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welcome to the mead! Westby send a truck to pick up organic milk
3 times a week! |
Nestled into the rolling hills of Osseo, Wisconsin sits a small micro dairy run by a family of farmers passing along a tradition of remarkable farming practices to the fifth generation. Inga and Joe Maurer invited this years participants to be part of their wedding day, a celebration of home grown food, an endless amount of music and dance, a transformation for an intimate group of people that were enlivened and humbled by the amazing beauty and hard work of micro dairy and the unique food and merriment that can come from such a place.
This years cyclists were invited and asked to partake in photography, the serving of food and beverages, some setup and takedown of parts of the wedding and in reflection remember this setting to be one of many places that glowed with forward thinking and empowerment to grow into a unique niche and market to sell organic, clean, high quality milk to a local dairy some 80 miles away and perhaps eventually to make their own cheese with the help of family and perhaps other neighboring farms.
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Brian Wicklund, Fiddle player extraordinaire of the Minnesota band
'the Barley Jacks' serenades the farms ladies,
not to be outdone by the bagpipes! |
Joe and Inga had a great number of irons in the fire but one notable thing to connect to this place is 'around the farm table' in which inga and joe highlight the lessons they have learned on the mead. By networking with other local farms and friends they combine many talents to exponentiate the educational dreams of the farm, check out one of ingas three Vimeo videos that are working towards appearances on public television, and a wider and wider audience of future farmers, food lovers, etc.
"Around The Farm Table" - Steak and Ale Pie from
St. Isidore's Mead on
Vimeo.
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Our seven cyclists are joined by the reverand Kevin Barnes and wife Terry
and newlyweds Inga and Joe Maurer |
The mead was a great start to our trip as we celebrated the reunion of participants from our first WIBBC just last August (2011) and the addition of a few new friends that hadn't yet toured with us. Camping in the pastures, being around a new generation of farmers and the supporters of their community and family we felt an uplifting hope for a new generation to embrace the creation of good food, just as thousands of families have done before us but now have found a struggle to pass on their knowledge and land stewardship.
keep an eye out for more from 'around the farm table' and enjoy the great products from Westby Dairy when shopping at your co-op, natural food store, etc.
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| The wedding's h'orderves... |
