Hello and welcome to the February 2026 newsletter for Laughing Duck Farm. I hope this finds you cozy and warm. Things here have been going pretty well. While the temperatures have been dipping impressively deep below zero, things on the farm have been pretty uneventful. The animals are naturally well equipped for this kind of weather, so before each cold snap I just go out and make sure the waters are all filled and not covered in ice, I fill the shelters with dry fluffy straw, I make sure all of the hay feeders are full, and then I go sit by the fire with a warm cup of tea and watch the bird feeder. Or I sit in the store with my cup of tea and talk to customers. Or I drink my cup of tea while homeschooling my youngest child. Whatever I’m doing, there is probably a cup of tea involved and I am not worrying about the animals.

On The Farm

This month is all about the goats. We will have five goats going into the butcher so we will be restocked with gyros, ground goat, chops and roasts. This is also the time that baby goats will start making their appearance. Now usually I try to postpone this for a little bit. It is a little stressful to be trying to dry off a baby goat in negative degree weather, but the good news is that once they are dry they are usually good to go, no matter what the temperature. This means that I may be in the barn at 2am with a hair dryer, but that is the price for not removing the buck from the goat pen last summer. He should have been kept separate from the ladies until November. This would have resulted in no babies until at least April. Next year I will do better.

In The Store

Store hours are from 10am-6pm Thursdays through Saturdays or by appointment.

Things have been pretty quiet in the store. We haven’t been flooded with customers this winter, but it hasn’t been totally empty either. We now have a new beverage cooler where you can purchase cold drinks, just what you want when the weather dips down into the dangerous zone! We carry some lovely flavored sparkling waters, and some probiotic sodas to help your tummy.

This month we will be offering two classes in the store. On Saturday February 7th you can drop in any time between 1pm and 3pm and have Kyra teach you how to make a cute pop up Valentine’s card for your friend or sweetheart. This would be a great class to bring your child to as well. I think it will be lots of fun.

On Saturday February 21st at 1pm Kathy will be talking about bulk food storage. This will be a great class for anyone who has been thinking about ordering from our bulk food list but is nervous about how to store their items. Both of these classes are free.

Finally, this month you can find us at one market. We will be at the 45th Parallel in New Richmond on Sunday February 8th from 10am-2pm. We always bring a couple of selections of meats and some of our dried goods. We cannot bring everything, though, so if there is something in particular that you would like to pick up there, just message me and I will bring it for you.

Bulk Food Ordering

This is the part of the show that many of you have been scrolling for. This month’s order will be delivered on Friday, February 6th. Orders are due by 7pm on Saturday, January 31st. The next opportunity to order will be our March order which will be delivered Friday, March 6th with orders due on Saturday, February 28th.

If you are thinking about leaving the newsletter here, I would ask you to pause for a moment. This is the part of the newsletter that could really save your family or your business quite a bit of money. If you are a make it from scratch type of person, you can order almost any ingredient. If you have a specialized diet, you are probably spending a lot of money on specialized food items. Many of those things can be ordered much cheaper in bulk. If you are someone who relies heavily on prepackaged food items, you can find loads of them as well. You could order enough chicken nuggets (#642002) and yogurt drinks (#199715) to keep your kids happy all winter. And I don’t even judge which type of person you are because I fully understand that we all have to create a life that suits us where we are now.

If you are a business, you might want to check out our wide variety of containers. From clamshells (#909547) to pizza boxes (906904), we have it. You can also order drinks and snacks to keep your office kitchen fully stocked.

As for me, I will be stocking up this month on frozen strawberries (#624902). We go through a lot of these, both for smoothies and for that mid-winter craving of strawberry shortcake. Now is the best time to order frozen fruit because it can sit outside while it waits for you to pick it up, and you don’t have to stress out about it melting. I will also be choosing another frozen vegetable to stock up on this month. As you may remember, I ordered the stir fry veggies (#624312) a while ago and boy were we impressed! The are bright and healthy looking and taste very fresh. Oh, and by the way, all of the Nature’s Blessed vegetables as well as those frozen strawberries are on sale this month!

To order: Find the items you want on the following list. This list can be a bit intimidating so PLEASE ask me if you need some help! This is my quiet time of year so I have plenty of time to work it out with you. Next, make a list of the items you want with their item numbers and price. Email that list to me at northhaus@gmail.com . Get that list to me by Saturday, January 31st at 7pm. Then you sit back and dream about how nice it will be to save money and not have to go to the grocery store. On Friday, February 6th after 4:30pm, you drive out to the farm at 2482 170th ave, Emerald WI to pick up your order. This is when you pay with either cash or check. It will be exactly like Christmas because it will be cold, there will be snow outside, and you get to open boxes of things for yourself. If you want, I can even play Christmas carols in the store. The only difference is that the boxes will be full of things you like because you ordered them yourself. The store will also be open at this time so you can also shop for our fantastic pasture raised meat and things that you don’t want so much of.

If you made it all the way to this point of the newsletter, congratulations! You are a superstar reader! I hope this all finds you healthy and warm and I really look forward to seeing you at the store or out and about somewhere. I hope you feel blessed this month and that you feel as prepared for winter as a Laughing Duck goat with a warm fluffy bed of straw.

Kathy