Brand New Baby Girl!!!!

We welcomed, Blossom, to our farm March 18th 2010. She is beautiful and Momma, Bella, is doing great!!!

CSA 2010 Starting early with seeds!

I have started cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. These are in the pictures below. I have also started lettuce, onions, kale and swiss chard. It's been a busy three weeks but am so excited about this gardening season!! Today we are hoping to sow potatoes outside. WOOHOO I have been enjoying these beautiful days.

They are working on growing. This batch is just over two weeks old.

This one is two weeks old. I feel like a mom taking care of her babies. LOL I'm so proud of them. Gardening brings so much joy to my life. Is that bad?! LOL LOL

These were transplanted on Monday this week. They look so good!

This little guy is just over a week old. It's so cute! LOL

Seeds just starting to come up. I get so excited seeing them grow. It's pretty amazing if you ask me.

Only 7 more applications available!!!

Our 2010 CSA program is filling up fast. We only have 7 applications left. We are so excited about this program and are looking forward to working with our members.

Accepting CSA Applications for the 2010 season!!!

CSA applications are now ready, only 15 shares available. We are so excited about adding this program to our farm. Here's a brief outline of what a CSA is.

This information was taken from http://www.localharvest.org. Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription"for a year) and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief...

Advantages for farmers:

• Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

It's a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it.

Shared Risk
There is an important concept woven into the CSA model that takes the arrangement beyond the usual commercial transaction. That is the notion of shared risk. When originally conceived, the CSA was set up differently than it is now. A group of people pooled their money, bought a farm, hired a farmer, and each took a share of whatever the farm produced for the year. If the farm had a tomato bonanza, everyone put some up for winter. If a plague of locusts ate all the greens, people ate cheese sandwiches. Very few such CSAs exist today, and for most farmers, the CSA is just one of the ways their produce is marketed. They may also go to the farmers market, do some wholesale, sell to restaurants, etc. Still, the idea that "we're in this together" remains. On some farms it is stronger than others, and CSA members may be asked to sign a policy form indicating that they agree to accept without complaint whatever the farm can produce.

Many times, the idea of shared risk is part of what creates a sense of community among members, and between members and the farmers. If a hailstorm takes out all the peppers, everyone is disappointed together, and together cheer on the winter squash and broccoli. Most CSA farmers feel a great sense of responsibility to their members, and when certain crops are scarce, they make sure the CSA gets served first.

If interested or want more information please contact us. mailto:burnettslandofmilkandhoney@gmail.com

Spring is almost HERE!!!

Spring means NEW BABIES on the farm. We are welcoming 150 babies chicks to the farm on Wednesday. Then within the next 8 weeks we are hoping to welcome 6 new baby cows. We are so excited for the 2010 farming season.