FARM HAPPENINGS
We survived another sweltering heat wave this past weekend, definitely was hard on cows and pigs and people who work outdoors. Its been a hot summer thus far and we still have to get through the month of August! But at least we've had lots of rain so the pastures are green and these last couple of days of cooler weather have been a welcome relief.
We have fresh chickens back in the farm store again this weekend. And we took in our first batch of summer turkeys this morning, they will be processed into turkey breasts, wings, and ground turkey that should be in the farm store by next weekend. In related turkey news, we also picked up all the day-old Thanksgiving turkey poults from the hatchery Tuesday. They will be growing in the brooder the next few weeks before we move them out to the pasture shelters. I know it's pretty early to be thinking about Thanksgiving, but we will only have two fresh turkey pickup dates this year and are already getting quite a few reservations so its never too early to lock your fresh bird in.
IS IT REALLY GRASS FED?
One of our customers sent me an interesting educational video a few weeks ago highlighting all the lies and scams going on in the grass-fed beef market. Some of these I have written about in the past, but since the USDA no longer regulates the term I see a lot of questionable beef labeled as grass-fed in grocery stores, most of it imported from South America or Australia but labeled as Product of the USA . For sure buying directly from the farmer or rancher that you have personally vetted is probably the only way you can really be sure you are getting true grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
On the topic of beef, we have a good supply of our grass-fed ground beef in stock right now so we are offering 15% off all ground beef bundles which includes the 15, 25, and 45 pound packs. The sale price is good for both in-store or online purchases for shipping or curbside pickup.
FARM STORE UPDATE
As noted above, we will have fresh chicken in the farm store through Sunday, while supplies last. And our laying hens are still producing at a high rate, so our pasture-raised egg supply is strong and we continue to offer discounts on the egg bundles - pickup 4, 6, or 10 dozen and save up to $1.50 per dozen. These bundle discounts are available in-store or pre-purchase online for store pickup.
And did I mention BACON IS BACK from our pasture-raised pigs!
Local, organically-grown produce in the store this week from our on-site gardens: Carrots, Beets, Red Scallions, Green Zucchini, Goldy Zucchini, Yellow Summer Squash, Patty Pan Squash, Ronde De Nice Squash, various Kales, and Cherry Tomatoes. And local garlic from Garlic eScape.
Additional organic produce includes Apples, Apricots, Avocados, lemons, Nectarines, Cantaloupe, Peaches, Pears, Asparagus, Corn, Onions, Potatoes, Sweet potatoes, and Bell Peppers.
Weather looks perfect for the Saturday farm tour tomorrow - reserve tickets online or purchase in the farm store before the tour.
That's it for this week, stay healthy our there!
Cliff, Anna, and the Farm Team