Sem Julep Farm

Sem Julep Farm I am a wife and mother navigating homeschool and being a homemaker to our family while practicing homesteading and farming (micro, raw milk dairy).

Our raw milk subscription offers on farm pick up or delivery to local pick up points

09/19/2026

My favorite way to preserve fresh green beans is to freeze them because they keep their crunch.

These will serve our table well this winter in vegetable soup with our homemade broth or in a beef and vegetable skillet.

09/17/2026

This pretty filly has some big shoes to fill.

I say that while also knowing every horse I’ve had the privilege to own has given me more than I ever anticipated.

I’ve loved each of them equally, but for entirely different reasons. Different qualities. Different gifts. Different seasons of life.

So maybe she doesn’t really have shoes to fill after all.

She just has to become her.

I’m excited to see what that looks like.

To see how this girl meets the needs, and the horse-crazy-girl heart, of a 40-something woman who craves being back in the saddle more days than not, while somehow trying to manage four or five different part-time jobs and all the other pieces of life.

I don’t know yet what her gifts will be.

But that’s part of the fun of it.

09/16/2026

Quick check on the beef cows.

Looking good in their fall pasture.

Nothing exciting to report, the best kind of cattle check.

Extra ScratchesWhen the heifers finish eating breakfast, they settle in and wait while the cows finish milking.Bill has ...
09/14/2026

Extra Scratches

When the heifers finish eating breakfast, they settle in and wait while the cows finish milking.

Bill has been spending some of that waiting time getting them used to people, handling them, and giving out a few extra scratches.

Phoebe, out of Marigold and by Harold-P from Reverence Farms, is adjusting to the extra attention just fine.

Little moments like this are part of raising our future milk cows too. Not just feeding and breeding them, but teaching them that the barn, the stanchion, and the people in it are pretty good places to be.

And apparently Bill makes a pretty good pillow.

Sometimes the harvest takes years.This year's grapes have been harvested, cleaned, and are now in the freezer for proces...
09/12/2026

Sometimes the harvest takes years.

This year's grapes have been harvested, cleaned, and are now in the freezer for processing into juice and jellies at a later date.

When we started “homesteading,” one of the decisions we made was to invest in North Dakota hardy perennial fruit plants that could nourish our family, and hopefully future generations, on this property for years to come.

These grapes are the fruit of those decisions and the labor that followed.

A couple of years ago, we thought we might lose the vines altogether. Instead, they came back stronger and more productive than ever and are now in roughly their tenth season on our property.

It's a good reminder that sometimes the food in our bellies isn't grown in one season.

Nourishing food, grown over many seasons, with a whole lot of labor and thoughtful decisions along the way.

09/10/2026

The Juggling Act: Farming means deciding what can't happen at the same time.

Our meat birds arrived this week, about a month later than I have raised them in the past.

This year I am testing this later start as I think ahead to 2027, because I have already ruled out spring, summer, and early fall. I am trying to figure out where meat birds fit amongst garden harvest, grain harvest, dairy chores and delivery schedules, beef cattle management, kids' activities, and hopefully horse activities.

These birds should finish around mid-November. Cooler weather may mean they take a little longer. Or North Dakota could throw us one of those 20-below November stretches and I'll be questioning every decision I made.

But for now, this timing keeps one more big job from landing on top of another.

When an operation depends on weather, animals, and growing seasons, there will always be overlapping priorities. I am slowly learning the goal isn't to eliminate the overlap. It's to try not to stack the biggest priorities on top of the other biggest priorities.

It's quite the juggling act most seasons.

So we'll see if a later hatch date works in our favor for the 2026 meat bird season and if it's worth repeating in the fall of 2027.

Because one thing farming continues to teach me is that what worked one year may never work quite the same way again.

We'll make that adjustment when we get there.

My favorite breakfast season is coming to an end.In-season peaches, a drizzle of maple syrup, and raw whole milk from ou...
09/04/2026

My favorite breakfast season is coming to an end.

In-season peaches, a drizzle of maple syrup, and raw whole milk from our beautiful Jersey girls.

Nothing fancy. Just really good food in its season.

09/02/2026

The dairy herd says this pasture is for the birds. Send us to the next one, farmher.

This is the second time the ladies have grazed this pasture cell this year. The first time they were here for about three days.

But rainfall, animal impact, the grasses growing here, timing, and a whole lot of other factors have come together to make this less than dairy-quality pasture this August.

And the girls let us know.

Regenerative grazing practices sound wonderful, and they are something we believe in, but there is a very real learning curve to understanding how to apply them to our land, our animals, and our North Dakota growing season.

I’m here for the learning. But it takes time.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will our pastures be.

We’ll keep observing, adjusting, moving cows, making mistakes, and trying again because growing quality forage for our dairy herd throughout as much of our North Dakota growing season as possible is one of the goals we’re working toward.

For today, though, the ladies have submitted their pasture review - One star. Please move us.

08/29/2026

Who protests vacation? Tumbleweed.

Contrary to the quiet and peaceful demeanor you see here, Tumbleweed has spent the last week rearranging panels, bellering nonstop, and charging into the milking stanchion every chance she gets.

Because apparently she did not approve her vacation request.

But it is time.

This week her feed and hay changed to signal to her body that it’s time to slow down and stop producing milk. Today, after her final milking, we sealed each quarter and officially dried her off.

Now she gets a well-earned break from milking while her body prepares for the little calf she’s growing and the beautiful, rich colostrum that baby will need when it arrives in October.

After years of milking cows, I still love how much their personalities come through during these transitions.

Tumbleweed would just like it noted that this particular management decision was made without her consent.

Who protests vacation? Tumbleweed.Contrary to the quiet and peaceful demeanor you see here, Tumbleweed has spent the las...
08/29/2026

Who protests vacation? Tumbleweed.

Contrary to the quiet and peaceful demeanor you see here, Tumbleweed has spent the last week rearranging panels, bellering nonstop, and charging into the milking stanchion every chance she gets.

Apparently she did not approve her vacation request. And the change in feed has left her a little hangry about the whole situation.

But it is time.

This week her feed and hay changed to signal to her body that it’s time to slow down and stop producing milk. Today, after her final milking, we sealed each quarter and officially dried her off.

Now she gets a well-earned break from milking while her body prepares for the little calf she’s growing and the beautiful, rich colostrum that baby will need when it arrives in October.

After years of milking cows, I still love how much their personalities come through during these transitions.

Tumbleweed would just like it noted that this particular management decision was made without her consent.

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Palermo, ND

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