FARM HAPPENINGS
Even though we're still in the middle of summer, it's never too early to start thinking about Thanksgiving. We just picked up 800 day-old Bronze turkey poults from the hatchery this past week. We are looking forward to nurturing these little cuties for the next three weeks in the brooders before we transition them out to the pasture shelters, ultimately destined for Thanksgiving dinners in late November.
Turkeys are notoriously difficult to raise, especially in the first few weeks of life when it seems they are always looking for creative ways to kill themselves, like drowning in ½ inch of their drinker water. Over the years we have built special brooder boxes that minimize these opportunities for them but certainly they are not turkey-proof.
This year we have only scheduled two fresh-turkey pickup dates for the week of Thanksgiving - Tuesday and Wednesday (no Saturday schedule). We will have 250 fresh turkeys available in total, the rest will be processed in the weeks before and sold frozen. If you are interested in reserving one of the fresh turkeys we have them available now in our online store. Usually we will sell out of the fresh turkeys by the end of September.
The big turkeys you see recently in the front pasture near the farm entrance are destined for turkey parts in a few weeks - by the last week of August we should have turkey breast, ground turkey, and maybe even some turkey sausages back in the farm store.
Our young hens are still pumping out lots of eggs so the egg bundle sale is still on …save $1- $2 per dozen based on the size of the bundle. Order the bundles online for in-store pickup or grab a bundle on your next farm store visit.
We are also looking for an energetic and passionate individual to add to our Farm Store team. This is a full-time (28-32 hrs/week) role and candidates must be available to work at least one weekend day every week. Visit our website for the full job description.
“MEET THE MAKER” EVENTS COMING UP
Saturday August 1st – CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN We are trying to reschedule Willie the beekeeper for another Saturday in August.
FARM STORE UPDATE
We have fresh southern Illinois peaches in the farm store this week, along with freshly harvested Sweet Corn among a variety of other fresh local produce.
And our weekly special is a new item - Party Wings from our chickens. We asked our processor to trim off the chicken wing tips and separate the wing drums from the flats…so they are ready to throw on the grill or the oven with your favorite sauce. We are featuring the party wings this weekend at 15% off..
Fresh organically-grown produce in the store from our on-site gardens: Cucumbers (Slicing & Pickling), Carrots, Spring onions (Red & Yellow), Fresh Garlic, Daikon Radishes, Green Beans, Green Bell Peppers, Zucchini, Herbs (Parsley, Chives, Basil, Oregano, Cilantro, and Sage.
And fresh local produce from our network of downstate Illinois farms: Tomatoes, Potatoes (Red, Gold, Russet, Blue), Golden beets, Red beets, Celery, Sweet corn, Fresh Shallots, Mixed sweet peppers, Jalapenos, Hungarian Peppers, and Cantaloupe (Limited Supply).
Other organic produce in the store includes: Apples, Avocados, Kumquats, Mandarins, Lemons, and Limes.
Join our Saturday farm tour to see all of our farm animals and practices up close. 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.
Visit our online store to order grass-fed meat bundles for curbside pickup or ship them to your home. Anna is back from her vacation so she will be packing orders this weekend and shipping on Monday August 3rd.
Have a great weekend. We're finally getting some rain!
Cliff, Anna and the Farm Team