Monthly Archives: June 2010

Latham’s Entry in Quasquicentennial Parade

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Two weeks ago we wrote about our upcoming participation in Alexander, Iowa’s Quasquicentennial parade. John’s uncle Jim videotaped the parade for us (you can see the Latham trucks come in at about 6 minutes and 45 seconds), and we thought it was such a great representation of Iowa’s communities we wanted to share it with you.

We were proud to be a part of the celebration!

From Cheese Curds to Cheesecake, Hats off to Hansen Dairy in Hudson

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In support of June Dairy Month, today’s blog post will feature an Iowa family whose entrepreneurial spirit allows seven families to be supported by a 150 milk cows. 

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of touring Hansen’s Dairy Farm near Hudson, Iowa, as part of the Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative. I’ve shared some photos below, so you can take your own “virtual tour” of their operation. (Note the calf with a perfect heart-shape on her forehead… How could you help but love her? There’s also a photo of Hansen’s milk truck and even a wallaby!) The Hansen logo (at right) is of a wallaby with a Holstein calf in her pouch. The Hansen’s have several New Zealand wallabies that help attract people to the farm.

The Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative, sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association, fosters collaboration between ag and urban leaders to provide sustainable solutions for the state and her communities. A large part of the program involves educational tours and discussions with Iowa business owners such as Jay and Jeanne Hansen.

The Hansen farm has been in the family since Jay’s ancestors emigrated from Germany in 1861, and J&J’s dairy herd originated in 1953. When all four of their sons desired to return to home and farm, the family needed to find a way to produce more revenue without a large expansion. After extensive research, they decided to process their own milk. A creamery was constructed in November 2002, and in February 2004, their first gallon of non-homogenized whole milk was produced.

Today the Hansens run a farm-fresh milk route and have expanded their product offering to include: whole milk, 1% milk, Skim milk, Chocolate 1% milk, butter, heavy cream, cheese curds, hard ice cream, soft-serve ice cream, ice cream pies, ice cream cakes, egg nog (seasonal) and ground beef.

Hansen’s Dairy Outlet in Cedar Falls sells butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, European-style yogurt, cheese baskets plus Holstein beef, cheese curds and soft serve ice cream. The family also operates Moo Roo retail store in Waterloo. The name combines their cows with their logo. (Wallabies, or miniature kangaroos, came to live on their farm after son Blake Hansen traveled to New Zealand.)

“Farm Fresh Dairy” has become a point of differentiation for the Hansen family. Their mission is “to deliver the best quality farm-fresh dairy products from our family to yours.”

Those of us who operate family-owned businesses can certainly appreciate the time, energy and passion that goes into producing products that we’re proud put our name on. In honor of the Hansens – and all of the Midwest’s hardworking dairy families – I’m posting one of my favorite cheesecake recipes today.

Mini Cherry Cheesecake

1 c. vanilla wafer crumbs (or graham cracker crumbs)

3 T. butter

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

Topping:

1 pound pitted, canned or frozen tart red cherries

½ c. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

Red food coloring (optional)

NOTE: I’ve simplified the topping by merely replacing it with canned cherry pie filling.

In a bowl, combine crumbs and butter. Press gently into the bottom of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice, sugar and egg; beat until smooth. Spoon into crusts. Bake at 375% for 12-15 minutes until set. Cool completely. Drain cherries, reserving ½ c. juice in a saucepan; discard remaining juice. To guide, add cherries, sugar and cornstarch and food coloring. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; boil for 1 minute. Cool; spoon over cheesecake. Chill for at least 2 hours. Yield: 12 servings.

NOTE: I’ve used the mini muffin tins and adjusted the baking time to 6-9 minutes.

Laura Larson returns from ISU Ag Entrepreneurship Tour in Greece

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Laura Larson, marketing coordinator for Latham Hi-Tech Seeds, recently returned from Greece where she toured through Iowa State University’s Ag Study Abroad program. The trip’s focus was Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which was a great match for Laura’s educational pursuits, as she was very involved in studying entrepreneurship and business development throughout college.

Laura said she was intrigued by the program because Greece’s agricultural industry is facing some of the same issues we are realizing in American agriculture: industry consolidation, increased regulation and the need to grow more food on fewer acres. Due to Greece’s diverse and small-scale ag production, producers in the region have to become entrepreneurial to remain viable in tough economic times. Laura said the constant innovation and niche marketing that is driving agriculture in Greece can be applied to help American farmers remain competitive in the global agricultural market.

The 26 ISU students who participated in the trip toured one of the top 100 wineries in the world, Domaine Gerovassiliou (acres of vines at Gerovasiliou below). They also toured Kri Kri dairy processing plant, a dairy operation focusing on Feta cheese production (pictured above), and a pistachio farm on the island of Agina (pistachio trees at right). (Greece is the largest producer of pistachios in Europe and the sixth largest exporter in the world). Other stops included a water buffalo feedlot, Barbastathis frozen vegetable production plant, a winery focused on producing canned grape leaves for the food market instead of wine, Agriplant high tech nursery and Spirulina algae production plant.

One big highlight of the trip was the opportunity to interact with the American Farm School, what Laura called the “ISU College of Ag of Greece.” The school was founded by a missionary, who traveled to Greece from America, with the goal of preaching about religion. Upon arriving, however, he found a country suffering from famine and drought, so he decided it would be much more important to teach them about agriculture. This school is the only one of its kind teaching agriculture in Greece.

Laura’s greatest learning experience came from talking with Greek producers about the use and acceptance of biotech ag products. She was surprised to find that many of them were very open to the biotech industry but, admittedly, were not well educated on all the industry had to offer. They told her the main reason European producers are reluctant to approve biotech is for simple economic reasons; they don’t want the United States controlling genetics for products they produce. Hopefully, increased pressure from a growing population will help these producers overcome economic opposition and accept the benefits these products can bring to their fields.