You need meat for your Labor Day grill-out, right? Why not get a gallon of milk free with it? Redeem this coupon at our stores through Sept. 30, 2011.

Having trouble printing? Click here to print from our web site.

In cooperation with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Hansen's Outlet in Cedar Falls and Moo Roo in Waterloo will be handing out Hunger Action Month bags to our customers. We will put your purchases in them and ask that you fill them with a food donation and return them to our stores or to the Food Bank.

Hunger Action Month is an effort to ask the community to take action in fighting hunger. In each bag is a calendar of 30 ways to fight hunger during the 30 days of September. Local information is available at Northeast Iowa Food Bank's web site and national information can be found at www.HungerActionMonth.org.

Labor Day store hours will be:
Moo Roo, Waterloo - 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Outlet, Cedar Falls - 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

We had two big CA$H COW winners in August! That means in September, 3 jugs will have $250 written under the label (look inside the jug at your label when it's empty). Remember, there are still 5 jugs EVERY WEEK marked with a $5.00 prize, so keep your eyes open! View details here on our web site.

August $190 winners: Heidi Kimble, Cedar Falls; and Denise, Cedar Falls.

August $5 winners: Dani Olson, Cedar Falls; Carl Boice, Cedar Falls; and Gary Myers, Waterloo.

Hansen's Dairy Farm will be participating in the 2011 Farm Crawl on Sunday, Sept. 11, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Spend your Sunday afternoon touring local farms in this event organized by the Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership and UNI-CEEE. Learn how local farmers grow your food and manage their farms on this self-guided tour. You'll even find fun kids' activities and local food to buy and cook up for dinner! The event is free for all ages. The family or individual that visits the most farms will win a gift basket of local foods. Visit the UNI-CEEE web site for details.

At Hansen's Farm Fresh Dairy, visitors will receive a free 4-ounce cup of our premium ice cream to enjoy during their tour. Tours will begin by trolley every 15 minutes. Visitors will see cows, calves, the creamery, the wallabies and the milking parlor. Milking time begins at 4 p.m. Children can pet a calf, ride a pedal tractor, get a dairy tattoo, milk a wooden cow and guess how much a hay bale weighs for a prize. Participants can also register for door prizes. Remember your camera! We look forward to seeing you here!

Other participating farms are:
Engelbrecht Family Winery, Fredericksburg
Friedrich's Fresh Foods, Cedar Falls
Fuggiti Apple Orchard, Waterloo
Genuine Faux Farm, Tripoli
Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch, Fredericksburg
Hillcrest Farm, Cedar Falls
Jefferson Greenhouse and Orchard, Dunkerton
Rainbow Ridge Farm, Waverly
Timeless Prairie Orchard, Winthrop

"I just want to take a moment to tell you thank you. We purchase our milk at Hansen's Dairy at your Ridgeway Avenue store and everyone there is extremely helpful and kind. The atmosphere is more like walking down to visit a neighbor rather than a retail store. Your staff understands the value of a quality in their product and customer service. I really love that you also make available local farmer's market items for purchase. It would be wonderful if the Waterloo area had more places like Hansen's Dairy." - The Davis Family

"I so enjoy your e-news each month, and your introduction of Cow of the Month! Where else but in Iowa is a newsletter about cows and a dairy farm enjoyed so much?! I feel honored to live in the same community as Hansen's Dairy, and it's a pleasure to see Hansen's at events throughout the area. The Moo Roo store is one of my favorites, as there is always a fun variety of food items to tempt me!
In an upcoming newsletter, could you explain how the cows are kept comfortable in such relentless heat and humidity? Thanks!" - A Hudson neighbor

Blake Hansen, herd manager, responds to the question: "Cows are kept cool with the use of fans and water misters while they are in the barn. Though cows are free to roam inside or outside, they tend to stay inside in the shade during the day and go outside at night when it's cooler. Cows are also treated to air conditioning when they come into the parlor to be milked."

If you've visited the Iowa State Fair, you've probably seen the "World's Largest" animals (boar, bull, ram, etc.). So in September we're featuring the Hansen's Largest Dairy Cow: Leann. She stands 64" tall and probably weighs about 1,700 pounds. No one wants to mess with her!

Leann celebrates her 5th birthday this month on the 17th. She's had three heifers during her birthing years - Lena, Luthien and Lacoon.

Last year Leann milked an amazing 596 days in a row. Normally a cow will milk for about 365 days before being dried off and having another calf. But she had a miscarriage, so she never stopped giving milk. At the end of that lactation, she had milked 53,899 pounds - an average of 90 pounds/day. The herd average is 75 pounds/day, so she really worked hard!

Hansen's cheese curds are great to eat straight out of the bag - the distinctive flavor, the squeak, the bite-size pieces and the high quality ingredients make them an easy and healthy snack. But there are several ways to spice up the cheese curds you already love.

Toss cheese curds with a little olive oil and your favorite herbs or spices - basil, garlic, oregano, or pesto would give them an Italian flavor, while chipotle chiles, jalapeno peppers, or cajun seasoning would give them a bit more kick.

For a party snack, put cheese curds on toothpicks with cherry tomatoes and basil leaves, or other vegetables or olives, and drizzle with a little olive oil. Or, use fruits instead of vegetables for a sweeter flavor.

A classic take on cheese curds is to batter and fry them. For the batter, mix 1 cup of either milk or beer and 2 eggs in one bowl and 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt in another bowl. Combine them to make your batter. Put Hansen's cheese curds in the batter to coat them and use a slotted spoon to transfer them into a deep fryer or pan full of 2 cups hot vegetable oil. Fried curds are done when they are golden brown.

In Quebec, Canada, they serve a dish called Poutine. It's french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy! That might make an interesting supper...

Sept. 30 is the deadline to submit your photos to the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Photo Contest. This is a great opportunity to show off your photography skills and images of your family touring Hansen's Dairy Farm or enjoying ice cream at either of our retail locations. There are many prizes to be won!

Photos can be submitted under the following categories: Farm Life, Farmscapes, Festivals & Fairs, Heritage Area Sites¸and Images of the Past. See contest rules here.