ReedsDairy.com

ALAN REED - THE MILKMAN

Once Again the Food and Drug Administration Tries to Play God with Your Food

January 4th, 2008

 The FDA is expected to approve milk
and meat from cloned animals
within a few days.
  Over the past six years the FDA has been wrestling with the questions of whether milk and meat from cloned animals is okay to eat.  The Wall Street Journal announced the FDA is expected to declare the approval within the next few days.  What???
 Is there any out there now??
 I have read hundreds of articles concerning the testing of cloned animals and what has happened to them.  Besides their muscle structure diminishing as they age and other problems I was shocked at the thought of milk and meat on the market already from cloned animals.  The FDA had a voluntary ban selling milk and meat from cloned animals.  Most people doubt that milk from cloned dairy cows has not been sold with a dairies regular milk.
 A “closed herd” like Reed’s Dairy guarantees you nothing from cloned animals.
 A closed herd means we do not purchase any milk cows from anyone else, we raise all of our own milk cows.  Because we have been a little short on milk, many people have asked why we don’t buy more cows to get more milk.  This is why, we like a closed herd because we know exactly where our cows came from and they are healthy.  There are very few closed herds in the United States and to your advantage we are one of them.
 You know the milk from Reed’s Dairy has not and will never come from cows that have been cloned.  Our customers tell me over and over how important it is for them to have natural food and to know where it comes from.  That is why they buy Reed’s milk.  We truly are the local Farmers Market for your milk.
 How about a cloneburger for dinner?
 We raise several of our own steers that we send to the butcher for our meat.  I also want to know where my meat is coming from.  If you want to have the same advantage we have on the farm with our meat give us a call.  For some reason we have a few extra steers right now that you could also have butchered.  All of the meat from a whole cow to much for your freezer?  Find friends or family members to split one with you.  We will be happy to haul it to the butcher for you.  Then you will know where your meat came from just like we do.

One big reason food prices are high

November 27th, 2007

I typically do not jump on my puplic soap box and rant and rave about things in the world.
My family will testify I save that for around the dinner table.  For this topic I can not resist
to say what is the truth.

One of the main products that has driven the price of all milk and foods in general higher and higher is the price
of corn.  We ship in a semi load about everyother week.  The  price of corn has way more than doubled
over the last 12 months.  This is due to the government subsidy for ethanol.  The Wall Street Journal
a few weeks ago had an article stating the energy used to produce ethanol was greater than the
energy received from ethanol.  So why is the government spending your tax dollars to keep
ethanol production in tack?

On Sunday the Post Register, Idaho Falls local paper, had a reprint from a column by the Kansas City Star
talking about ethanol.  Here are a few quotes from that article. 

“Plants that produce corn-based ehtanol could drain valuable supplies of water now used for drinking.”

“People are buying more ethanol than ever.  But part of the reason behind the boom is that politicians
 - to curry favor with the Midwest - have given unfair advantages to corn-based ethanol.”

Ethanol gets and excessive 51 cents per gallon federal subsidy which gives it an unrealistic market
advantage.  That is your money begin spent to keep ethanol at the head of the alternative fuel list.
In doing so the price of all of your food is going up due to the price of corn.

I agree corn-based ethanol should be part of the alternative fuel options, although it should be more
market driven.  Other products such as perennial grasses, wood chips and wheat straw are cheaper
ways to produce ethanal.  Why not help products that will make less expensive ethanol?  Politics is why,
and we are paying for it.

Okay, okay…. I am getting off my soap box.  Guess what got me started on this?  I just paid my corn
bill for last week!  My family will apprecaite you letting me get this out of my system before I go home.
We will have a quite dinner tonight.

Thanks for supporting your local cows;  no federal subsidies involved.  Just pure wholesome milk produced
without the use of any artificial hormones injected into our cows.

There are two interesting problems happening at your local dairy. Let’s bring you up to date on what is going on.

October 25th, 2007

Reed’s Dairy is working hard to bring you affordable, all natural milk.

Problem One: Got Milk??  No We Don’t!!!

            Since we only bottle milk from our own cows we have a limited amount.  We often talked about what we would do if we sold more milk than we produced; never thought it would happen.  We considered finding milk that was the same as ours, no artificial hormones, no antibiotics and the cows given the ultimate care.  As I searched around we did find some milk that was what we needed; although, it turns out that milk in this valley is short.  Not enough to take care of all the demand for cheese and other dairy products.  Dairy co-ops have contracts all over the western states and there is not enough to fill those contracts.  So… there is no milk we could even purchase.

            Many people have asked why we have run out of milk.  It was only a few months ago we were selling over a thousand gallons of bulk raw milk a week to another cheese plant.  I believe what has happened is all of us are more concerned about the food we are eating.  We want to get back to real food with nothing artificial in it.  Since our milk fits into this category our sales have increased to the point we are using all the milk we have.  Each of you want pure, all natural milk and that is why you are buying Reed’s Dairy milk.

            We are spreading our milk around as much as we can.  I had a suggestion to put a big milk meter on the side of our building showing how much we had!  Probably will not install the meter but we will do all possible to provide you the milk you need.  We have over twenty cows that are calving in the next 20 days.  That means we will be able to start milking them which will give us some more milk.  We will keep you posted on our milk situation.

Problem Two: Higher feed prices, bottle prices, everything seems to be going up.

            Over the past eight months we have seen the price of corn more than double.  We feed lots of corn every day.   The other feed products that we use have also increased dramatically.  Besides the feed cost we also have seen the price of the milk bottles increase over 60%.  We received two price increase notices within the past ten days.  Oil goes up and the price of our petroleum based bottles increases. 

            The other factor that has caused a real struggle is the increase in minimum wage.  We are  paying all of our fulltime employees considerably more than the minimum wage and even our student employees were above that amount.  When the increase happened, we had to raise our pay scale for the lower paid part time help.  This resulted in a tremendous increase in payroll.

            This is why you have seen price increase after price increase.  It makes me frustrated.  We will keep doing all we can to provide you with our all natural milk and keep the price affordable.

“For Those of You Who Want Fresh, Natural Milk with an Absolute Guarantee your Milk Comes from Cows That have Never had Any Artificial Hormones Injected in them Reed’s Dairy is Your Dairy.”

January 16th, 2007
When it comes to the the best tasting, healthiest, most dependable & reliable dairy in eastern Idaho… don’t just buy milk, let Reeds Dairy bring you a fresh taste of heaven, fresh every day! At Reed’s, we’re here to serve you.Think about how much it costs for a “quick trip to the grocery store just for a gallon of milk. Besides the gas used in your car, how about the other things that just jump into your hand while walking back to the milk cooler? Sugar-laden soda pop, high fat junk food, or those other products you just could do without. Our customers tell us over and over how much money they save with home delivery because they are not enticed to impulse buying in the grocery store. You also can plan ahead since you are only billed at the end of the month.

And what about the timesaving? We all have better things to do than stand in the express line waiting to purchase our milk. You will have much more time to do some of those things you have always wanted to do; craft projects, play with the kids, or just take a break. With Reed’s home delivery, your milk will be waiting in an insulated door box on your step. There is a way for life to be easier!
We Deliver Savings
“The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread… three billion to one.”

~Erma BombeckThe book Eating Well says each trip to the store will take 24 minutes and $32 will be spent. Other consumer group research shows over $40 is spent on impulse buying when you go to the grocery store!