In your share

• Lamb Stew Meat
• Ground Beef
• French Garlic Sausage
• Pork Chops
• Ground Pork
• Choice of: duck or rabbit

On the Farm

Despite the winter that will never end, our pastures are looking fantastic, and about a month ago we started our intensive rotational grazing system with the animals getting a new paddock with beautiful grass every day. I think our farm helpers are getting sick of me saying “We’ve got the best grass in town,” but as I drive around and look at every other field in the area, that statement is clearly true. I’m going to be writing a blog post for the Oregon Pasture Network (I have recently been appointed to their advisory committee, and when I suggested that committee members should help provide content, I was thanked for volunteering to be the first!) to go into more detail about why our pastures are so much more productive than everyone else’s, and why that is important for animal health, carbon sequestration, and a farmer’s bottom line. I’ll send out a link once it’s ready.

This is the time of the year when the farm population starts increasing; we already have our first two batches of broiler chickens here, representing about 350 birds, there are about 60 duck eggs in the incubator, 2 new calves in the past month, one new lamb with more coming soon, we’ll be picking up a dozen piglets in a few weeks, and baby goats arriving over the next few weeks also. Writing it all down, it seems like a lot, but since this is an annual routine for us, it doesn’t feel overwhelming.

Renewal for Summer

If you didn’t sign up for the full year, remember to renew your membership to continue receiving the best meat CSA in town. Sign up at our online store: https://terra-farma.square.site/

Recipe

Tagine-Style Lamb Stew from New York Times

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds lamb shoulder
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, grated (about ⅓ cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup apricot preserves
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• 120-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken stock
• ¼c cup raisins
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Cooked couscous, for serving

Directions

1. Trim excess fat from the lamb and cut into 1-inch cubes.
2. In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the lamb, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, apricot preserves and vinegar and cook, stirring frequently, until the aroma of the spices is strong, about 5 to 7 minutes. (Do not allow the meat to brown.)
3. Add chickpeas and stock, bring just to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently until the lamb is very tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
4. Add the raisins and continue to cook, uncovered, until they are nicely plumped, about 10 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and lemon juice, and serve with couscous.

In your share

• Chicken
• Ground beef
• Lamb shank or roast
• Pork chops
• Italian sausage
• Steak (random beef variety)

On the Farm

We have two off-farm adventures to report on this month, the first was an actual vacation (at 9 days, it was the longest trip we’ve taken in at least 15 years!); we flew to El Paso, TX, rented a Jeep, and did a road trip visiting 4 National Parks: White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, and Big Bend. Except for the winds in the Guadalupes that gusted up to 100 mph (!!!), the trip far exceeded my expectations. I am already looking forward to exploring Big Bend more at some future time, as it reminds me of a cross between Death Valley and Zion National Parks. But I highly recommend all of these parks.

A few days after we returned, I (Mike) got back on a plane and flew to Washington DC to take part in the “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience” where we had a (peaceful) rally and march to the capitol steps, followed the next day by appointments with our congressional delegation to advocate for more progressive measures in the upcoming renewal of the farm bill. We are fortunate to have lawmakers who “get it,” as all of them – Merkley, Wyden, and Blumenauer – are supportive of climate-friendly agriculture. I have a full recap that is posted at goodstuffnw.com. (you may need to scroll down a bit, past the newly posted stories; but do read those, too!)

On the farm, despite the gloomy weather, spring is coming and things are starting to ramp up here. We had our first calf of the season, a little bull calf who will live his best life for two years before becoming part of your CSA share. We also have our first batch of broiler chickens in the brooder, they’ll go out to the pasture in a few weeks, then will be ready for our first processing date of the season just before Memorial Day. We are making some refinements to our flock of sheep, adding in some genetics from a breed called Dorper, to hopefully get a little more size and consistency in our lambs. Finally, we are crossing our fingers for a little more sunshine and warmer weather to get our pastures growing so we can get our grazing season underway. But we are thankful for the conditions we do have, and concerned for all of our colleagues in California who are dealing with flooded fields, evacuations, and seemingly no end in sight to their weather whiplash.

Recipe

Lamb and Turnip Stew from Good Stuff NW

We’re going back to the Good Stuff NW blog from Portlander and long-time friend of the farm, Kathleen Bauer. If you belong to a veggie CSA and have a bunch of winter turnips that you don’t know what to do with, here you go.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 lbs. lamb meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 onion, halved lengthwise and again crosswise into eight pieces
6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
6 Tbsp. flour
1 c. dry white wine, or rosé
4 c. chicken stock or broth of your choice
3 medium-sized turnips, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ dice
2 medium carrots, quartered and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 c. half-and-half
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped turnip leaves, parsley or mint for garnish

Directions

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Working in 2 batches, cook the lamb over medium heat until browned all over, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a large plate. Add the onions to the pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes, transfer to the plate with the meat. 

Remove the pot from the heat and add enough oil or lard to make 6 tablespoons of fat. Whisk in the flour, then return the pot to the heat. Add the wine and bring to a simmer over moderate heat, scraping the bottom of the pot. Stir in 2 cups of water along with the stock and whisk until smooth, then add the lamb and onion mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is tender, about 1 hour, adding more water or stock if there isn’t enough liquid. (Note: Sopping the gravy with bread is critical!)

Add the turnips, carrots and potatoes to the pot and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream; season with salt and pepper and warm briefly without boiling. Ladle the stew into bowls and garnish as desired. Serve with crusty bread.

In your share

• Whole Chicken
• Sirloin Tip Roast
• Breakfast Sausage
• Lamb stew meat or kebabs (they are the same thing, just labeled differently)
• Jowl Bacon (Guanciale)
• Ground Beef

On the Farm

With on-farm activities still at their winter lull waiting for extended stretches of spring weather to really get the pasture going, this is a great time to shift focus a bit to our work to advocate for common sense agricultural policies at the local, state, and even federal levels.

At the local level, I am using my position on the Board of Directors at East Multnomah Soil & Conservation District to build on our successful Headwaters Incubator Program to create more opportunities for new and underserved farmers and I was recently elected chair of our Land Conservation Committee where I will continue to push for permanent protections of our valuable farmland.

On January 24^th I traveled to Salem to testify in person to support House Bill 2616, which would improve consumer access to raw milk by removing the prohibition on retail sales, instituting new safety protocols, and allowing micro-dairies like ours to sell at farmer’s markets and other off-site locations. When we tried to pass something similar about a decade ago, the opposition was fierce from the dairy industry and the bill never made it out of committee. This time, though, there were only two statements in opposition, one from the Farm Bureau and one from the Oregon Health Authority. The Farm Bureau, for some reason, is pinning its opposition on the delivery of raw milk to farmer’s markets and none of their arguments make any sense. This was even pointed out by a committee member from Eastern Oregon. The OHA was just fear-mongering with ancient data from times when refrigeration and modern practices were less common. Feeling a tiny bit optimistic about this one.

Two more bills have hearings this week, and if you are inclined, letters of support to the legislature are important. The first is HB 2998, which would create an Oregon Soil Health program that would provide funding for practices to improve soil quality, water retention, carbon sequestration, and much more. Senate Bill 530 is the big climate bill for this session, and instead of focusing on the likely doomed prospect of curtailing fossil fuels, it instead focuses on the carbon storage potential in every eco-region of the state. It is hoped that we can get bipartisan support for this, and I do have a meeting scheduled with my state senator this week to brief him on it.

I’m following that up with a small group meeting with US Rep Earl Blumenauer on Thursday to talk with him about how to make the federal farm bill work for all of us. He has a long-standing interest in creating good policies related to food and farms and I am so privileged to be invited by him for this session. I’ll provide an update next month on the results of all of these actions.

Recipe – Sirloin Tip Roast, two ways

You get two recipes this month, one if you want something more like a roast beef that you can slice, or, for something more like a pot roast that is more shreddable

Turn over for all the details:

First, for the sliceable roast, recipe from wholesomeyum.com

• 3 lb Sirloin tip roast                         1 tbsp Onion powder     2 tsp Dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp Olive oil (divided)               1 tbsp Sea salt                   2 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 tbsp Garlic powder                      3/4 tsp Black pepper       2 tsp Dried oregano

1. Pat the sirloin tip roast dry with paper towels.
2. If you have time, place it onto a sheet pan and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight. (This will help form a nice crust when searing, but you can skip this step if you didn’t plan ahead.)
3. When ready to cook, remove the roast from the fridge and pat dry again if needed. Tie kitchen twine around the roast at 1-inch intervals. (This will help it keep its shape while roasting.)
4. Rub the roast all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
5. In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Rub the spice mixture all over the meat. Let the meat rest for an hour to come to room temperature.
6. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C).
7. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the roast and sear on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, until browned.
8. Transfer the sirloin tip roast to a roasting pan.
9. Bake the sirloin tip roast in the oven, until it reaches 115 degrees F for rare (~30-35 minutes), 125 degrees F for medium rare (40-45 minutes), or 135 degrees F for medium (~50-55 minutes).
10. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. (This will seal in the juices and the internal temperature will rise another 10 degrees to reach the right level of doneness.) Slice the meat against the grain to serve.

The pot roast-style is from sundaysuppermovement.com

2.5 lbs chuck roast, rump roast, sirloin tip roast, or English roast

2 yellow onions sliced    2 crushed garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons of minced garlic

2 carrots cut longways   3 cups beef stock

1 cup red wine                  2 sprigs thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 sprig rosemary               2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt                 1 teaspoon pepper

1.            Preheat oven to 350F. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large Dutch Oven over medium to high heat.

2.            Sear the roast 2 minutes each side and remove.

3.            Add the onion and cook, stirring for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and stir for another 2 minutes.

4.            Deglaze the pan by adding in the red wine, and use a wooden spoon to gently scrape the bottom of the pan to release the flavors. Add in the beef stock, carrots, thyme, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper, and stir well. Add the roast back into the Dutch oven allowing it to be covered with the liquid.

5.            Cover with the lid and place in the oven and roast for approximately 3 hours, or until beef is tender.

6.            Remove beef from the Dutch Oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes on a cutting board.

7.            Shred the beef using two forks to pull it apart.

8.            Place the Dutch Oven back on the stove, and bring to a slow boil, uncovered to reduce the liquid.

9.            If you find it is not reducing, take ½ a tablespoon of cornstarch and mix it with 2 tablespoons of stock in a small cup. Pour it back into the liquid and it should thicken. Serve the beef on mashed potatoes or butter noodles with the sauce on top.

In your share

• Whole chicken
• Pork chops
• Chuck steak
• Ground beef
•  Ground pork
• French garlic sausage

On the Farm

We have been experiencing a refreshingly quiet period of late, with the benign weather this month coupled with our farm chores at their lowest level of the year. This year is especially quiet as we have wound down our milking program, putting it on hiatus for the time being as there are no longer any insurance providers that will offer liability insurance for small farms like ours that sell raw milk. We know of multiple farms in the area whose policies were canceled about the same time as ours, even though there have been no illnesses or claims in Oregon in many years. There is a ray of hope, though. The Oregon non-profit group, Friends of Family Farmers is introducing a bill in Salem this year to clarify the language in the existing raw milk law in the hopes that it might encourage insurers to come back to the marketplace.  It is House Bill 2616 if you are interested in digging in further or contacting your state representative to encourage support for it, or you can go to friendsofsamilyfarmers.org to sign their petition supporting increased access for consumers to purchase raw milk.

Outside of that, all the puppies have found new homes, though we did agree to hang on to one of them until February so his new family can move into their property out here in Corbett.

This is also the season when we start planning all the baby chick orders and processing dates for the year, and we think this will finally be the year we can plan for some special events exclusively for CSA members. We are currently mulling over some ideas, but we would also love to hear from you if there are experiences you would like to have on the farm.

Recipe

Chocolate Chili from “Well Fed” by Melissa Joulwan

This dish is a staple meal for our early and late season chicken processing days, when it might be cold and rainy, and we have a handful of people who are ready for a hearty lunch once the processing is complete. It is delicious when paired with some cornbread or biscuits.

It makes 6-8 servings, so you could easily halve the recipe, but it also freezes well so you could freeze half of it for a future quick meal. This is also from a paleo recipe book, so there are no beans or grains, but you can substitute beans for half the meat if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 2 T coconut oil
• 2 medium onions, diced (about 2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds ground beef and/or pork
• 1 t dried oregano
• 2 T chili powder
• 2 T ground cumin
• 1.5 T unsweetened cocoa
• 1.5 T ground allspice
• 1 t salt
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire roasted, chopped tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
• 1 C water

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium high heat, then add the coconut oil. When the oil is melted, add the onions, and stir with a wooden spoon until they are translucent. Add the garlic, and as soon as it is fragrant, about 30 seconds, crumble the ground meat into the pot, mixing with the wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook the meat, stirring often, until the meat is no longer pink.

In a small bowl, crush the oregano between your palms to release its flavor, then add the chili powder, cumin, cocoa, allspice, and salt. Combine with a fork, then add to the pot, stirring like you mean it. Add the tomato paste and stir until combined, about two minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, beef broth, and water to the pot, stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for at least 2 hours – do not skimp on the simmer!

Serve!

In your share this month: 

• Chicken 
• Ribs 
• Ground beef 
• Bacon 
• Italian sausage 
• Lamb shoulder steaks 

On the farm 

With the rain switch suddenly turning off last month, we’ve now settled into the normal summer routine, with the benefit of lots of green grass from all that moisture. Our continued efforts to build organic matter in the soil not only help with that grass growth but also in retaining more of the water that falls onto our property before it has a chance to run off. It’s estimated that each 1% increase in soil organic matter will hold an additional 24,000 gallons of water per acre, and through our multi-species intensive rotational grazing we estimate we’ve seen an overall increase of 2-3% in the nearly two decades we’ve been at this. I’m proud of those numbers, but I still feel like we have the capacity to do much more. Trying to figure out what techniques are working and new ideas to try to help keep the scientist part of my brain engaged even while I’m doing the most mundane daily chores. This year we experimented with a custom-made 16-seed blend of forage and cover crops that we sowed in areas the pigs had turned over and, in some spots, where the pasture seemed a little less-than-robust. We will observe how those areas do throughout the remainder of the year and into next spring to decide what changes we need to make to our mix.  

But the big excitement has been babies, one expected and two surprises. The first surprise came in the form of an approximately 5-week-old kitten that was crying for attention near the end of our driveway. It took us a couple of days to find it, and it definitely seemed like it was the product of a local feral cat, but he warmed up to us within a day and now we have a third cat in our house! Curiously enough, five years ago, in that exact same spot at the end of our driveway was another five-week-old kitten crying out for help, he is now the senior member of our feline family. 

The second surprise was a baby goat whose mom was apparently spooked by fireworks on the night of the 4th and delivered her baby two weeks early. The normal range is plus or minus five days, so this little boy was very weak by the time we found it the next morning. He was too weak to even take a bottle, so we had to tube feed him to even get some milk into his system. Since he could hardly stand on his own, let alone walk, we couldn’t leave him with the rest of the herd because he would certainly not survive. So, another baby in the house! He’s doing much better now, still showing some signs of weakness, but we fully expect him to grow up perfectly normal. 

The third baby was expected, we just didn’t know when. We had purchased three beef cows this spring, two of which were pregnant, but with unknown due dates. Since these cows are at our rental pasture a couple of miles away, we do not have eyes on them as frequently, but we could see the signs that momma was getting close. On the 9^th we found a beautiful jet-black baby girl laying out in the field; when we started approaching mom came charging over as if to say, “don’t get near my baby!” Both are quite healthy and if I can get back in the habit of posting anything on Instagram, I’ll get some photos of all the babies up there.  

Ingredient Spotlight: Lamb shoulder 

The shoulder of a lamb is a flavorful piece of meat, but since it is a muscle that sees a lot of activity, it can be a bit tough if not prepared correctly. Cuts like this are where cooking with a sous vide machine really pays dividends, as that allows you to cook the meat, vacuum sealed in a bag, at a low temperature but for a long time. These can be cooked at 132 degrees for two hours Follow that with a quick sear in a pan or on the grill and it’s done. You can create an herb rub using rosemary, sea salt, garlic, black pepper, and olive oil to put inside the bag before you vacuum seal it to get those flavors well-incorporated into the meat. Slice into the skin of the cut and massage the rub all over the meat. If you are looking to use this as an excuse to purchase a sous vide machine, you can now find them as low as $60 or so, but I would suggest looking up the New York Times Wirecutter article to read their recommendations. We have the Joule and do like it, the only possible downside to it is that it can only be controlled through your phone via Bluetooth connection. But if you are ok with that, the compact size and power of it make it an excellent choice.  

In the absence of a sous vide machine, you can prepare them in a slow cooker. Use the same rub as above, then rest it atop onion wedges, pour in a small amount of liquid (water, broth, a little red wine, etc.), and cook on low for 4-6 hours, then remove the chops and put them under the broiler at 500 degrees for just 1-2 minutes until brown and the fat is crisped.  

In your share this month: 

• Chicken 
• Pork Roast 
• Breakfast Sausage
• Guanciale (Jowl bacon) 
• Top Sirloin 

On the Farm 

Rain. Nevermind…Hot! 

Other Farm News 

Spring and early summer is always an abundant period, both in the amount of new growth and in the amount of effort needed to keep up with all of it. Baby goat and lamb season has been over for a couple of months now, but litters of rabbits keep coming, along with lots and lots of baby birds. There are 200 newly hatched broiler chickens that we pick up every five weeks from a hatchery near Corvallis, and in the brooder right now we have about 80 turkeys and 70 ducks, with more duck eggs and guinea fowl eggs in the incubator. The extended spring weather has impacted growth rates some, with our first batch of meat chickens about 15-20% smaller than what we would expect. We’ll see if the slightly more promising forecast will ease that impact on future batches.  

On the bright side, we are looking at a great year for grazing, as the soils will be able to remain moist much later into the summer than we’ve seen in quite a while. We are just looking forward to a period of dry weather of at least a couple of weeks in length to allow for haymaking at our rented pasture up the road. The grass there is already 4 feet tall in spots and if the wet weather continues into July, the grass will go to seed and lose much of its nutritional value. But I’m sure normal summer will be here before we know it and we’ll all be longing for the cool days of June! 

Recipe – Spaghetti Carbonara from New York Times 

Even though we rarely eat pasta, one of our farm volunteers requested this for his birthday recently, and it was so yummy! It uses the guanciale from this month’s share, and is quick and easy to make. 

Ingredients 

• Salt 
• 2 large eggs and 2 large yolks, room temperature 
• 1 ounce (about 1/3 packed cup) grated pecorino Romano, plus additional for serving 
• 1 ounce (about 1/3 packed cup) grated Parmesan 

•  Coarsely ground black pepper 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 3 ½ ounces of guanciale, pancetta or bacon, sliced into pieces about ¼” thick by 1/3” square 
• 12 ounces spaghetti (about 3/4 box) 

PREPARATION 

1. Place a large pot of lightly salted water (no more than 1 tablespoon salt) over high heat, and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with hot water for serving, and set aside. 

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and pecorino and Parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and generous black pepper. 

3. Set the water to boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the pork, and sauté until the fat just renders, on the edge of crispness but not hard. Remove from heat and set aside. 

4. Add pasta to the water and boil until a bit firmer than al dente. Just before pasta is ready, reheat guanciale in skillet, if needed. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and add to the skillet over low heat. Stir for a minute or so. 

5. Empty serving bowl of hot water. Dry it and add hot pasta mixture. Stir in cheese mixture, adding some reserved pasta water if needed for creaminess. Serve immediately, dressing it with a bit of additional grated pecorino and pepper. 

In your share this month: 

• Pork chops 
• Ground beef 
• Shoulder bacon 

• French Garlic sausage links 
• Guinea Fowl 
• Lamb roast 

On the Farm 

If you hang around farmers long enough, you will find that the thing they talk most about is the weather since it has so much influence on everything we do. This very unusual spring has taken that level of conversation up another notch. In March, April, and May, I have recorded about 20 inches of rain this year (compared to 7 last year), with half of that total in April alone, and of course, temperatures have been consistently below normal. Many of our friends who grow vegetables have had difficulty getting things planted because the fields are too wet to get equipment on them. We have fared better since our crop is grass and other forages, but even that has been growing much slower than normal. But what the wet spring has allowed me to do is get my new, experimental, pasture seed mix broadcast onto parts of the property without the need to disturb the soil at all. The continuous damp conditions allowed most of the seed to germinate while it was sitting right on the surface of the ground. I created a 16-seed blend to trial this year in the hopes of supplying more late summer forage, so I have been secretly hoping the sunny days stay to a minimum. We will report back later in the year with an update.  

On-farm events 

We were planning to invite everyone out for a tree planting party this spring until I realized the order of 200 bare-root trees was never going to come because I apparently never actually put the order in. So, I guess we’ll plan for that next spring. In the meantime, we are working on ideas for other events to happen once we can count on more reliable dry weather. Stay tuned! 

In your share 

• Chicken 
• Pork Roast 
• Ground Goat 
• Italian sausage 
• Bacon 
• New York Steak 

On the farm 

So many babies! So far this year, we are approaching 40 baby goats and lambs, with 12 of the goats being bottle-fed. Most of those bottle babies will need new homes, so if you know anyone looking for some young goats with good dairy prospects, please put them in touch with us. In addition to those, we have about 350 baby chicks here, and we are about to start incubating our turkey eggs which will eventually become the centerpieces of so many Thanksgiving dinners. Finally, we are picking up 9 piglets around the middle of the month, to make sure we keep the delicious pork flowing for the CSA shares.  

But what’s been occupying our minds in a huge way lately is the future of the farm and how we keep ourselves from burning out. We’ve realized we are heading down a non-sustainable path where we just have zero time off and a trajectory that will break us. So, after an incredible amount of contemplation, we have decided that we are going to phase out our dairy operation. There were so many pros and cons surrounding this decision, which I will detail in a post on our website soon, but ultimately, we knew that after 15 years of twice-a-day milking, every day of the year, we just could not continue.  

As a result, we will be putting more focus on the meat side of the business, starting with an increase in the number of shares available for the May-August season, to make up for the lost income. Please do share this with your friends and family, as we do need to grow our sales here to maintain farm viability. 

There will be lots more to share as our farm evolves through this year of transition, but in the short term, our goal is to find someone who is ready to start their own micro dairy operation where we can mentor them and have a trusted place to refer our customers. Our current target date is about the end of summer, but that’s dependent on finding good homes for the cows and goats. We’ll keep you posted!