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A big welcome to all the
new people that have signed up for our newsletters.
We have grown so much in the last half a year,
please be patient as we get to know you all.
Although we expanded it wasn't enough so we have
sold out of some items.
Now that you have the
newsletter, you will have the chance to reserve your
meats. You can expect our 2009 Order Form to be
ready in January. Until then, see What's in
the Store below for a list of what is available.
God Provides Again
In a turn of events only God could foresee, we
have good news for all our customers. At the
last newsletter, I notified you of the pain Matt was
experiencing in his knee from a lack of cartilage.
Our prayers were to either help us find a farmhand
and/or partner or help us decide if we should
quit farming. We have not yet found the right
person to work with; we continue to look. However,
He has heard your prayers and answered. I am
amazed and awed to report that God has taken all of
Matt's pain away. In addition, it has been an
amazing year for sales on the farm to
encourage us to keep it up.
Thank you all for your prayers, support and
generosity. We are happy to provide you with a
safe and affordable source of meat, eggs and milk.
What is in the Store?
We have eggs, a variety of pork cuts, eggs,
stewing hens, eggs, chicken livers, eggs, a limited
amount of milk (see below) and . . . let's
see. . . eggs!
If you know any grocery stores or restaurants
interested in selling or using our eggs please let
us know or have them contact us.
Goodbye Grace Cafe
Grace Parry was one of the
first people to take a chance on us our first year.
She bought chicken and eggs making it a priority to
support us. Her encouragement throughout the
last few years has been priceless. It is with
a sad heart we say goodbye to her restaurant, Grace Cafe.
However, we know well the personal sacrifices made
to make a business successful. Sometimes, it is too
much.
We wish Grace every
blessing new phase in her life.
Milk Plans
for 2009
Grassfed, unhomogenized, unpasteurized milk with the cream on top in a glass
jar! What better food is there?
As the winter progresses we will have less milk
available. I encourage you to call before coming out if you are interested
in milk. We expect to have our first calf of the season mid-January and
every two weeks after that.
The milk supply will be back in action at the end of
January. We will be offering milk in three purchasing options.
1. "Personal Supply" milk as a
pre-paid, guaranteed milk with specific pick up dates.
2. "On Demand" milk which can be purchased when we have extra. I
expect to have quite a bit of extra in late winter/early spring. Don't
hesitate to call.
3. Frozen milk is perfect when your schedule is not flexible or when you
have a long way to drive.
Milk Runs
Milks Runs. 3-5 families/individuals take turns driving
to the farm to pick up milk. Every other week pick up means each driver only has
to drive every two months or so.
There is an established milk run in
Carbondale. They are looking for another
person to join. Please contact Melody
S if you are interested.
Dan S is looking
to start a milk run in the Metropolis/Paducah
area. Please contact him if you are in that area and would like to
participate.
Turkey
Available
What a year! Sadly,
we tried a new brooder system this year with our
turkey. It was a miserable failure and many
died. We already have many new ideas for next
year. Thank you for your patience. We hope to
offer you turkey next year.
Other Opportunities
For those who don't have
other plans yet,
Jim Protiva
of
Peace Valley Poultry in West Plains, MO has
contacted me informing me that he has about 100
extra turkeys. He will be delivering to Poplar
Bluff at 12 (noon) on Saturday, November 22nd and to
St. Louis at the Maplewood Farmers
Market (Schlafly) at 12 (noon) on Saturday, November
22nd. If you are interested in donating that
confinement turkey and getting one of these pasture
raised ones you can call him at
417-277-5869.
Matt and I
spent an afternoon on his farm last year. The
Protiva Family shares the same philosophies with us
and does a great job. I would totally
trust that you are getting a great product at a good
price.
Broilers
Sold Out but
Stewing Hens Available
We
are having the most amazing year. We
discontinued Farmers Markets and yet we are totally
sold out! Thank you all for your business and
support.
I strongly
encourage all of you who didn't get enough chicken
to use the Order Form next season and reserve what
your family will need. The 2009 Order Form
will be ready for download on the website in
January.
In the meantime,
let me introduce you to stewing hens. They are
great if you like to cook in the crockpot, make
stews or soups. Chicken and dumplings can't be beat
when made with a good stewing hen.
Customer
Reviews on
Local Harvest
Do you have some nice things to say about our farm?
Here is your chance . . . Local Harvest
just added customer reviews to the website. Now you can let the whole
world know what you think about
Family Friendly Farm.
Cape Food Group
A new food group is starting with the purpose of
getting good foods into the hands of more people. The next meeting will be
held January 15th. If you want to get in on
the ground floor you can email Shelly Woods or
call Emma Franklin at
636-388-1046.
Volunteers
Would you like to be involved but don't know what you
can do? We have had a request
from a woman that wants to volunteer on the farm. I am coming up with a
list of things volunteers could do on the farm to help out. The range of skills
needed to run the farm is broad, everything from taking care of the animals,
accounting, sales and marketing, cleaning, decorating, maintenance, building,
etc. With just the two of us it is difficult to get everything done.
Activities may include...playing with puppies, planting or weeding flower beds,
changing bedding in the nest boxes of the hens, giving tours, typing, more ideas to
follow. What are your skills? Just let us know... I am sure you can
be a benefit.
If you think you would be interested in being a small
part of a sustainable farm please let me know.
Help Wanted
We are looking for a farm
hand, an apprentice or a partner.
Do you have an interest in
farming but have no land or experience? Do you
value good quality food for families? Would you love
to have the responsibility of caring for animals?
We are looking for someone
with passion and commitment to the environment, to
the animals and to the families that will eat the
foods. We need someone who enjoys hard work
and the satisfaction that doing a good job brings.
Self-motivation is a essential as the chores must
get done without fail and on time.
It is a physically
demanding job requiring throwing a couple hundred
bales of hay, carrying 100 pounds of feed over the
fields, a lot of walking, etc...
It is an emotionally
demanding job requiring attention to every little
detail of the animals healthy, well being, feed
consumption, etc...
It is an intellectual job
calculating feed consumption, percent protein in
rations, learning new techniques and modifying them,
etc...
It is a repetitive job to
feed animals over and over again and can get boring;
every day the same 'ole thing...
It is an exciting job
seeing calves born, working with baby chicks,
watching the grass quality improve, working in the
great outdoors, hearing how much other families LOVE
the food that we provide, every day something new...
All training is provided
and no experience is required (although it would be
handy). Young (under 45), Christian man or couple
preferred; all others considered. We feel it
would be best to live near the farm. Housing options discussed
on a case by case basis.
This is not a nine to five
job. It is a lifestyle. We can not offer
health insurance but our farm can offer you a chance
to grow healthy foods and have a healthy life.
How could this work?
farm hand, does the day to
day chores but leaves the management and sales to
others
apprentice, does the day to
day chores, gets involved with management and sales,
leaves after agreed time commitment (two to five
years)
partner, does day to day
chores, integrated with management and sales, stays
on for many years
If you know a person that
is just the right fit, please forward this to them
and let them know we are looking.
If you read all this and
are not discouraged but full of excited enthusiasm
and hope then please prayerfully consider the
position and give us a call
at 573-335-1622. We would like to get to know you
better.
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