TIME TO ORDER
SPRING PORK
The pigs are growing beautifully in their winter quarters. They really chow down on the hay! It's time to order for quarters, halves, or wholes for pick up May 20th.
The bulk price is the same as last year, $8.50/lb, which is a significant savings over our retail price for the same delicious, nutritious pork from happy, organically-fed pigs.
The Farm Report
FEBRUARY UPDATE
It feels like 2020 is really moving already. We attended the annual NOFA-NY organic farming conference in Syracuse and got our annual dose of good ideas for farming, our seeds are all ordered and many have arrived already, the pigs are growing like weeds, and our young up-and-coming hens just laid their first handful of eggs this week!
Many farmers, gardeners, and homesteaders pay attention to Imbolc, also known as Candlemas, which is the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and is usually February 1st. It's the time when we shift over from longer nights and shorter days, to shorter nights and longer days. This is a time of seed starting and noticing shifts in weather, animals, and plants toward growth. We will sow our first seeds for the Spring Share this week, and I have noticed that our rosemary plants, sheltering in my front window for the winter, have started to put on vigorous new growth just within the last week.
We have many plans for 2020, and look forward to seeing which of them we can take to fruition. We are still on the hunt for two interns and one assistant livestock manager for the season - if you think you might know of anyone interested, please direct them here for the livestock manager and here for the intern. We are hoping to once again raise cattle for a fall harvest, and to add a few sheep to our livestock rotation, to harvest in the fall so we can add lamb to our meat share! ALSO, we just received notification today that we are awarded a grant by the Hudson Mohawk RC&D (administered through the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation) to put in a certified kitchen adjacent to our slaughterhouse! We are very excited at all the opportunities that this will open up, and are looking forward to exploring the different ways that we can get more of our products into more of our community members' kitchens and lives!
2020 Happenings!
New Feed for the Animals!
Our chickens and pigs always receive a certified organic feed ration, made of corn, roasted soybeans, oats, and minerals. Until this month, we purchased this feed through Green Mountain Feeds, out of Bethel, VT. We loved their feed, it was always very high quality and good for the animals. However, we have now decided to switch to getting our feed from Stone House Grain, in Hudson, NY, whose values align more closely with ours. The feed is not only certified organic, but sourced regionally, with a very transparent supply chain. We hope you are happy with the meat and eggs produced from this beautiful regional feed!
Member Potlucks and Events
FarmShare members and friends of the farm are invited to join us once a month for a potluck in the farmhouse and an educational event. Dates and details are available on our calendar.
February 8th is Book Club Discussion and Baking Workshop for "The New Breadbasket" with author Amy Halloran!
Spring Share and Farm Share
Spring Share will be 4/29 through 5/27. Main season Farm Share will be 6/3 through 10/28.
We are already half full on both of these shares, so don't hesitate to sign up if you're considering it!
Details and sign up here for spring share, and here for main season farm share.
Pork!
So you've been buying our pork at the Farmers' Market or here at the farm, a package of bacon here and a pound of sausage there ... and you really like it. And you'd like to make sure there's a bunch in your freezer, for whenever you get the urge to cook it ...
we can help!
Yours in growth,
Annie