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Farm Updates

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

July 4, 2020

Good Morning and hello from the farm,

June is an "extra" busy month on the farm - especially for Beth - as that is when our garden vegetables are ready. As you probably guessed, when it is ready you have to make time to harvest and then comes the canning, etc. You cannot procrastinate or simply put off till another day.

When it comes to varieties like zucchini an extra day or two past optimal and you have an overly large specimen that is typically shared with the hens.

Now that July has arrived, most of the garden is only a memory.

Speaking of gardens - did you plant a garden this year? The Most Radical Act You Can Do IS Grow Your Own Food. This is the title from a recent article by Ray Archuleta a.k.a. The Soil Guy. Ray is partners in Understanding AG with Dr. Allen Williams and Gabe Brown.

Ray begins the article by illustrating how fragile our food system is and list three primary reasons. Bottom line - less than 1% of our population farm who feed the other 99%.

Then he recognizes the Dervaes Family Urban Homestead that only requires 1/10 acre lot. They grow over 400 different veggies, herbs, flowers, and berries. Plus, they harvest over 2,000 eggs and up to 50 lbs of honey. The homestead provides 99% of their food. The balance is sold providing annual gross sales greater than $20,000 per year. Read the article here!

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Let me encourage you to learn more and get started preparing for your 2021 garden!

“In our society, growing food ourselves has become the most radical of acts. It is truly the only effective protest, one that can—and will—overturn the corporate powers that be. By the process of directly working in harmony with nature, we do the one thing most essential to change the world we change ourselves.” Jules Dervaes, Founder (1947-2016)

Last Week I introduced you to our new pigs

This week, I set up their rotation through the pasture and gave them the first section. They have really settled in and made themselves right at home and are enjoying the thick diverse forages available. I missed a great photo of them Wednesday, but will try again this week.

July 4th Independence Day Celebration

Most of you know that I served 36 years in the USAF and retired a full Colonel in June 2015. Needless to say Patriotism runs deep & strong in my family. I am proud to be an American and thankful for the wisdom of Our Founding Fathers in writing our Constitution and Declaration of Independence that guarantees liberties and rights we have enjoyed.

I'm reminded that just because we "have these guarantees does not mean we "always will". Just like Our Founding Fathers who risked and sacrificed their lives and possessions to bring us the Constitution and Declaration of Independence as well as the many lives lost in wars over the years to guard our liberties and rights - now we have a responsibility to stand up for our American values or risk loosing them.

Until next week,

Ben Simmons

More from the blog

Real Health Is NOT A Pill. It's A Practice!

Two Great Must Read Articles – Typically I don't make a big deal about articles we have read, but these two are so good that I felt they needed to be shared. The first is by Joel Salatin titled "Food Think" that is part of his The Lunatic Farmer blog. You can read the full article at this link. The second article is one Beth forwarded to me from the Health Viewpoints section of Epoch Times titled "Americans Spend Trillions on Health Care but Remain Unwell - Here's Why" Dr. Yang, FAPA, a board certified psychiatrist, begins by stating the difference between treating disease and building true health lies in a proactive and preventative lifestyle. Note - Beth and I would agree with other folks who commented that his article is spot on and very important for folks to read and understand. You can read at this link.

What's Your Favorite Sausage?

Sausages – so, we are looking to our customers for Sausage Inspiration! Since we added pigs to our farm in 2015 (wow- 10 years ago) we have sold basically the same five sausage flavors. The Patty & Regular Link sell pretty good, the Cajun & Cracked Black Pepper sell fair and the Jalapeno not so much. When you look around there are many various flavors available.

A Really Cool Farm Story

Our Really Cool Farm Story – To really understand I need to take you back to April 2024 when we took delivery on 23 heavy bred Red Angus cows from a WY ranch. If you are new to our newsletter, we purchased them from a ranch that converted to Red Angus in 1960 when they bought their stock from the ranch that started the Red Angus breed. And, have kept a closed herd since inception except for two years. This means these cows should be as close to the original breed as there is. When they were unloaded onto our farm they really kept their distance from us. Granted, our management style is different than the ranch where they came from - basically they were turned out onto the range in the Spring and