News From the Farm

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May 22, 2024

Hay Season Begins

We dusted off all of the equipment, sharpened the blades, and harnessed up the horses. This week we cut, raked, and baled our first test run of haylage. The grass is ready and we are too. Last year we produced about 1000 bales from June to August. We are hoping to produce 1500 this year.

To make our work more efficient to reach this goal, we purchased a better baler/wrapper. This 2014 model Claas bales and wraps in the same motion which will make the process go almost twice as quickly. Also, our new 2014 John Deer has more power, heavier duty parts, and cleaner emissions than our old 1970 International. The JD uses less fuel and blows less exhaust in my face while I’m driving which is very nice. The new baler won’t get clogged as easy either which makes troubleshooting less time consuming. All and all, we are very excited about the process being cleaner, easier, and more efficient.

We still do all the cutting and raking with the horse team the old fashioned way.

Barn Renovation Begins

The 200 year old dilapidated barn that we plan to use for a milking parlor is under renovation. We spent the last month, jacking up the posts and beams, replaced the rotten wood, dug and poured footers, installed the parlor floor and drain plumbing.

If you have never experienced an Amish work party, let me describe to you one of the most spectacular community events.

At 6am a bus load of 30 young Amish men with tools pulled into the driveway and jump right on it demoing the rotten siding. They stopped for breakfast and prayer for an hour. They hopped back on the roof shoveling off the old tar shingles and rusted metal, replaced rotten rafters and purlins with new lumber.

At 1pm, we stopped for a lunch of Burke’s Garden Farm Pork Sausage Grillers and Alpine Heritage Cheese prepared by Verna and the women who spent the rest of their time mulching and planting the garden. The carpenters hopped back on the roof and installed the felt and metal roofing on half the barn, completed the new staircase and entry door.

By 5:30pm they were loaded back on the bus and heading back to Lancaster to make worship service on Sunday morning. All this was quite the scene and a true example of community support at its finest.

Rogue Food Festival

We spent the day at Polyface Farm vending at the Rogue Food Festival. Being our first time, I had a wonderful experience with my son making connections. I appreciate the the layout at Polyface where the kids can be on the playground and still close enough to be observed by the presentation barn and by the exihbit hoop house although Asa enthusiastically helped me setup and hand out cheese, beef sticks, and Simply Grassfed stickers. Great to be around aligned people and work with John Moody the organizer and his wonderful family. If you were a participants of the festival, you can receive a 10% discount on our products until July 5th with the code you received at the festival.

Micah Trust Fund

Several of ya'll have inquired about ways to make a contribution specifically to Micah, who lives in our community, son of Orla our deceased farm worker, the 2-year old lone survivor of the fatal auto accident that took the lives of his mother, father, sister, grandmother and several of his aunts.

A fund has been set up specifically for him that will go into a trust for his support later in life.

If you would like to make a contribution please send to : First Sentinel Bank, Micah Fund c/o Daniel Miller, PO Box 167, Tazewell, VA 24651.

Micah as been adopted by his aunt Solema and uncle Earnest Byler (brother and sister to Micah's deceased parents), who live here in the community and is thriving in connection with his surviving friends and family.

Comments from Sheep News

Thanks for all the comments on our blog about our grass fed sheep.

One customer wrote back with a tidbit: Did you know that sheep are good companions to rhinoceros.

Now you know!

Memorial Day Weekend Specials

Our big discounts continue this week for Memorial Day.

UPS is not running on Monday, so orders next week will ship on Tuesday and arrive at your home a day later than you normally would receive when we ship on Mondays.

I’m off to make hay!

Phoenix and the Simply Grassfed Families

The Greenwashing of Our Foods – Part 2

Last year, I wrote an article titled The Greenwashing of the Organic Food Movement.Click here if you missed it, wish to read it again, or to listen to my podcast with Holistic Hilda. I share many valuable resources that you may want to access.For many years, humans and animals have lived quite robustly without disease, strong and happy on unadulterated animal products and plants in their most natural state. A hundred years ago, there was no such thing as organic because most farms and food were organic.Nowadays, finding food or growing food without chemicals is nearly impossible. We are at war with governments, corporations, media propaganda, and peer pressure. Cancer, auto-immune disease, weak bones, mental disorder, autism, dental cavities, SIDS, Downs-Syndrome, eczema, allergies, depression, diabetes, heart disease, ADHD are epidemic. Every year the AMA announces some new, unnamed unique disease. We have a hard time walking a block, yet alone reproducing.The health of our society and most importantly our children is failing. Disease is epidemic and humans and animals have become dependent on artificial life support from drugs, surgeries, and machines.Click here to listen to my latest podcast with the Appropriate Omnivore. Listen to the Podcast Here I spotlight the allowable exemptions in the USDA organic standards that include chemicals, de-beaking, and irradiation as well as standard practices in the organic produce, grain, meat processing, fishing, and honey bee industry.Did you know that if your organic grains and potatoes won’t sprout, they were likely irradiated?Towards the end, I discuss the current USDA mandated vaccination policy of our American wildlife, the laws in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho that require the vaccination of ALL cattle heifers, and the current air-drop vaccination programs across the U.S. How are shellfish treated? Click Here to watch how our shellfish are “Depurated” ie. sterilized both chemically and with radiation to protect us from harmful microbes. They are bathed in chlorinated, anti-microbial water for 2-3 days and irradiated to kill the bacteria before they ship to your grocery store to ensure we get sanitary, bacteria-free food. What they don’t disclose is that the microbes are there to decompose the toxic chemicals from industry in our waterways. And, their depuration process does NOT remove any heavy metals, petroleum, or chemicals from the shellfish. Thus, it is more likely that if someone was to get sick from seafood, it is from eating the chemical pollutants, not from the fish or the microbes. Scallops without any additives are called "dry-packed", while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) are called "wet-packed". STPP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process, thereby increasing their weight. So, buy shellfish directly from the fisher or dry- packed, and don't eat from the Gulf of Mexico, near big cities, or toxic waste dumps like the James River in VA or New Jersey or Boston. Best to procure from PEI, Maine, NC, and a few select places in the Pacific Northwest.Currently, oysters are NOT depurated. So, go with oysters over clams, scallops, or mollusks.Clean food and healthy children or going extinct, however, I’m an “apocaloptimist”. It doesn’t look good, but in the long run, good will prevail.It takes vision, perseverance, courage, and hard work to find and grow food that is actually food.Are you down for the challenge? A healthy future for our children, aligned with the wisdom of nature, depends on us. If you want clean food, Burke’s Garden Farm and Alpine Heritage Creamery are both “Beyond Organic”. All our animals are outdoors getting fresh grass, haylage, grubs, sunshine, fresh air, and fresh water from the creeks and springs in a high-elevation circular valley surrounded by mountains, protected from city or industrial pollution. Simply Grassfed animals DO NOT eat GMO feeds or receive Growth Hormones. All our dairy cows are tested A2/A2 Beta-CaseinAll our cheeses are made with NON-GMO-Pfizer rennets. Click Here to read moreAll our cheeses are raw, never exceeding 102 degrees.Our butcher cleans our meat with either apple cider vinegar or water.We ship our products in biodegradable or recyclable cardboard insulated boxes in the Winter and ship with dry-ice when we can to minimize the plastic gel packs filling up the landfill. Click Here for an updated Healthy Products Resource List. In Optimal Health,Phoenix

News From the Farm

Hay Season Begins

Barn Renovation Begins

Rogue Food Festival

Micah Trust Fund

Comments from Sheep News

Memorial Day Weekend Specials

More from the blog

The Greenwashing of Our Foods – Part 2

Bulk Up on 100% Grass Fed Beef

Our Babes are Back on Grass

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