News of the Farm - It's Still January - Right?

One of the hardest things to do is to get back into something that you purposely set aside in an effort to take a break and rebuild energy.  In this case, it is our blog and all of the accompanying online presence-type stuff that we do to promote our farm.  It actually goes a bit deeper than that.  By nature, I am a planner/analytic type of personality.  I really prefer to spend time figuring out what should be done and how it should be done before I take action.  The problem with that?  Well, time doesn't seem to stop while I sit and figure out exactly what it is that I want to have happen.  Why is that?

What does it mean when the burning bush freezes over?

Since time is not sitting still - I will work to get a quick January Newsletter type thing out there.  Then, we should be able to continue with our regularly scheduled blog posts for the month.


January - Time To Plan
There really is a good bit of that going on and we thought we'd let you in on some of what we're looking at.  Of course, you get the short version of it all.  Yes, I am SURE you are all relieved to hear this.

Of course, there are the normal things that we do every year.  We've got to figure out seed orders, planting plans and workers for the next growing season.  This year has the added complexity of a second high tunnel in the plan.  It's not that we're unhappy about having it - far from that.  But, its presence changes everything from crop rotations to seed varieties.  For that matter, it might change how we focus on labor and it may even encourage us to make a change in tools.

It won't be long until seeds are out again.

And, while we're at it, we're trying to figure out how to add a packing shed/plant starting building to our farm in the near future.  That's not a small thing.  But, rather than keep it simple, we are sold on doing our darndest to add solar PV to the mix as soon as we can manage it.  We've had the idea of going solar from the beginning, so this isn't new.  We're just getting the idea that the time is right.  The difficulties - as always - are time and money. 

Looking forward to this building working for us

The high tunnel also brings us to a couple of things regarding distributing our tasty produce.  Assuming our plans work out, we will have a larger volume of yummy things available May through July and also at the end of the year.  Without counting 'chickens before they hatch' we have to be prepared so that we have sales lined up for this food.  As a result, we are looking at early season sales in both Waverly and Cedar Falls, expanded sales through Hansen's Outlet and increased membership in our Fall Shares.

With lots to plan, there are moments where we might be a bit overwhelmed.  Usually, we have a few moments where everything seems to be in disarray, but we know we have the facts gathered.  Soon after that point, we typically have a flurry of planning activity where a number of things get pruned out and the overall plan becomes clear.

Available For Sale Right Now!
We gave ourselves a little time off from promoting what our farm has for you, but that time is coming to an end.  We're getting our email lists updated and we're taking stock of what is still in our freezers and our cellar.  At present, we know we have the following available if you want it.  Send us an email if there is something here you have interest in.

They made short work of the old tomatoes!

• Broiler chickens.  Whole and Cut up.  $3.50/lb  About 80 available.
• Ducks.  Primarily hens (4-6 lbs)  $6.50/lb
• Potatoes.  Blue, red, yellow and white.  Mostly roasting size.  $1.50/lb  (lower for larger orders)
• Garlic.  Maybe 500 heads still!  $10/lb (about 10 bulbs) or $1.50/head.
• Butternut Squash.  6 to 8 left?  75 cts/ lb
• CSA Shares for 2016.

The Farmers Speak (or Write)
Rob is happy to speak to interest groups and/or classes during the Winter months.  In the past month, he has had the opportunity to speak at the Exchange Club and Dr. Lindgren's class on food issues at Wartburg.  He is planning on speaking at Dr. McCullough's class (environment) at Wartburg and Dr. Perez's class at UNI.  Somewhere in the mix is a CSA Workshop he will be helping lead (sponsored by the Practical Farmers' of Iowa).

Cucumber Frog sleeps - but she WILL awaken!

Both of us had the opportunity to attend the Practical Farmers of Iowa conference this past weekend.  We were pleased to see a couple of our good friends, Jill Beebout (Blue Gate Farm) and Andy Dunham (Grinnell Heritage Farm) give excellent presentations at the conference.  We even managed to NOT heckle either of them.  We aren't sure how that happened.  Rob is also on the board of the Iowa Organics Association and was recently elected as Secretary for the board.  Meanwhile, he is involved in a coalition that is looking to promote legislative change with respect to pesticide drift.  Well, he did need more to do, after all.

Tammy, of course, is merely working hard at Wartburg.  Anyone who knows her will recognize that understatement immediately.  She has been working on an instructor's manual for a new edition of a textbook and she has some research for an upcoming conference presentation that needs to be completed.  In addition, she took a bit of time during the holiday break to write a self-assessment portfolio for the college.  Oh, and she was elected to be President of the board she serves on.  She will fulfill these duties in addition to being Queen Boss on the farm.

Newsy Odds and Ends
You have probably detected that this post is a little disjointed.  It falls under the "Lemme explain... no, there is too much.  Lemme sum up" category.

So, here are few shorts that you may (or may not) have interest in:

• The ducks are starting to lay eggs again and we're trying to sell them!  Let us know if you want to try some.
• We were able to harvest spinach FROM THE FIELD on Thanksgiving this past year.  This would be the latest we've harvested that crop when it isn't under cover.
• Rob's Nation's Cup team for Ticket to Ride won the tournament in 2015, defeating France's Team I in the final.  
• We broke the 10 ton mark for produce during the 2015 season.  We'll take it!
• We were able to donate somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 pounds of produce to the NE Iowa Food Bank and Cedar Valley Friends of the Family thanks in part to help from those who volunteer to help us get the produce to these locations!
• And, we're looking for a few more votes before we close the voting on 2015 picture of the year!