Knolle Dairy Farms, Sandia Texas

06/18/2026

Howdy amigos , happy Throwback Thursday. We hope all are starting to dry out.

Todays forecast was an inspiration for todays throwback post. As we approach a tempature and humidity killer event, need to maintain cool thoughts to keep going.

Check out the product shot from according to our analytics, before over half of yall were born. Knolle ice milk.

A great frozen treat simply churned with our Jersey milk and very few additives. Ice milk is a lower fat version of ice cream ranging from 4% BF but typically well below the double digit range. Remeber you do not need copious amounts of cream and a semi tanker of chemicals to make frozen treats . The right ingredients ( like some super cool local grass fed milk all Jersey milk) and the right equipment and your there.
Lot lower fat content as well.

Dont see many people making " ice milk" anymore but you may have seen a similar butter fat frozen treat on the market- gelato.

Clean label goodness from a forgotten era. Before the pinnical of the processed food revolution, you could find products like this out there. Now typical " home made " or " in store " frozen treats are made with an industial type base with a pile of emusifiers , gums , and other wonders of modern chemistry. No wonder our kiddos need so many meds , hell they shoud just dope the food too! New and improved , now with Adderall;). Had more for this but somehow lost our train of thought..

REAL FOOD frozen dairy treats are easy stuff to make. Great summertime fun for the kiddos. Last night we made frozen yogurt with only 5 ingredients entertaining some local dignitaries at the farm house. They loved it.

If any of yall have any kind of frozen dairy treat in your freezer, chime in and post a label. Let's make it interesting for the rest of the day. Post a pic and post the total amount of ingredients. Whoever has the highest ingredient count will win a twin pack of our pourable blueberry yogurt which is just perfect for one of household icecream makers to help you beat the horrible summer heat.

Knolle Dairy Farms, Sandia Texas open all day. Case is loaded , fresh milk on the shelf and even have a couple of cases set back for Mike too!.
Moody's Quality Meats
Island Market Grocery
Saltwater Gypsies

All reloaded with milk

Padre Island Burger Company
The Post at Lamar Park
Have our beef available when you place your order, support those who support local. Everybody always says support local , but when you support local and patronize local restaurants that USE LOCAL PRODUCTS , wow, you are multiplying you purchasing power to support a lot of local families , not just more larger corporations !

Thank you ALL for the amazing support of our antiqued, lost to time, old fashioned ,old school dairy farm. Home to those grass fed free range , cage free , non registered Jersey cows. Your support keeps our girls home on the range as they have been for the past 98 years. Muchos Gracias !

06/12/2026

Howdy and happy Friday amigos hope all our FCubed have had a great week.

Well just in case anyone has been incommunicado for the past week things are changing here in Texas , quickly.

The reemergence of new world screwworm is going to keep all on high alert for a long time to come. Not a race ( obviously) but more of a marathon.

Keeping an eye on critters is going to be a full time job. Also make sure to keep a vigilant eye on your portfolio for all of the makers of these drugs and products that are going to be in high demand.

The longer it takes to get all of this under control with the sterile fly program , the more drugs that ag sector ( and a lot of our amigos with dogs and cats ) will consume. These makers may be printing money in overtime , while the front line boots on the ground are dealing with the mess. Watching the Ag shows it looks like superbowl commercial time on what drugs to use to keep your critters safe, so many are just short term options with a ton of withholding times. Buy and apply , buy more and reapply more, , and for dairy cattle , forget it, all that milk we be heading down the drain if mass dosing is required for production cows.

So after a lot of calls and advice we are making our changes to operations to puts eyes on the animals as much as possible. We have our emergency drugs now on site ( many of which are now on national backorder ) . We are also heading out for many premise type preventive measures to keep all flys ( especially biting flies ) away from our animals. After all they are the essence of our operations. The more things you look the more things you find.

Pic one eyes peeled for newborns. Hard to see in plain sight , can you see the baby?

Clip 2 now we have to grab those babies and make sure to get those navels treated. Highly vunerable prime target for NWS. We have been told if a calf gets hit there , we likely will not have an opportunity to treat , only will find a dead calf.

Clip 3
First light with our milk cows in the holding pen. This is easiest group for us to check and were not kidding , not one fly is allowed on those cows. 5% ready to use on animal permethrins working well as they always have. Just using them more.

Clip 4 , after riding the range with several advisors looking at reachable areas where our animals may congregate that are also prime habitats for many flying insects but specifically biting flies. Have to know the land. They can lead to small surface wounds on the animal that may just provide the right TARGET for the New World Screwworm. Reduce biting flies , reduce these types of surface abrasions from the fly ,hopefully reduce the vunerability to NWS. Modified a back pack turbine applicator to ride in the rear of the UTV so a LOT more areas can be targeted.

Clip 5 Study the situation as it evolves. Filmed a quick clip of our calf that had a really rocky start to life last month and required a ton of attention from our small staff and some dedicated volunteers to survive. Filmed this on Monday and pitched it . We found this guy yesterday with bite marks ( stray dogs , dont dump your dogs here, it will not end well) and had our amazing vet check It out. So now this little guy is also our first critter to go though our NWS protection program because he is now high risk with open wounds (topical protection spray plus injectable anti parasitic for 3 weeks of protection ) . All this on top of antibiotics. No NWS but he is now at high risk. Crazy
Looking back on the film from monday , they puncture was there and I missed it ( pic 6 ). Need more coffee.

Is this the new normal for us? Who knows but like any thing else , PLAN A usually goes out the window quick.

At Knolle Dairy Farms, Sandia Texas we are open.as usual but we are going to be spread a little thin. .we have also cancelled one tour for next week. We just sold out of milk , so our next fluid run will be on Monday. We have some awesome aged quesos out and some fresh quesos too.

As always yall patience is much appreciated! Thank you to all for the continued support of REAL LOCAL GRASS FED DAIRY AND BEEF PRODUCTS here in South Texas !

06/04/2026

Happy throwback Thursday amigos , hope you are having a great week. Looks like things are getting a little sporty down the road. Would like to start our look back piece with a quote from the local paper many moons ago:

" The battle is on against the states costliest livestock pest-the screwworm; it is being fought from the ground and the air; and it is pitting man's cleverness against the insects prolificity.

The battle cry is not only " They shall not pass!" but also " They shall not survive! " The screwwroms of Texas are facing a very bleak and radioactive future. "

from the Corpus Christi Caller Times many , many years ago.

Well here we go , again.

It's almost impossible to imagine that we arrived to this point as a victim of circumstance. Lack of action is an action , much like sitting on the pot too long deliberating water strategy for our area as a parasite decimates our rural groundwater (CCW), the same types of slow walking lack of effective action strategy has brought and even larger parasite back to our state. The screwworm is BACK!

Of course a pile of money will be made at the expense of the boots on the ground and the animals who are having to suffer. This terrifying livestock pest is here not because we are no longer the greatest nation in the world , but because we just like the opportunity to monetize misery from time to time, and we are quite good at it.

Just look at the markets coasting past 50 k while people are struggling to buy low end foods at the grocery store and farmers cant produce a crop without heading into the red.

The writing was really on the wall when the cattle futures trading limits were expanded last week that the chit was heading for the turbine fast. Double down on that any time a goverment official tries to play down what is happening stating that things are ok. More like fear the fly and dont buy the lie.

Folks like Ronnie Eckel have been saying this is going to be here very soon for a long time and they were right. While the nation was looking at the HPAI threat in dairy cattle as the next black swan, the smarter minds in the field already saw NWS preparing to ravage our country , once again. They also knew not enough was being done fast enough to change the trajectory, this would become an eventuality. The reliance for years of central and south American cattle to feed the Texas feedyards had not only paved the new cattle trails , but has allowed the fly a path to move North. As long as those gr**gos at the supermarket thought they were eating cheap American beef they just kept lining up for more.

Speaking of trajectory warm tropical weather systems pushing up from Mexico into South Texas are not helping. While its a godsend for our lands parched earth it may carry an easy ride for the fly.

So it looks like it's time for the antiparasic drug manufacturers to make some serious hay. Looks like the traders will have the tools in place to substantially leverage the markets taking advantage of any supply disruptions , and let's just say beef is probably not going to be getting any cheaper. Vets are going to be very busy too straining a very limited group of hard working professionals.

Our beloved cattle may suffer along with our household pets. Surrvalince and prevention is what we are told. Terrifying to think this farm could be the first dairy in the United States to have this type of problem in a very long time.

Take a look at those old clips in the article. Looks like a bunch of very hard working men getting after it to do all they can to eradicate the fly. Those pictures were probably taken less than 100 miles from the current NWS case . That generation had the determination, fortitude , and desire to fight this fight and to get the job done.

Ours has safe spaces, screen time limits, and 12 th place award ribbons.

Get ready.

05/29/2026

Howdy and happy FRIDAY amigos, almost have May out of the way with a MASSIVE improvement to the regions drought, THANK GOD! The blessings of all this rain will provide a bounty of forages for our little farm for some time to come.

Thursday Christina Knolle joined in the fun and jumped in for 16 hours on the road. We started heading south down 281 after loading up with 3/4 of a ton of our grass fed dairy products . Started to get a little hungry and made a quick call in order to the TEXAS GRUB WAGON . Well if you know you know , Brian and company always serves up a great meal and they definitly have this cowboys number ( pic 1 ).

After our unload down in the RGV we had a couple of quick meets including a stop at the UTRGV campus at the center for sustainable agriculture. Cool stuff, great folks doing great work.

Back north bound with the hammer down as we were running late for another event. Even had to make a quick change at the rest stop just north of the Fal checkpoint.

Rolled in just a pinch late to a reception at the Texas State Aquarium put together by the fine team at Texas Farm Credit. Misty at TFC, you knocked it out of the park with this event , what a unique, memorable, and enjoyable time. Thank you !

Wow. What a spread they put on and what an amazing venue for an event. Overwhelming to see such beautiful marine life centered with an amazing view of our city. The awards presentation featured members with exemplary service in a broad spectrum of fields in agricultural organizations. Plural. Like a ton of them. Its seemed like each recipient served on at least a dozen boards and advisory committees. Truly marks of excellence in promotion of the states agricultural endeavors , from education , advocacy, agronomic economics, they had done it all . Makes one wonder how many will attempt to follow that level of leadership in the future.

Great to visit with some of of our neighboring farmers to get an update on everything from the rain to input costs. Their challenges are definitely present.

After an amazing meal we had a chance to look around and admire some of the aquatic wonders of the aquarium. Before we owned Knolle Dairy Farms, Sandia Texas we both were avid divers and enjoyed time in the Gulf of America exploring the rigs. The TSA has done an amazing job at curating an immersive experience that brings that whole experience right here to land for all to enjoy. If you have not been here, check it out. They have a high level of sustainability incorporated into a lot of their operations and are actively involved in a ton of marine advocacy issues, from rescue to education , they are moooooving the needle over there.

Had a quick after dinner drink at Pier 99 to take in a view of the Lex and reflect on a fine and productive day off the farm that turned into a well deserved date night.
The best part of it all!

05/28/2026

Happy national burger day amigos! Hope all get out and pick up some beef from your local purveyor , and if you can't buy local, at least buy American.

Speaking of beef we had a chance to deal with a bad bull that has been giving us indigestion for a long time. A known fence jumper we have chased this guy all over the farm. He was very aggressive with the cows and even kept on prodding them with his horns until they would let him nurse ! That's worse than 40 year old kiddos still living at home, time to cut him loose and literally get off the tit.

He has a history of aggressiveness when pushed and cornered. During a normal roundup this week with the milk cows he just happened to cut into a path where a quick swing of the gates allowed us to pen him in the middle for the feed alley. There was no way he could be moved to our normal loading and working pen, this deal had to go down now. We did not care where he would go but he could not stay here beating up our girls. That other steer was his partner in crime , and if he wanted to get on the trailer too we were not about to try and seperate them.

Quick calls to our team and a plan was sprung. It's all came together with NO HARMFUL CONTACT at least for the bull.

Check it out. Remember to find our total carcass grass fed ground at the on farm market! Case will be full and that's not just a bunch of bull.

05/27/2026

Howdy and happy humpday amigos. What a night. Running behind schedule today but we will be open Knolle Dairy Farms, Sandia Texas .
Just waiting for lightning to clear before we bring in the cows.

Fresh milk run yesterday. Case is loaded with local grass fed farm to table goodness. Moody's Quality Meats and Island Market Grocery reloaded yesterday. Yall are killing it in town for us at our retailers plus Saltwater Gypsies in Port Aransas.

Muchos Gracia amigos. Hope all made it through the night safe and sound. May the lands of our region continue to heal, we all have been blessed!

05/26/2026

Howdy and happy Tuesday from your local grass fed , free range dairy farm South Texas. Hope all have had a blessed , relaxing , and safe holiday weekend.

Thank you for all of the visitors to Knolle Dairy Farms, Sandia Texas for the past few days. Really appreciate all of the support of this operation.

With the recent rains we saw something out of place and decided to take a gander at that abomination in the middle of our property. Well it looks like those killer soils along the old Kinder Morgan pipeline are on the move again. Glad we did not hit this in the dark as it could have engulfed our gator potentially causing injury.

This problematic high pressure 42 " pipeline easement ( clip 1 and 2 ) has a history of entrapment of cows in our area. Let's face it nobody wants a hi pressure gas line with a POTENTIAL IMPACT RADIUS of over 3000 feet in the middle of your property, or next to your house , or church. But we have to have it to feed the Port with gas for export. Just like we need to feed the Port of Corpus Christi with our groundwater. We have to keep those Saudis pumping out the plastics on the other side of the bay. We get it but the irony cant be lost on the fact that the singular entity that was founded to promote agriculture is very much at odds with it from a landowers rights perspective. But lest we digress. Wish they would at least buy some milk or cheese every now and then.

We really find it crazy that this construction crew out of Mexico was allowed to trash so much good land up and down the line in South Texas to facilitate this project. From entrapped whitetail fawns to dairy cattle to beef cattle to permanently compromised prime farm soils, this project and its team were a stellar example of what not to do. Period. So many landowers were RAILROADED in the process and many more are still bieng bled out in the court system even now, after all of this has been long completed. Hell of a business model these folks have but it only works with general public apathy or ignorance of how all of this happens.

In the future we may pray that there is a state agency that is actually responsible for the protection of landowners and their rights to farm or at least reasonably co exist with these types of projects. Intimidation of landowers and threats of arrest are not the proper course of conduct for such powerful companies that are acting under powers of condemnation. The sword must cut both ways, until then, yall keep on cashing those checks to look the other way, just make sure and give the IRS their fair share too !

Clip 3 is one of those gorgeous bovines heading to the barn. Look at that udder, all done on grass and these are those pesky non registered Jerseys too! They are not show cows or yard art but we sure love our girls. We are honored to keep those Jerseys here on thier home on the rolling hills of Sandia , as they have been for the past 98 years.

Have to scoot they are ready for the cows at the barn. Fresh milk will be run today and the case is loaded at the farm. See ya in Sandia soon

05/21/2026

Howdy gang, check out this quick clip featuring our reformulated queso panela!

No milk powder added
No calcium chloride

And a new secret ingredient

Just a simple natural clean label queso hand made with milk from grass fed free range Jersey cows.

Should be about twice the price of your facto quesos but then again were not running 400 cows to the acre in a feedlot dairy farm either

Dont be scared to try this on a hot pre oiled grill to raise your holiday cookout to the next level!

Spread the word, it's time to quit grilling " cheese " like a gr**go!.

05/19/2026

Trust us, The work is hard and so many "next gens" don't like to work hard for such little return. The reward comes from the milks nutritious value and giving back to the community. In order for next generations to live a good healthy life, you need to feed them foods that provide the body with essential nourishment, such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, and healthy fats, while being low in harmful components like added sugars and excessive saturated fats. Milk does the body good! Happy to be hard working farmers, who seriously care about what it takes to give your family an option to eat clean.

Some random Monday thoughts from the farm…

Back in the 1980s, dairy farmers across the country were offered what was called the “dairy buyout” program — basically being paid to sell their cows and get out of the dairy business altogether. Thousands of farms took the offer because milk prices were low, expenses were high, and farming families were struggling to survive.

But if my grandfather had taken that buyout, Guernsey Girl Creamery wouldn’t exist today.

No cows in the pasture.
No milk in the cooler.
No early mornings in the barn.
No next generation learning the value of hard work and agriculture.

The 1980s farm crisis wiped out an unbelievable number of family farms across America, and rural communities still feel the effects of it today. Between 1981 and 1986 alone, the U.S. lost hundreds of thousands of farms, and many small dairies never recovered.

So when you support a small family farm today, you’re supporting generations of people who chose to hang on and adapt, when it would’ve been easier to quit.

And for that, we’re thankful. ❤️🥛

05/19/2026

That is all.....