This Week's Notes 8/15...

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​    August is such a crazy time for farms in so many ways, good and bad. By this time of the year crops are coming in, all the babies born in spring are getting bigger and finding ways to break out through holes in fences you didn't know were there, predators babies are also in abundance learning how to hunt, and basically anything that can go wrong will go wrong, while your head is spinning trying to figure out which issue to address 1st. 

   With the exception of me getting stung by more bees than I can ever remember and 1 bite being taken out of every beautiful tomato I have, our farm is fairing generally well for August. However, our friends at Front Yard Farm had a huge set back this week in one of her new high tunnels, when the fan malfunctioned and many of her plants were fried in the hot temps. Since my ducks devoured my kale and chard last week, I reached out to Twin Pines Farm who had a little bit for us and Autumn Leaf Farm coincidentally asked if we needed any kale too! Our stop at Overlook Farm found and abundance of Tuscan Kale and just like that, we have a nice selection of one of your staple foods! If you are out and about near Front Yard Farm or see her beautiful pottery in a store you may be at, please take a minute to stop and do what you can to help them buffer this huge loss they are suffering. All that hard work, just gone in an instant. 

   Our new relationship with Tip Top Country Store is coming along and we have some great new things to offer this week. Make sure to take a scroll through the Dairy & Pantry for new items like yogurt, sour cream, cheddar cheese and salad dressings. We are also trying out some Honey Sodas which are in the Beverage section. Tip Top is also helping us by purchasing unsold stock from our farms and any unsold produce that I have to purchase by the flat which is really helping our bottom line and helping boost the farms sales. We were also able to bring back Real Pickles items, with them having too much Kimchi on hand and us having a better wholesale rate since we can pick up in Deerfield, we are able to split cases of a product that everyone loves but is a slow mover. Case minimums prevent me from obtaining alot of great items, so I am looking forward to revisiting some of the companies I have reached out to in the past. All in all, we have worked out the basic logistics and are now brainstorming how we can help them get more Co-op Members, deliver for their online orders and make it so our clients can shop on their website and get that order included with your Friday delivery. 

    With our final calf finally born a couple days ago, and a new puppy to help us fend of all these forementioned predators, baby season is finally done. Now it's time to start selling down stock before winter. A litter of bunnies will be making their way to Klems this weekend, due to losses we have no available chickens for sale but do have 10 roosters. We will need to sell the 1st heiffer calf born this season and 1 of our 1.5 year old steers to be able to afford hay through winter. There is an abundance of piglets and for the older hogs, we have 5 that are ready to go to our butcher appointment in October. With the estimated butcher cost at $200 we are asking for help from those that are interested in stocking your freezer with a whole hog. Fronting $1000 for 5 pigs isn't easy and having it come back to us 1 pork chop at a time over winter makes the $50 each that we get to retain dwindle down with every extra electric bill. If you're interested, please read the description in the Whole Hog listing and reach out with any other questions!