By Sydney Williams
Just 30 minutes outside of Coeur d’Alene sits a humble little farm of oh let’s say 13,000 acres called Millhorn Farms. No big deal, really. Full transparency… it was a big, big ol’ deal. Millhorn Farms has more than 13,000 acres of hay, white wheat, garbanzo beans, and wheat straw. They provide 18 jobs for our community. How great is that?
Seth Millhorn, runs the harvest side of production, while Katie Millhorn, runs the livestock division. Also known as Millhorn Farmstead, this is where they get their Raw A2A2 milk. YUM! “When Seth and I got married, we vowed that I would never ask him to milk my cows, if he never asked me to drive his combine”, Katie told me. Katie married into a 4th generation farming family, but farming doesn’t just run deep in her husband’s blood. Her grandmother taught Katie to can their own food at the early age of just four years old. 16 years ago, Katie started her “hobby farm” after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, Lupus. After years of illness, maxing out on steroids and facing chemotherapy, she refused to go that route. She told her doctor she planned to fight this disease through diet and exercise.
She quickly found that sourcing wholesome and healing foods was, by far, the most difficult of tasks in this healing process, and decided to do something about it. Katie shared, “First and foremost, I needed to find Raw A2A2 milk, but it didn’t exist locally. So, I decided to buy a cow and start a raw A2A2 certified dairy.” Along with her A2A2 milk, Katie grows and harvests a good amount of her own food. She raises chickens for eggs, and livestock for fresh, clean meat. She raises all her animals with some good ol’ TLC, and without antibiotics or grain. Katie’s Lupus has now been in remission for 5.5 years. Can we get an AMEN?!!! If that sounds like loads of work, that’s because it is. I asked Katie what her average day on the farm looks like, and here’s what she had to say- “We start at 4 AM after several cups of coffee. Milking comes first, then feeding all the critters (pigs, chickens, cows, and sheep).
Once the animals are fed, then our four human kids are fed and lunches are made. Off to school they go, and off to retail suppliers I go to deliver product. After milk drop is complete and kids are in school, I complete my mom duties of grocery shopping, laundry, and prepping for dinner. With a few hours of office time jammed in there somewhere. I’m back to the barn when the sun starts to set for evening milking, and chores. Finally, dinner with my family. After homework and baths, it’s time to hit the sack. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Even on Christmas.” She continues, “The raw, A2A2 milk I deliver to Pilgrims lands on the shelf freshly milked that morning.” We can all reap the benefits of Katie’s hard work. What a gift her farmstead is to our community!
Don’t forget to pick up Millhorn Farmstead Raw Milk and Cream next time you’re in the store. You can smile knowing it was milked fresh that morning at around 4 AM, by a mother of four with a headlamp on.