We woke up this morning to the wonderful sound of a heavy rain through our open windows…the first rain we've had at our Wisconsin farm in over a month! The downpour lasted for almost two hours, giving our pastures a much needed infusion of moisture to keep them growing and nourishing our livestock for the coming season. Looking forward to more rain in the coming days.
We launched our first “HenPen” this week - pictured above with over 700 young hens inside that will hopefully begin laying eggs in the next 20-30 days. We've been working on this contraption every spare moment for the last three weeks and its good to have this project behind us. The mobile shelter is floorless and surrounding fencing is attached to the shelter so we can move the whole setup to fresh grass every day in about 5 minutes with the hens inside of it. Our other mobile layer shelters take 30-45 minutes to move as we have to take down the portable fencing and setup a new paddock 3-4 days per week.
And this week we processed our first batch of chickens for the season, so we have fresh whole chickens in the farm store through Sunday (while supplies last), as well as chicken breasts and thighs. Next Wednesday, June 10th we will process our first batch of No Soy/No Corn broiler chickens for the season, and they will be back in the farm store on Thursday 11th by noon.
We have some good candidates that have applied for our Wisconsin farm position, but are still accepting applications. To learn more about the position please review the job description on our website.
“MEET THE MAKER” EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Tomorrow (Saturday June 6th) - Anna and I will be out front of the store ready to talk about all things related grass-based farming, cows, chickens, beef, raw milk, and possibly sampling some of our favorite items from the store. 10 AM - 1 PM.
Additional Meet the Maker events coming in June:
Saturday June 20th – Olga Boldyreva, founder of Mion Artisan Soaps and lotions will be showing off all of her natural skin care products. 10 AM - 1 PM.
Sunday June 28th – Rob Hermany, founder of Kaleido Greens will be at the store sampling a variety of his micro-green medleys. 10 AM - 1 PM.
FARM STORE UPDATE
As noted we have FRESH CHICKENS in the store this weekend through Sunday, while supplies last.
Fresh produce from our on-site gardens: Mint, Parsley, Spinach, Chard,
Curly Kale, Lacinato Kale, Cilantro and Green Lettuce heads. And fresh local microgreens and mushrooms.
Fresh produce from our network of downstate Illinois farms: Spring Onions (Yellow & Red), Butter Head Lettuce, Green Beans, Slicing Cucumbers, Red Radishes, Garlic Scapes, Beets, Asparagus, and Sweet Potatoes.
Other organic produce includes: Pomelos, Oranges, Mandarins, Avocados & Mexican Limes, Potatoes, Apples, Cabbage, Ginger, and Garlic.
Join our Saturday farm tour to see all of our farm animals up close. Every week at 1:00 PM through Thanksgiving. This is a 75-90 minute guided tour around the farm on a hay wagon, 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, we look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow. Please remember to bring us your leftover shopping bags and egg cartons so we can recycle them - over and over again!
Cliff & Anna
