Last Chance for Fall Shares

Hello friends,

It’s Tuesday afternoon, and I think the crew might believe I am disappearing because I’m not interested in working. I have left three times saying I am going to write the newsletter. Third time’s a charm.

Last week we told you Madeline was moving. She called last night to say she safely arrived in Churchhill, MT. As students leave, students come. Brandon brought his sister to work yesterday. Elayne will start at Dordt in several weeks, so it’s nice to have a pair of hands to take Madeline’s place. It will take a while for anyone to take Madeline’s place in terms of keeping me informed of little things that I tend to overlook. Janna will take Madeline’s place tomorrow morning in Sioux Center, and Adrienne will be in Sioux City.

The share has a new potato this week. Austrian Crescent, a fingerling that Google searches will tell you is a fancy chef’s favorite for potato salads. One of our farmers market customers loves this potato fried for breakfast. Basically, she boils or steams too many for supper and slices the cool leftovers in the morning and fries them. It is nicknamed the king of fingerlings, and this year’s harvest is the largest we have ever had.

This is the last week to let us know about fall shares. We planted lettuce, choi and a few other things this afternoon in anticipation. We also tilled in four beds of greens that germinated, grew an inch, and then we eaten by bugs before we could prevent the loss. That happens; we will seed some more!

You may have seen the link on Facebook about chickens potentially being transported to China for processing and then shipped back to the U.S. for distribution. Chicken processing or the lack thereof is a serious small farm problem. Another related question is who owns the pork processing and distribution networks in this country? Recent changes in ownership means 45-47 percent of that business is owned by people in other countries. Is the U.S. becoming the food source for other countries at our own expense?

We know where you can get chicken and pork from people you know. Place your order at 712-490-8218.

Farmer John