Looking Forward, Part II

2014 started off with a bang when we purchased our new farm home and it continued to be a whirlwind of activity as we prepped to move, contended with the big freeze and juggled the normal off-farm job responsibilities. But after much ado, we are (mostly) moved over to the new property and could not be more excited as the 2014 season approaches. I happen to love planning and making to-do lists so I could not be happier in this time of projects, projects and more projects. With the growing season just around the corner, I thought I’d do a quick post to keep anyone who might be wondering what some of our plans are for the year.

Our primary objective will continue to be raising healthy, happy animals in a responsible way that improves that land whilst doing so. We will continue to offer our products in three ways:

-          Through our CSA program

-          By the quarter, half or whole

-          At the Fairmount Farmers Market (chicken, lamb and pork only)

As you may have read in our most recent newsletter, the current demand for grass-fed and pasture-raised meat and poultry is growing by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately in the short term, we have been struggling to keep up with the demand. We are currently planning on doubling our CSA shares for the upcoming session (July – Dec 2014) so we can add as many people who are patiently waiting on our wait list as possible. We will be sending out an email in April to our current members as well as our wait-listers asking to confirm if you plan on participating in the summer/fall session. If you are hoping to join in the next session, we recommend you go ahead and sign up for the wait list.

Along with the CSA, we will continue offer pork, beef and lamb by the side. There will be limited availability this year, so sign up as soon as you know you are interested.

Lastly, we are planning on having a selection of pork and lamb cuts in addition to our normal chickens at the Fairmount Farmers Market this year. We thank our Fairmount Market customers for their patience and understanding last summer having only chicken and look forward to providing a larger range of products for you this season!

New in 2014

We have a few new ideas brewing for 2014 as well. A few of those are:

-  We are looking forward to expanding our Portland CSA drop site this year. Although we will miss our monthly brewery/brewpub meet-ups with our very exclusive (read: tiny) PDX CSA group, we look forward to expanding the group and building more community up North.

-  Customer Appreciation & Field Day – this summer we hope to have a farm party celebrating our customers as well as the land and animals that help sustain us. As soon as we have a date for this celebration, we will share it and hope that you’ll be able to come out to see where and how your food is raised.

-  Work Parties – A few brave souls have asked about possible work parties and / or volunteer opportunities on the farm. We hope to have a few work days over the course of the year, so if you are looking to get out of town and spend some time outside, keep an eye on our Facebook page for work days.

-  Pasture-raised eggs – We hope to add a few laying hens to our farm in the coming months in order to add pasture-raised eggs to our lineup of healthy and nutritious offerings.

So that's a little look ahead at what 2014 has in store. I am still trying to convince Scott we need goats, but he's not buying it (yet...) ;) Thank you for continuing to opt out of the factory farming system, instead choosing local, pasture-raised meat and poultry!