Cedar Meadow Farm Newsletter
Late Winter 2008
Greetings from Cedar Meadow Farm!
It is late February here in Connecticut and winter has finally arrived. After a mild January we welcome the blanket of snow that has fallen. Though the ground is mostly frozen, we are still working hard gearing up for the upcoming season, building more housing for the animals, pounding in fenceposts, and stringing electric fencing for the pigs.
There will be a few changes in our product lineup this year. We will continue to offer "hen house-ready" layer chickens this spring. This year, we'll have White Leghorns, Plymouth Barred Rocks, Welsummers, Dominiques and the ever popular Aracuna chicken. Prices for these birds will be updated on our website shortly. Chicks are expected to hatch at the beginning of April and will be ready for your backyard in mid-June. If you are looking for a specific variety of chicken to raise, please let us know as we may be able to accomodate your request. Our birds do sell out quickly so we advise you drop us an e-mail soon to let us know you are interested.
We will not be carrying duck for sale this fall. Though we enjoy their unique personalities and their flavor is unparalleled, they have proven to be far too difficult to process. We will be replacing them with a very limited number of gamebirds. We are planning to raise a small number of bobwhite quail and chinese ringneck pheasant this year. We've raised them in the past and though they require more specialized care and attention, their taste is exquisite. We find they are well worth the time and expense.
Our fall round of pigs were were finished off on acorns, hickory nuts, and beech nuts. The meat they produced had a rich flavor and many of our customers were thrilled with their flavor. We only wished we had more available to meet demand. This spring we will have more pigs for our customers to enjoy. Our spring pigs are finished off on whole milk from a neighboring farm. This results in a tender, mild product. As reflected on our price list, we will again be offering our popular pork sampler for you to enjoy. This is an extremely economical choice for customers and takes up a minimal amount of freezer space. If you are interested in a 1/4, 1/2, or whole pig, please let us know. We do have some "parts" for sale, but this is limited to more unusual cuts: trotters (pigs feet), fatback (perfect for making lard), and organ meat (hearts and livers). The pork sampler will not be ready until mid to late May, but now is the time to put in your order. It is as simple as sending us an e-mail with "Pork Sampler" in the subject line. We will contact you approximately 2 weeks before your order is ready for pick up.
We are excited to announce we will be offering a new type of broiler chicken this year - the heritage breed Plymoth Barred Rock. The Plymoth Barred Rock was originally developed by the first settlers here in America and was a staple of their diet. We will continue to carry the European style slow growing broiler as well as the Cornish Rock Cross. Broiler chickens will be started in mid-April, meaning we will have fresh chickens available for our customers in June.
In response to requests from several customers, we will offer a meat CSA this year. Only 15 shares will be made availabe - in either 3 or 6 month increments. The 6 month share is $100/month, the 3 month share is $125/month. The three month CSA will run from June through August and include three kinds of broiler chicken, rabbit, and pork. The six month CSA will run from June through November and includes three types of broiler chicken, rabbit, pork, lamb, quail, pheasant, and will culminate in a Heritage Breed Turkey for Thanksgiving. We are accepting applicants on a first-come first-serve basis. Please e-mail us for additional information.
In mid-February, one of our ewes gave birth to our first lambs here at the farm. The brother and sister pair are growing well and the ewe has proven to be a very capable mother. We'll have pictures on the website shortly. We'll have a few more lambs arrive in the next couple of months and expect to have some fantastic grass-finished lamb for our customers in September.
Last season, the farm recieved a grant from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), a division of the US Department of Agriculture. In this study, we examined the effects of two kinds of housing on the productivity of two kinds of broilers. We found many interesting differences between these two popular methods of pasture raising broilers. To read the full summary of our report, click here.
Julia Cronin, co-owner and manager of the farm continues to give lectures at venues across Southern New England. Earlier this month, she was on Martha's Vineyard speaking about Heritage Breed Turkeys at a poultry conference sponsored by the Island Grown Initiative. If you are interested in having her speak to your group, let us know. Julia is able to speak to a diversity of topics including (but not limited to): how to care for and manage your own flock of chickens, growing broiler chickens for personal use, a history of farming in America, sourcing locally grown products, alternative and sustainable agricultural practices, and heritage breed conservancy. Be sure to catch her at the NOFA Summer Conference in Amherst MA where she will share details of last year's research project. If you would like her to speak at your event, please contact us with details.
Cedar Meadow Farm is pleased to announce we are working with the Animal Welfare Institute to become Animal Welfare Approved. This is an extremely rigorous certification program that is only available to family farms. Please take a moment to visit their website at http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/. We practice humane, sustainable farming techniques and look forward to offering this peace of mind to our customers.
Many of our customers will notice that we have raised the prices of several products. We do so only because of the incredible price increases we have incurred in our feed expenses. Please note that this is a phenomenon all farmers are facing. We are a small volume producer and we must pass this increase in cost along to our customers. Just to try to put it in perspective for all of you - the cost of whole corn has increased 150% from a year ago. Last year at this time, we could purchase a 50lb bag of corn for $8, this year it costs $12. We go through 75 lbs of corn in a single day. As you might imagine, this expense very quickly adds up for us and we are most appreciative of your understanding.
Wishing you all health and happiness,
Brian and Julia Cronin
