So Proud of "Take A Hike, Mike!"

It's easy for parents to say, "We are so proud of our ________ (insert son or daughter here)." But John and I are especially excited to say it, because our son Michael just received a national award!

Michael is the Executive Director of our local Community Television station, HCTV. Last week the NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) awards were announced and Michael came away a winner, not once but twice, for his show "Take A Hike, Mike!"

"Take a Hike, Mike!" visits businesses for a day to learn about what they do, and to lend a helping hand. It's a fun way to showcase local stores, restaurants, factories, services, and yes, even a farm! 

Michael's winning entry was filmed right here, on Bremer Farms. He learned about combining corn, feeding calves, and introduced viewers to Grandma Bremer, and our farm helper Ella, and a few of his favorite cows. It's just one more way to let folks know what happens on a dairy farm!

Full disclosure- Michael DID know how to combine corn and feed calves before filming this episode. 😉

Congratulations to Michael for his 2nd place award for "Take A Hike, Mike! Port of Hastings Outfitters" also. HCTV received five more top awards along with numerous honorable mentions too.

So, it's easy for John and I to say, "We are so proud of our son (insert Michael here)." And this is just one of the reasons we are proud parents!

You can see other "Take A Hike, Mike!" episodes on YouTube.

Cows On The Farm

We are on our second week of National Dairy Month so it's a perfect time to read Cows On The Farm. You will hear some fun facts about cows, and then it's off to our barn at Bremer Farms. Farmer Sara narrates while Farmer Mike milks the cows!

Cow milking happens on Bremer Farms twice a day, 365 days each year.

Farmer John and Farmer Mike first bring the cows into the holding area where the cows wait to be milked.

Once inside the milking parlour, the cows are checked and the udders are cleaned.

The milking machine is attached. It takes about 5 minutes for each cow to milk. Typically cows give 7-9 gallons of milk each day.

We milk 16 cows at a time. That means we can milk our herd in about 1 1/2 hours. Then we clean anad sanitize all the equipement so we are ready to do it all over again in 12 hours!

Happy June Dairy Month!

The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down

Let's start out the week with a new story about Gertrude the cow. Gertrude learned that she knows how to fly, but now she won"t come down to be milked. How does the farmer get her to return to being a "normal" cow?

After the story, we take a look at our farm from a birds-eye view as Michael flies his drone over Bremer Farms. If Gertrude flew over our farm, this is what she would see.

See you tommorrow!

Just Because.

A card from my son Michael-

"There you go again, saving the day. 

Thanks for being so super!"

He wrote,

"I always know when I need help or support, I can turn to you! 

This is a small thank you. Let's go have some fun!"

Enclosed in the card was a dinner invitation and also tickets for he and I to see Jesus Christ Superstar. 

Just because. No holiday. No reason. Just because.

Our evening began at Murray's Steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis. If you are a Minnesotan you have probably heard WCCO radio sports announcer, Sid Hartman talk about Murray's, home of  the "silver butter knife steak." Sid always raves about this place, and now I know why. It was delicious! 

A shrimp appetizer, steak, root vegetables, mac 'n cheese, and a huge slice of raspberry pie! The best steak I have ever eaten, and that is saying a lot coming from this farmer who raises our own beef! Of course the fact that my nephew Dan is the executive sous chef at Murray's made our dinner extra special!

With our bellies full, (actually overfull) it was off to the Theater...my first ride in an Uber! The evening was cold and windy so hey, why not ride?!

The Orpheum is a beautiful restored theater in downtown Minneapolis. I've seen Jesus Christ Superstar several other times, but this was by far the best production I have seen. The dancing and singing were amazing! Before we knew it, it was over!

It was such a fun evening. Thanks Michael for spoiling your mom. I love you.  Just because.

"All work and no play makes Jack (and Jill) a dull boy (and girl)."

Happy New Year 2018

Happy New Year from the Bremer's.

(Our son Michael is the author of this year's holiday letter.)

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a…. WAIT A MINUTE. Did you seriously think I was going to start the Bremer Family Christmas Letter with this lame starting line?!  And before I go any further, Christmas is over, so technically this is our “Bremer Family New Year’s Letter.” With that being said, let us now go through the Bremer dynasty and see what kind of incredible accomplishments we have achieved in 2017.

Janet at the MN State Fair chaperoning the dairy princesses.

Janet has all the free time in the world these days now that she is retired from her Title 1 position at Pinecrest… Oh wait! She’s now somehow MORE busy after retirement! Janet has kept herself more than busy in 2017.  Starting with her successful blog, My Barnyard View. If you’ve been living in a cave and are not familiar with it, it features her thoughts and stories about life on, and off the farm. Check it out at mybarnyardview.blogspot.com. She has also occupied much of her time with her position as the Minnesota Dairy Princess Coordinator through Midwest Dairy. Janet is like the mother hen (Oops, wrong animal industry!) for all of the Dairy Princess finalists at the State Fair. She also works hand in hand with the Dairy Princess all year long. That’s not the only feat Janet has accomplished... Speaking of feet, on day 1 of the State Fair Janet broke her foot! Luckily, Sara came to the rescue to help oversee the Dairy Princesses the first few days at the fair. In other news, it has felt like Janet has been on the TV show “This Old House” this past year as she has been fully engrossed in preparing Grandma and Grandpa Brown’s houses for sale. We popped the champagne in 2017 as the childhood house she grew up in was successfully sold!

TLC from Farmer John.

John, the don, considers 2017 a success. When I asked him what he wanted in the letter about him, he shrugged and smiled. John is a man of few words, so I consider that a success! John was delighted by some dandy purchases on the farm this year: a new drag, a sprayer, a silage bagger, AND a round baler! These pieces of machinery make life on the farm smoother, and a heck of a lot more fun! There has also been some primping to our parlor recently, as we updated the milking parlor’s ceiling, and lights. Now we can see better while we milk cows, and more effectively put on tours (like the tour we did last summer to a group of over 100 German students!). Serving as Trustee on the St. John’s Church Council, and being the Chairman of the Nininger Planning Commission keeps dad more than busy!

Sara hosts "Aprons Optional."

As most people were counting down the 12 days of Christmas, Sara has been counting her 12 YEARS of teaching at the Hastings Middle School! Nouns, verbs, adjectives… Sara teaches it all (and is a pro at Mad Libs because of it!). Always pushing the envelope, Sara is now in charge of the Fuel Up To Play 60 club after school. This program educates students on the importance of fueling up with dairy, and getting 60 minutes of physical activity each and every day. It’s never a problem for Sara getting 60 minutes of go-time a day, as she milks cows every evening. She also has been walking countless miles this winter setting up her enormous Christmas light display! Sara’s light display was so good this year, she was able to convince Santa and Mrs. Claus to come out for a fundraiser that collected food for Hastings Family Service and monetary donations for The Great American Milk Drive. We were thrilled to have over 400 people attend our Santa on the Farm event this year! If Sara’s plate wasn’t full enough, she has also literally had her plate full with her cooking TV show, “Aprons Optional.” Check out all her delicious episodes by searching for it on YouTube and Facebook!

Michael is a national winner!

And then there’s me, “Take a Hike, Mike!” also known as Michael. My TV show has had a gangbuster year! My show was nominated again this year for a NATOA award in the humor category. This pitted me against other TV stations across the country. I was able to impress the judges enough to bring home the bacon as I came in FIRST place in the country! I got to spend a week in Seattle for a video conference and the awards ceremony. You can search for my show on Facebook and YouTube! Along with my TV show, I have been engrossed with many other things at Hastings Community TV. I have been directing weekly live sporting events, and filming countless other shows. I also get to play teacher as I am the Technical Advisor for the Broadcast Journalism Class (The Ekko) at  the Hastings High School. Though I love my full time job at HCTV, I refuse to miss out on the fun at home on the farm. Milking cows, cleaning the cowyard with the Bobcat, and working in the field are all part of my repertoire. The sky was the limit for me this year as I jumped out of a plane 13,000 feet in the air and underwent a 60 second freefall! That’s right, I was nutty enough to go skydiving!

Cheering the Minnesota Vikings on to victory. 

Other Bremer bulletin board worthy mentions include going to cheer on the Vikings at US Bank stadium as a family, and living out our rockstar dreams at the Guns N’ Roses concert! We also have been playing Extreme Makeover Home Edition as we have remodeled our kitchen, and downstairs bathroom. We’re excited for you to try them out! While you’re here, stay for a bonfire at our new fire pit while you observe the fact that we recently removed several of our massive trees!

Like every year, 2017 has had its ups and downs. But to quote the 90’s one hit wonder band, Chumbawumba in their song Tubthumping: “I get knocked down, I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down!” From our family to yours, Merry Christmas! ...Oops! I already forgot Christmas is over! Happy New Year!

-Michael & the Bremer Family

Meet Michael...and Nina

"Mom always liked me best!" 

I wasn't about to risk hearing this from Sara or Michael, so since I highlighted our daughter Sara this week, today I'd like to feature our son Michael...and Nina. I've shared this photo of Michael and Nina before, but it still makes me smile, and it describes them both perfectly. 

Nina loves people, and giving cow kisses! She will give you a gentle nudge if you don't acknowledge her as you walk by, and don't even think about her leaving the milking barn until she gets a pat on the nose. Michael is a true animal lover, a comedian, and a farm boy any farmer dad would be proud of.

Michael is a champion skid steer driver, scooping da poop every day to keep our cows happy, healthy, and comfortable. 

 Michael is also the morning milker on Bremer Farms, and right after the cows are milked he heads to Hastings to star on "Take A Hike, Mike!" his TV show where he visits local businesses and lends a helping hand. Perhaps I'm using the term helping a bit too liberally, since at the end of each episode he's told to take a hike! Here's a taste of his show where Michael featured our farm-

A farm boy with a TV show! What else? Even though Michael's off-the-farm job is filming and editing productions each day at his job, it's also his hobby. Whether it's filming while flying a drone, filming with a camera strapped to his head, or filming while following his mom around when she narrates a tour of our farm; you can bet he does it well. He's a perfectionist.

God gave us undoubtedly the best kids ever! 

X, Y, Z, all done

  After an eXtra busy June Dairy Month, Yes, I'm Zapped!

Janet

But if there's at least one thing you have learned from my June Dairy Month posts; I feel I have accomplished my goal. As you have followed my A to Z journey, I hope you have come to realize how passionate my family and I are about the farming lifestyle that we live. 

Farmer John

We take much pride in everything we do at Bremer Farms, and we thank God for the opportunities He has given us.

 

Sara

I LOVE DAIRY FARMING BECAUSE...

• it allows me to continue my family tradition as a proud sixth generation dairy farmer.
• my husband, Farmer John never complains about going to work.
• we have raised our children on our dairy farm, and never heard, "I'm bored!"
• we spend many hours working side-by-side with family, and there's nothing better than spending time with family.
• it reinforces that hard work truly does pay off.
• living and working on our dairy farm teaches us to care for and appreciate God's creation.
• it gives me the opportunity to answer questions and meet new people as I share our dairy farming story.
• we help feed the world safe, nutritious dairy foods.
• my family and I are "leaving this world a little better than when we found it" through our sustainability efforts on our dairy farm.
• we are the first step to making milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream! Yum...dairy deliciousness!

Michael

 Thank you for visiting during June Dairy Month. I hope you'll come back often, and perhaps invite a friend or two to join us. I am truly grateful for each of you!

 Shoot me a comment or email if you have a topic idea or a question to answer. 

V Should Be For Victory

V is for "Victory."

V is also for "Vikings Victory."

But this week we will have to settle for V is just for "Vikings."

If you have been following my blog for very long you will already know that I am a HUGE Minnesota Vikings Football fan. So is Farmer John, and so is our son Michael. Daughter Sara...not so much.

Each year for Michael's birthday we cheer on our beloved Vikes at a game that Michael chooses. This year it was verses the Detroit Lions. 

Here's how our day went...

Get up earlier than usual to do chores and milk cows. 

Grab a muffin and some yogurt and head off to the light rail station.

Ride the light rail to the game. 

(This avoids traffic and parking headaches at the stadium).

Me and birthday boy Mike

Farmer John and Sara

Once at the stadium...

Find bathroom, food, and seats...in that order.

Since the Minnesota Vikings are currently building a new stadium, 

this (and next) seasons games are being held at 

the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium.

It is a beautiful stadium on a 60 degree, slightly breezy October day. A December football game...hmmm...maybe not so much.

Win or lose, we always stay until the end.

Other than my creepy "hat-hair" I love this picture.

So our Vikings couldn't pull out a victory (congrats to Detroit) but you can bet we'll be heading back to celebrate Michael's birthday with the Vikes again next year. Until then...

Heading home to do chores.

The players were leaving the stadium at the same time we were and I snapped this picture of 6 foot 8 inch, 343 pound, tackle, Phil Loadholt. After the game, I guess it's back to reality for all of us, dad's and farmers.

For more of our Minnesota Vikings encounters...

You can read about, and view a video of the day we met the Vikings, here-

F Is For Fuel Up To Play 60

and learn about the Vikings player that came to our farm, here-

 It's Toby Day!