This Week's Notes 9/18...

    

     Well, I have been a cooking fool lately, pickling and turning to jam just about everything I can get my hands on! I am hoping to have a nice stock pile for you all as winter arrives so you can remember the flavors of items we has available this growing season.

   Our new F@td Downtown location has been painfully slow. So, this week, with the help of Fern Mill Farm, who brought me produce on consignment, we changed the look and beefed up our selections. Our thinking was that abundance would draw some people in to shop and that maybe they weren't buying because there was only a few of something and people didn't want to mess up my display. Who knows really, but I hope we find a way to make the new location work soon- for everyone's sake! 

     Still no baby cows around here, but while the girls hold them hostage, it does mean we know who the Dad is now. If calves were born before September, they would have been from our favorite Big Red, who had amazing genes. He did leave us 1 bull calf before his stomach suddenly failed last fall and so Duke will be a future sire for us. He is 1 year old now and will be able to breed for next season. The 3 calves we expect now were sired by Loki, who we brought in in January just incase the girls weren't pregnant- and good thing we did! Keep your fingers crossed for 1 girl and 2 boys which would stage us for our beef rotation 3 years for now and by selling the girl we could bring in 2 steers needed for next years supply (we are currently missing beef for the 2027 season since they take so long to raise and last year brought us 2 girls which are better to keep to grow the herd and/or sell). 

    Overlook Farm is having a great season at their stand and selections are winding down. I have left the Farmstand Favorites option up for this week, but will likely need to fill it in with options from our new farms (Hollow Brook & Lambert Homestead) & Still Life Farm to make a good package. 

   Off to pack your orders and then a small route for us, while Tony takes care of all the new stops in Southbridge this week. What a response we got with 5 new Members and orders! That means some new boxes and cooler liners & bags will be put into rotation, so please take care not to rip the tabs off right away of the waxed vegetable boxes and I honestly don't understand where all the cooler liners and small sized bags go, but we need them back. It's up to $85 for 25 cooler liners now, plus shipping, and they disappear in about 2 weeks! Thank you to everyone who goes through the extra efforts to take care and return the packing materials, we wouldn't be able to stay in business without you!

    

​