Answers to Producer Questionnaire
| Frisian Farms Cheese PRODUCTS & PRACTICES |
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| Question | Answer |
| List what you intend to sell. (if applicable) (e.g. meats, grains, jellies, crafts; also note if you have any heritage breeds) |
1/2 lb smoked gouda wedge1/2 lb aged (6-9 months) gouda wedge1/2 lb young gouda wedge2 lb wheel of aged gouda2 lb wheel of smoked gouda |
| Describe your farming, processing and/or crafting practices. (if applicable) | We have a dairy farm of about 70 milking holsteins. They receive fresh air ever day and pasture during the growing season. We make gouda cheese right on the farm, and sell the remaining milk to our milk co-op. |
| Describe your pest and disease management system. (if applicable) | Cleanliness, routine clipping, and sticky tape are some some of our management practices for pest control. We do vaccinate our cows for disease control. |
| Describe your herd health and productivity management. (if applicable) (i.e. do you use any hormones, antibiotics, and/or steroids) |
We have holstein dairy cows in a free stall barn during the winter, and pasture during the growing season. Our herd health practices our 100 organic, but the do consume conventional corn silage and alfalfa. We do not use bst, antibiotics, dry treatments, animal byproducts as feed, nor growth hormones for youngstock. |
| Describe your feeding practices. (if applicable) (grass-fed only, free-range, feed-lot, etc.) |
We feed alfalfa, corn, corn silage, cotton seed, and minerals in the winter ration. We graze during the growing season and supplement the cows with about 50 of the regualr ration. In other words, the pasture is about 50 of their intake. |
| Describe your soil and nutrient management. (if applicable) (Do you compost, use fertilizers, green manures or animal manures?) |
We are setting up a compost program right now, but the fields receive raw manure. We get our corn silage from our neighbor, and he does use conventional fertilizers. |
| Describe your water usage practices. (if applicable) (If you irrigate, describe how - e.g. deep well, surface water, etc., and explain how you conserve water or use best management practices. Describe how you are protecting your water source from contamination/erosion). |
No irrigation, but through the FSA office we just built some terraces to help with the water runoff. We do have permanent pasture to help with erosion also. |
| Describe your conservation/land stewardship practices. (if applicable) (e.g., do you plant windbreaks, maintain grass waterways, riparian buffers, use green manures for wind erosion, plant habitats for birds, improve soil quality, etc.) |
Just waterways at this point in time. |
| Describe any additional information and/or sustainable practices about your operation that
would be helpful to a potential customer in understanding your farm or operation better. (e.g. if you are raising any heritage animals you might list breeds or list varieties of heirloom seeds. List the percentage of local ingredients in your processed items). |
According to the state of Iowa we do have to pastuerize our milk. We vat pastuerize at 145 degrees for 30 minutes. Most commercial cheeses are flash pastuerized at 210 degrees for 1 second. Low temp pasteurizing really makes a difference in the flavor of the cheese. |
| List your food liability insurance coverage, both general and product-related, as well as any licenses and tests that you have available. (if applicable) | Liability insurance of 1 million. We are state and federally regulated, and we are a licensed food processing plant in the state of Iowa |
| ORGANIC PRODUCERS | |||
| List which products you are selling as organic. (if applicable) | not yet | ||
| List certifying agency's name and address: (if applicable) |
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| Certifying Agency's Phone: (if applicable) |
Certifying Agency's Fax: (if applicable) |
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| Do you have available for inspection a copy of your current organic certificate? (if applicable) | Yes No | ||
| I affirm that all statements made about my farm and products in this application are true, correct and complete and I have given a truthful representation of my operation, practices, and origin of products. I understand that if questions arise about my operation I may be inspected (unannounced). If I stated my operation is organic, then I am complying with the National Organic Program and will provide upon request a copy of my certification. I have read all of the producer standards and fully understand and am willing to comply with them. | |||
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I agree
| Tuesday the 23rd day of December, 2008 | ||