Hello and welcome to the September 2025 issue of the Laughing Duck Farm newsletter. I hope this finds you full of joy and in good health. It is technically August as I write this, but it certainly does not feel like it. The temperatures have dropped and so has the humidity. There is definitely the feeling of autumn in the air, which seems a little odd for August. I have been watching the animals, both wild and farm, and while I’m no meteorologist, I get the distinct feeling that winter will be early this year. Let’s hope I’m wrong!

On the Farm

Things are winding down on the farm. It seems like they were just getting started, and yet I am also exhausted from all of the summer things. The meat chickens are now all done. The pigs will be going to the butcher in a little over a month and I am already thinking about things like how much hay we will need this winter.

Our heifer Flower is due with her first calf on August 30th. Just like with people, this does not mean that she will have the calf on that day, but we do know that things are progressing in that direction. She is showing all of the appropriate signs. I am very excited because this means that we will have a brand new adorable calf on the farm and that my family will have fresh milk again. Our cow Honey is due November 1st. I am a little nervous about her because last time she was due it was a dud. She wasn’t actually pregnant. Because cows are such large animals, it is a little difficult to tell if she is actually pregnant. While they do make cow pregnancy tests, they are highly inaccurate. The best way to know for sure is to have a vet out and do an ultrasound, but that is expensive and to be honest, we like to keep things super natural. If you are interested in seeing the baby calves, keep an eye on our facebook page.

In the Store

If you haven’t been out to see the store expansion, you should make the trip! We have so much more room and we are slowly filling it with more items. We also have a couple of new local items. We have healthy nut butters that taste very unhealthy. These are from Huber Health and Nutrition in Hudson Wi. We also have smoked Chex mix from Flavor x Fire in New Richmond WI. You probably got to sample this at the pig roast where we debuted it.

You also may notice that the freezer items have changed over. We now have lots of chicken. We have pieces, like just breasts, legs, thighs or wings. We also have whole roasting chickens, both giant ones and smaller ones, and packages with a whole cut up chicken.

Our store hours are 10am-6pm Thursday through Saturday.

Bulk Food Order

If you are excited about ordering in bulk, this is the part of the newsletter for you. I like ordering in bulk this time of year because I don’t like going places in the winter. The less I have to drive in the snow the better. Because of this, at this time of year I like to stock up on the cozy winter foods that we will be eating in the colder months. It is also a great way to save money and be prepared for unexpected financial issues. Things that I really like to have on hand are things like pasta, flour, canned goods, rice, beans, oatmeal, and frozen strawberries. You may have a different list. As a matter of fact, you should have a different list. Your family certainly is not going to eat exactly like mine. If your family eats a lot of lunchmeat, you can order the big lunchmeats like they have in the deli. It might totally be worth it for your family to invest in an inexpensive meat slicer and buy lunchmeat like that. You could slice it all up when you get it, pack it into one lb portions in freezer bags, and freeze it to use all winter. My family rarely eats lunchmeat, so this wouldn’t make sense for us. We do, however, eat pizza once a week, so I like to order a case of sliced pepperoni. I also order pre shredded mozzarella. Cheese freezes well and it’s so nice to just grab it out of the chest freezer when we need it. If you make a lot of chili, but don’t want to pre soak beans, you might want a case of canned beans. If you drink coffee or tea every morning, you might want a case of that. Are you into all natural cleaning products? You might want to order a 50lb bag of baking soda and a case of vinegar. Really think about what you are always running to the store for, and try ordering those items in bulk. You can get everything from sandwich bags to brooms to gluten free pasta.

Ordering is easy once you get the hang of it. Every month I get an updated list of all of the items. I alphabetize it and post it at the end of the newsletter. It is very long. Please don’t print it out. You will run out of printer ink. Because this company is mostly for the Amish community, this is how they do it. If this list is too intimidating for you, you can go to Walnutcreekfoods.com and look there. I will warn you that the search engine there isn’t great, but you can see what you are getting. Please do not contact them with questions! They do not want to talk to you. Contact me instead. I will do my best to help you find just wat you are looking for.

Next you make a list and email it to me at northhaus@gmail.com This list should include the item description, item number, and price. This helps to make sure that you are getting exactly what you want. This list is due Saturday, August 30th at 7pm. Again, don’t be afraid to email me with questions. I had a lot of questions in the beginning and have learned a lot. Also, most people have a lot of questions when first figuring this out, but once they have them answered, they find all kinds of things they can save money on.

Finally come to the farm at 2482 170th ave Emerald WI on Friday, September 5th after 4:30 pm. We can help you load up your car and this is also when you pay. You can shop in the store and also see our farm. It is a lovely drive and we always hear that it wasn’t nearly as far as people thought it would be. I would also like to suggest teaming up with a friend or family member or two to carpool with. If you are looking for a carpool friend or have extra room in your car to carpool with someone else, let me know and we might be able to find a friend or two for you! Making new friends is a wonderful thing!

Some tips on ordering: If you are looking for frozen fruit, make sure that it says IQF in the description. This means that the fruit will separate easily. It stands for Individually Quick Frozen. For butter, we like Alcam. If you want quarters (four sticks in a lb) you want item number 198110. This is what most people order. If you want solids (just one pound blocks of butter) you want item number 198111. If you are looking for high butterfat content (85%) you want the minerva butter roll item number 198201. I also recommend Grain MIllers oats if you are looking for oat products. They check ALL of their oats for Glyphosate (round up) and reject any that test positive. We have also found that the Heartland gluten free pasta is excellent and keeps a nice firm texture when cooked.

Reminder that this bulk order is due August 30th at 7pm and will be delivered September 5th after 4:30pm. Your next chance for a bulk order will be October 3rd with orders due September 27th.

I do hope that all is going well for you and look forward to catching up with you, either during a visit to the farm, on bulk pick up day, or at a farmers market. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Kathy