Hello and welcome to the last Laughing Duck Farm newsletter of 2025. I feel like it was just a couple of weeks ago that I was writing a newsletter in January, so excited for 2025 and all it could hold. Were my expectations met? Yes, and then some! Our little business has grown in a way that is almost overwhelming. This is exactly the right amount of growth. Do I feel like I’m drowning sometimes? Yes. But do I ever drop the ball and make a mistake? Also yes. Ah, but do I ever drop the ball so bad that I feel like a complete failure who will never achieve success? Um, for a third time, yes! Growth is hard. It is painful. You lose people along the way who have decided to stop growing or are simply growing in a different direction than you are. But then you also gain new people who are growing right along with you and, at least for now, in the same direction you are. This can be scary, but if you embrace it and keep your eyes ahead of you, you will be amazed at how far you come in a year. If a year seems like a long time, well, then you are probably young. Enjoy that. Also, you are going to be another year older anyways. You might as well grow and change while you’re at it.

Things look very different for me this year than they did last year. One grandson is now in school full time while another one is experiencing his first year on the planet. My younger children are now all driving, working and pretty much independent. Farmer’s markets are no longer scary and now just a way of life. Lots of things that seemed big and scary don’t seem big or scary anymore. Don’t worry. As a very dramatic person, I am onto new things that seem big and scary. And I am also very excited to see how those things look at the end of next year.

On the Farm

Everything is pretty quiet and as I sit here, it is all being tucked in for the winter under a blanket of snow. We have a lot of hay put away. This makes me happy because I know for a fact and without a doubt that our hay was never sprayed with anything. It was fertilized with rain and animal droppings. It grew in the sunshine with lots of rain this year so it is very healthy hay. This in turn is making very healthy animals. We checked our goats for worms recently and I was very pleased. Usually when you’ve had a lot of rain, your goats will have a lot of worms. We had a lot of rain this year but because our goats are very healthy and we rotate pastures regularly, they did not appear to have much for worms. This is very very good. The cows are also fat and happy. The livestock guardian dogs are so excited. This is their weather. The chickens on the other hand, are fed up with winter already. They huddle together in the fluffy straw of their chicken coops and dream about bugs and green grass. Some days I am a chicken, and some days I am a livestock guardian dog.

In the Store

The store is still here on the farm. It is open from 10am-6pm Thursday through Saturday. We get new items in every other week. Some are big hits, others not so much, but we are getting to the point where it is rare for someone to stop in looking for something that we don’t have. The freezers right now are full of chicken and pork. We are fully stocked on all of those items. We still have some goat, including our fantastic gyros meat. It is precooked so all you have to do is heat it up on a pan and throw it on a salad, pita, or grain bowl. We also do have rabbit back in stock.

If you are a reader, you may be interested to know that there will be an article on our little store in the Glenwood City Tribune Press Reporter. I am over the moon about this and probably also taking a huge risk by announcing it before reading it. Hopefully they say nice things!

Bulk Ordering

This month’s bulk order will be delivered on December 12. You may pick up your order any time after 4:30 on the farm at 2482 170th ave Emerald WI. Troy installed some new outdoor lighting which should make pick up much easier. Your order is due on Saturday, December 6th by 7pm. If you have not received a conformation email by Sunday morning, please check in. We are growing and sometimes things drop through the cracks. After this, your next opportunity to place an order will be Friday January 9th with orders due on January 3rd.

What should you order this month? Christmas gifts!!! People appreciate consumable gifts so much more than knick knacks that will sit around and gather dust. There are all kinds of fancy cheeses, jams, and chocolates. Kids would approve of the gummies, candies, and chips. Can you imagine that teen ager opening an entire case of Doritos just for them?! You probably also want to order butter this month. It is cheaper than I think I have ever seen it. You will also find frozen pies or even just pie crusts for your holiday baking. Finally, make sure you order something healthy so you can get a jump start on those New Year’s promises you make. We offer all kinds of herbal tonics, high fiber foods like oats and chia, and even things like almond milk.

My favorites that I always order for my family?

624837 IQF strawberries, sliced Great for smoothies or that midwinter shortcake!

717961 Sea salt Pop Corners A great light snack

198110 Alcam butter quarters We bake most things from scratch

756913 Organic Sucanat The only sweetener I use for baking

755825 Organic old fashioned rolled oats Filling and so good for you

This moth I will also be trying 624312 Frozen stir fry vegetables. We love stir fry and this would for sure make it easier.

To place your bulk order, scroll through the list below (Don’t print it! It’s huge!) and find items you use a lot of. Then send me an email at northhaus@gmail.com . Include in your list the name, item number, and price of the items you want. Then, on December 12 any time after 4:30 pm come to the farm at 2482 170th ave, Emerald, WI 54013 and pick up your order. You pay with cash or check then. If you are sending someone else to pick up your order, you can either send money with them or mail me a check made out to Laughing Duck Farm to the same address.

One last thing. My goal has been to add two new makers or bakers to the bulk order every month. If you know someone who is a professional baker or might use some of these items (tallow, and olive oil pomace are used a lot in skin care products) send them this newsletter. I might be able to save them a lot of money!

I hope this has been a fantastic year for you. I hope next year will be even better. I pray that each of you finds joy, peace and growth in the next year. Hope to see you soon!

Kathy