It has been a busy time around the farm for the last few weeks. We had enough rain to bring on a crop of produce and, along with taking care of our animals it has kept us working overtime. The crop is short lived, however, because drought conditions have returned in earnest. The long range forecast was for above normal rainfall but it must have gotten stuck somewhere.With cheap energy a thing of the past, local sustainable farming makes more sense than ever. Local means less energy used to transport products. Sustainable means using less nonrenewable resources which usually require large amounts of energy to produce. Policy makers need to rethink strategies to support sensible alternatives to the present industrialized food system. It is no longer feasible to transport food an average of 1500 miles. Nor is it sustainable to continue to use synthetic crop inputs such as commercial fertilizer, chemicals, plastics, etc. which have increased in price as much as 400% in the past year.
Consumers are increasingly supporting local farming. Along with the economics, food safety and health benefits are important. Concern about how animals are raised and treated is a priority for some people. Environmental impact is another important issue. And locally grown fresh food just naturally tastes better.
Our good friend Sherrill sent us info about a new film covering some of these issues. It is about sustainable farming and good (real) food in the Pacific Northwest. A preview of the film may be found by going to www.goodfoodthemovie.org. Click on preview to view the clip.
Although produce is winding down for the moment we still have some tomatoes, field peas, new potatoes, heirloom multiplier onions, okra, butter beans, and apples.
We have a good supply of all cuts of Pasture Finished Jersey Beef. There is plenty of Pastured Chicken both whole and cuts. A new item is ground chicken pet food. This is chicken meat and bone ground from our Pastured Chickens. Our finicky cat really likes it.
Many of you have been asking about pork chops and we have them along with all cuts of Homegrown Pork and sausage.
Hours at the market are:
Wed. and Thurs. – 10:00 until 2:00 (limited products)
Fri. – 9:00 until 3:00
Sat. – 8:00 until 4:00
Hope to see you at the market!
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