Grazing Begins. More Eggs. Farm Camp. Ground Beef Sale + Barnyard Blues

Grazing season has finally arrived!  After what seemed like an endless wait for the pastures to develop this spring we finally were able to begin full-day grazing this past week. Its been a very dry and cool spring so the grasses and forbs took longer to develop than a typical spring. 

 

Pictured above the Moo Crew is grazing in front of the laying hens. We like to have the cows graze down the lush spring forage to about six inches before moving the laying hens into the paddock a few days later. For those regular drinkers of our raw milk you may notice a slight change in the milk flavor as the cows transition to eating fresh grass from the stored hay they have been eating all winter. The milk will be even more yellow and may take on a “grassy” flavor during the first week or two of transition. Once their rumen microbiomes adjust to the fresh forages it will not be as noticeable. We have several new calves in the last week so milk production is strong and increasing. Order online to guarantee availability, but most days we have milk in the store for walk-in customers…so remember your jars!

 

Our new hens are really kicking their egg production into high gear over the last week…they went from giving us just a few dozen pullet eggs a day to almost 600 medium to large eggs per day in less than two weeks.  We will probably be in a position to lift the 3-dozen egg limit in the store soon, and maybe even start offering the egg bundles if production keeps increasing over the next several weeks. 

 

We are less than a month away from the first farm camps, and still have openings available in all three camps. Get the kids off those screens and out to the farm this summer to learn how real food is produced. We have three week-long day camps available where they can help with farm chores, learn how to raise livestock, collect eggs, milk a cow, and have some outdoor fun!   Reserve your space online today.

 

We have a good supply of our grass fed ground beef right now, so we are offering 15% off on the 25 lb. ground beef pack. Order online with free shipping or curbside pickup at the farm. Stock up now with this flexible protein that can be used for Memorial Day burgers, tacos, casseroles, soups, and much more.  This beef is 100% grass fed and finished on our organic pastures, no fillers or additives and processed at a local, family-owned facility. Approximately 90% lean.  

 

With the new expanded store space we have room for more items, this week we restocked the local Bison meats, Lovebird cereals, Vandy & Masa chips, Tourmaline Hearth spring time themed lard soaps, and Sprit leaf herbal teas for hormone balance, sleep, and clarity. 

 

Local produce available includes Radishes, Asparagus, Ramps/wild leeks, mushrooms, microgreens, and frozen 1lb strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, and cherry bags. More local produce will be coming every week now.  Non-local fresh produce includes organic Bananas, Avocadoes,  Lemons/ limes, Ginger, Squash, Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, Sweet potatoes, Pears, and Apples.

 

Please join us at the Barnyard Blues Festival in Caledonia next Saturday, May 17th from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM to benefit Farmers Rising, a non-profit farmer training organization hit hard by federal grant freezes. I will be there enjoying the great music and beautiful setting, hope to see some of our long time customers and followers as well. I am even hopeful that I can get Anna away from the farm to enjoy herself for a few hours. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets online or at the gate. Lots of great local bands will be performing.

 

With green grass and warm weather here we have started the weekly farm tours every Saturday at 1:00 PM. Tickets are now available online for the May and June tour dates. 

 

That's it for this week, look forward to seeing you next Saturday at the Blues Festival!

 

Cliff, Anna, and the Farm Team