Seasonal Winnimere cheese from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont is making its way to the West Coast this winter and spring. West Coasters, who in the past have only received a trickle of this cheese, can expect to find it more easily than years past. Cheesemakers Mateo and Andy Kehler make Winnimere throughout the winter from the richer milk their cows produce when fed hay instead of summertime grass. But look for it quickly - this cheese is only produced from November through April.

Michelle Best, a hobby farmer in Saratoga, WI, has lots of kids on her hands. Last week her expectant does birthed three sets of quadruplets and three sets of triplets in less than 24 hours. In her 16 years of raising goats, Best has only had two other sets of quadruplets!

It's not common," said Matt Lippert, agriculture agent at the University of Wisconsin- Extension Wood County who is based in Wisconsin Rapids. "Quads in goats are well above the norm, but not unheard of." Lippert attributed the multiple births to genetics and good nutrition that likely made the goats more fertile.

For the full story, adorable photos, and a video, visit the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune here.

Is self-heating food the way of the future? The Guardian's Word of Mouth Blog offers some humorous musings on HotCan's line of self-heating canned products. Piercing the can starts the process and after ten minutes you're left with a warm meal - no microwave or oven necessary. Whether this innovation will be popular for diaster relief, camping, or incredibly lazy people is yet to be determined....

They come in seven inescapably tinny flavours such as beans with meatballs, chicken curry with rice and cheese ravioli in tomato sauce. I had "spicy beef pasta" (at 8 o'clock in the morning – the things you'll do to deadline). The contents reached 52C according to my kitchen thermometer: emphatically tepid, and best described as a brown, lumpen, heavily spiced sludge.

This goat looks vaguely nonplussed on a surf board, but she's a natural. Does this count as a fun day out for the goat, or is it more of an animal cruelty move? Click here to see the video

Bad news for sheep farmers in Jersey, who have sick sheep, diagnosed with Schmallenberg. The Schmallenberg virus is apparently contracted through midges, and has no cure or vaccine. Watch this video at the BBC for more info:

The Schmallenberg virus has been found in sheep in Jersey, the States veterinary officer has said.

Linda Lowseck confirmed the virus was found in samples from a sheep flock owner whose animals had problems lambing.

The virus, affecting cattle, sheep and goats, is borne by midges and can cause ewes to give birth to deformed lambs.

Watch the video here
Photo by Keven Law

How would you feel about a cheese with an epitaph imprinted on it? Resurrection cheese sported just such an inscription, and although it doesn't exist anymore, one wonders whether it was an easy sell at the market in its day:

Resurrection cheese is what resulted when a townsman of Llanfihangel Abercowyn, in the Carmarthen county of Welsh, wanted to make cheese but didn't have enough money for the proper equipment. He didn't make a deal with the devil in exchange for a cheese-press; rather, he called upon his resourcefulness, made a trip to the abandoned graveyard in town, and with a few fallen headstones he fashioned his own cheese press.

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Photo by Dawn Endico

We've seen it before when cows are let out after a long winter in the barn, but this video is particularly joyful. These cows are psyched!

With so much attention we've been giving the babies, it's good to see the mommies have a little fun, too!

These irresistible sliders, inspired by Chef Josef Lageder of the Balboa Bay Club, are always a crowd pleaser. Try them for lunch, or as an appetizer at your next party. Make both variations or try just one— they’re as fun to make as they are to eat!

Preheat the broiler. Place the buns, cut sides up, on a baking sheet and broil 2-3 minutes, or until lightly toasted.

Spread each bun (cut side) lightly with jam. Set the top buns aside and reserve. Arrange the ham and Comté on the bottom buns. Broil 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Top with the reserved buns and serve.

Via the New York Times, we learn that a suit from the National Resource Defence Council, Union of Concerned Scientists and others has restarted a decades-long process of removing human antibiotics from use in commercial agriculture.

A federal magistrate judge on Thursday ordered the Obama administration to alert drug makers that the government may soon ban the common agricultural use of popular antibiotics in animals because the practice may encourage the proliferation of dangerous infections and imperil public health.

The use of penicilin and other common drugs in livestock has been blamed on a rise in antibiotic-resistent bacteria in recent years. The fight to keep these drugs in circulation in farms is not over, however: 

Caprino Royale produces goat cheese on a farm outside of Waco, TX. Recently, however, their goat's milk cajeta has been stealing the show at high-end Dallas restaurants. Customers and chefs can't get enough of this sweet, tangy, caramel-like milk jam.

Tippit calls the cajeta a sleeper. “It caught us by surprise,” she says of its success. Now her husband, Eric, has just finished a separate cajeta room on their farm, where Tippit can have six pots going at a time without taking over the cheese room.
“We’re a cheese company first,” she says. “But the more people taste it, the more people want it: We could have a cajeta business.” If only they had unlimited milk.

Read the full article here.