The wider road...

One of things I have loved about driving to our farm is the country lane. One of the things our customers and friends have not loved is the narrow country lane. We now have a wide country lane for all to enjoy. The road is finished and the bank is protected with the beginning of newly planted grass. No more worrying if you are going to meet someone along the way, if you do there is plenty of room to pass.

There is also plenty to choose from on the market. We have fresh butter and cheese in. We have newly processed chickens, pork and beef. Rendered pork lard for your frying and sautéing needs. Lovely spices and seasonings from Home Appetit and much, much more.

This week we want to highlight Snack N Joy Gluten free baking. Aimee makes a wonderful, fresh milled flour mixture called BAM, from Buckwheat, Amaranth and Millet. She makes delicious muffins, cookies, brownies and cheese crackers. Not only does she have the finished baked goods but she is also offering the GF flour and a baking mix that you only have to add an egg, liquid and oil to and any other ingredients for sweet or savory baked goods. This is very easy to bake with and the results are delicious and healing. This week she is offering a free sample of her product when you buy either the flour blend or the baking mix. I hope you give her products a try. you will be surprised at how delicious gluten free baking can be.

Don’t forget honey orders are due this week! Let me know if you need an order form.

Blessings,
Mary Beth Sellars

Honey time, New Driveway

It is time to order honey again. For those interested, this is a cooperative effort in which we order honey from Blue Ridge Honey Company. We get a great price on honey on great honey.
If you are interested in ordering, e-mail me and I will e-mail you an order form…I cannot get the form attached into this e-mail.
We have Clover, Wildflower, Blueberry, American Holley and Galberry to choose from.

I need the orders back before the 12th and the honey will be delivered around the end of the 3rd week in August. I will send an e-mail reminder when it is delivered.

Our new neighbors have been extremely busy and we have been blessed by their efforts in the form of a new driveway. They will put the finishing touches on it this week. It is now very wide most of the way to the farm so no more worrying if you are going to meet someone on the road and have to back up or pull over and fall over the embankment. We hope you will come visit us soon.

Blessings to all,
Mary Beth

Don't forget to place your orders.

The market closes in 8 hours so place your orders as soon as possible.
For those of you that resist driving out due to the road, you are in for a very pleasant surprise. We now have a two lane driveway with new gravel on it. Not so scary when you meet someone on the driveway now.
Blessings and come see us!

Mary Beth

JNA Farm market is open for ordering.

The market is open for ordering. The freezers are stocked with wonderful meats, the vegetables are fresh, and the baked items are some of the best you will find. We also have a truly delicious gluten free baking mix, flour blend, and baked items for those avoiding gluten.
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Mary Beth

Don't forget to order.

Don’t forget to place your order before 8:00 tonight. We have so many wonderful summer vegetables available along with all the delicious desserts. Add a note to your order if you want buttermilk.
You really do make a difference in the life of your farmers and they make a difference for you.
Blessings,
Mary Beth

The market is open for ordering.

It has been an interesting week and I wanted to share some information and thoughts with you;

90% of Americans support GMO labeling of food yet 275 House members voted to approve HR. 1599. According to GovTrack’s Bill Summary:

The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the distribution and labeling related to bioengineered foods (often referred to as genetically modified foods or GMOs).

It would require food producers to notify FDA of any bioengineered foods intended to be sold interstate and would disallow the sale any bioengineered foods not deemed safe by FDA. Although the bill +would prevent FDA from requiring the labeling of bioengineered foods +only on the grounds that the foods are bioengineered, FDA could require that alterations of nutritional properties, allergens, or other characteristics of food be listed on food labeling. Regulations would also prohibit the labeling of food as not bioengineered if it had been planted with bioengineered seeds. Dairy products from animals fed bioengineered foods and foods developed using bioengineered processing aids or enzymes could still be labelled as non-bioengineered. The bill would also prevent states from issuing their own food labeling requirements for bioengineered foods.

The bill also establishes for a certification program for those wanting to be labeled non GMO, much like the “Organic” Certification the USDA administers. More expense for the grower to ‘prove’ their product is good while Big Ag hides all the chemicals they use and gets government subsidies.

I talked with a local farmer this week that is considering getting out of the Pastured Poultry business. It is so much work, so much time and expense to process the birds, he lost 3 mobile pens in a storm, spent 3 hours rounding up birds and sheltering them before he had to load more birds to drive 6 hours through the night to a processing facility. There he unloads, spends another night waiting for the birds to be processed and loaded so that he can drive them home again. Another farmer recently lost a large turkey shelter due to a storm, no birds were lost but the time and expense to build and rebuild should be recouped. There is no insurance for these events.
When we farm, we expect problems, emergencies, sunny days and rainy days. We are willing to take the risk because good food is important to us. We love what we do and want to make it our living. Farmers should be able to charge a fair price for our products and be fairly compensated for the work done. Sadly, most small farmers go out of business due to the tremendous amount of time required to grow, harvest, process, store, market and sell their products to the few people willing to pay the fair price. One bad growing season can often mean the end due to the small margins they operate on.
If you care about your food, your health, the health of the land and the local economy, I encourage you to buy straight from your local farmer. There are many wonderful CSA’s, on line markets, farmers markets, and roadside stands that sell good food, truthfully. Visit the farm, know what you are purchasing, ask questions. In light of the passing of HR 1599, the government obviously does not care about what the people want but your local farmer does.

Blessings,
Mary Beth

Don't forget to place your orders.

The market closes tonight at 8:00pm so don’t forget to get your orders in. If you want to add to your existing order, re-open the order and you can easily add to it rather than creating a new order.
Spaghetti squash is available this week and makes a wonderful base for lasagna rather than using wheat noodles.
Enjoy!
Mary Beth

The on-line market is open for ordering.

The market is open for ordering. Pick-up is Wednesday from 12-4.

We have fresh meat from Holden Creek Farm, Joyful Noise Acres Farm and Cedar Rock Dairy. The freezers will be full of pork chicken and beef.

If you are interested in buttermilk, please leave a note in the comment section at check out and Sam will bring you a half gallon. It makes the best cornbread!

Snack-N-Joy has added freshly milled flour to the market. For those that are truly gluten free but desiring the nutrition not found in rice, she mills Buckwheat, Amaranth and Millet for a unique flour blend. She has baking mixes available also, just add an egg and liquid and you are ready to bake. This mix is for everyone wanting to return to healthy baked goods.

Blessings and see you Wednesday.

Mary Beth

Don't forget to place your orders before 8:00 tonight.

The market has so many delightful foods and vegetables to offer this week. Fresh herbs abound, think Pesto, and the slicing cucumbers from Weedy Soil Farm can go into tomatoes and Vidalia onion salad, dill and White Balsamic Vinegar, or chopped salad. I love cucumbers!

*Joyful Noise Acres Farm *has plenty of fresh pork in along with a half hog for those that want to stock the freezer with delicious pasture raised pork. We also have ground lamb, skirt steaks – excellent on the grill then sliced thin.

Don’t forget to send me a note if you want to add buttermilk to your order this week.

Blessings and thank you for supporting your local farmers.
Mary Beth

The on-line market is open for ordering.

We have some wonderful bakers on our market. Riversong Bakery is a treasure from another time and place. Sara bakes from recipes of her Mother and Grandmother using the fresh and healthful ingredients of today. If you are looking for a special treat to go with a cup of coffee, tea or fresh milk, try the fig bars or Blueberry Walnut Cobbler.

Cedar Rock Dairy has the best milk, for pet consumption only. If you are looking for buttermilk, please add a message to your order of how many half gallons you want. We cannot list it on the market due to regulatory constraints.

We have a fresh order of cheese in from Meadow Valley Farm. Mozzarella, tomato, Basil and balsamic Vinegar can’t be beat!

Thank you for supporting your local farmers. If you don’t, who will?

Blessings,
Mary Beth