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Good Afternoon Trevor,


Shocking or cute, right? Pigs are kind of a big deal right now. There isn't any down time on a farm. Instead, you try to schedule your workload so it's not all at once. Doesn't always work out - but there are times when you can see the break.


Right now we are finishing up farrowing - the birth of piglets - and finishing the re-breed the sows (momma pigs). This was timed so that it fell between when turkeys arrived and before turkeys went on pasture, which becomes a lot of work starting next week.


This week's farm education is of the "birds and the bees" type, to answer some of those questions you probably never thought of. Read below to learn more about breeding hogs.


And for this week's bag and specials:

  • Pizza week. A perennial favorite where we celebrate food as a family activity. See the pizza guide below for best results.
  • Summer Celebration Flavors. It was 42 degrees this morning and the soft maples are starting to change already. I think it's early, but it's also been a dry year. Has that impacted the trees? Either way, the flavors are about to change. This week we celebrate summer with two new baked goods - a Summer Celebration Pie of peach, cherry, and blueberry, and a Peach and Berry Quick Bread, featuring peaches, blueberries, black raspberries studded in a lemon quick bread with a crunchy streusel topping.
  • Pork Stroganoff Meal Kit. As the nights cool, here is an easy crock pot meal kit for the week.
  • Fruit. Peaches are gone. Watermelon are making their last stand. Pears and apples are in. Check out two new varieties this week from Rittman Orchard, as well as standards like gala and honeycrisp.
  • Farm Talk - Hog Breeding 101


Have a good week

Trevor


From the Farm Bakery

Summer Celebration Pie

This week's pie is a combination of peach, cherry, and blueberry.


We start with our signature pie dough of organic whole wheat flour and house rendered lard, then fill it with delicious fruit filling of peaches, cherry, and blueberries.


The trick to a great filling is to macerate the fruit the day before - soak it in sugar essentially - and let the juices gather in the bottom of the pan. We then cook the juices first until thick, then add those to the fruit, allowing for firm fruit and a gooey, sweet filling. We fold in the blueberries last to try to keep the blue contained.


Enjoy this week only! Next week's flavor will change again.

Summer Celebration Quick Bread


This one has the full kitchen excited. Chunks of peaches, black raspberry, and blueberries floating in a dense lemon bread and topped with a sweet and crunchy streusel topping. This week only.


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Notable Extras

Watermelons- $1 off


Last week we had a tremendous response to watermelons. Our growers say Thank You and we hope to move more this week.


This week we have two nice selections, both $1 off.


Seedless Watermelon - smalls and mediums available. Enjoy it while you can.


Sangria Seeded Watermelon (pictured) - and old fashioned watermelon, with seeds and tender pink flesh. As for seeds, simply cut out, swallow, or have fun spitting them as far as you can!

Mixed Table Grapes



3 unique grapes to try. Reliance (red skin, round), Jupiter (elongated, purple), and himrod (green).



Bosc Pears


The crunchier cousin to the Bartlett, the bosc pear is a good eating pear but also fine for baking and poaching with a firmer texture. A very special treat as pears are way harder to come by than apples.

Tree Fruits



Nectarines - 2# bags - $5.65


Probably last week for nectarines. So sad. It's been a good year for them.


Stanley Plums - 1.5# bags - $3.95


The traditional plum we are all used to. Some call this the "Italian plum."

Peppers, Sweet



September is the time of year when peppers reach their final stage of ripeness - full color. At this point they are sweet and delicious, but with a short shelf life. Enjoy them while you can.


Big, Sweet Block Peppers - Orange, Yellow, and Red


Stoplight Combo - 1 of each red, green, and yellow


Lunchbox Snack Peppers - mini sweet peppers ideal for kids and snacking. Photo to right.

Apples

The varieties are getting exciting now. Some of our growers have been big advocates for some new varieties available thru a regional co-op called the Midwest Apple Improvement Association.


Their goal is to use the latest research and pick varieties ideal for our climates. Picking the right apples reduces the insect and disease pressure. Apples like Honeycrisp have a strong name following, but their grade out is low and they are expensive for that reason. There are varieties that show a lot of promise in the near future that should be better than Honeycrisp and easier for our climate.


Here are two notable new varieties this week.


Summerset - 2.5# - $4.25

A newer apple variety that has parentage of both fuji and honeycrisp. Has the crunch of a honeycrisp with a slightly tangier flavor.  


Sweetie - 2.5# - $4.25

Another newer variety developed in New Zealand about 20 years ago with parentage of both Braeburn and Gala. The apple features a bold crunch, medium sweet flavor, and lots of juice. 


Rambo -

A very large, crunchy heirloom apple dating back to parentage in France in the 19th century. Sweet/tart with a bold flavor. Good for snacking (almost meal size) and great in pies.

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Pork Stroganoff Kit

This week we are celebrating the shiitake mushroom in a hearty stroganoff kit featuring homemade sour cream, pork butt roast, noodles and stock.


So this week I made some sour cream and we got noodles in from Flour Pasta Company to do something special - stroganoff.


You can use your creative freedom on this recipe - but the kit has a few basics that you need. Your fridge likely has other FFM ingredients that can go well with it - including onions and tomato.


The bundle includes:

1, Boston Butt Pork Shoulder Roast (approx 2 to 2.5#)

1, Homemade Sour Cream (8 oz)

1, Flour Pasta Company Pappardelle Noodles (8 oz)

1, Homemade Chicken Stock (32 oz)

1, package Shitake Mushrooms (5 oz)


Retail Value: $34

Bundle Price - $25


Basic Recipe Suggestions

Every Eastern European grandmother has her version of a stroganoff, but the common thread is that the sauce is finished with sour cream. I'm guessing I'm saying you can't make it wrong, just different.


Step 1: Cut your pork roast into approx 1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper, and dredge thru seasoned flour.


Step 2: Preheat a dutch oven or oven proof pan, and add a good glug of oil. Over medium heat, brown the meat, turning to get most sides browned. Remove meat with slotted spoon, then drain off grease. If the heat was too high and there are burnt bits on the bottom, scrape those off.


Step 3: Mushrooms. Remove the caps from the stems. Chops the caps into strips and reserve to cook separately. You want to highlight this ingredient. Keep the stems for cooking in the broth.


Step 4: Pour chicken stock into original pan, scraping the bottom to remove any flour bits. Add the pork chunks and mushroom stems. Add a chopped up tomato as well, and you can even add some garlic for extra flavor. Add enough chicken stock to cover the pork, not make a soup.


Bring to a simmer and transfer to the oven, 300 degrees covered. Cook until the pork roast chunks are tender and tear apart easily with fork. Approx 2 hrs.


Step 5: Meanwhile, sweat the onions and mushroom caps (sliced) in butter until translucent but not browned. Reserve to fold into the finished dish.


Step 6: When pork is finished, two options:

1) If you have time, refrigerate as is and scrape the fat from the top the next day. Then continue.

2) If you don't have time, try to ladle any excess grease from the surface, then remove the pork chunks. Pour the cooking liquid thru a strainer or better yet, process thru a foodmill.


Step 7: Cook noodles separately until 75% cooked.


Step 8: Combine noodles, pork (pull it apart some), mushrooms and onions into the dutch oven. Add back cooking liquid, enough to make the mixture saucey but not soupy. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


At this point, you can do two things:

1) Add the sour cream and stir it in.

2) Place the sour cream in a bowl. Add some of the hot cooking liquid to the sour cream slowly and stir it. This will "temper" the sour cream up to temperature without making it "break." Then add the sour cream back to the noodle and pork mixture. "Break" would be when the protein and the fats separate and the product "greases out."


A note on the cooking liquid. I tend to err on the side of caution and I like to:

1) Refrigerate overnight and remove the fat that rises to the top

2) Reduce the cooking liquid down by half to concentrate the flavor.

3) If I reduce too far and need more liquid after putting everything back together, I can just add some water, milk, or cream. It is easier to rehydrate than to cook extra liquid out without overcooking the other ingredients.


Enjoy!

Love Language -

Standing, Cover, and Settle

There are many challenges on a farm, but for me, the most challenging part of my operation is the farrowing operation - the breeding of hogs.


Every industry has it's lingo, and on a farm the lingo touches between euphemism and double entendre. Here is a little insight on hog breeding 101.



When to breed? I have to work backwards from the projected kill date. Right now I just finished breeding sows (females) for piglets that will be born at the end of November or early December. Those piglets will grow out over the course of 8 to 9 months and will be harvested in late summer to fall 2025.


How do you know when to breed? A sow cycles every 21 days, and generally she will begin her cycle about 3 to 5 days after weaning pigs.


We practice natural breeding - meaning we use a "service boar" and sows. Most of the industry uses Artificial Insemination because it is safer and easier than keeping a boar around, and they can get the exact genetics they want and know the date of conception and the projected farrowing (pigging) date.


I keep sows in small groups of about 4. When a sow is in heat, the other sows will start to mount her. I watch for signs then introduce the boar to the sow.


Standing heat. The sow is most fertile when she is what's called "standing heat." She will stand strong and wait for the boar to mount (or cover) her. To test, you can stand over her back and push down. If she stands there, you know she is ready.


How long does it take? There is a saying on a farm. If one were to >>>>>> as often as a rooster, or for as long as a boar, you would have no hours left in the day. Use your imagination.


How do you know it worked? After 3 weeks, if she doesn't come into heat again, you know she "settled." After 42 days, generally it is safe to say that she will take the piglets full term. Each sow carries her litter differently. Some look like they are about to go into labor for months, others hide their belly better. I do have a small ultrasound, but it is difficult to use. The sow doesn't like to stand still while I use it.


How many sows can a boar "service?" In natural breeding, it's suggested to keep the ratio of 1:12 or so. Meaning 1 boar for every 12 sows. But if they all come into heat at once, it's a better bet to do 1:4.


I keep two boars in the barn to rotate. One is a "cleanup" boar, meaning that he'll also breed a sow in case the first boar didn't service her.


Keeping two boars also helps to promote competition. The boars are kept in separate pens. When they come close to another boar, they can smell each other and begin to get very aggressive. At that point, they seem to want to mate more.


Do you need a special place to mate? Ideally, we take the sow to the boar's pen. This way he isn't distracted by other sows or other smells. Sometimes, such as over the weekend or when I might not have time to monitor them, I'll keep the boar in a small group of 4 sows. I'll rotate the boars in and out each day to keep them interested.


If a boar mates with one sow, he might lay by her side or cling to her for a few days. In the meantime, he could miss another sow coming into heat. It is best to take him out daily, or at least for 8 hours per day.


How often can the boar mate? A mature, healthy boar can mate up to twice per day, usually with a max of 6 to 10 times per week.


How do you know when the sow is about to have pigs? Ideally, you know the breeding date and use a calendar. But in general a sow will start to fill up and "bag up." Her teets will begin to swell and right before she has pigs, you can actually squeeze her nipples and milk will seep out. At that point, if she doesn't have pigs in the next 24 hours, I generally induce her.


She will also generally be restless and start to build a nest out of straw or other material in her pen.


How many pigs does a sow have? I've had them have up to 14, but rarely will they all be born alive. I've had once where 14 were born alive. Often times, they may have about 10 born, with 8 to 9 being alive. I hope to wean 6 to 7. If I could wean 8 every time I'd be happy.


What is the hardest part? Keeping the pigs healthy and clean. The piglets will do anything to walk in their feed or water. Keeping food and water clean is really a challenge in a pasture based operation. The confinement operations have figured it out by using "slat floor," essentially a special decking that lets manure, urine, and water runooff fall into a manure pit below. This keeps things sanitary. Outside, I struggle with rain, puddles, mud, and other elements that can be troublesome.

Bag Contents

Small Omnivore

Pizza Dough Ball

Mozzarella Cheese

Roma Tomatoes

Onion

Garlic

Green Pepper

Hot Hungarian Peppers

Delicata Squash

Kale

Plums

Italian Sausage


Small Vegetarian

Pizza Dough Ball

Mozzarella Cheese

Roma Tomatoes

Onion

Garlic

Green Pepper

Hot Hungarian Peppers

Delicata Squash

Kale

Plums

Mushrooms

Zucchini

Mini

Pizza Dough Ball

Onion

Garlic

Delicata Squash

Plums

Slicers







Large Omnivore

Pizza Dough Ball

Mozzarella Cheese

Roma Tomatoes

Onion

Garlic

Green Pepper

Hot Hungarian Peppers

Delicata Squash

Kale

Plums

Italian Sausage

Mushrooms

Broccoli

Eggplant

Apples

Chicken Drumsticks


Large Vegetarian

Pizza Dough Ball

Mozzarella Cheese

Roma Tomatoes

Onion

Garlic

Green Pepper

Hot Hungarian Peppers

Delicata Squash

Kale

Plums

Mushrooms

Zucchini

Broccoli

Eggplant

Apples

Slicers

Cauliflower

Potatoes

Small Vegan

Pizza Dough Ball*

Roma Tomatoes

Onion

Garlic

Green Pepper

Hot Hungarian Peppers

Delicata Squash

Kale

Plums

Mushrooms

Zucchini

Cauliflower

Apples




_*_ vegans. There is honey in the pizza dough. We understand that most of our vegan members aren't actually vegans, and honey is controversial if it is vegan or not. If you do not eat products with honey in them, please just notify the greeter and we'll have a substitute for you at the back of the truck.

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