Fresh Capon Still Available for Thanksgiving..

We still have a few fresh pastured, gmo-free, never caged capon available for those looking for an alternative to turkey or a smaller bird to grace your Thanksgiving table.  These are heritage breeds and the breast meat is tender and the flavor is fantastic! 

We will offer free delivery to Springfield on Tuesday (tomorrow).  So, you may still place your order today.  Thank you for supporting your local farmers!

Capon's are growing...

The capon's continue to grow and  show forth their lovely colors!

This marks the spot of our beloved hen from our first flock. She passed away last night.

Taste Show-Down & Mother Earth blog Post- Regulations or Relationships

 Thanks to our sweet customers who both taste-tested and inspired us to do a side by side comparison of the Cornish and Red Broilers!  The winner, while both are tasty, was.... The Red Broiler!  Tenderness, moisture and flavor.  :)


The blog post,  "What Does "Locally- Raised" Meat Mean? caught our attention as a small local meat farm.  Reading we felt with the author having, in our early days, been "burnt" by a few "local farmers" ourselves.  While the author comes to the conclusion that more regulation and oversight are needed, we come to a different conclusion- relationship. 

Yes, dear patrons, it takes more time and energy, but it is well worth the effort.  Here is our reply...

"While we wholeheartedly agree that honesty and integrity are essential in locally farmed meats; it is not regulations that further burden the honest farmer and raise consumer prices, but rather relationships that are necessary.  As both a local honest small family meat farmer and consumer we  see relationship as an all important key.  We know, for instance, our our veggie CSA farmers and spend time on their farm.  We trust them and they are trustworthy.  But it takes time to build relationships.  our best customers are the ones who know us and come out to the farm to see what we are doing and just how we do it.  And for us as farmers, we feel safe selling to those we know.

No organization or regulation can give you the same peace of mind.  That is the reason many folks are buying from local farmers and not the grocery store.  We encourage you to take the time to get out to the farms, sit and chat.  Learn and laugh together.  If you feel uneasy, simply say, "Thank you for your time." and keep going until you find someone whom you can trust.  the initial effort is well worth a lifelong relationship with you farmers."

Thank you to all who have taken the time to call, email back and forth and come out to the farm!  We are grateful to have such wonderful customers!

Fresh Red Broilers Ready Next Week...

We are glad to announce that the Red Broilers will be ready for purchase next week.  If you would like your Red Broiler fresh,  pick-up will be on Thursday and Friday (July 11th & 12th).  After the curing time, we will have them available frozen.  This is only a small quantity of 100 broilers, some already spoken for, so please contact the farm if you are interested in purchasing so we can get you right on the list and set your chicken aside for you!

Are you wondering, "What is a Red Broiler?".  Similar to the famous Label Rouge of France.  These broilers are a better foraging alternative to the industrial standard Cornish Cross- growing longer and developing a better flavor than the Cornish.  They maintain the large breast and are similar in form, making cooking them just as easy as your average chicken!

We are glad to be able to offer you a more sustainable alternative to the Cornish Cross.  If you are looking for something really special and the most sustainable option available, we will be offering heritage breed capons in the coming months.  If you are looking  for a lovely alternative to the traditional turkey for your thanksgiving meal, you may pre-order a capon by simply giving us a call or email.  All of our birds are gmo-free, pastured and raised with loving care here on the farm!  We can't thank you, our customer's enough for supporting your local farmers.

Update...

Have been enjoying both the sun and rain here on the farm.  The red broilers are doing well and will be ready for purchase in a couple of weeks. But it is the capons we have truly enjoyed the most this season.  We are experiment with different ranging techniques and it has been a lot of fun to watch them as they grow slowly.  They look to be wonderful birds to grace your tables for those special occasions! We'll have to get some pictures up soon.

Final Day...

Final day of caponizing these beautiful birds.  So thankful for the Lord's kindness.  They are looking great.  Had a wonderful time of fellowship with a great group of people!  Hope  you all learned a  lot!

Caponizing...

An amazing day caponizing. The Lord has been so gracious and all are doing well. We give thanks for life and strength and skill.

Family Fun on the Farm

Flying the kites.

Red broilers newly moved and waiting to come out!

Comfortable chick.

Taking a nap.

"I know I can catch that bug!"

Happy pig.

Farm animals, working together to clean up the mess.

Today's Post was brought to you by our sweet 9 year old daughter!  Thank you, Hattush.

Thank you....

A Big thank you to all who made a donation toward a friend for our donkey Trustworthy via your tips at FMO!  Here is one of his new pals, Faithful.

Everyone's growing...

No market this week, but fresh chicken coming your way...

Good morning, all.  We will be taking a break from the Farmer's Market of the Ozarks this week to spend some much needed time on farm work and with our kiddos. 

We plan to be processing a few of our final batch of Cornish Cross either Saturday or next week.  (After this group of Cornish Cross, we will no longer be growing this breed.  For more info. on why see below.) 

We will chill cure the chicken for two and a half days to deepen the flavor, so if you are looking for fresh chicken for your table, give us a call and stop by the farm!

Hugelkultur anyone...

Thank you to our customers new and old who stopped by Saturday!  It is always great to see and serve you.

On pondering our family garden beds this year we are leaning toward hugelkultur beds.  This is an old technique that suits our property very well!

So, what does hugelkultur look like?  Beginning with large logs and trees and twigs (we have an abundance of these we will be clearing!)  at the base, next nitrogen rich material and finally top soil.  There are great advantages from this permaculture method, such as moisture retention, soil fertility and creating micro climates, to name a few!  It is ideal for southern Missouri!  Take a look at this sketch of a hugelkultur bed by FuoriBorgo. 

 
And this sketch...

For more reading, check out:
 Paul Wheaten (of Permies.com) article.
And this brief article from the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia
And a basic run through from Oregon Live here
Thanks to Sepp Holzer for all his work and encouragement in this and many other areas of permaculture. 

If anyone has experience with raising berry plants and bushes using hugelkultur along woodland edges (we're just looking at family sized beds), please let us know!

New chicks...

Our first try with this new broiler breed.  They look great.  They are busy eating, drinking & scratching already!  We love these fuzzy little guys and hope you will, too.

Pictoral farm update...

Soon to be capons out foraging.

The three amigos, Faith, Hope & Love, are getting bolder going out in the drive area.

Rhode Island Reds

Ummmm, what yummy things are down here!

Enjoying the diversity that spring brings.

The sweetest donkey ever! 

They love this little stump area.

An Araucana chick found some hay to scratch through.

The new moveable capon house for night protection.

Front of the capon house.  See all the perching area and the nice headroom in the center!  Our 9 year old can stand up in the middle. :)

What a great childhood.  Two of our dear ones enjoying the critters.

"Hurry... I've got to catch that bug!"

The children think the chicks are so wonderful...

and precious.

Enjoying the bounty of spring.

The capon chicks, bantams and ducks all share a patch.