Nothing says back to school like a good ol' peanut butter and jelly sandwich! And nothing says you can't take it from a lunchtime staple to a delicious after-school treat!

Introducing the PB&J Shake, our September Treat of the Month!

This small vanilla ice cream shake is mixed with two dollops of peanut butter and a scoop of strawberry topping. Whipped cream and strawberry drizzle add extra flavor and class. (See what we did there?)

Available all month long at both stores for just $4.79.

Did someone say Philly Cheesesteak? Our September Pizza of the Month is a heavy nod to an iconic sandwich — with the flavor boost of Wagyu-Holstein beef!

Our Philly Cheesesteak Pizza features a fresh crust slathered with cheddar cheese sauce. Then we layer it with Hansen's Wagyu-Holstein sirloin, green peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese.

Perfect for a night in or a game day gathering, a large 14-inch Philly Cheesesteak Pizza is available all month long at our Cedar Falls store for $19.99.

Come join our cows for breakfast! Our annual Down on the Farm Breakfast takes place Saturday, Sept. 23, at Hansen’s Dairy Tour Center, 8461 Lincoln Rd., Hudson. There will be two serving times: 8 to 9:30 a.m. and 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Enjoy a bounty of local food and farm activities during this family-friendly and traditionally sold-out event.

The farm-to-table menu includes: 

• French toast (Mersim’s bread, Waterloo; Hansen’s Whole Milk; Groothuis eggs, Nashua; Hansen’s Butter; Great River Maple Syrup, Garnavillo)
• Yogurt Parfait (Country View Dairy Yogurt, Hawkeye; O’Brien’s Own Granola, Center Point)
• Edgewood Pork Sausage Links, Edgewood
• Apples from Apples on the Avenue, Nashua
• Sidecar Coffee, Waterloo, with Hansen’s Heavy Cream
• Wilson’s Apple Cider, Iowa City
• Hansen’s white and chocolate milk

Tickets are on sale now and MUST be purchased online at hansendairy.com/events before the event. Tickets will NOT be sold in stores or at the breakfast. Ticket prices are $15 for those 13 and older, $8 for children ages 4 to 12, and children 3 and younger are free. Limited to 200 paid tickets per serving time.

Please plan to arrive during your scheduled serving time, then jump on the trolley to the farm after your meal for fun activities and to see our cows and kangaroos. No matter the serving time slot, attendees may stay as long as they like or until the event ends at 12:30 p.m.

School is back in session in the Cedar Valley, and junior high and high school athletes are already on the practice fields.

Did you know chocolate milk packs a nutritional punch to help refuel athletes after a big workout? Stock up on our 1% Chocolate Milk for your student athletes to enjoy after practice.

Speaking of energy, a healthy breakfast is a great foundation for learning. Hansen’s Whole Milk by the glass or poured over cereal keeps kids fuller longer. Add a side of Country View Yogurt, available at our stores, and your favorite fruit for an additional nutrient boost.

Teachers, do you want to take your students on an ag-related field trip?

Applications for the Silos & Smokestacks 2023-24 Field Trip Program are available to help fund transportation costs to Silos sites and farms in the 37-county heritage area, including Hansen's Dairy farm.

Click here to visit the Silos & Smokestacks website for more information. Deadline to fund spring 2024 field trips is Dec. 15!

Ever wonder who’s responsible for growing the food that feeds our cows?

Meet Blair Hansen, the farm’s jack-of-all-trades and master of many!

Blair earned a degree in Dairy Science from Iowa State University and, along with his brothers, has made Hansen's Dairy his life's work.

Click here to learn more about Blair.

Each month, Herd Manager Blake Hansen selects a Cow of the Month and sends a list of facts about that cow to the writer of this newsletter. It's the job of yours truly to weave those bullet points into an engaging, educational narrative.

This month's Cow of the Month, Asics, just turned 4 years old. She was named for a running shoe brand favored by athletes here on the farm.

One fact about Asics, though, stands out like a horse in a heifer barn: The star on her nametag indicates she was sired by an older bull. Like, really old. For a bull, anyway.

"I'll let you talk about the birds and the bees of how that works! Ha ha!" Blake wrote.

Ha ha? Is it me, or does that sound like a challenge? To be sure, conveying such delicate facts in a family-friendly newsletter requires a skilled, measured pen and a gift for graceful prose. Challenge. Accepted.

Ahem. Blake's office houses three liquid nitrogen tanks containing deep-frozen reproductive samples from bulls. That material is used to artificially inseminate cows, the primary breeding method of most dairy farms. (We do have one lone bull on the farm, Don, but that's an explanation for another time.)

Some of the frozen samples in Blake's office date as far back as the 1960s. He believes bulls were built a bit stronger and sturdier back in the day and is diligent in his research and acquisition of vintage samples.

Asics here was fathered by a bull born in 1982, meaning she was sired with a 41-year-old sample from a long-gone bull. Asics has had three calves -- all bulls. Decades from now, should the future writer of this newsletter find themselves writing about those bulls' heirloom samples, I do hope they'll handle it as delicately.

Here's a simple, delicious dip you can make for a holiday weekend, tailgating party or anytime you're craving a bit of BLT. Click here for a printable recipe. For more recipes using local foods, go to www.JulieGrunklee.com. Enjoy!