Saturday, April 28, 2012

CSA Update

Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul has a very limited number of spots left as does River Market Co-op in Stillwater. Aveda in Blaine (for Aveda employees) and Menomonie Market Food Co-op are still pretty open. Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson is plum sold out. If you are looking to sign up you will find a sign-up form at the bottom of this post. If you are looking for general Eener's Farm CSA info that can be found here: http://www.eenersfarm.blogspot.com/2012/02/2012-csa-info.html

We’ll be doing our usual monthly meat and egg delivery this coming Saturday (May 5). Check out the updated meat and egg price list if you're interested. If you find something you'd like to order go ahead and contact me via e-mail: eenermachine@gmail.com or phone: 715-643-2803.

Some news from the farm - We're getting pretty sophisticated around here. The new hoophouse arrived this week. It’s amazing to me that a structure that will be 24 feet wide and 72 feet long can fit on one 12 foot pallet! I’m sure the new hoophouse will be a joy to put up, just like the last one was. To learn more about hoophouse construction take a look at this blog entry: http://www.eenersfarm.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-build-hoophouse-in-136-easy.html


Here is what the hoophouse looked like when it arrived.
Here is what it should look like when it's finished (some assembly required).



Another big sophisticated advancement happening here on the farm is that we are just about finished with building a walk-in cooler. It’s gonna be awesome! This thing is 11 feet wide and 8 feet long…can’t wait to fill it.

As if those two projects weren’t sophisticated enough, I got ahold of an old four-row corn planter. It’s practically an antique! But after a day or two calibrating it and greasing it up, my dad and I have it running and ready for sweet corn planting. As an added bonus, we learned that it will also plant pumpkins and beans. And that my friends, is wonderful.

Price List for May Meat and Egg Delivery:
Prices are by the pound. Roasts are about four pounds each, ground beef comes in one-pound packs and steaks are ¾ inch thick. All the meat we sell is raised here on our farm and is grass-fed. It is professionally butchered and federally inspected at Olson’s Meats of Woodville, WI. It also is pink slime free (yes! what a total score!). If you’d like to learn more about how they are raised check out the Web site: http://www.eenersfarm.blogspot.com/2012/02/hip-news-from-farm.html

12 Pretty Eggs: $3.00 (the chickens are fed free-choice certified organic feed and also left to roam freely about the farm

Eener’s Super-Hip Grilling Kit: $35.00 Includes Two T-Bone Steaks and Five Pounds of Ground Beef

Ground Beef: $4.50
Chuck Roast: $5.00
Arm Roast: $5.00
Cross Rib Roast: $5.00
Brisket: $5.00
Rib Steak: $7.00
Short Ribs: $4.00
T-Bone Steak: $8.00
Porterhouse Steak (limited supply): $8.00
Sirloin Tip Roast: $5.00
Stew Meat: $4.00
Beef Liver: $3.50
Beef Hart: Free for the asking

Meat and Egg Delivery Schedule:
Home Delivery in Stillwater starting at 9:00a.m.
Home Delivery in Hudson starting at 10:00a.m.
Meet up in the Hampden Park Co-op parking lot at : 11:00a.m.
Meet up in Blaine: Noon

Eener’s Farm C.S.A. Sign-Up Form for 2012
Send this to me in the mail: N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725 or E-mail this information to me at eenermachine@gmail.com and I’ll put you on the list for 2012.

Your Name:_______________________________

Which Size Share: Full ($515) Half ($275)

How to Pay: Make checks out to Eener’s Farm or Renee Bettendorf. Pay the whole works by June 1, 2012 or pay half the amount by June 1, 2012 and the other half by October 1, 2012.

Where will you pick up at: (River Market, Hampden Park, Fresh & Natural, Menomonie Market Food Co-op or Aveda in Blaine)

If you are a returning Eener’s Farm member you don’t have to fill the rest of this out unless something has changed:
Your Address:________________________________
Your Phone Number:_____________________________
Your E-mail Address:_________________________

Risk Agreement: By signing up I understand that there is risk involved in farming and that I have agreed to share in this risk. Because of factors like weather and pests I understand that I may not get all the produce that Eener has planned on putting in my box. I also understand that I may get more than Eener planned on putting in my box in the event that some produce crops do really, really well.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

CSA Shares are Still Available...But Not in Hudson

Hudson is sold out. But there are still some spots available at the other drop sites…those are going fast. If you or someone you know is looking for a CSA this year, head to the end of this post for a sign-up form and more CSA info.
We’ve got a meat delivery coming up this Saturday. Thanks to everyone who has signed up for that already! A few things have sold out today, here is an updated list:

One Dozen Eggs: $3.00
Ground Beef: $4.50
Chuck Roast: $5.00
Arm Roast: $5.00
Cross Rib Roast: $5.00
Brisket: $5.00
Rib Steak (limited supply): $7.00 (sold out)
Short Ribs: $4.00
T-Bone Steak: $8.00
Porterhouse Steak: $8.00
Sirloin Steak: $7.00 (sold out)
Sirloin Tip Roast: $5.00
Rump Roast: $5.00
Stew Meat: $4.00 (sold out)
Beef Liver: $3.50

We’ll follow the usual delivery schedule which is: -Home Delivery in Stillwater starting at 9:00a.m.. Home Delivery in Hudson starting at 10:00a.m. Meet up in the Hampden Park Co-op parking lot at : 11:00a.m. Meet up in Blaine: Noon

Babies, babies and more babies…they are everywhere. We’re having a bumper crop of baby lambs and goats this year (apparently multiple births are in). Right now we have five baby goats and the sheep ladies have done some serious birthing and they are not done.

Here is a break down: Bernice 2, Patches 3!, Phyllis 2 and Itchy (everyone needs a sheep named Itchy)2. Still to come: Bibb and Eunice.
Total baby count: 14. Stay tuned.

Now, check out these cute pictures!








2012 CSA Season Details:

Delivery Locations: We’ll be delivering to River Market Co-Op which is located in downtown Stillwater; Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson; Hampden Park Co-Op in St. Paul (928 Raymond Ave., fairly near Midway Stadium); Menomonie Market Food Co-op in Menomonie and in Blaine for Aveda employees.

Delivery Days and Times:
River Market Co-op in Stillwater: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 1:30 and 9p.m.
Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 2:30 and 9p.m.
Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul: boxes are delivered on Wednesdays members pick them up between 2:00 and 9p.m. Aveda: boxes are delivered on Wednesdays members pick up anytime after 2:30 p.m. Menomonie Market Food Co-op: boxes are delivered on Fridays members pick up between 3 and 8p.m.

Box Size: I offer full and half shares, both are delivered on a weekly basis. Full shares come in 1 and 1/9 bushel boxes, half shares will be packed in 5/9 bushel boxes. If you are trying to picture the size of the boxes here are the dimensions: 1 and 1/9 boxes are 17.9”X12”X12” and 5/9 boxes are 14.5”X11.6”X8.1”.
How Do Full and Half Shares Differ? Besides getting larger quantities of produce, full share members also receive sporadic eggs from our free-range chickens. Additionally we pick whatever berries we are able to grow for the full shares (last year we were able to do one delivery of strawberries and one delivery of raspberries. Also, if a crop does terribly, it’s almost a given the full shares will still receive it. For example, last year was a bad year for brussel sprouts but we were still able to eek enough of them out of the patch to supply the full shares.

What Size is Best for You? That is an excellent question…sorta depends on how much you eat and cook. The full shares are for roughly four people and the half shares are for right around two people. That being said, a pair of serious vegetarians could probably easily knock down a full share. On the flip side, a family of four with children may be just fine with a half share.

Pricing: Full shares sell for $515 and half shares sell for $275.

Box Contents: Here’s what’s on the list for this year: basil, beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, dill, soybeans, eggplant, fennel, garlic, gourds, hot peppers, sweet peppers, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, head lettuce, mint, melons, onions, green onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rutabaga, rhubarb, spinach, parsnips, various summer squash, various winter squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, turnips and flowers.

Our Season Length: This year I’ll be doing 18 weeks starting the second week in June and going until the second week in October. This means that for Stillwater and Hudson folks their first box will be on June 11. St Paul and Blaine folks’ first box will be on June 13. Those picking up in Menomonie will have their first box on June 15.
What About Your Vacation(s)? If you leave town or just know you won’t be able to pick up your box we can skip you for that week(s) and double, triple or quadruple your delivery when you get back. Arrangements for this should be made at least 24 hours in advance.

How to Contact Eener’s Farm: If you are interested in signing up please e-mail me at eenermachine@gmail.com and I will send you a sign up form. Or you can call me at 715.643.2803 and I’ll sign you up over the phone.

This is all fine and good, but what the heck is a CSA anyway? Basically, a CSA (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture) is a type of direct market farm, meaning the farmer sells food directly to customers. There are a lot of advantages to this kind of farm. For one, customers/members know exactly where their food is coming from (we encourage our members to come visit the farm and we hold a big party at the end of the season for everyone). Secondly, produce from CSA farms doesn’t travel far. As a result it’s better for the environment and members enjoy much fresher produce. Another perk is that CSA farms tend to be really diversified (we grow about 40 varieties of veggies plus herbs) so members get a nice variety of in-season veggies.

Risk: Since farming is so completely tied to the weather, it’s risky business. My goal is to provide my members with an amount of produce that is equal to the money they paid for their share. Over the past three years I think I accomplished this goal. But I can’t promise that this will be true for this year. It’s helpful to think of CSA farms in terms of the stock market; when members buy a share they are making an investment. On a good year they will break even or get an amount of produce that is greater in value than their initial investment. On a bad year, they may end up with an amount of produce that is worth less than what they invested. Also, a well-placed tornado could wipe us clear off the map and put a serious bind on CSA deliveries. In buying a full season of produce, the members of CSA farms share the risk with their farmers.

Is Eener’s Farm Organic?: I’m not certified organic, so I can’t advertise myself as organic. I do advertise as “Chemical Free” which means I don’t use any chemical pesticides or herbicides in my farming operations. I looked into the process to become certified and it does involve an investment, which I’d be willing to make. It turns out that being certified also involves TONS of paperwork and record keeping… not my strong points. So at this point I am not pursuing a certification though I remain committed to organic gardening.

Eener’s Farm C.S.A. Sign-Up Form for 2012

Send this to me in the mail: N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725 or E-mail this information to me at eenermachine@gmail.com and I’ll put you on the list for 2012.

Your Name:_______________________________

Which Size Share: Full ($515) Half ($275)

How to Pay: Make checks out to Eener’s Farm or Renee Bettendorf. Pay the whole works by June 1, 2012 or pay half the amount by June 1, 2012 and the other half by October 1, 2012.

Where will you pick up at: (River Market, Hampden Park, Fresh & Natural, Menomonie Market Food Co-op or Aveda in Blaine)

If you are a returning Eener’s Farm member you don’t have to fill the rest of this out unless something has changed:

Your Address:________________________________

Your Phone Number:_____________________________

Your E-mail Address:_________________________


Risk Agreement: By signing up I understand that there is risk involved in farming and that I have agreed to share in this risk. Because of factors like weather and pests I understand that I may not get all the produce that Eener has planned on putting in my box. I also understand that I may get more than Eener planned on putting in my box in the event that some produce crops do really, really well.