
2. Can I store this food? Some things, like wheat and white rice store very well in a dry sealed environment for decades. Other things, like brown rice, don’t store for very long. If you are looking for a good way to store items long term, think about large glass jars or 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids.
3. What does my family use a lot of? You may not need an entire case of chocolate covered espresso beans (unless you are providing them for your entire office) but if you make pizza every Friday you may want a case of pepperoni, a case of mozzarella, and a case of pizza sauce. Meat and cheese store very well in the freezer and nothing is easier than sticking some jars on a shelf.
4. Do I have room for these items. Look at your freezer situation before ordering tons of frozen items. Think about what 50 lbs of flour will look like on your shelves. Also, think about that closet that is full of junk you never use. Could it be consolidated to make room? A case of jars is easy to slide under a bed or couch. You probably have more room than you think, and if you can stay organized, a big freezer is a great investment.

So to place this bulk order, first think about what you want to order. Then go through the list below and make notes. Next, make a list containing the item numbers, item description, and price and email me this list at northhaus@gmail.com . DO NOT LEAVE YOUR LIST IN THE COMMENTS BELOW! That is a place for you to discuss with each other and I will most likely never see it. Email your list no later that 7pm on July 5th 2025. Then, on Friday July 11th, after 4:30 you can come pick up your order here at the farm. As a reminder our address is 2482 170th ave Emerald WI. While you are here you can shop in the store, watch videos on regenerative farming in the new addition, and enjoy the country air. You can also walk around and look at the animals, just be aware that most of our fences are electric.

Your next opportunity for a bulk order will be August 8th with orders due on August 1st.

Help Needed

There is a small group of people with a desire to order bulk items but who are unable to drive out to the farm. These people are in the Twin Cities area and would be able to get to places in that area to pick up their items. If you would like to help out and are already coming out here, this would be appreciated. Jana Isaac has opened her farm north of Stillwater as a drop point if that works for you. If not, someone may appreciate being able to meet somewhere or being able to pick up at your house. If you would be willing to do this, you can leave a comment below about where you would be able to meet with the items, or if you can do the Stillwater drop off just let me know and I can put your in contact with Jana. You might comment with something like “I am picking up my order and driving to Burnsville. I would be willing to meet at the Burnsville Center. My email is qrs@tuv.” I would recommend you not leave your phone number or address here as it is a public place, but instead give out that information privately after getting in contact with someone over email. Thanks in advance to any helpers out there!

Recipe

This is not so much a recipe as it is an instruction on how to cook rabbit in our favorite way. As I said earlier it is a highly nutritious meat and great for people looking for more vitamins and less fat in their diet.

When I cook rabbit, I usually am cooking it for tacos or enchiladas. I thaw out the rabbit overnight, and then put it in the crockpot with a half cup of water. I cover it with taco sauce or our favorite taco seasonings, and cook it on low for 6-8 hours. Once it is to the point where it is pretty much falling apart, I carefully remove the bones and we are good to go! It is great just like this in any of your favorite Mexican dishes and knowing you are eating healthier makes it even better!

So that is it for this month. I look forward to seeing you at the store, at bulk food order pick up, or maybe even at the party.

Kathy

Ps. I will not be posting the items available in the store right now. I simply don’t have the time right now to keep that list up to date. I will try to update it again in the fall when things slow down a bit.