Farmer beats monsanto!

I wanted to share this story... it is the first time I have seen a farmer actually win in court against the ridiculous lawsuits of Monsanto about genetically modified seeds. Well... win meaning he won the court case... we can be sure it cost him bundles of money fighting it.

My opinion is simple.... its ignorant to even consider that genetically modified crops can be contained in the fields wherein they are planted. Nature is not a lab. Things aren't nice and neat like the world of test tubes and science. It just doesn't work that way in the real world. Nature is designed to create as much genetic diversity as possible to preserve and tweak genetics over time.

Bottom line.. it is impossible.. patentedly impossible .... to contain GMO seeds, plants, pollination, genetics to a single field. Every force of nature is actively opposed to that.

Its like saying that if you kill all the weeds in your yard once... you will never have weeds like your neighbors again... no sprouts... no infiltration.. ever.  Is that reality?

No.. we know it isn't... and so do the scientist and businessmen behind Monsanto. Either they never studied pollination and are totally ignorant to the way plants spread or they know. I think they know.. and they know that with government help and support... these gmo seeds that are patented will eventually take over the world. Once that happens they have a free ride. Those crops can only be bought from Monsanto every year... forever. Real versions of the plant will no longer exist.

Why? Because as genetics spread in the plant world... genes are additive. They add to the unmodified plant... there is no way to remove it. All the forces of nature are currently at work right now ensuring that soybeans, canola, alfalfa, sugar beets, etc are no longer existing without Monsanto genes and thereby patent infringement.

GMO crops are bad... all of them.. simply because there is no way to contain them. They are viral. In twenty years science will decide they are harmful but by then... they can't be stopped... the genie is out of the bottle.

I applaud this farmer fifty fighting the giant and sticking to it. This I'd one thing it takes to stop this monster. Labeling laws are another important aspect. The monster must be stopped... or our children dont stand a chance.



 David vs. Monsanto—The Story of How a Lone Farmer Prevailed Against One of the Most Powerful Companies on the Planet 

Sold out of Thanksgiving Turkeys

As expected, we are now sold out of this year's thanksgiving  pastured heritage soy free turkeys.  the demand has been astounding! Next year we hope to offer twice as many... well.. we hope to, lets see how processing goes  this year!

We will have some frozen turkeys available after thanksgiving, and hope to launch into having turkey available year round, or at least every few months.

For those that wish a turkey this year but didnt get in soon enough, we are starting a waiting list. There are always cancellations at the last minute. We will fill wait list requests on a first come first served basis as cancellations happen, but remember there is no guarantee!

For those who ordered a turkey, stay tuned to the blog, i hope to be posting cooking recommendations and recipes soon.

What is kombucha?

Strange name... strange taste.... what is this stuff? It is liquid gold!  Well.. when properly done....

Kombucha is fermented sweet tea.it starts with all the health benefits of tea ... then dramatically increases those benefits through fermentation. It is no longer tea... no more than yogurt is milk, or wine is grape juice. Here's how it works:

Sweet tea is placed in a container and the culture added. The  culture is called a scoby. This stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.  It is a balanced world of yeast and bacteria living together and off each other. A simplified explanations is this: the yeast consumes the sugar in the tea producing alcohol as a byproduct. The bacteria then consumes the alcohol and oxygen creating acid as a byproduct. Both if these are present and working at all times so that.. as long as sugar and air are present... the result idle healthful acids in a tasty blend of flavors. The alcohol level never reaches a significant level because the bacteria consumes it as fast as it is produced by yeast.

Now.. if the oxygen supply is cut off.. you get alcohol. For this reason it is necessary to refridgerate sealed bottles. The act of sealing.. if any sugar is left in the tea, will produce alcohol at room temps.

The main benefit of drinking kombucha is in the acids ... meaning special vinegars. These vinegars have a long list of reported health benefits. And there is still the benefits of the tea itself, and a host of other compounds. Plus the yeast and bacteria, if alive, are powerful probiotics for our bodies. So powerful it is highly recommended to start consuming kombicha slowly... an ounce or two at a time in the morning only. Then slowly increase if no negative reaction occurs.

To gain these benefits... you must make sure of a few things....

1. There is no or very little sugar left... as we all know sugar itself is a powerful health negative wrecking havoc on the human body. Check the label.... sugar should be 0 or as close to it as possible.

2. Kombucha should be fermented long enough.. at least a week at room temps. Going faster at higher will produce alcohol since the bacteria can't keep up with the yeast. This happens above about 76 degrees. If it is left to ferment long enough the bacteria will consume all the alcohol eventually. How to tell? It should be strongly sour when consumed plain.

3. Organic... to ensure no negatives are inside.. water quality in the tea, sugar added, and tea itself is important. All should be clean of chemicals and organic.

Consuming kombucha is much like consuming wine... every batch, every recipe produces different flavors and aromas. just like no two wines or two years of wine are identical... no two batches of kombucha are identical. The producer can alter the flavor by adjusting the recipe (tea type and strength, water source, sugar type)  or adjusting the time to temp balance, or by adding flavorings after fermenting. Its quite a world of exploration.

We sell kombucha made in small batches of 3 gallons. Ours if fully fermented so that NO sugar is left (we test for sugar at the end)  and it is strongltly sour. We start with both green and black tea, and sweeten with both cane sugar and sucanant. The result is a robust sour healthy drink with a unique flavor that can be further flavored in many ways.

Many people drink kombucha plain but it can be flavored many ways. For ginger ale flavor just add ginger and sugar or honey and let it set for a while. For fruity add fruit juice, just an ounce of two per bottle of kombucha. You can also usr spices, herbs, or even essential oil flavorings. There is no limit to ideas and recipes. If its too sour, dilute with water.

If you prefer carbonated drinks... add a little sugar and cap it moderately tight, then let it sit at room temps for s couple days and fridge for a couple days.. the yeast will make co2 which will be absorbed in the cold making a naturally fizzy drink. Use Carr if you don't want alcohol... as alcohol is produced when fermenting without air!  Don't go too long or strong on this.

Our family uses kombucha as our "soft drinkñ now that we are past the negative probiotis effects (die off) . The health benefits if this drink are real. The probiotic effect way beyond and supplement pill. And the flavor is so versatile! We literally drink it like soda.

Can you overconsume kombucha? Sure... just like anything else. I remember a news story of someone dieing from drinking too much water in a radio station contest. Anything to excess is dangerous. We easily go through a glass of two a day with nothing hut good effects.

If you haven't tried kombucha... order some this week. If you have... give ours a try. I think you will find it unique. If you want to make your own... order a scoby from us and explore your own recipes.

Strange name... strange taste... with many health benefits and a world of exploration and fun. Try it!

Chicken eggs going down, duck eggs up

For the last year or so we have has ample chicken eggs for all the orders and enough leftover to do creative things like pickled eggs. Duck eggs have been in short supply and constantly sold out. Well... we have reached a point where this has switched. As of this week we may sell out of chicken eggs early and substitute with duck eggs.

Part of the reason is increased demand. In winter many small backyard flocks quit laying, creating higher demand for eggs. At the same time our base customer list has grown about 6x from where we were last year this time. So demand is up.

Supply is also down on chicken eggs. Our initial flock is getting older and slowing down the laying, even shrinking a bit. We added the sussox flock but it was only half the size we wanted due to a string of bad events. Top this off with our getting behind on lighting the coops due to other demands on our time.... and we have a decreased supply.

Ducks on the other hand are doing great. We are getting almost a full supply of eggs now each day from the khaki campbells.  They don't seem affected yet by the short daysx and hopefully won't be.

So.. there is a chance that we may sell out of chicken eggs this week and offer duck eggs instead. If so.. we try to fill orders ollgiving priority to those with standing orders first, then first orders first. We will know tomorrow where we stand when the final egg collecting happans.

Busy days... little posting

I apologize to you for a lack of postings recently. It is not for lack of activity! We are actually busier than ever, in fact too busy to post about it!

With the season change comes a lot of winter preparations .. and with close to 1000 birds now this is a lot of preparations! In addition we are changing our hog breeds, launching into the largest turkey harvest we have ever done, expanded our goat dairy to 3x what is was last year, replanted all the pastures, worked on the duck habitat, building an online store, investigating a new piece of property and .. oh yea.. sleep occasionally!  The customer base has grown 6x over the last 10 months since we introduced home deliveries, which has its own world of challenges.

Dont get me wrong.. these are all good problems to have, but they are still problems that take time to deal with. 

So, hang in there.. as things slow down a bit for the winter we will be more active here in publishing our story. 

The most important change coming in the very near future is the announcement of the farm Private Member Association.  This is BIG.. really BIG... and will benefit both you and us.  More details to come... stay tuned!