FARM HAPPENINGS
Life on the farm is always an adventure…we can count on something new and unexpected happening just about every day. For example, last week we were running the dairy cows into the barn for the morning milking, and Cathy (pictured above) decided to take a detour over to the feed bin area on the south side of the barn. Sometimes there is a little chicken or pig feed spilled on the concrete under the bins so this is not unusual. However, what is unusual is to have one of the cows get themselves wedged behind the feed bins against the barn wall.
We tried push her backwards and sideways for about 20 minutes, as that is the path she took to get herself wedged in there. That didn't work, so we eventually resigned ourselves to detaching all four legs of the feed bin from the concrete anchors and moving it back with the skid steer to get her out. Fortunately it was almost empty so we could move it relatively easily. Cathy wins the prize for Dumbest Cow of the Month.
Today we went to visit Michael and Courtney at Three Brothers Farm in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, about 45 minutes from our Elkhorn Farm. Our goal was to pickup a few of their Shetland Sheep wool pelts to sell in our store, but while visiting we learned they had extra pasture-raised/organic eggs in their cooler so we brought a few cases back with us as well to offer in the farm store this weekend.
No new Guernsey calves to report as of tonight but Louisa's udders are filling up with milk so we expect her deliver the first March calf, probably in the next day or two.
“MEET THE MAKER” EVENTS STARTING SATURDAY MARCH 7th
This Saturday we are excited to welcome Karolina Kowalczyk back to the farm store, where she served as our Store Manager back in 2018-2019. She loved getting her hands dirty and growing organic fruits and veggies so much she transitioned to full-time vegetable production in 2020.
Karolina grows for her own CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) customers as well as supplying our farm store with fresh veggies during the growing season. Stop by and say hello and learn more about getting a box of freshly-harvested veggies every week. From 10 AM - 1 PM. We have even more events schedule as of this week:
Saturday, March 7th - Meet our on-site veggie farmer Karolina Kowalczyk, talk about spring planting, no-till organic production, compost, and signing up for her weekly CSA. 10AM-1PM.
Saturday, March 28th - Meet Fisherman Mark from Bering Bounty as he discusses fishing the ice-cold waters off Alaska, his favorite fish recipes, and samples of his catch. 10AM-2PM.
Saturday, April 4th - Meet Chef Ernesto, maker of El Molcajete organic tortilla chips and mole sauces. Sample a few of his sauces and learn what it takes to make mole.10AM-1PM.
Saturday, April 11th - Meet Willie the beekeeper, of Willie's Honey. He will discuss beekeeping, different bee products, varieties and seasonal variations of honey, and answer any bee or honey-related questions. 10AM-1PM.
FARM STORE UPDATE
Fresh organic produce in the store this week includes Mandarins, Oranges, Comics pears, Kiwis, Grapefruit, Meyer Lemons, Avocado, Carrots, Butternut squash, Parsnips, Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Sweet Potatoes, as well as Michigan apples, local igl Potatoes, microgreens, and mushrooms.
That's it from the farm this week. Please remember to bring us your leftover shopping bags and egg cartons so we can recycle them.
Cheers,
Cliff, Anna, and the Farm Team