Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil. – Reginal Heber

Spring Flowers!

It seems everyone is not so patiently waiting for spring flowers. The gardens and flower beds have been cleaned up and are ready for planting.

Jeannie and the kids made an excursion with their friends to Hilltop Greenhouses to get bedding plants for planters and beds. The season seems so short that you want to get started as soon as possible. Now, we wait for warm weather, which we have no control over, to plant out these beauties.

The bees are busy, too. It's wonderful to hear their warm buzzing as you stand under the maple trees.

The insulated hives Martin built last summer seem to be effective for keeping the bees healthy and ready for spring foraging. The strongest hives are the ones that are captured swarms. The nucs (nucleus colony) with queen bees from New Zealand have a hard time adjusting to our cold dry climate and usually die over the winter despite how attentive the beekeeper is.

It doesn't look like Jeannie is going to get her greenhouse. Martin is planning a garden shed instead, which will be more useful for both of them. He wants it to be a pleasant area for working with plants or relaxing in quiet, and not just a boring building that collects junk.

Tony, our Hong Kong shepherd, has switched hats. He's watching the cows calve now. So he can see what is happening, cameras have been set up in the beef cow shelter that was built last summer.

However, he missed seeing Mable, our Jersey milk cow have her calf because she calved on a warm sunny afternoon. Tony was sleeping at the time. He'll catch the ones that come when we're sleeping.

Mable had a pretty little brown heifer calf, which we've named Lucy. This year the identification letter is L, so our favorite calves will get a name that starts with L. Keeps things organized and keeps us creative.

Stock up for barbecuing! This box of our premium pasture-raised beef has a nice selection of steaks plus ground beef. Perfect for the warm days ahead.

2x Top Sirloin Steaks (4 steaks)

2x Kansas Strip Steaks (4 steaks)

1x T-Bone Steaks (2 steaks)

6x Ground Beef (6 lb)

Average Cost: $220

Think fresh chicken! It's time to order.

We raise the chicks in the barn for about 5 weeks until they've grown enough feathers to survive cooler nights. At this point, they're ready for pasture. The birds are split up into 10-foot by 10-foot cages on shorter, trampled grass, which provides more suitable bedding and renders the bugs easier to catch. And the tender pasture regrowth is much easier for the birds to digest than mature grasses.

Every morning after the dew comes off, each cage is moved ahead by a full ten feet, providing the birds with a fresh salad and a side of bugs, which they take full advantage of before resorting to their grain feeders. It should go without saying that we provide exclusively organic grain and revitalizing Grander Living Water.

This system also moves the birds away from their manure, which means they are never exposed to any pathogen load. It keeps everything and everybody healthy and clean.

Our birds have full access to sunshine and fresh pasture breezes that are free of ammonia. The healthy pasture grasses make immediate use of the nitrogen in the manure to prevent any odors or runoff.

The whole system is beautiful and clean, naturally providing meat that is flavorful and nutritious.

Fresh WHOLE broiler chicken will be ready Friday, June 7th, and Sunday, June 9th.

Fresh chicken PARTS will be ready Sunday, June 9th.

PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW.

It really is spring when we have fresh from the greenhouse Mans Organics in the store. You'll find Long English and mini cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and peppers.

Comparison of Mans Greenhouse Organics and Hydroponically Grown Products

Mans Organics is soil-based, with compost input. It's similar to how we grow our food, except with more heat and protection from environmental elements, like wind and snow.

Healthy soil with good structure is of prime importance to Mans Organics. Also, organic certification requires that produce be grown in soil.

Hydroponic agriculture is very artificial. It is a process of growing plants without soil by adding nutrients to the water. It might seem impressive that that much food can be grown in a small area, but that isn't the whole picture.

Just to provide the phosphorous fertilizer, there's a strip mine to harvest the ore, a smelting plant to refine it, and a fluoride waste stream. Hydroponic agriculture doesn't use less land than our gardens do. Just like feedlots don't use less land than range cattle do. The appearance is deceiving.

Also, hydroponics plants don't coexist symbiotically with microbiology. There are no fungi, nematodes, or beetles. There is no ecosystem. As far as I can tell, it's about the same as a lab-grown hamburger. I like my veggies with dirt on them.

These fresh days of spring are energizing and invigorating for cleaning around the home.

To get the job done easily and naturally, use ECO-PIONEER washing products, which are 100% pure and non-hazardous to the environment.

As the early Pioneers knew, cleaning does not need to be complicated. These products are designed to be simple, effective, and environmentally sustainable.

Besides being all-natural and readily biodegradable, the washing powders leave a small ecological footprint. They are sourced from local suppliers and are minimally packaged in 100% recycled paper fiber boxes, and printed with non-toxic, vegetable inks.

The products we have in the store are:

Pure Baking Soda, 2 kg

Pure Washing Soda, 2 kg

Pure Soap Flakes, 1.25 kg

Pure Borax, 2 kg

Pure Citric Acid, 1 kg

Harvest Haven Pastured Ground Beef – A farm favorite with so many ways to prepare it. Our ground beef has just the right amount of fat to make it tender and flavorful. And grass-fed beef fat supplies your Omega 3's!

Organic Worcestershire Sauce – Crafted from organic spices and seasonings, this full-bodied organic Worcestershire sauce is zesty and delicious on all your favorite foods.

Harvest Haven Frozen Oven Fries – A delicious Harvest Haven product that gives you convenience without compromise. Simply spread frozen fries on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roast in 425° F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until done the way you like them. Or sprinkle with your favorite seasonings. Easy peasy!

L'Ancetre Organic Medium Cheddar Cheese, 325 g – A classic Canadian cheese! Made from organic unpasteurized milk, it is cream-colored and has a firm, smooth texture. Its delicately salty flavor and nutty, buttery finish, make this cheese perfect to enjoy on its own or in all sorts of recipes.

Harvest Haven Frozen Strawberries – Fill your kitchen with the wonderful aroma of summer. Picked at the peak of perfection, these wonderful berries are bursting with goodness and flavor. Blend into your favorite smoothie, make into a bright red sauce, bake in a tasty dessert, or thaw slightly for a refreshing snack.

Organic Icing Sugar, 454 g – Wholesome Organic Fair Trade Powdered Confectioners' Sugar is an excellent one-for-one replacement for conventional powdered sugar. Perfect for frostings, fillings, dusting, and baking, this truly wholesome powdered sugar captures a tiny bit of natural molasses in the extra-fine powder, making for a confectioners' sugar that's deliciously sweet and flavorful.

Made from organic sugarcane hand-harvested in South America, this Organic Fair Trade Powdered Confectioners' Sugar is sustainably grown and processed.

Please note, all ingredients in our recipes are organic.

The New New Baler

In the summer of 2015, Martin and James were working with a dilapidated baler – one that was in a condition of decay or partial ruin by neglect and abuse – trying to get the hay done between showers and breakdowns. They were learning patience.

Kurt Vonnegut's statement summed up their frustrations: "Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh since there is less cleaning up to do afterward."

Victor said, "My experience of farming has been more the case of always something fixing me."

The guys bought a "new to them" baler, which had some work to be done on it. They fixed the problems and it's been working well since.

Here's how they felt at the time. Doesn't this remind you of Pharrell Williams' Happy?

Last summer after more breakdowns with the stackliner, Martin was fed up. He started seriously considering a big round baler. No stackliner needed. However, he didn't pursue that thought.

Then, out of the blue, a few weeks ago a farm equipment salesman dropped by to see if we needed anything. Most salesmen are met with a rigorous interrogation about why we should buy something from them and sheepishly go on their way afterward.

But, this fellow had a different reception as Martin realized that he could ask him about a big round baler. However, that conversation didn't go far after Martin choked on the price of almost $80,000. To the salesman's credit, he bought a loaf of bread and has returned to buy more. He will be considered for any future equipment needs.

This sparked Martin's interest in looking for a used unit. There was an acceptable one about 3 hours away for $45,000.

Not knowing anything about round balers, Martin called a local dealership and told the salesman that he was just looking for information and didn't want to raise his expectations for a sale. The salesman appreciated the honesty and said he would find the information Martin wanted and get back to him.

As it so happened, the salesman's manager had just received a notice that the Claas company had a baler at another dealership that they wanted to clear out. The salesman was told, "Make this guy an offer he can't refuse…even cheaper than the used one he's looking at."

And they did. Martin bought the baler.

An hour after finalizing the deal, another farmer who had been considering the baler came to buy it and found it was sold.

When the baler was delivered, Martin learned about its history. It was a 2021 unit that a farmer had specially ordered to bale corn stalks. After a couple of bales, it didn't work the way he wanted it to, so demanded his money back. Because it's not the typical baler that farmers are used to, it sat on the dealership's lot for the past 3 years. The company didn't want it sitting around any longer and just wanted it to disappear.

And now we have it, and the guys are doing a happy dance.