March 2011 newsletter

Hello Everyone! March is here, which means SPRING is just around the corner. There is not much to report this month, as we are patiently waiting for the season to change. Once the weather warms up we will have lots of work to do on the farm and we are looking forward to all our new adventures this year. We will have baby goats in the next couple months! We are not sure when they will arrive but my guess is mid April. We are hoping for 3 new sets of babies, maybe even twins from 2 of the mommies!

Spa Night In Sauk:
The spa night in Sauk went very well! Thanks to all of you that came to support us and the other vendors. We had a great turn out, there were lots of prizes to give away and the massage therapist were kept very busy all night long. We hope you had a great time and if you have any suggestion for next year please let us know.

Chicken Update:
We have a small batch of chickens to butcher yet sometime next week. I will send you an e-mail update when we know which day. There are about 25 left and we are estimating they will be around 5lbs. This will be the last of the fresh chickens until at least June. We will get a new batch of baby chicks when the weather warms up and it takes roughly 8-10 weeks before they are ready for eating again. I have a handful of frozen chickens that are between 6-8 lbs for sale. We also have a few frozen soup chickens for sale as well. Just let me know if you are interested. First come, first serve.

Eggs:
The hens are starting to pick up on egg production as the weather is slowly warming. Due to the rising cost of feed we will be raising the price of eggs to $3.00/dozen starting next week (Monday March 7th). Those of you that are participating in the egg share program will receive your eggs at $2.50/dozen until next quarter starts. Fresh Eggs are available daily at the farm, so come on by whenever it works for you!

Eggs Share Program:
Our next quarter starts Thursday, March 24th.
The egg share program is quarterly (12wks).

NEW SHARE PRICES:
½ Share = 1 doz. Every other week = $18 (+ $2 delivery fee)
Full Share = 1 doz. Every week = $36 (+ $4 delivery fee)
1 ½ Share = 1 doz one week, 2 doz the next = $54 (+ $4 delivery fee)
2 Full Shares = 1 doz. Every week = $72 (+ $4 delivery fee)

We are definitely looking for more neighborhoods to deliver too. We ask that you get at least 3 people interested in participating in the egg share program. We will deliver a cooler to a designated house once a week with everyone’s eggs. Those members will have a 4 hour time frame to pick up their eggs each week. It is really a great way for you and your neighbors, friends and family members to get fresh eggs weekly and saves everyone a little money in gas (as we all know that is a bonus these days!)

2011 Weekly Produce Box Program:
Thanks to all of you that have already signed up for the WPB program this year. We are very excited to get planting so we can start filling your boxes!!! The deadline for the WPB sign up is March 15th 2011. If you need more time to decide or if you are waiting to get conformation from your health insurance for reimbursement just let us know so we can extend your sign up date. Remember we are willing to make home deliveries this year! We are also still looking for drop off locations so if anyone has a business and employees that are interested let us know, we can deliver once a week to your business as well. (As long as the owner gives the O.K.) For those of you that live in Madison and are interested in picking up your produce at a drop off location, please let me know if you have pick up location ideas.

It’s NATIONAL FROZEN FOOD MONTH:
March is the national frozen food month. Don’t forget to take the time to check your freezers for some of that yummy food you froze last year. I just found a package of Rhubarb to make Rhubarb Crisp!!! Make room in your freezer for this years growing season. It may not seem like it, but now is a good time to think about some of the veggies and fruits you will freeze this year. Make a list, estimate the harvest dates for your product and put it on your calendar. It takes a little time to freeze or can your fresh food, but it is well worth it in the long run. It’s a great feeling when you just cooked your frozen green beans from the garden, in the winter months!

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER RAFFLE:
Each month (from March -June) we will be raffling off two 2011 Farm Coupon Books. The raffle names will come from anyone on our e-mail/mailing list and anyone that filled out our Survey a month ago will have their name entered twice! Good Luck Everyone!!!
MARCH RAFFLE WINNERS: Wanda Williamson and Lauryn Durtschi. CONGRATS! We will be sending your coupon book in the mail this week.

Please feel free to send this newsletter to any family members, friends, and co-workers you think may be interested. If you know anyone that wants farm info but does not have e-mail access just have them call me or send me their address and I will mail the newsletters to them. We also have brochures now so if you’d like us to send you some to put in your office or pass out, let me know and I’ll send you some!

As always your support means a lot to our family and we are ready to return the energy back to you come spring time when we can finally get our hands in the dirt again!
-Jamie