Tuesday, May 29, 2012

LOMAH Dairy

Does this van look familiar?


If you answered "of course!" then you have had the pleasure in consuming cheese from LOMAH Dairy. LOMAH Diary is located in Wyandotte, Oklahoma, about 50 minutes from Downtown Bentonville. Every Saturday, Donna and one of her children make the commute to provide cheese to the Bentonville Farmers Market


The roads to the farm were twisty and hilly, but the dairy wasn't hard to find after spotting the welcome sign. Donna told me that they often times have school groups to the farm to do tours, and their hand painted sign helps visitors find the place!


The barn is a classic red and white restored dairy barn. The Johnson's have a store at the front of the barn that is based on the honor system. There are coolers in the front with product, a log of names and items bought, and a hole in the wall to drop your money.


Inside the barn, there is the cheese making room. I believe this vat is going to be gouda cheese, Donna informed me that this is a small batch of cheese! 


There are two different coolers, this one houses the hard cheeses. The other cooler contains soft cheeses and cheese that have to age, such as blue cheese. 


Now this is one HUGE block of cheese! I asked Donna if her family still eats cheese after making it all day. She exclaimed yes! She knows what goes into her cheese, and it is all natural ingredients. 


Of course, you can have no dairy without cows! These sweet girls are Jersey cows. They get to graze on pasture, play in the streams, and socialize throughout the day, come 4:00am and 4:00pm they mosey over to the barn to get fed and milked. 


Don't forget to stop by LOMAH Dairy's booth at the Saturday Bentonville Farmers Market from 7:00am to 1:00pm and sample cheese made by local people and local cows! 






Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Horn Farms

While touring the different farms, one thing always comes to mind, pride. Each vendor at the Bentonville Farmers Market takes pride in being an agriculturalist. Fay Horn, from Horn Farms, is no different. He radiated joy while showing me around his farm. 


You may be familiar with Horn Farms booth at the market. Fay and his crew are on Main St., or the Northwest corner of the square. Fay is a full time farmer, and currently is farming about 15 acres. Have you tried the sweet red strawberries from his farm? While walking through the fields, Fay would occasionally stop and eat a berry. I informed him that if I had this huge strawberry patch only 50% of the berries would make it to market, because I would pick one for the basket and pick one to eat. There is nothing better than a strawberry straight from the field. 


In addition to strawberries, Fay has rows of watermelon, squash, okra, tomato, cucumber, eggplant, pumpkin, and other delightful crops planted. He also has an orchard and a raspberry patch, which should be ripe soon!


Soon you will be seeing tomatoes at Horn Farms booth, how is this possible? There are 2 huge greenhouses that Fay also tends to. They have a wood burning heating system, this allows him to start plants earlier. How cute are the baby cucumbers?


In addition to the greenhouses, Fay has two nurseries where he starts seedlings. The nurseries also have wood burning stoves to keep them warm in the winter. 


There is also a commercial kitchen at Horn Farms, where jams, jellies, and pickled items are made. Beehives also occupy the farm, so if you are looking for local honey don't forget to visit Horn Farms at market. 


See you Saturday at the Bentonville Farmers Market, located on the Bentonville Square from 7:00am to 1:00pm.