We're bringing pasture-raised beef and herbs to the farmers market

It is garlic scape season and we have an abundance to share with our customers at the Mills River Farmers Market tomorrow. We are selling them in bunches of about ten scapes each. Our daughter has been cooking with them all week and froze a bunch to enjoy later in the year. Buy these now because they will only be available for a week or two.

We will also have bunches of fresh herbs for sale. I cut lemon balm, rosemary, and oregano. Cooking with fresh herbs is fun and adds a bright taste to food.

The ground beef and liver sales have gone really well at the market, so this week we are expanding our selection of retail cuts of our pasture-raised Black Angus beef. We will have steaks, roasts, stew meat, liver, and ground beef for sale. Our prices are very competitive with others in our region. So bring a cooler so you can stock up.

We will also have some of my crocheted and knitted bags, hats, bowls, scarves, and booties for sale. And Shannon promised to provide some of her handmade pottery. There will be lots of other good things for sale at this week's market including baked goods, eggs, trout, lettuce, kale, crafts,and fresh roasted coffee beans. So start your holiday out right with a visit to our market. See you there!

Buy Our Beef at Mills River Farmers Market on May 21

After many requests from our customers, we decided to try selling some of our beef retail (in the past we have ONLY sold our beef by the quarter). On May 14th, we set up our booth at the Mills River Farmers Market (at its new location in the parking lot of Mills River Elementary School). Our offerings were rather slim because we weren't really prepared for spring market sales. We had ground beef by the pound, Jeanine's Fiber Art Originals, and my book, Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals. We had concerns about whether we would be able to sell enough to make it worth our while being there all morning. What a wonderful surprise we had!!!

People really wanted to buy locally grown, pastured-raised ground beef! So much so that Glen had to run back to the farm to bring more to the market. I was impressed that almost every customer asked us to explain how we grew our beef. We told our story over and over again. And I was so pleased at how many young families were able to use their EBT/SNAP funds to buy good quality meat for their families. They got a real sweet deal because right now there is a 2 for 1 special for EBT/SNAP customers. For every EBT dollar they spend, they get two dollars worth of food. That is good for as long as the grant and gifts funding that program last. We also sold a quarter of beef that we delivered to the customer this morning.

So, we will be at the market again on Saturday, May 21 from 8 am to noon selling frozen ground beef in vacuum-sealed one pound packages. The retail prices at the market are 1 lb for $7.50, 5 lb ($7.25/lb) for $36.25, 10 lb ($7.10/lb), and 20 lb ($6.90/lb) for $138.00. Tax is already included in the price. This week we will also bring liver for $2.55 per pound. There are two quarters left for sale, too. They are $8 per pound plus 2% tax, so the average quarter costs a total of $726.

I will also bring a few knitted and crocheted bags, hats, booties, and bowls to sell and my artist daughter might include some of her pottery Shannonmade.com  .

If sales are as brisk as they were last week, May 21st will be our last day to sell beef at the market because our quantities are limited (we only raise a few steers at a time). We will be back later in the season with garlic, honey, and heirloom popcorn.

The 2 for 1 EBT/SNAP program is a wonderful thing. The Mills River Farmers Market is the only farmers market in the county who takes EBT/SNAP. I LOVE that we are able to offer this fresh, locally grown food to these families. It also gives us an opportunity to talk to them about nutrition, food quality, and how to prepare good food quickly and easily. If you are interested in making a donation so we can continue to offer the 2 for 1 deal for the whole growing season, please contact Joe or Linda Brittain at 828-891-3332.

What's happening on the farm in early July



A portion of our vegetable gardens in early July.

Just wanted to give you a quick update on the farm. The vegetable gardens are growing well, for the most part. We have been dealing with a vole problem this year that has been quite aggravating. The voles seem to have a real taste for young beans. I can't count how many times we have reseeded them. The young white cat that has adopted us and is living under the workshop has been snacking on some, but we either need more barn cats (not!) or create a bait and trap system.

We had an excellent garlic year and there are several varieties curing in the barn right now. Most of the potatoes have been dug and the summer squash is just starting to come in. We are also enjoying fresh basil and cilantro. Yum!

The Davis bees are happily producing honey.

We had a good honey year in 2011 and hope to have another good one this year. There is still 2011 honey available. Just give us a call if you want to purchase any. We will be selling it at the Mills River Farmers' Market when we have a few more items to sell along with it.



We need to decide if we want to expand our poultry production.

Our chickens are in their fourth season of production and providing us with a surprising number of eggs. That's one of the many benefits to raising heritage breeds; they don't "burn out" as quickly as the newer commercial breeds. But, we are at the stage where we need to decide if we want to expand production and start selling eggs. I see some folks selling pasture raised eggs for $2 a dozen and cannot figure how they are making any money doing so. I haven't crunched all the numbers yet, but I think we would have to charge at least twice that much to make any money on them. How much are you willing to pay for locally grown, pasture raised eggs?

One of our girls lost her tail!  I really don't know what happened to it.

Some folks have asked why we don't let our chickens roam freely around the farm. There are several reasons. The biggest one is predators. We have very healthy hawk, fox, coyote, and dog populations in our area. Our neighboring farms have all shared stories about hawks and coyotes taking off with their chickens.  And several times when we have had the electric fence turned off, dogs have entered the field and thrown themselves at the chicken tractor. I'm sure we would have lost a few if we didn't have them so well protected. We just visited a farm in Transylvania county last weekend and the farmer shared that he had lost three chickens in recent weeks. Keeping our chickens semi-confined also prevents their interaction with other birds which keeps them healthier and reduces the risk of spreading avian diseases to us. So our girls are moved daily and get lots of sunshine and fresh grass. If we expand production, I would like a bigger run, but they can't roam free here.

There are three equines in our pastures; two of our own and a boarder.

We have a wonderful "mature" companion horse. He is a Tennessee Walker and he is a sweetheart. Then we have my donkey, Hagar. He is a guard donkey, my good friend, and a real character. And we also board an older, small Belgian horse. The three of them get along just great and share the pasture with the chickens. We are currently looking for two young steers. We enjoyed raising our first two Black Angus and our customers loved the beef they produced. So hopefully we will have two new ones shortly.

We try to go to the Mills River Farmers' Market every Saturday morning.

As I mentioned earlier, we intend to sell at the Mills River Farmers' Market off Hwy 280 later in the season. This has grown into a wonderful little market with about 28 vendors and a great diversity of products. Come check it out next Saturday morning from 8 am till noon.

Oyster mushrooms that I bought from Deep Woods Mushrooms at the Mills River Farmers' Market.

I was very excited to see Greg Carter from Deep Woods Mushrooms selling his mushrooms at the Mills River Farmers' Market! He is a great person and grows yummy mushrooms.

The creamy oyster mushroom sauce on fettucine and fresh local tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

There are few activities that give me as much pleasure as creating a meal using all fresh, locally grown ingredients. The weekends are the best time to do this. We harvest fresh produce and herbs from our gardens; I run to the farmers' market and buy fresh lettuce, fancy breads, and duck eggs; and we have a freezer full of our beef and my friend's pork. It is a delight to cook with all this wonderful food!