Sunday Bell Farm

Sunday Bell Farm We sell raw A2/A2 cow's milk and other farmstead products from our small diversified dairy farm located in North Danville, VT. Thanks!

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During these final days of winter milk, I can't help but feel loads of nostalgia and appreciation for this beautiful foo...
05/08/2025

During these final days of winter milk, I can't help but feel loads of nostalgia and appreciation for this beautiful food. No small feat, we made it to spring!
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I live for pasture season. Spending the entire day moving fences to unify the elements of animal, vegetable, carbon, sun and rain. Seeking alignment with natures perfect design. Like everyone, I celebrate the many different 'milks' of the grazing calendar. Such as the sour grassiness during peak dandelion season, the sweetness when the earliest red clovers blossom, and the richness just before the first frost. Experiencing these daily subtleties is truly the joy of being a herdswoman.
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But my sincerest appreciation for this whole song and dance comes in winter. When the cows are snug in the barn. And the bulk tank is full with this fresh and fulfilling source. When it was 20 below, with snow piled up, and the power was out these girls still gave their all. The true provider, the ultimate giver of life when all else is locked up in permafrost. There is so much comfort and security and gratitude in that. It's enough to make a person want to dedicate their entire life to it.
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Manure has been spread, rain has come, and now we wait for the sun. We are greasing the gears and honeing the blades for another season of harvest. Another turn of the circle. The hope is that in 6 months, there will enough hay stored away to put some milk in the pail when we depend on it the most. Not the sexist milk, but for me easily the most treasured.

Well if this ain't just a picture of March.💩We had our first field day of the year frost seeding clover. One of many che...
03/30/2025

Well if this ain't just a picture of March.
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We had our first field day of the year frost seeding clover. One of many cheap and cheerful practices we utilize to improve pasture quality and soil health for the long haul.
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In this case, frost seeding was the final step in a year long implementation which also included forage stockpiling and bale grazing.
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Head to my stories for the tea.
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And, good news! With a little sweat and intention, improving soil and pasture health is attainable for everyone, not just those with big equipment and even bigger budgets.

I've come to find the only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and a heifer each March from old Queen Saturn.
03/17/2025

I've come to find the only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and a heifer each March from old Queen Saturn.

2024 chickens are all in the freezer!🐔 Last year we pushed up our final butchering day to the third week in August. It w...
08/29/2024

2024 chickens are all in the freezer!
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Last year we pushed up our final butchering day to the third week in August. It was a complete game changer. It kept us ahead of late summer predation and the lengthening chilly dewy nights that were negatively impacting our growth rates. 
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Most importantly, during a time of year when burnout is at it strongest, ending the chicken season early eliminated one less thing for us to stay on top of. Chickens are the one truly seasonal enterprise we raise here. I consider everything else to be year round, even forage production.
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Start to finish this year's meat birds were thee highlight of 2024. The biggest lesson in how dialing in systems and infrastructure can lead to efficiency and joy. Even for the most dreaded chore.
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I look forward to keeping this ball rolling through other aspects of the farm. Particularly with the dairy barn and parlor building projects. Now on to third cut, cleaning out the winter pack barns, and fall calving. See ya next march meaties!!

Officially survived the first week of June. I'll take it all plus a bag of chips. 🍟
06/11/2024

Officially survived the first week of June. I'll take it all plus a bag of chips. 🍟

Dipping our toes in some dandy candy to kick off harvest season 2024. 🌼As small scale, raw milk producers we are highly ...
05/23/2024

Dipping our toes in some dandy candy to kick off harvest season 2024. 
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As small scale, raw milk producers we are highly conscientious of what we feed our milk cows. Hay must be nutrient dense, palatable, safe to consume, and make tasty milk. 
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This hay checks all the boxes except one! Grass cut this time of year is absolutely loaded with protein, it will keep our cows in steady milk production through the winter- nutrient dense ✅. They love the dandelions and tender spring leaves, free from hard to swallow stems and scratchy mature blades. Also because the weather was so nice we didnt have to ted it out to smithereens- palatability ✅. Lastly, we beat the rain and were able to dry it down quite well. This field made a complete recovery from 2023 saturation (not true for all of them). Pending final testing this fall, this hay should be safe for consumption ✅.
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So what about the milk flavor factor? Well, after 3-4 bales of this, milk will start to taste oddly sweet and very grassy/flowery. For those of us who grew up drinking ultra pasteurized homogenized milk from cows fed a total mixed ration, it can be a little off putting to say the least. So this winter, we will carefully ration out these bales one by one whenever the girls need a little pick me up.
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We gotta cater to flavor! As direct to consumer producers of raw bottled milk, this is our job! If we were shipping to a co-op or making our own cheese the approach would be different. It certainatly adds a whole other level to hay harvest and herd management but we try our best. It's not crazy if it works, right!!?? And our milk is damn delicious if I may say so. Let's raise a glass to this acutely seasonal, deeply complex, and highly dynamic food source!

Address

487 Tampico Road
Danville, VT
05828

Telephone

+18022996557

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