THIS IS AMERICA - A Small Farm Offers Cheese, Bread and Food

THIS IS AMERICA - A Small Farm Offers Cheese, Bread and Food for Thought
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Monday, November 28, 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Pat Bodnar.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Doug Johnson. This week, learn how a small farm using traditional methods is growing a profitable agricultural business.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The day begins early in the morning. Jonathan and Nina White help prepare their three children for school. After Paula, Tobias and Jacob are on their way, the two take a short morning meal with their assistant Hannah Beiler. Then it is time to go to bring the cows to the barn.

 
Jonathan and Nina White of Bobolink Dairy
Mister White and Miz Beiler walk down to one of several fields on the farm. That is where the cows spent the night. They drive the cows from the field to the barn where they will be milked.

(SOUND: Cows Moving to Barn)

VOICE TWO:

The cows have been eating grass in the field for some time now. Most dairy cows on industrial farms eat grain in a barn. Here the cows eat grass and hay from his fields.

Jonathan White knows the names of each of his thirty-six cattle. There are several different kinds, or breeds, of dairy cattle.

There are Ayrshire, Guernsey and Jersey¹ cows. The Whites also have Holstein and a British White. But Bobolink Dairy's most interesting breed is from Ireland, the Kerry.

Jonathan White has one of about fifty Kerry cattle in the United States. The Kerry is a small but strong dairy breed that is a good milk producer. 

 
Bobolink Dairy's main bull, John, leads the herd² up a hill
The main male among the cattle is named John.

Mister White breeds cattle to be able to live outside all year. His cattle are smaller animals that do well in open fields.

The daily process of driving cows from the field to the barn is one that could have taken place in many cultures hundreds of years ago. But Bobolink Dairy in New Jersey depends on modern ideas and some modern equipment, too.

VOICE ONE:

Jonathan White communicates with his wife and several assistants by cellular³ telephone. He has learned to use the phone to limit trips from one end of the farm to the other. Following him, it is easy to realize that every trip from one part of the farm to the other needs to have a purpose. A wasted trip is wasted time, and time is something a farmer can never have enough of.

VOICE TWO:

The Whites take the best of modern tools and put them to work. One time-saving device is the milking machine. It takes milk from the cows and sends it through a pipe to the dairy. This is what it sounds like …

(SOUND: Milking machine)

VOICE ONE:

 
A milking machine
The milking machines pump milk directly to a large stainless⁴ steel container, or vat⁵. The vat holds milk for making cheese. It is attached to a heating device that controls the temperature of the milk exactly.

Here, the modern meets the traditional. The vat warms the milk to about thirty-two degrees Celsius⁶. This is a little cooler than milk is in the udder of the cow.

Jonathan White does not pasteurize the milk. Pasteurization is a process of heating food to kill most of the organisms in it. Pasteurization would only cause Mister White to have to buy and add bacteria or mold to the milk.

Instead, the natural organisms that enter the milk in the cow's udder cause the process known as fermentation. A little bit of milk from the previous day's cheese making is all that is needed to speed the process of turning milk into cheese.

VOICE TWO:

It takes a few hours for the milk to start fermenting⁸. In this process, bacteria start to change milk sugars into lactic⁹ acid. The milk starts to become a little sour. When he judges the time is right, Jonathan White adds a substance that will cause the milk to become solid, or curdle¹¹.

The rennet he adds contains a chemical substance found in the stomachs of young cows and sheep. It helps them digest milk. When rennet is put in fermenting milk, it forms soft but solid curds¹². The remaining liquid is called whey.

The whey is a waste product of cheese making. The Whites also have another use for whey.

(SOUND: Pigs)

VOICE ONE:

Jonathan White explains that many dairy producing areas have traditionally produced pig meat, too. This is the case in Parma, Italy, which is famous for Parmesan cheese and for Parma hams. The Whites fatten¹³ their pigs on whey. When the animals reach about ninety kilograms, they are ready to be sold for meat.

After the day's cheese making is done, the pigs at Bobolink dairy get a special meal of whey, which they eat hungrily.

(SOUND: Pigs)

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Cheese making is an art. Many different kinds of cheese can be made from the same curd¹⁰. After the curds are solid enough, they are put into forms, air-dried, salted and aged¹⁴.

 
Cheese drying on a rack
Jonathan White estimates that about fifteen organisms, bacteria and molds, form the skin of his cheese. He says about one hundred kinds of bacteria ferment⁷ the cheese itself.

Since ancient times, people have recognized that fermentation changes food so it can be stored for long periods. Wine, vinegar, pickles¹⁵ and cheese are all examples of fermented¹⁶ foods.

VOICE ONE:

The Whites added bread to their products last year. That, too, depends on fermentation. Yeast¹⁷, a kind of mold, causes bread to rise and develop its structure. The Whites built a bread oven that burns wood. The big oven reaches about three hundred seventy degrees Celsius. After the oven reaches the right temperature, the wood is removed and bread is put inside to bake.

 
Ann Carroll prepares the bread oven for baking
(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The kind of farming done by the Whites is the opposite of industrial agriculture. Big farming is good at producing products all of equal quality in huge amounts.

The Whites serve a different, and growing, market: people who are looking for unusual or one-of-a-kind food products. These goods have higher prices and can be more profitable for small farms than other kinds of farmed goods.

(SOUND: Ballet music)

VOICE ONE:

Nina White is a trained dancer. She still teaches dancing locally, but has taken on many of the duties of doing business with the public. She travels with assistants to local markets selling the farm's cheese and bread.

She also supervises the farm's Internet site. The information and pictures she provides inform people about Bobolink Dairy. People can buy cheese and bread electronically. Nina White can send Bobolink products almost anywhere in the country.

VOICE TWO:

Jonathan White's cheese has been described in several magazines. He also supplied cheese to the White House when Walter Scheib supervised the kitchen as presidential chief.

Some local restaurants in New York and New Jersey offer Bobolink cheese. However, the Whites do not accept large buyers. Instead, they run a successful Internet business and serve people visiting the farm.

VOICE ONE:

The Whites consider selling their own farm products as one way that farmers can be economically independent. Bobolink is among a growing number of farms that sell their products directly to the public.

The Whites have chosen to farm using few extra materials beyond what is on their land. They milk and breed several kinds of cattle to create a group, or herd, that is genetically¹⁸ diverse.

VOICE TWO:

Jonathan White says he considers independent farming important not only to agriculture, but to the development of the country:

JONATHAN WHITE: "The reason people poured into this country was because they could actually own land, and owning and tilling the land didn't exist anywhere else in the world. You either owned it or you worked it.

"That's basically the root of American democracy. Individuals owning land and farming it and being able to profit from it gave them the independent mind and spirit, which enabled them to elect a free government.

"When agriculture becomes so centralized, either through very large farms or small farms selling to very large manufacturing plants, we lose that."

VOICE ONE:

Nina White explains that making farm products from start to end is an experience of independence and satisfaction:

NINA WHITE: "What we're doing here is freeing ourselves by making the product from beginning to end in one location. We can start with the best inputs¹⁹: sunlight to grass to cow to cheese."

The Whites enjoy sharing their knowledge of cheese and bread making. You can visit their farm online at cowsoutside.com.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Doug Johnson.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

3 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

4 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

5 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

6 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

7 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

8 fermenting   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. 发酵的葡萄酒已经冒泡，溢了出来。 来自辞典例句
• It must be processed through methods like boiling, grinding or fermenting. 它必须通过煮沸、研磨、或者发酵等方法加工。 来自互联网

9 lactic   

adj.乳汁的

参考例句：

• Now they wear rubber fingers treated with lactic acid.现在他们带上了用乳酸处理过的橡皮指套。
• Lactic acid is an important organic acid of industrial importance.乳酸是一种具有重要工业价值的有机酸。

10 curd   

n.凝乳；凝乳状物

参考例句：

• I'd like to add some pepper to the bean curd.我想在豆腐里加一点辣椒粉。
• The next one is bean curd with crab roe.下一个是蟹黄豆腐。

11 curdle   

v.使凝结，变稠

参考例句：

• The sauce should not boil or the egg yolk will curdle.调味汁不能煮沸，不然蛋黄会凝结的。
• The sight made my blood curdle.那景象使我不寒而栗。

12 curds   

n.凝乳( curd的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Little miss muffet sat on a tuffet eating some curds and whey. 小玛菲特小姐坐在垫子上，吃着凝乳和乳清。 来自互联网
• The curds contain casein, fat and minerals. 凝乳中有酪蛋白、脂肪、矿物质。 来自互联网

13 fatten   

v.使肥，变肥

参考例句：

• The new feed can fatten the chicken up quickly enough for market.新饲料能使鸡长得更快，以适应市场需求。
• We keep animals in pens to fatten them.我们把动物关在围栏里把它们养肥。

14 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

15 pickles   

n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱

参考例句：

• Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

16 fermented   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句

17 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

18 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

19 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网