Good Food from Healthy Farms
Archive for September, 2010
Panic in the Valley
Sep 30th
There’s some panic in the valley, but not at Tahoma Farms. 300 Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins are out of the far corners of the field and being strategically placed around the children’s garden for Saturday’s Harvest Fest.
(If you missed the announcement and coupon that was printed on your newsletter the last few weeks, here is a link to view event details and a printable coupon.)
I say panic because it wasn’t until an hour ago that we had any reliable count of how many pumpkins were in the field; everything is generally late this year, and so all of the winter squash plants are still green and growing – when normally the plants would have died back by now – making it difficult to see what the harvest looks like. Which also means that there is still a lot of green pumpkins. And it isn’t just a problem at Tahoma Farms. Growers throughout the valley are reporting about 50% fewer pumpkins this year, with many of the big farms buying pumpkins by the truckload from Eastern Washington.
Our availability list that goes out to restaurants, grocery stores and wholesalers is the longest it’s been all year – with over 50 crops ready right now – and all will be on display and for sale, along with apples, pears, peaches and other fruit. We have great activities for kids planned. I will be grilling corn and driving the hay wagon all day. And it’s going to be sunny! We’d love to see you there.
image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/teo/
Terra Organics Podcast 03: Harvest Fest 2010
Sep 24th
All you wanted to know and more about Terra Organics and Tahoma Farms’ Harvest Fest 2010.
Check out the facebook event.
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Harvest Fest is A’Coming
Sep 23rd
You wouldn’t know it by looking outside right now, but the near-term forecast looks pretty good, and our main hope is that the nice weather holds throughout next week so that we have (at least partial) blue skies for the HarvestFest event at Tahoma Farms on Saturday, October 2, from 10 to 4. (And so that our pumpkins and other winter squash have a chance to fully ripen…)
If you missed the announcement and coupon that was printed on your newsletter the last two weeks, here is a link to view event details and a printable coupon.
We are also looking for a few volunteers to help the event run smoothly. If you’d like to be showered with appreciations and have a good time working behind the scenes at HarvestFest, please click here.
In the mean time, come on down to Thursday Market today or next Thursday (501 E 34th St) for the last two McKinley Hill neighborhood open-air market days of the year. We have Honeycrisps, Peaches, Pluots, Corn, Eggplant and Tahoma Garlic on sale!
Sincerely,
Dan
Our Eggs?
Sep 21st
At Terra Organics, we jump on the opportunity to engage with our customers and are always happy to answer any questions about the food products we’re bringing to your doorstep. We just received a question about our Stiebrs Farms organic eggs. The questions:
Are the Organic eggs from Steibrs pastured? Are they allowed to roam outside, grazing in the pastures?
Steibrs’ chickens graze in pastures all day and are brought inside only at night for their safety. Furthermore their production is Certified Humane by Humane Farm Animal Care. From Steibrs:
Our farm fresh Go-Organic eggs come from our special flock of organically raised and grown hens. We mill the feed ourselves, in our own certified organic feed mill, using the finest organic mixture of corn, wheat, barley and soy.
To learn more about Stiebrs Farms, check out their website – http://www.stiebrsfarms.com/. If you have any questions for Terra, go ahead and contact us at info@terra-organics.com.
Ask Dan: Why We’re Not a CSA
Sep 16th
According to Wikipedia, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), “is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit….”. Sounds pretty close to the Terra Organics business model, right? The difference, and the reason we’ve never used the term CSA to describe what it is that we do, is that we are an intermediary between several farming operations – even though we do have a farm operation of our own – and that the definitive aspect of a CSA is the shared risks and benefits. More >
Help Support Family Farms, Support the Tester Amendment
Sep 15th
The bill
The Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), a bill which will place stricter regulations on farms that process their crops, is on its way to the Senate floor. In many ways, with additional safety protocols, the bill situates food as a security concern and allows the government more control over food distribution and production.
The bad
While placing stricter restrictions on crop processing isn’t inherently bad as it helps to crack down on corporate offenders, the bill could have seriously damaging ramifications to small to mid-size farms and small food processing facilities who market their products direct to consumers, stores or restaurants within their region. That means, some of the small farm products you love will have a much harder time getting into stores and your kitchen. Those small farms will also be forced to pay additional fees for required regulations and tests.
Further, smaller farms are what make-up a healthy regional agriculture system, and S.510 could seriously damage the prosperity of these farms/facilities and thus hinder the health and sustainability of our agriculture. If small farms are required to live up to the same regulations as the corporate producers, because those big brands have more resources, it becomes easier for them to take over the market and hurt our agricultural diversity. That loss of diversity is detrimental to the growing local movement and whole concept of sustainable agriculture in the United States.
The solution
Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) has sponsored an amendment that would exempt those small farm/facilities with incomes under $500,000. This provides our local farmers with the freedom to continue to provide their products under the existing safety regulations. That doesn’t mean these small farmers and any less safe, just that they will not be subject to the weight of mass regulation and can continue to provide unique product to their region.
Tester frames his amendment well in a press release:
“Let’s face it, dangerous food-borne outbreaks don’t start with family agriculture. Food produced on that scale shouldn’t be subject to the same expensive federal regulations as some big factory that mass produces food for the entire country.”
Please, help support family farms by supporting the Tester Amendment.
How you can help
Call your Senators today and ask them to support the Tester Amendment.
- Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code.
- Click on your Senator’s name, and then on the contact tab for their phone number. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator’s office: 202-224-3121.
- Once connected ask to speak to the legislative staff person responsible for agriculture. If they are unavailable leave a voice mail message. Be sure to include your name and phone number.
The message is simple. “I am a constituent of Senator___________ and I am calling to ask him/her to support the Tester Amendment and to include the Tester language in the Manager’s Amendment to the food safety bill. The Tester Amendment will exempt small farm and food facilities and farmers who direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants. We need a food safety bill that cracks down on corporate bad actors without erecting new barriers to family farms and the growing healthy food movement. Our continuing economic recovery demands that we preserve these market opportunities for small and mid-sized family farms.
Thank you for your support!
Resources:
Learn more about how you can help
What are Cranberry Beans?
Sep 10th
We know the drill. It’s 4:30 in the morning. You’re eagerly waiting for an email from Terra Organics informing you about what’s in your box this week. Finally, the moment arrives. You squeeze the mouse with anticipation and click down hard as a droplet of sweat runs down your forehead. “Potatoes, Nectarines, Plums…” but what is this? “Cranberry beans?” What on Earth are Cranberry beans, you mutter to yourself.
The answer has arrived. Cranberry beans are a shelled bean that are often white with cranberry colored spots (hence the name). The beans are a fall crop, fibrous and taste like a mild walnut.
In recipes, they make a fine replacement for legumes, and work well in salads or stews.
Knowledge is power.
Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-cranberry-beans.htm
Times are A’Changing
Sep 10th
As we transition from summer to fall, it becomes increasingly difficult to know which side of the divide we should be looking to when deciding the box contents. Apples are in relative abundance right now, but there’s still a fair amount of stone fruit available too; melons are still being picked, but the quality is deteriorating; blueberries are available, but very expensive. It’s the same story for vegetables, with the last of the summer crops of varying degree of quality and availability. We prefer to make a gradual shift into fall, and hang onto summer – at least in the kitchen – for just a little while longer. But all the while we have to make sure we maintain the same standards of quality.
And, I have to say, I think we have a couple of really high quality, exciting things for next week. The first is one of the last local tomatoes we will see for the year — pints of sungolds and other mixed varieties of cherry tomatoes in the majority of the boxes. The second is a local grape! The sweet petite variety comes to us from Rocky Fence Vineyards in Emmett, Idaho. I hope you enjoy some of the last tastes of summer!
Harvest Fest Preview
Sep 6th
Here’s a sneak preview of all of the activities we have lined up for Harvest Fest, at Tahoma Farms in Orting, October 2, 10 to 4.
- Pumpkin Patch and Hay Rides
- Scavenger Hunt
- Market Stand, with all of our farm fresh, fall staples
- Live music all day
- PCC Chef’s Cooking Demonstration and Samples at 1pm
- Cascade Harvest Coalition and PCC Farmland Trust Info Booths
- Corn on the cob and fresh apple cider
- Kid’s activities, including face painting and crafts
It’s still a month away, but be sure to mark it on your calendar now! And look for a coupon in your box in the coming weeks. We hope to see you there.
Terra Organics Podcast 02: Stop Pasteurizing Me
Sep 2nd
In our second podcast, Elliot and Dan discuss the history as well as the pros and cons of pasteurizing products like milk and fruit juice. Definitely not one to miss.
(WARNING: Due to a glitch in the Matrix, our audio isn’t of the highest quality. It won’t happen again.)
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