What a stinking hot week it has been! Finally tonight we can open up the windows to the house and let some fresh air in after four straight days of non-stop A/C. At least we can get inside to cool off when necessary, the poor animals are stuck out in the heat and humidity all day and night. The cows seem to be impacted the most, we have seen a big drop in milk production this week. They don't really eat much during the heat of the day, but spend most of their time standing in the shade and swatting flies with their tails.
Thanks to all of our readers who answered my request last week for some real customer feedback and took time to complete a Google review of our farm. At last count we had over 100 new reviews filled with wonderful comments and stories about the work that we do and products we produce. The bitter taste from those few negative reviews is long gone. Thanks again we always appreciate your support!
And we have more good news…the young hens (pullets) are kicking egg production into high gear over this past week. Many of the eggs are pullet-size but there are a good number of medium and even large eggs already. We sell the pullet-size eggs in 18-packs, and with this new production coming online I don't anticipate us running out of eggs in the store for the foreseeable future. We may even have enough eggs to restart our long-delayed egg shipping program. Stay tuned for more on that topic in the coming weeks.
Please note we will be closing the farm store a little early on Saturday, July 4th so our staff can enjoy the holiday with friends and family. Store hours Saturday will be 9 AM - 2 PM.
“MEET THE MAKER” EVENTS COMING UP
Saturday July 11th – Umland Cheese will be at the store sampling their different flavors of crunchy cheese snacks. 10 AM - 1 PM.
Sunday July 12th – Michelle, founder of FoxFire Kombucha will be at the store sampling a variety of her tasty brews. 10 AM - 1 PM.
FARM STORE UPDATE
We restocked all of our beef inventory this past week with our June harvest, so we have a great selection of grass-fed steaks, roasts, and ground products in the store. The only popular item we are missing now is the ancestral/primal ground beef blend with organ meats mixed in. We should have that item back in stock at the end of the month.
A couple of new cheese varieties we are excited about from North Sky Farm in nearby Harvard include a grass-fed organic Canembert & Creme De Fromage.
Fresh organically-grown produce in the store from our on-site gardens: Green Lettuce, Red Lettuce, Chard, Spinach, Parsley, Mint, Dill, Basil. Celery, Carrots, Scallions, Rhubarb, Turnips & Zucchini Plus local Microgreens and Mushrooms.
Fresh local produce from our network of downstate Illinois farms: Garlic, Red Beets, Red Slicing Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Easter Egg Radishes, Cauliflower, and Garlic Scapes.
Other organic produce in the store includes: Avocados, Mandarins, Eureka Lemons, Oranges, Limes, Passion Fruit, Red & Russet Potatoes, Garnet Jumbo Sweet Potatoes, BenYagi Purple Sweet Potatoes, Ginger, Apples, & Red Onions.
Join our Saturday farm tour on July 4th to see all of our farm animals up close. We will have a new group of baby pigs running around this week. 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.
That's it for this week, Happy 4th of July to everyone!
Please remember to bring us your paper or plastic shopping bags and egg cartons so we can reuse them!
Cliff, Anna & The Farm Team
