Genuine Faux Farm Delivery June 25

The list of available items is fairly short this week, which is normal for the time of year and the reduction in capacity our farm has after dropping the CSA program from our repertoire.  On the horizon are peas, zucchini and beans.  Again, with no CSA program, we are giving ourselves the chance to adapt our farm to weather changes by spending more time doing things like digging swales (ditches to handle excessive rains).  If we are successful, we suspect we will have more product in future years on a consistent basis.

Oh, and don't discount the normal surge we have when we get to late July!

Available This Week:

• eggs - $3.50/dozen (limit 1 doz per family)
• garlic scapes - $1.00/bundle
• lettuce - $4/bag (2 heads leaf lettuce)
• oregano - $1/bunch
• thyme - $1/bunch

Pick Up Locations Today

1. 5:00-5:15PM  Cedar Falls - Jorgensen Plaza West parking lot
2. 5:30-5:45PM  Hansen's Outlet - back parking lot

Drive by delivery.  Drive up/park, open your trunk or tailgate, stand aside and we'll put your order in your vehicle.  Do not approach us, even though we would love to see you. 
If you are biking/walking, we will place your order where you can get it after we step back.

We will NOT take payment at delivery, please see below for how payments will work.

Thank you so much for tolerating this process to help keep everyone safe and healthy.  We will modify the process as the season progresses and available product dictates the need to do so.

How Do I Order?
For the time being, we are taking orders via email.  We are asking those who wish to place orders to participate in our Pre-Paid Farm Credit Program.  The program is simple and easy to join.  You get better prices and you will help us to limit transactions (and remove the process of passing money back and forth during deliveries).

How Can I Participate?
2020 Pre-Paid Farm Credit Program
We will run the system in $50 increments.  In other words, you can purchase a minimum of $50 of farm credit at a time.  We will cap the maximum amount of credit at $200 and you can refill your farm credits at any point.

Like the CSA program, this gives you the advantage of not having to pull out money at each delivery.  Instead, we will have a ledger with tracking for your current credit balance. Farm credits can be used for ANY farm product the Genuine Faux Farm offers.  If you buy farm credits, you can apply them to purchasing meat chickens, vegetables, eggs or any other thing we offer this year.

If you want to send us a check via mail - email us for our farm address. Want to use Paypal? You may send cash to gff@genuinefauxfarm.com We are accepting purchases of credits now and throughout the season.

Upcoming Schedule

• The following week will have no deliveries - the farmers are taking a 'week off'
• We will announce our future schedule next week.
• Please note that we are considering our options for Cedar Falls delivery.  With Hansen's Outlet construction, that location may not serve well for deliveries.  If you have opinions on the matter, please let us know.

Crop and Poultry Report
Oh look!  We crossed over the eight inch mark for rainfall in June.  When have we heard this before?  In 2018, we had about nine inches of rain for the month and we're on pace for that this year as well.  The swales (shallow ditches) we have put in thus far are helping us out a bit, but we do wish we could have done more.  It's the old litany that if the ground is too wet to work, you don't work the ground.  The Buffalo Gnats haven't seemed quite as bad as they have some years, but we've got plenty of sores to prove they are out there.

We don't want to dwell on the challenges, we'd like to share some successes as well!  Tammy and I did get over 1000 lettuce plants transplanted prior to the rains.  We also have 500 or so brassica in the ground (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, romanesco, cabbage).  For those who are wondering, we HAVE scaled back.  Normally, we would have 400 broccoli plants in the ground and another going in about now.  the peas are starting to bloom as are the youngest green beans.  The scapes look great!  The first batch of zucchini may give us enough fruit to offer after the July 4th week.  Some of the potatoes look good and others not so good.  It has a lot to do with how much water is in the area - not a surprise there.

The broilers are looking good and healthy.  They will be available after their trip to "the Park" on July 7.  The turklets arrived and are in the brooder room.  This is one of the most mellow batches of turkeys we have ever had.  We're not sure why that is, but perhaps it is because there are no broiler chicks on the other side of the room?  Regardless, we like how this flock is acting.  And, as a friend of ours likes to say - they are stinkin' cute!

Personal Updates from the Farmers

We realize we don't always highlight how the two of us (Rob and Tammy) are doing - kind of hiding behind the farm, the weather, the plants and the poultry.  So, here is a quick update.

We're struggling a bit with the farm's new normals - no seasonal workers, no volunteer days thus far, two people working a LOT in the offices for other jobs and fields in transition as we hope to adjust to weather normals and other challenges.  We also have family worries with both of our Dads having some serious health events in recent weeks.

I don't want to paint a picture that we are in horrible shape.  Overall, we are doing remarkably well.  But, it doesn't take much for us to feel overwhelmed and unsure of how we're going to get through everything.  This is the point where we tell you again how much we appreciate your support, your patience and your kindness.  We're pushing to get things done and we're working to find the things that are best to let go so we can get the best subset of everything done. 

Thank you.

Broiler Chickens

Our first flocks of broilers are scheduled to go to "the Park" on July 6, which means they are available beginning July 7. 

Egg Production

The egg production still resides mainly with our 75 bird flock of 'older' hens.  This batch has not been particularly reliable from the get go and they've let us know they do not appreciate that we moved them to the 'Summer Cottage.'  That means egg production took another hit, reduced by about 20% over the past two weeks.  We expect they will rebound once we get past gnat season (and maybe rain season?).  In August, we expect the new hens will begin to add to the production.  Patience will pay off here folks and we'll have plenty of quality eggs for all of your orders.

Be Well!

Rob and Tammy