News and Blog
I realize I just sent out the newsletter, but then I found this. Please take the 3 minutes it takes to watch this segment by Lou Dobbs.
We have had the absolute best weather this side of the equator! The grass is responding accordingly. It is growing at a staggering pace. Many would see the pastures and wonder why we do not cut, rake and bale it into hay. We prefer to let the cattle harvest their own meals! Andy moves the cow herd or "mob" daily. They leave behind them parasites, fly larva and a layer of all-natural fertilizer! They move ahead into a fresh "salad bar"! We have more steers that are fattening well.
We have just acquired a new piece of land through leasing. It is approximately 60 acres. The best part is the location. It is only 3 miles from us. This is a huge step toward our farm becoming more sustainable. The new ground is overgrown from lack of use. Much work needs to be done. We will be repairing existing fences and setting up the portable electric fencing. Most farmers would order herbicides and start up the tractor and bushhog to clear brush. We will be using the mob to do our clearing. I will be posting the "before" pictures soon.
In the News Again
Our farm has been featured in the Times Record of Northwest Arkansas. This is due to our being named as Polk County Farmers of the Year. Thanks to so many of you for your support and well wishes.
Food for Thought
I have been rereading the book by Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma. I have been struck again by his ability to bring right in your face the facts of our food system. The basis of our food system is narrowing down to corn. There are some forty-five thousand items in the average American supermarket and more than a quarter of them now contain corn. It becomes the feed that feeds the steers, pigs, chickens, lamb and fish. It is contained in the virtually any soft drink and processed food on the shelf. When it is processed, virtually all of it's nutrients and minerals are lost in the process it undergoes. It is chemicalized, heat treated, stablized, thickened, gelled, squeezed and colored. And it is in almost everything you eat, that is if your shopping cart is summarized by the internal areas of a supermarket.
I love corn! It is one of the few vegetables my son will eat. We love it on the cob, creamed or in stir fry. But when I eat it, I can still tell it is corn by it's shape, texture, color and size. This is a whole food. You can find whole foods on the perimeter of the supermarket, local farmer's market or even better, find a local farmer. Get your food as close to the land as possible. You, your family and local economy will become healthier!
More Food
Since I have bombarded you with information, now something a little easier to swallow. A delicous new way to cook a chuck roast.
Steak with Peppers and Onions
2-2 1/2 pound chuck roast 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper 3 tbsp coconut oil, or bacon grease
2 large onions sliced into 1/4" rings 2 large green bell peppers, sliced
2 large red bell peppers, sliced
Slice roast into "steak" slices. About 1/2" thick, tenderize steaks with a mallet. In a small bowl, combine mustard, coriander, salt and pepper. Rub half the mixture over both sides of steaks. Set aside remaining spice mix. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add steaks and cook 5 minutes per side for medium -rare, 7 for medium. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Wipe pan clean or not and add remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add onions and peppers and sprinkle with remaining spice mixture. Cook until vegetables are tender about 10 minutes. Serve meat with peppers and onions on the side or on top of homemade bread, toasted, or hoagie buns.
A New Connection
If any of you are connected with friends on facebook, look us up. Youngblood Grassfed Farm. Please join us as we seek to educate and inspire ourselves and others about how our food is grown and how this is beneficial to all.
Freezer Beef
I have a quarter of a beef, grassfed and finished in the freezer at the processors. I had a customer who is on a fixed income, unable to pick up the meat and had to back out of purchase at this time. It is approximately 100-115 lbs. of steaks, roasts and ground beef. The total price is $550. This includes processing and packaging. This comes to $4.78/lb. for 100% grassfed, hormone-free and antibiotic free beef, raised right here in the foothills of the Quachita Mountains.
Stay tuned for some upcoming news about "Variety Packs" I hope to have the information out to you soon. See you at the market or here on the farm!
Be Blessed, Tracy
Hello Farm Friends,
This has been the best weather this side of the equator! The grass is growing right before our eyes. The cattle, sheep, goats and pigs are staying true to their calling: harvesting grass!
Land of the Lease
Since our last newsletter, we have acquired a new place to lease. It is approximately 60 acres. It is overgrown and needs a lot of work to make it shine. We will begin by mending the existing fences then put up some electric fencing. Next, instead of ordering copious amounts of chemical fertilizer and herbicides, (which destroy soil organic matter), we will let the animals do the work for us. They will be mob grazed on the land, leaving natural fertilizer and munching down weeds and brush to get to the grass. I will take some "before" pictues soon.
The best thing about this place is it's location. It is only 5 minutes from our house. The other places we keep the sheep, goats and cattle are about 20 minutes away. This is a giant step into creating a more sustainable farm. We are very blessed to have acquired this acreage.
Food for Thought
I have been rereading the book by Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma. I have been struck again by his ability to bring right in your face the facts of our food system. The basis of our food system is narrowing down to corn. There are some forty-five thousand items in the average American supermarket and more than a quarter of them now contain corn. It becomes the feed that feeds the steers, pigs, chickens, lamb and fish. It is contained in the virtually any soft drink and processed food on the shelf. When it is processed, virtually all of it's nutrients and minerals are lost in the process it undergoes. It is chemicalized, heat treated, stablized, thickened, gelled, squeezed and colored. And it is in almost everything you eat, that is if your shopping cart is summarized by the internal areas of a supermarket.
I love corn! It is one of the few vegetables my son will eat. We love it on the cob, creamed or in stir fry. But when I eat it, I can still tell it is corn by it's shape, texture, color and size. This is a whole food. You can find whole foods on the perimeter of the supermarket, local farmer's market or even better, find a local farmer. Get your food as close to the land as possible. You, your family and local economy will become healthier!
More Food
Since I have bombarded you with information, now something a little easier to swallow. A delicous new way to cook a chuck roast.
Steak with Peppers and Onions
2-2 1/2 pound chuck roast 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper 3 tbsp coconut oil, or bacon grease
2 large onions sliced into 1/4" rings 2 large green bell peppers, sliced
2 large red bell peppers, sliced
Slice roast into "steak" slices. About 1/2" thick, tenderize steaks with a mallet. In a small bowl, combine mustard, coriander, salt and pepper. Rub half the mixture over both sides of steaks. Set aside remaining spice mix. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add steaks and cook 5 minutes per side for medium -rare, 7 for medium. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Wipe pan clean or not and add remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add onions and peppers and sprinkle with remaining spice mixture. Cook until vegetables are tender about 10 minutes. Serve meat with peppers and onions on the side or on top of homemade bread, toasted, or hoagie buns.
A New Connection
If any of you are connected with friends on facebook, look us up. Youngblood Grassfed Farm. Please join us as we seek to educate and inspire ourselves and others about how our food is grown and how this is beneficial to all.
Stay tuned for some upcoming news about "Variety Packs" I hope to have the information out to you soon. See you at the market or here on the farm!
Be Blessed, Tracy
Fresh, Wholesome and finally HERE!!! We picked up the beef, lamb and goat from the processor today. I will be coming to Texarkana tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28th. I will be in DeQueen, Wednesday, July 29th and Mena, Thursday, July 30th. Please feel free to email or call if you need something pre-ordered, so you don't have to worry about me running out before you get there!
Have a great evening, Tracy
Hello Friends,
How do you survive the heat?? Stay inside, (not likely around here), or use a cold neck wrap. When Ben was in Little Rock a few weekends ago, we bought some of this type of neck wrap. It soaks up water, cool water, stays plump and cool for a long while. There is also a shammy-type cloth that is a cross between rubber and velvet! When it is soaked in cold water it is a heavenly relief and can be worn on your head or around your neck. The brand is Frogg Toggs. We keep the neck wraps in the fridge and use them when we remember to! Andy is building fence today and I do believe he forgot his.
Now for the Good News/Bad News: The Good News: Delicious, grassfed and aged steaks, roasts, kabobs, and beef breakfast sausage are on the way! I will pick up our harvest from the processor on Monday, July 27th.
The Bad News: We are pretty much out of delicious, pastured pork and grassfed lamb! Due to this, I will not be coming to the markets this week or next ( July 15-25 )
Lord willing, we will be returning to market on TUESDAY, July 28th in Texarkana. Wednesday, July 29th in DeQueen, and Thursday, July 30th in Mena. I will be coming to Texarkana twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays.
We added the new items to our product pricing page on our website. Check it out and let me know if I can bring you a special order!
I research a lot of information on the internet. Some of my information comes by way of other farmers doing what we do. One such farm is Rockin H. We have a lot in common. In reading their newsletter this week, I learned of a website called Pesticide Action Network North America. PANNA is an organization that promotes the elimination of hazardous pesticides. They have an amazing and detailed site that lists and documents uses and amounts of pesticides in many fruits and vegetables we consume without question. Check it out at http://www.whatsonmyfood.org
I do hope you have a blessed and productive week! See you at the end of July!!
Tracy
On Sunday, July 5, we took a load of beeves, goats and lambs to the processor. The beef is aged for 14+ days. We will have our meat back on July 27th and I will start to the Texarkana Gateway Farmer's Market on Tuesday, July 28th, followed by DeQueen and then Mena. We hope to see you there!
4th of July
Grillin' Special
This week only:
Premium, Grassfed Ground Beef
$4.75/lb.
or
if you have a crowd coming:
$4.50/lb for 10 or more lbs.
(regularly $5.00/lb. )
See you at the markets!!!
"Go ahead and eat with your fingers, the food's clean..."
Farm News
We were truly honored this past month to be named the Polk County Farm Family of the Year. To be truthful, since we were both kids growing up in farming families, this has been a goal we wished to attain. We were surprised when it came because in our minds we are still so far from our vision of what our farm can be. Life isn't about the finish line, I guess, it's about the climb to get there. So we are blessed by this honor. We have been interviewed to "compete" against 8 other counties for District Farm Family of the Year. In July, we will have a large feature in the Mena Star. We are not a spotlight kind of family, so this is all a little overwhelming!
Meat News
Grassfed meat is an incredible source of yet unexplored (unpublished results, rather) benefits to the consumer, animal, farmer and land. We are appreciative that you have given us the opportunity to allow our meats to grace your tables, picnics and lunchboxes. We are redirecting our operations to adjust and meet the demand. But this is a slower process than some may realize. We have sold out of some cuts of the pork and lamb. We still have plenty of our premium ground beef. I will be at the DeQueen and Mena Markets this week. I will not be able to be in Texarkana on Saturday. Our son Ben is shooting in the Arkansas Jr. Olympics Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
Coming July/August we will have the latest addition to our market list: BEEF steaks and roasts. This has been a much anticipated arrival. We will also be processing more goat and lamb.
Animals
Working animals is actually a family affair! The kids are a huge part of the operation of the farm. Last week, we bought a small herd of goats. Matti went with us, while Ben was gone on a judging trip. She caught and held her fair share of goats to load on the trailer. I wish I had had time to take pictures, but I was loading goats also! Later in the week, we had to castrate the ram lambs. The kids, well....... here's the proof:
Matti probably wouldn't be too thrilled about this particular view of her, so let's keep it to ourselves!
A Little Relaxin'
This past weekend we went camping nearby with great friends! We had a lot of laughs and some surprises. Andy turned 40 on June 15. We had a surprise party for him at the lake. Can you guess what we served?
Hamburgers, of course!!
Have a great day. Be Blessed, Tracy
the food's clean......"
If you can't say this about what you are eating, let us help you. We will be at your local farmer's market each week. We have fresh, authentic grassfed ground beef, many different cuts of lamb, and tasty, pastured, pork. We have sold out of bacon and all cuts of goat. If you need something, give me a call or email.
*********Coming Soon: BEEF: Steaks, Roasts, Ribs, Brisket*******
June is shaping up to be a productive month. We are blessed with timely rains for gardening as well as baling hay. The sheep, goats and pigs are changing free, solar energy (grass) for meat for your table. How helpful of them!
Andy is trying a new grazing technique. It is called mob grazing. All our cow/calf pairs are put into smaller paddocks where they consume all and leave a nice layer of fertilizer. This is more intensive management of the herd, but with huge payoffs for the pastures as well as the cattle. The herd is moved to new pastures or fresh paddocks daily.
Yesterday, Andy and Ben moved all the cows and calves by trailer loads to another field. Ben was a tremendous help. He seems to have matured into quite the young man over night. Just last night, while he was working with his show calves in the barn, I was trying to pen that beautiful jersey heifer calf. We pen the calves at night to be able to milk their mamas in the morning. This calf does not like to be seperated from her mama. Matti and I were doing our best to edge the calf slowly up the lane we have built along side the milking stanchion. The calf jumped crazily, nearly kicking us, and landed side ways IN the milking stanchion trough. Ben tromped over, lifted the calf out and shuffled her on to her pen. He looked at us as if to say "Girls, humph" I looked at him and wondered where my boy went that used to play with dinosaur toys and puppies. He is truly becoming a man with the muscles and work ethic to prove it. Progress is indeed painful at times!
I have shared with many of you how we came to farm more naturally. We are committed to providing healthy food for family and friends. We have made our share of mistakes, some of which we are still obligated and committed to, yet are not truly delighted in their function at this time. We are working to make better choices and decisions. Our family has been honored to be chosen as the Polk County Farm Family of the Year for 2009. We are blessed by your support, encouragement and friendship.
The Youngblood's
Andy, Tracy, Ben and Matti
Hello Farm Friends,
We are ecstatic to see the sunshine! We can almost hear the grass and vegetables growing!
We are in full swing at the markets. On Wednesdays, you will find us in DeQueen, on Thursdays in Mena and on Saturdays in Texarkana. I will be in Texarkana on Tuesdays later in the market season. We have fresh pork, lamb, a limited amount of goat, and ground beef. If you want something special, please email me and I will put it together before I get to market. I am still learning how to stock my smaller freezer from the larger one. It is still a guessing game as to what will sell the best that particular day.
Thanks to Andy, Ben and Bub (Andy's brother), electricians and refridgeration specialists, the freezer is set up, rewired, tuned, tried and truly running!! Here were some of the documented efforts:
We also have created new paddocks for the pigs. They have been turned into forested areas to graze and root for nuts, roots, grass and forbs. This diet is completed by a very small ration of grain. Our newest pig, Tina K. has a new litter of babies. This is her first and we are very proud of her efforts so far.
She had 12 piglets, one of which was still born. She is raising 11 babies! She is a Tamworth/Yorkshire cross. The piglets are 3/4 Tamworth, 1/4 York.
Last week we had an evening home (finally), so I was able to fix a meal for the family. We had lamburgers and hamburgers. Our ground lamb is packaged in one pound packages and wasn't enough for our family of four. I made 3 large lamb patties in which I had mixed minced parsley, rosemary, pepper, seasoned salt, garlic salt and some Italian spices. I cooked them in my cast iron on top of the stove.
I mixed up a special mix of mayo, had fresh lettuce, pepper jack cheese and homemade wheat buns. I gave the kids a choice of which burger they wanted to make. They both chose the lamburger. Ben made one of each! Andy and I had to half one, just so we could get a bite!! It was heavenly! Matti exclaimed, "I am going to eat slow, just to make it last longer." That is a first for Matti, she does nothing SLOW!
We look forward to providing your family with truly nutritious, whole food. Thank you for the opportunity!
The Youngbloods, Andy, Tracy, Ben and Matti
