Lots of good news to share this week. If you are wondering why I am leading with a picture of a fence, its because we are almost finished with a long-planned project - fencing in the 90+ acres of hayfields behind our house.
Once this project is completed, hopefully by the end of next week, we will move our small but growing herd of mama beef cows and calves over from our main farm across the street, as well as some young heifers and our beef bull so he can get busy making more calves for next spring.
This is the beginning of our “cow-calf” operation which we have been planning for several years, but lacked the grazing space and capital to purchase mama cows or open heifers with today's insanely high cattle prices. Now that these 90 acres are fenced in we expect to be able to raise up to 50-60 mama cows and calves every year on these fields.
Stay tuned next week will share more details about our beef herdshare program that begins in September.
JOIN US AT ALFALFA FEST NEXT SATURDAY
Anna and I will be helping out in the food tent next Saturday, August 22nd at the annual Alfalfa Fest music festival in Caledonia, near Rockford. Along with some great live bands there will be awesome food, including pulled pork and brisket sandwiches expertly prepared by Chef Andy, using our meats. This event benefits Farmers Rising, a non-profit farmer training organization I have been involved with for many years. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets for the festival. We look forward to seeing you there!
NOW SHIPPING ORGANIC NO CORN/NO SOY EGGS!
We finally received our custom-made egg shipping boxes today so we are ready to ship our unwashed and unrefrigerated eggs starting on Monday. These are the same eggs you buy in our store, and they should be good on the counter for 3-4 weeks or even longer if you put them in the fridge. Order online now and save yourself a trip to the farm store.
And the young hens are still pumping out lots of eggs so the egg bundle sale is still on …save $1- $2 per dozen based on the size of the bundle. Order the bundles online for in-store pickup or grab a bundle on your next farm store visit.
GROUND TURKEY AND BREASTS BACK IN STOCK
We processed our first batch of summer turkeys this past week and will have the full assortment of turkey parts back in the farm store Saturday morning. Including the popular turkey breast and ground.
We also processed another batch of No Corn/No Soy broiler chickens so we have a limited assortment of FRESH whole and cutup chickens in the cooler out front of the store, while supplies last through Sunday evening.
“MEET THE MAKER” EVENTS COMING UP IN AUGUST
Saturday August 22nd– James Lee, maker of the wonderful handcrafted CHILEE oil will be sampling his fantastic seed-oil free sauces at the farm store. 12 PM - 3 PM.
Sunday August 30th – Our beekeeper Willie will be back sampling his various honey and other bee products - make sure to try his bourbon honey! 10 AM - 2 PM.
FARM STORE UPDATE
We picked up eight beef from our processor last week and restocked the farm store with all of your favorite grass-fed/dry-aged beef cuts - including steaks, roasts, organ meats, bones, and ground products.
Our weekly special is the pork country-style ribs from our pasture-raised pigs. Perfect roasted in the oven with BBQ sauce. 20% off this weekend.
Fresh organically-grown produce in the farm store from our on-site gardens:
Radishes, Cucumbers Slicing, Parsley, Mint, Oregano, Sage, Spring Onions Yellow, Green Beans, Pickling Cucumbers, Eggplant, Shallots, Cherry Tomatoes, and Slicing Tomatoes (Pink, Red, Yellow, Red/Yellow Striped)
And fresh local produce from our network of downstate Illinois farms: Watermelons!, Cantaloupe!, Sweet Corn, Variety of Potatoes, Red & Yellow Onions, Celery, Green Cabbage, Red Beets, Jalapenos, and Sweet Peppers.
Other organic produce in the store includes: Apples, Ginger, Turmeric, Avocados, and Lemons, plus local Mushrooms, and Garlic Escape Garlic Bulbs.
Join our Saturday farm tour to see all of our farm animals and practices up close. The tour starts at 1:00 PM, and includes a 75-90 minute hay wagon ride around the farm with stops to visit all the different animals we raise. Reserve your seats on our website or purchase tickets in the farm store.
Visit our online store to order grass-fed meat bundles for curbside pickup or ship them to your home.
Please remember to bring us any used shopping bags or egg cartons - we can reuse them - keeps them out of the landfills and oceans and saves us money to boot!
Have a great weekend, hope to see you at Alfalfa Fest next Saturday!
