>> Go, go, go!
[cows mooing]
I can't believe this is
happening.
This always happens
when I have a party planned.
I'm gonna need some help.
Craig!
[cows mooing]
[honks moped horn]
Well, it pays to have good help.
Now we've got to get the cows
back into the barn, because we
have Dr. Jay coming over.
He's going to do some ultrasound
pregnancy checks.
Then we're going to head off
to pick up the chicken
in Pepin, Wisconsin,
from Matthew Buvalla.
With a quick stop at
the Eau Claire Farmers' Market
to meet up with Chef Nathan Berg
and get some extra ingredients
for the village fête.
Then it's party time.
Gather with us,
Around the Farm Table.
I'm your host, Inga Witscher.
>> All: Gather with us,
Around the Farm Table.
>> A few years ago,
I moved up to Wisconsin.
I started an organic dairy farm
at St. Isidore's Mead.
That's when I discovered
the abundance of Midwestern
local food
and small-scale farmers
growing everything
from green zebra tomatoes
to pasture pork.
I'm taking a break
from the cows,
hittin' the road
and seein' if I can't satisfy
my epicurious appetite.
>> Good afternoon, Inga.
>> Hey, Jay.
How are you doin' today?
>> Good, and yourself?
>> Oh, really good.
Jay's here today and we're gonna
do some ultrasound pregnancy
checks.
We do the ultrasound
here at the farm, because
we like to make sure
that the cows are pregnant,
obviously, so we can dry them up
on time.
We can ultrasound at 28 days,
where with palpation,
what's the time frame?
>> Usually 35 days
is the cut off.
Sometimes you can detect them
earlier, but the ultrasound
is more sensitive.
I can see the heartbeat
at an earlier age.
>> Okay.
>> And sometimes we run into
problems with the fetus itself,
and that can be recognized
earlier too, than just
by palpating the entire
reproductive tract.
>> Okay.
Are a lot of farms
doing ultrasounds these days?
>> The majority of the pregnancy
checks and the reproductive
exams I do on cattle
are with the ultrasound.
>> I remember the first time
I saw you with that.
It was the first time
you ever came out to my house,
and you suited up,
and I thought, wow,
what is going on here?
This is crazy.
It's just a crazy looking,
you know, costume.
You could wear that
for Halloween.
>> Some people do have
interesting names for my attire
here.
>> Well, Bridget's down here.
Okay, so this is Bridget.
Bridget was bred 6/21/13.
>> Okay.
>> I'm hoping for a heifer calf.
I really like this cow.
What are you seeing
when you're looking?
>> Cattle have two ovaries.
I examine the ovaries to make
sure that the proper structures
are there to maintain
the pregnancy.
Then I look within
the inside of the uterus.
This cow is pregnant.
>> Oh, yay, okay!
>> I should be able to tell
whether it's a boy or a girl
for you.
She has a little bull inside.
>> Oh, of course she does.
>> Let me just make sure
I don't see two calves.
I don't think so.
But everything looks good.
>> Good.
The next cow is Ginny.
She was bred 6/22.
These Jerseys, it's a nice breed
for getting cows bred.
It seems like, you know, I don't
have to breed them a lot.
>> Farms that have Jersey herds
that I work with tend to have
really good fertility
with the Jerseys.
>> They're good in the heat too.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> In the summer, they've just
been out grazing the whole time.
It's great.
Some of them, I'll have some
that will just hold their milk
when they're in heat.
We have to stop milking.
That's kind of a nice way
of knowing.
Let's see, Cecilia, 6/20.
I like milking in a stall barn,
because it really helps
my management style.
I can tell when a cow
is off feed,
I can tell, you know, sometimes,
there'll be a cow
riding the other one right into
the barn, so I know for sure
that she's in heat.
But breeding, doing pregnancy
checks like this, it's really
nice to be able to have
that interaction.
>> Mm-hmm, they've actually
come up with technology
to monitor cud chewing activity,
as well as the pedometer
activity, or just the overall
activity of the cow,
to help detect heats
in dairy situations.
>> Really?
>> But those systems
aren't fool proof either.
There's something about
the interaction of a human
with the cattle
to detect diseases.
>> Pregnant?
>> She's pregnant.
I'm not going to commit on the
gender of the calf though.
>> Okay.
>> She's right on
the borderline.
>> I'm hoping to take two months
off this winter with all the
cows dried up, but we'll see.
>> Okay.
Yeah, she's not pregnant.
>> No way!
>> She actually looks like
she should be in heat here.
>> Okay, this is not good.
>> Watch her this evening.
>> Okay.
Craig, we're watching this one.
Through this way.
Boy, I'm a little disappointed.
I wish I would have had
more cows pregnant.
But I guess that's the way
it goes.
>> That's the way
the cookie crumbles
when you're milking cows.
>> What's on your agenda
for the rest of the day?
>> To see if I can keep the
birds from eating my grapes that
are getting closer to ripening.
>> I would love to learn more
about growing grapes
in Wisconsin.
>> That's fine.
Stop by whenever you want.
>> I will.
I'm just going to get the cows
out and wash off my boots,
then I'll head over.
>> Okay, sounds great.
>> Great, have a good day.
>> Thank you.
>> Jay, this is so gorgeous.
I've never been in a vineyard
before.
This is amazing.
>> Thank you.
Originally, this was my wife's
idea.
She was an Ag teacher,
so we both have our roots
in agriculture.
She came home from a conference,
and this was going to be
her project,
but it has metamorphosized
into mostly my project.
>> So how were the grapes
affected from being put into
dairy farm land?
>> Well, thankfully, my father
was really diligent
about maintaining the fertility
of the soil.
When we first established
the grapes, they took off
tremendously.
We're sitting pretty well.
There's just a lot of clay here,
which some would argue
is detrimental to the quality
of the grapes, too.
There are so many other factors
that play into it
in the few years
that I've been growing grapes,
the growing season, some of
the pests that you see here,
some insect damage
from phylloxera.
We do have issues.
These spots here
are another fungal issue.
>> Why are you growing
on a slope?
Is that just, because you don't
want water sitting?
>> We're trying to take
advantage of gaining a slightly
longer growing season up here.
Frost damages your shoot growth
in the spring, and it shortens
your growing season
on the other end, too.
So then the grapes don't get
as long to hang on the vine
and ripen.
>> Okay, what grapes
are you growing here?
Is it specific to Wisconsin,
these grapes?
>> To the Midwest
and the northern climates.
They're developed by
the University of Minnesota.
There is a gentleman named
Elmer Swenson who did a lot
of his own grape breeding
for years.
The University of Minnesota
has taken a lot of his genetics.
These are Marquette grapes.
They produce a red wine.
We also have La Crescent grapes,
which produce a white wine.
Those are on the other half
of the vineyard.
We also have a row
of table grapes.
We have Concord,
Somerset Seedless, Petit Jewel
and a couple of other varieties.
We basically make jam or jelly
with it, and some juice.
You'll get somewhere around
three tons an acre usually,
of grapes.
>> Oh, wow.
>> A lot of the traditional wine
grapes can't withstand
the winters that we have
in the Midwest.
>> I can hardly withstand
the winters that we have here!
>> As well as the fungal and
insect pressure that we have,
as well, with the climate.
The humid, damp days sometimes,
as well as all the fog
and dew in the evenings.
It really makes a lot of stress
on the grapes that other
varieties can't handle.
A lot of the winemakers in the
state of Wisconsin, Minnesota,
as well, are looking for grapes
aggressively.
There are Internet exchanges,
basically, of winemakers
looking for grapes and
growers who have grapes to sell.
Wisconsin and Minnesota have
a Grape Growers' Association and
they have websites with people
looking to exchange grapes, too.
>> Say I said, well, I've got
a couple acres that are not
productive for my dairy cows,
I'm going to out some grapes on.
How long is the wait
from planting to harvesting?
>> Establishment costs will run
between $5,000 and $10,000 an
acre, just to get established.
You will get a partial crop
your third year of production.
If you try to crop your grapes
before that, you're probably
going to run into problems
with disease
and just vigor of the vines.
Growing grapes is a compromise
between having enough canopy
to ripen the grapes, as well as
enough root structure
to support the minerals
and the photosynthesis
to ripen the grapes as well,
and your pest and disease, too.
>> Wisconsin is a really
surprising state with the
diversity of what's being grown
here.
Thank you so much for taking
the time with me.
>> No problem.
>> Okay, I'm going to go get
some wine.
I'll meet you all down
at Matthew Buvala's
down in Pepin, Wisconsin,
to find out more about
pasture poultry.
[chickens clucking]
>> Hi.
>> How are you doing today?
>> I'm doing good.
>> Good.
I'm always interested,
my husband is a chicken tractor
aficionado.
I like these feeders.
I like it that they swing,
so that you don't have--
You waste a lot less feed
that way I'll bet.
>> It's up off the ground,
and you don't waste as much
that way.
These are two pickup toppers
that I built together.
>> Okay.
>> Then I put little...
>> Oh, that's nice.
What are the benefits then?
Why do you want to move these
chickens twice a day?
>> Well, then they get
fresh grass and they can get,
if there's any bugs and stuff,
they can get the bugs.
>> You don't have to
clean out pens.
>> I don't have to clean
the pens out.
They deposit a nice layer of
chicken manure down on the field
which is good fertilizer,
good nitrogen.
And it makes for a healthier
bird, because they're eating
grass and they're outside.
>> You're ready to butcher
these, right?
>> Yeah, they are going in
on Monday morning.
These will probably dress out
at five to six pounds.
With the Cornish cross,
they're real temperamental,
so if you look at them
cross-eyed
they'll have a heart attack.
When I would pick them up,
put them in a cage, take them
to the processing plant,
I've had them flip over
on their back in the cage and
have a heart attack right there.
>> Oh, geez!
>> Eight weeks old and dying on
me, I'm like, you can't do that!
So I go in there and put them
back over on their belly
and it's okay.
Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn't.
You're going to lose a couple
birds every time you do it.
>> They're kind of at that size
where they're really tasty
for a coyote.
Boy, now we've got a $100
into every bird, practically.
We'd better start closing up
the cage.
Can you tell how much grass
they're actually eating?
>> Look at the difference
between this section
and over there.
>> Yeah, so they really are
eating grass.
>> They'll take it right down
to the bare ground.
>> Wow, that's amazing.
>> With all the rain
we've been having this year,
it's been keeping up more.
>> It's a good year for grazing,
a bad year for crops.
>> That's right, yep.
>> Then they can get all
the bugs and things like that.
>> Yep.
>> What do you have to
supplement them with, any corn?
>> I feed them organic corn,
wheat, soybean, crab meal,
fish meal, Nutri-Balancer,
and vitamins,
and mix, and all that stuff.
>> Yeah, nice.
What do you figure it costs you
to raise a bird?
>> Organic feed
is 43 cents a pound.
>> Yeah.
>> It costs, I think can do it
for about 12 pounds a bird,
something like that.
Then you got the cost of the
bird and the cost of processing.
Then you got your time,
and your gas,
and your transportation.
You don't do it for the money,
that's for sure.
>> So I plan on doing more
grazing with the chickens at
our farm in the years to come.
How often do you move this?
Do you have to move it
every couple months?
>> No, this I move almost
on a weekly basis.
>> Really?
One of the things that will
stop me is having to deal with
this kind of fencing.
You know, you take it down,
and it's getting wound up
and tied up, and pretty soon
you're all tied up in it.
But I hear that you
have invented something
to take care of that problem.
>> Yeah, I came up with a cart
that can pick it up
and store it.
The poles slide over
the top of the rods here.
When you get ready to pull it,
just pull them out
and stick the first one in.
Tie it to another post,
and just go forward.
>> Then you can just step in.
Do they pull out pretty easy?
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, that's nice.
>> When you pick the fence up,
you actually straddle
the fencing.
So your little caster in front
goes down the middle
of the fence.
>> Okay, all right.
>> Then you just pick up and
then put it like that on there.
>> Well, that kind of saves
all the time in the world.
>> Yeah.
>> Do you ever have any
predators that can still get
through this kind of fencing?
>> If anything comes up,
they'll touch the netting
and they'll get a shock,
and they won't come in.
>> Nice.
Well, Matt, I've got to get back
to the farm, but I was hoping to
get 15 chickens while I was here
if you have some in your
freezer.
>> Okay, yep, we can do that,
but I've got to go and get my
eggs first and feed my hens.
>> Okay, I'll help you do that.
>> Okay.
[birds singing]
>> I'm at the Farmers' Market
here in Eau Claire.
I'm meeting my friend,
Nathan Berg.
He's a great chef
here in the Chippewa Valley.
We're going to make up the meal
for the fête.
We're just going to grab
a few more ingredients,
see what's in season,
and then head back to the farm
to make the meal
and enjoy the party.
>> Hey, guys.
>> Hey!
>> How are you?
>> It's nice to see you.
>> It's good to see you, too.
>> This looks good.
>> Yeah, all kinds of wonderful
organic stuff here.
>> What kinds of things do we
need for what we're gonna make?
I've got the chickens
in the car.
>> You've already got
the chicken?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, great.
Well we're gonna need
some green beans and tomatoes
for the salad.
Then I figure from Wheatfield
here, we can pick up
some cucumbers.
I was going to do
a chilled cucumber soup.
>> Okay, all right,
that sounds good.
>> Yeah, excellent.
>> Okay, let's get started
with the sangria.
I think that's the most
important part, because we can
enjoy it throughout the rest
of the cooking segment.
What do you think?
>> Sounds great to me.
>> I have a mason jar
that love to use full of ice.
I'm going to make a white wine
sangria with just a splash
of red wine for color.
I'm using the grapes.
We were actually visiting
a vineyard earlier.
I'm just going to add a whole
bottle right to the pitcher.
>> In the last five
to ten years, there's definitely
been lots of new vineyards
opening up that are growing
some interesting things,
varieties that are bred more
for this region.
The Marquette is fantastic.
As a matter of fact, I used
the Marquette grapes from this
vineyard to make my sourdough
starter that we're going to be
using here in a little bit.
>> I'm going to add a little bit
of the red wine
right to the white wine.
It's probably 1/2 cup.
That's just going to add
a little bit of color
and a little bit of flavor.
I'll just mix that up
a little bit.
Now the key ingredient
for sangria is brandy.
I have no qualms about adding
brandy to anything.
I'm going to add,
oh, I don't know,
should we do four shots?
And just a pinch
to grow an inch, there.
So now to the sangria,
we're just going to add
a little bit of simple syrup.
I make my simple syrup
with a cup of water
and I dissolve 1/2 cup of sugar
in that for the simple syrup.
Sometimes, I even flavor the
simple syrup with lemon balm,
because I always have that
growing in my garden, or other
herbs, which is kind of fun.
We're just going to do
three ounces
of the simple syrup.
Next is fruit.
That's kind of the star
ingredient in sangria,
is beautiful fruits.
I'm going to add a few of these
grapes that my husband grew.
We bought these plants
years ago when we were dating.
He just bought these plants
and said, oh, I'm going to plant
these at your farm.
Now, looking back and knowing
about grapes after visiting with
Jay this morning, I thought,
wow, maybe that's when
he fell in love with me,
because he had to know
that we had to be in it
for the long haul, if he was
going to plant grapes, right?
So there you go.
>> Yeah, that's very romantic.
I like it.
Is there anything that I can do
to help you here?
>> Yeah, do you want to start
doing the melon?
>> Yeah, sure.
>> I'm going to give this
a stir.
You can make this up
a day a head of time.
Just stick it in your fridge
and let it get nice and cold.
You want to serve it over ice.
I've been serving drinks
all summer in mason jars,
because they're great.
They hold up well.
I have a lot of parties outside.
Nathan, I'm going to pour
you the inaugural sangria,
so you can have a taste.
>> Fantastic, I'll take it.
I'm going to quick give us some
wedges here to pretty them up.
>> Oh, thank you.
>> Cheers.
>> Okay, so we're going to start
out with the bread salad
that Nathan's going to make.
It's one of his famous recipes
for summertime.
>> I do love
making this bread salad.
It's a nice room temperature
salad that really shows off
all the fun stuff of summer.
>> What's the first step?
>> First we're going to make
a buttermilk vinaigrette.
I'm going to start chopping
the shallot here.
I'll use about two spoonfuls
of the Dijon mustard.
Then why don't we add
this apple cider vinegar.
We're adding about
an ounce worth of vinegar.
I'm going to chop just a little
bit more of this dill here.
We're using the sunflower oil
here, just because it seems
fitting.
>> You know, I'm a big
sunflower oil fan these days.
>> Yeah, there's becoming
quite a few producers
here in Wisconsin that are
making some really great stuff.
It's nice to have an option
for oil that isn't olive oil
from Italy, or grape seed oil
from California.
>> It's the olive oil
of the Midwest.
>> Okay, well, we're gonna start
by ripping off some pieces of
this bread into bigger chunks.
>> I can do that.
>> Then we're going to toss
those in the oven and kind of
make croutons out of them.
That's some fresh sourdough rye
that I just made this morning.
>> You made this?
>> Yes, I did.
>> Wow, it's beautiful.
>> While you're doing that,
I'm going to trim
some of our beans here
that we're going to blanch
to go along with the salad.
>> So could you use,
if you were just going to go
buy bread from a store,
God forbid,
what would you look for?
>> Nice, kind of crusty,
artisan-style loaf like this,
as opposed to your regular.
Anything that's good some
good flavor and a little bit
of crunch to it.
>> You want to toast these?
>> Yes, we're going to toast
these, so I'm going to have you
put some salt and pepper
and oil on there.
>> Okay, and I'm going to use
the sunflower oil again,
I think, since it's here.
>> Great.
>> I'll just drizzle.
>> Okay, so we're just
going to toss these up
and put them on a sheet pan
and toast them in the oven
for about eight to ten minutes.
>> Okay, I'll take care of that.
>> I'm going to go blanch
these beans.
I like to add the vinaigrette
last, just so the bread
doesn't get a little too soggy.
That's part of the reason
why you use it with croutons
instead of just fresh bread.
>> Oh, it just gets soggy.
>> Otherwise it gets
really soggy.
This way, they've still got
a little bit of crunch to them.
>> Nathan, these are beautiful
chickens.
>> They really are.
>> How do you want to season
them?
>> I think the best thing to do
with these chickens--
They're that pastured poultry
that just has so much
natural flavor.
I don't think we want to
muddy it up too much
with anything strong like garlic
or fresh herbs, or anything.
I think we'll just do a simple
smattering of some oil,
and then just give it
salt and pepper.
We'll go that way.
>> I noticed there's some
beautiful golden fat
on these birds.
My husband and I used to
raise our own chickens
back before we were so busy.
We would take the chickens
to a local Amish family
that would butcher them for us.
After they were done, they'd
have all this chicken fat.
They said they loved it,
because they would use it
to pop their popcorn.
>> Oh, nice!
>> It was the best fat
for popping corn.
I've never tried it,
but I'd like to.
>> I've never heard of that,
either.
That's sounds fantastic.
>> So Nathan, now you're
just gonna grill these?
>> Yeah, just as simple as that.
They're ready to go, so I'm
going to put them on a platter
and bring them out to the grill.
You, I believe,
have a party to get ready for.
>> Yeah, so I'm going to leave
you to it, if that's okay.
>> That's fantastic.
>> I'm going to go get ready
to greet my guests.
We've got two down,
30 more to go.
You're going to be fine.
You've got this.
>> Oh, yeah, easy.
>> I'll see you at the party.
*
[indistinct talking
and laughter]
[laughter]
[indistinct conversations]
[cheers and applause]
>> How are you doing
this afternoon?
[cheers]
Fantastic.
Our first course then here
is a chilled cucumber soup
with mint,
then just garnished
with a little seasoned yogurt.
The cucumbers all come
from Wheatfield Hill Farms,
down near Durand.
Any time you have a question
for me, feel free to ask,
but otherwise just enjoy.
[applause]
The course you're about to eat
features chicken from
Matt Buvalla's farm,
which is near Pepin, Wisconsin.
It's going with a bread salad,
the vegetables of which
just came from the market.
[cheers and applause]
You are all too sweet.
We're doing a little bit
of a cheese course here,
featuring a couple of fantastic
local cheeses.
Really local,
in the case of most of these.
What do we got there,
like, 500 yards up the road?
That comes from Inga and Joe
and Rick.
This is from their Jersey herd.
This is a clothbound cheddar.
They only make it when the cows
are grazing in season, so it's
got this really delicate flavor
that would taste altogether
different if they made it
with winter milk.
I just had it for the first time
on Thursday, and it kind of
knocked my socks off.
It's really, really good.
>> Thanks for joining us...
>> All: Around the Farm Table!
>> We agreed, hands down
that the protein category
would go to the eggs over here.
[cheers and applause]
>> Who's the eggs? Adrian?
>> Yeah.
[laughter]
>> Eggs are good for you!
>> We liked the intricate,
different things they did
with the pumpkin seeds.
That was our pumpkin category.
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
>> The third category,
and we talked about this,
we had to agree
on the texture of the jam,
by just sight, along with the
gingham-ness of the jam.
The triple berry
and strawberry rhubarb...
[cheers]
Another award-winner.
[cheers and applause]