Saturday, March 29, 2008

Locally Raised Natural Beef--Ringgold

We've recently learned of yet another family raising good food. They have been raising calves for the market for several years and recently decided to attempt to raise them for beef. They had a handful this year and still have two left which will be ready about the end of May. Here's the info.
The closed herd cows have free reign of the pasture and they get supplemental conventional hay through the winter months until the amount of grass is sufficient to feed them again. They also supplement with the occasional minimal amount of corn-based conventional grain feed. They use no steroids, antibiotics, or fillers.

The meat is processed to your specifications in a USDA slaughterhouse in Athens which is clean, organized and processes other naturally raised local meat.

The farm is located in Ringgold close to TN border.

The pricing: 3.25/lb hanging weight for a whole, 3.50 for half, 3.75 for quarter. Delivery is free for the first location and $20/location after that.

To place an order or for questions, contact David and Shelly Coffee @ 706.965.4325

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Local-ish source for Chevon

This is an excerpt from an email from the folks we've been getting our Chevon from. It's good stuff. A lot like the Keener's lamb, just not quite as large. We recommend.

Sheerlark Farm -
We are new to this area and growing and farming here, we moved here in May
of 2005. Currently we raise dairy and meat goats.We will have Chevon, which
is young goat meat, available this summer. We will be producing some
Heritage cross lambs next season. We are involved with Alabama Sustainable
Agriculture Network and their "Farmer to Farmer" program of mentoring. We
are beginning a small market garden this year and plan to sell at the
Chattanooga Farmer's Market. We do currently have mature blueberry bushes
that produce well. We have laying hens producing eggs which are raised
naturally in sustainably managed portable housing on grass. I am in the
midst of processing some wool from our sheep into roving for handspinners
and also yarns. I will be offering some of this undyed and some hand dyed
with natural dyes. My husband has a farm shop where he is creating rustic
items made from steel horseshoes - curtain rod hangers, towel bars, hooks,
even a toilet paper holder. I will be growing some medicinal herbs as well
as kitchen herbs this year. I will possibly do some wildcrafting of
medicinal herbs if time allows. There is a lot I am thinking of doing, and,
like you, dreaming about, we'll just have to see where the path leads.....

Our farming practices are sustainable, never are any synthetic chemical
pesticides or herbicides used on our crops our pastures. We are not
certified organic but strive toward doing things to organic standards. The
ONLY place where we would ever diverge from this is in the event of a truly
life threatening situation for one of our animals. I can speak with you more
about this if you are interested.

Sherry Johnson
256 632-2465
gentlemom@farmerstel.com

Sequatchie Egg Shares Still Available

Just a friendly reminder that we still have Egg Shares available for the 2008 season....

Eggs are just $4.00 / dozen when you buy an egg share for 30 weeks, for a total cost of $120. This is a discounted rate - extra eggs at the CSA drop-off or Greenlife market will sell for $5.00 / dozen. So if you're thinking you'll be interested in getting eggs regularly, I encourage you to seriously consider subscribing to the share. Plus, these eggs are fantastic - you won't see gorgeous orange yolks like ours in store-bought eggs anywhere!
Thanks to everyone who has already signed up...
We are looking forward to a great season growing food for all of you!

Happy Spring Equinox from all of us at Sequatchie Cove Farm!

From Padgett Arnold -
padgett_arnold@yahoo.com

River Ridge Farms Chickens available this Friday (3/28)

This was included in the previous post, but is worth mentioning, as their birds are excellent.


We will be making special delivery on Friday March 28th at Niedlov's from
4:00 - 5:15 pm with fresh chicken.

We have plenty of beef, pork, eggs.

thanks, Dave

Dave & Verlinda Waters
River Ridge Farms
1471 State Hwy 304 N
Ten Mile, TN 37880
Phone (423)334-5643 Cell (423)506-3872

River Ridge Farms at Neidlov's Today

We will be at Niedlov's tomorrow, Tuesday March 25th, from 3:00 - 5:15 pm

We have plenty of beef, pork, eggs.

We will be making special delivery on Friday March 28th at Niedlov's from
4:00 - 5:15 pm with fresh chicken.

thanks, Dave

Dave & Verlinda Waters
River Ridge Farms
1471 State Hwy 304 N
Ten Mile, TN 37880
Phone (423)334-5643 Cell (423)506-3872

Chattanooga Market will continue

According to our friends at the TFP, the Chattanooga Market is not dying, but will continue doing what it does just like last year, only under new ownership (full article here). The astounding fact is not that the Market will continue, we should have expected that. It is very valuable to a lot of people, so in some form, it will probably keep on. The surprise is found in this quote: "Chris Thomas, founder of Palo Duro Records based in Ooltewah, said he has begun establishing a nonprofit organization to run the market."

There is a record label in Ooltewah? Apparently. And there continues to be a Chattanooga Market.