All the little things add up to happy, productive cows:

Plenty of breathing room. A comfortable bed. No traffic jams getting into the milking parlor. Smooth barn floors that are easy on the feet. Periodic pedicures. Just a few of the simple things that can make cows happier and help them produce more milk. Our farmers make sure, for example, that every cow has her own stall with plenty of room to lie down, and they don’t ask the cows to wait long in a holding area outside the milking parlor. Cows make more milk while they’re sitting down eating (which encourages blood flow) than when they’re standing around waiting to be milked.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

When Jackie first met George almost 30 years ago, George’s egg business — Maple Meadow Farm — was one of seventeen egg producers in Vermont. Today, George and Jackie’s farm is the last one left. In the next few weeks, Five Acre Farms will be helping to bring Maple Meadow Farm to a wider local audience.

http://maplemeadowfarmeggs.com/

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21, sample Vermont-made foods at the Local Foods Showcase, presented by the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) on the grounds of High Mowing Organic Seeds. Just one of the highlights of Kingdom Farm & Food Days, co-sponsored by High Mowing, Pete’s Greens, the Center for an Agricultural Economy, NECI and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.

http://www.kingdomfarmandfood.org/

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Visit organic vegetable farm Pete’s Greens this Saturday, Aug. 20, for special events as part of the 2011 Kingdom Farm & Food Days.

Don’t miss the Saturday lineup at Pete’s:

1:00 and 2:30: Farm and greenhouse tours.

3:30: Live music by local bluegrass band the Mud City Ramblers.

4:00: Pig roast and potluck picnic featuring Pete’s organic vegetables and much more.

Great way to work up your appetite: Take a 15-mile or 30-mile un-timed dirt-road bike tour sponsored by Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Starting early afternoon, these rides will tour local farms and wind up at Pete’s Greens.

To learn more about Pete’s: http://www.petesgreens.com.

For more information about the weekend: http://www.kingdomfarmandfood.org.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Why are some egg shells stronger then others? Well, it’s all about the calcium. The eggshell wall is surrounded in calcium. A chicken produces the same amount of calcium around each egg, no matter what size the oval is. As the egg gets bigger, there’s less calcium to go around so the shell becomes weaker. Hens with poor diets produce weak eggshells.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Good sweet corn is around these days in the Northeast. It should be sweet and bring the smell of the field into your kitchen. If the corn is starchy rather than sugary, it means it’s old. If you can’t eat it raw, it ain’t any good.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Brown eggs: brown chickens.

White eggs: white chickens.

Not more complicated than that.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

In 1970, there were nearly 650,000 dairy farms in the United States. Today there are fewer than 70,000. Do you know where your milk comes from? Know your farmer. Keep farmers farming.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Young hens are called pullets. They start as chicks, become pullets — basically teenagers — and then around 18 weeks old, they become hens when they start laying. As the hens mature, their eggs get bigger. Hens between 40 weeks and 72 weeks old are considered in their prime laying period.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Farmers have completed a second cutting of hay, and many have done a third. So the question remains: Do you do one more cutting in the Fall and leave the grass short, or do you leave it long over winter and let the first cutting next year come in stronger? Don McEachron is leaning t0wards the latter — a better first cut next year.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Lots of apples on the trees these days getting ready to ripen at Champlain Orchards, a 100-year-old family-owned orchard and vegetable farm. Thanks to the orchard’s sheltered spot, recent hailstorms in the region didn’t do much damage, and high heat like we saw last week might bring this middle Vermont farm apples with more intense flavor. Check out the website for more information about the 40 varieties of apples, and cider too.

http://www.champlainorchards.com/

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Most of the broccoli grown in the U.S. comes from the West Coast and, in many cases, has a long way to travel to the supermarket. As NPR reported this week, a group of farmers, the USDA and a consortium of universities have joined together to launch “The East Coast Broccoli Project,” an effort to make broccoli a fresh, local crop on the East Coast.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139220009/eastern-u-s-farmers-hope-to-break-into-broccoli-business

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Corn prices in the U.S. have soared over the past few years: They averaged about $2.00/bushel in 2006, had risen to $4.25/bushel by 2008, and are around $6.75/bushel today. All the more reason for Northeast farmers of all stripes to grow their own feed if they can. Agriculture too dependent on off-farm inputs continues to suffer at the whim of arbitrary commodity markets.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local. TM

We’ve known Gordon and Jane Ridgway and their organic vegetable farm since 1990. The wide range of vegetables they grow is available at their farm stand on Town Street in Cornwall, or visit them at the farmers markets in Cornwall and Kent.

There just aren’t many people who have been farming organically longer then Gordon. He doesn’t talk a lot about doing it; he just does it.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Five Acre Farms served milk (and doughnuts:) ) to day campers in Larchmont, NY this week.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Find our milk at Fairway’s brand new E. 86th Street store, beginning today. Check out store location and hours here:

 http://www.fairwaymarket.com/pages.php?pageid=118

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Excellent list of Good Things in Milk, courtesy of Nina Planck:

• Complete protein to build and repair tissues and bones
• Vitamin A for healthy skin, eyes, bones and teeth
• Vitamin D to aid calcium and phosphorus absorption and for bones and teeth
• Thiamine to help turn carbohydrates into energy and aid appetite and growth
• Riboflavin for healthy skin, eyes and nerves
• Niacin for growth and development, healthy nerves and digestion
• Vitamin B6 to build body tissues, produce antibodies and prevent heart disease
• Vitamin B12 for healthy red blood cells, nerves and digestion, and to prevent heart disease
• Pantothenic acid to turn carbohydrates and fat into energy
• Folic acid to promote the formation of red blood cells and prevent birth defects and heart disease
• Calcium to make strong bones and teeth; also aids heartbeat, muscle and nerve function
• Magnesium for strong bones and teeth
• Phosphorus for strong bones and teeth
• Zinc for tissue repair, growth and fertility

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

In the Northeast:

Now being picked: assorted salad greens, cucumbers, zucchini, string beans and Cherokee trail of tears pole beans. Melons, too: musk, cantaloupe, watermelon. Lots of flowers appearing on winter squash plants sown in late spring: on track for the October harvest.

Seeing early fruit on tomato plants and getting a sense for how the crop will turn out this year. On the lookout for early and middle stage insects and early blight that wilts leaves. Eyes still peeled for horn worms that can be a threat to tomatoes, and for flea beetles that chew tiny holes in lettuce.

Out at the farm stand, more and more visitors are stopping by as the height of the summer vacation season nears.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

There are, of course, many reasons. Here’s just one to start:

The taste, quality and nutritional value of milk and eggs depends in large part on the diet of the cows and chickens that produced them. Food from chickens and cows that eat their greens (what they’re supposed to eat) are significantly higher in healthy Omega-3 fats and also have more vitamins and antioxidants. In fact, research has shown that eggs from pastured hens can contain as much as 10 times more Omega-3’s than eggs from factory hens.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

In A Reporter at Large, “TOMATOES” (The New Yorker, Jan. 24, 1977), Tom Whiteside, wondering why he can’t buy a truly fresh tomato, sets out to learn why supermarket tomatoes are pale pink, tough and tasteless. What he discovers is a compelling reminder, nearly 35 years old, about the impact of farming practices on the taste and health benefits of what we eat.

You can find the article in The New Yorker’s digital archive. Read an abstract here:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1977/01/24/1977_01_24_036_TNY_CARDS_000318692

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Did you know that 80% of apple concentrate sold in the U.S., the basis for most apple juices, apple ciders and apple sauce, comes from outside the country, with most of it coming from China? In 1989, American growers were responsible for  50% of apple juice concentrate. Today that number is less than 20%.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Our farmers have just built a new calf barn – move in date TBA. The barn will be home to about 50 calves, ranging in age from two days to 90 days. (The cows are grouped by age so once they have 90 days under their belts, they graduate to a different facility.) At this age, the calves’ diet consists of milk, whey, protein, grain, hay and water. Frequently leaping around and playing together, the calves appear to be very excited about moving into their new home.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Fresh eggs from Salisbury, Vermont. Established in 1946, Maple Meadow Farm is family owned and operated by George E. & Jackie Devoid, the second generation of Devoids, whose daughter Jen and son Niles are also part of the family farm.

 http://maplemeadowfarmeggs.com/

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Did you know? Hot cows mean less milk. When cows are hot, they get stressed, avoid eating and produce less milk. Just like us humans, when cows are under stress, their immune systems are compromised, making them more susceptible to illness. With the help of both fans and water sprinklers, our farmers keep their cows cool, healthy and happy throughout the dog days of summer.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Did you know? Contrary to popular belief, cows don’t always want to be outside. During the hottest days of summer, they’d actually prefer to be inside in the shade. Their remedy when they do find themselves outside in the heat? They huddle close together because, by some puzzling law of thermodynamics, the hot air trapped by their bodies creates a cooling breeze.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

We’ve known David Blyn and Laura McKinney since 1990. Four different families have raised crops and milked cows on their land since colonial times. Today Riverbank Farm grows certified organic vegetables, cut flowers and hay. Nourished by the fertile soil of the Shepaug River, the farm uses no herbicides, synthetic fertilizers or synthetic pesticides.

http://www.riverbankfarm.com

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

To get there, see the attached map…

http://www.fairwaymarket.com/pages.php?pageid=115

Rule #36, from Michael Pollan’s Food Rules:

“‘Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.’

“This should go without saying. Such cereals are highly processed and full of refined carbohydrates as well as chemical additives.”

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

In the Northeast:

Sugar snap peas are done. Squash, zucchini and cucumbers coming in full bore. Early cherry tomatoes on the horizon. New Jersey tomatoes starting to hit. Lettuce and greens suffering in the heat. Farmers are monitoring irrigation needs. A little early cutworm is now gone. Eyes peeled for horn worm – a menace to strong tomato plants.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Need directions? Here’s the link.

http://www.fairwaymarket.com/pages.php?pageid=113

Their chickens have porches.

http://www.countryhen.com/

Five Acre Farms. Postively Local.TM

At Black Creek Farm in Salem, New York, all the dry cows are having their nails done. Three times a year, the cows have their hooves clipped and sanded so as to maintain good posture, prevent hoof rot and get rid of pebbles and stones that have gotten caught during the previous months.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Gene Logsdon has written about farms and farming for more than forty years.  Without getting too technical, here’s a snippet from his latest work – Holy Sh**: Managing Manure to Save Mankind. The important take away here is that healthy soil built by sustainable farming practice has broad implications.

“The effectiveness of compost for disease protection has moved now from the greenhouse potted-plant industry into field agriculture. For example, a new Pythium disease is attacking carrots on large commercial farms. Chemical approaches to the problem have been inadequate, but an application of 8 tons of composted cow manure per acre is bringing some control over the disease.” 

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Cows like alfalfa a lot and are fed it along with other grasses in their diet. “Candy” as dairy farmer Don McEacheron likes to call it. The McEacherons grow their alfalfa separately from their hay so they can properly ration it. Too much “candy” and a cow can get bloated…mmm, sounds like a good reason not to eat too much candy!

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Here’s a great guide to local farms in Addison County, Vermont.

http://www.addisonindependent.com/2011-local-foods-guide

Same family running the farm since the late 1790’s. Cathy and Howard Bronson jr. keep it going another generation.

http://www.maplebankfarm.com/content/about-us

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Brought to you by our friends at Flying Pigs Farm, Farm Camp (http://farmcampnewyork.org/) is a terrific opportunity for professionals working in food service, food media, and farm and food advocacy to learn about the challenges and opportunities around agricultural production and distribution in the Northeast. Farm Camp helps build a connection between the cook, the farmer and the land.

One of our favorite highlights of Farm Camp: Flying Pigs’ neighbor Seth McEachron of Battenkill Valley Creamery – who produces milk, heavy cream and half and half for Five Acre Farms – hosts a visit to his family’s dairy farm and guides campers through the world of milk.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

• Completed the season’s second cutting of hay.
• Stored freshly cut hay in bunkers, covered with plastic, for safe keeping until it’s needed to feed the cows this winter. 
• Spread manure on the hay fields.
• Then the rain came…no hay left out, no tractors stuck.
• Third cutting should be in 30 to 35 days. If it goes too much longer then that, the nutrient levels will drop and the hay will “go by.”

 A farmer’s perfect day.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Another great list for sourcing local food.

http://www.ct.gov/doag/lib/doag/marketing_files/certified_fm_by_county_-_5-3-2011.pdf

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Interesting effort by two groups usually at odds with each other.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/business/egg-producers-and-humane-society-urging-federal-standard-on-hen-cages.html

Do you know where your eggs are from?

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Edible New Jersey’s Summer Edition is out with a great list of local farmers markets. Here’s a link: http://www.ediblecommunities.com/jersey/

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Successful farming depends on healthy soil and water. To keep local farmers in the land, we must reward good practice so that it becomes a competitive advantage for the farmer in the marketplace.

At Five Acre Farms, we work with farms and farmers that embrace such practices and in turn build a better bottom line for their businesses. Our friends at Food Alliance have succinctly listed such measures below:

1. Control and minimize soil erosion by employing practices designed to prevent wind and water from transporting soils away and/or reduce physical and chemical degradation of soil.
2. Identify soil quality indicators that can be used to monitor success in building soil health and productivity. Healthy and productive soils help increase rainfall infiltration and storage in the soil and require fewer imported nutrients.
3. Reduce tillage where possible, rotate crops and recycle organic residues back to the soil. This will enhance soil organic matter levels, help reduce soil compaction, and promote carbon sequestration in soil (which helps counteract atmospheric change due to greenhouse gas emissions).
4. Adopt water-conserving strategies as appropriate. These include new irrigation techniques, mulching, soil moisture monitoring and irrigation scheduling.
5. Protect water quality by soil erosion control; careful management of nutrients, agrochemicals and manures; and the use of landscape features such as buffer strips and riparian habitat.
6. Raise livestock with access to pasture/range when possible, and a system of rotational grazing to prevent overgrazing and erosion.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

“Isn’t all milk local milk?”

No, all milk is not local. In fact, milk sold in the Northeast can come from as far away as California, and its quality varies widely. Milk these days travels an average of 508 miles to get from the cow to your supermarket, and that number is growing. At Five Acre Farms, none of our products travels more than 275 to reach consumers.

But, is that it? Local is just about milage? No, local is about more than geography and miles traveled. Local means that you know exactly where your food comes from. Local means that you know that only sustainable farming practices and processes were used along the way. Local means that you know that your milk doesn’t contain any artificial or added hormones or antibiotics. Local means that you can know your farmers personally and can trust them.

In Washington County New York, after a very tough first grass cutting (left too long because of wet ground) dairy farmers are into their second hay cutting. Repairs have been made to choppers and equipment is ready to go.

Battenkill Valley Creamery hosted a visit to the farm today by three busloads of school kids: 78 scoops of ice cream served. Sweet!  

Farmers installed water lines to the new calf barn.

At the bottling facility, 52,000 milk jugs unloaded and ready for action.

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.TM

Check out our very own Gemma DePalma, Five Acre Farms’ director of operations, in this interview on the gastrognomes blog, brought to you by the dairy-loving folks at Good Food Jobs.

http://www.goodfoodjobs.com/blog/gemma-depalma-director-of-operations-five-acre-farms/

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.

A good old saying about one’s hopes for the corn crop. If your corn is that high, then it should be a pretty good year. Wet fields pushing back planting dates, spotty germination…jury is still out for Northeast Farmers.

Happy Fourth, America!

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.

Maximum number of miles from which all Five Acre Farms products come: 275

Number of hours it typically takes Five Acre Farms milk to go from cow to bottle: 8 (sometimes even 4)

Number of hours it typically takes our milk to go from cow to shelf: 36

Number of cows in the herd when the McEachron family (our first farmers) began dairy farming in upstate New York more than a century ago: 12

Number of cows in the McEachrons’ herd today: 350

Number of breeds in the herd today (a mix accounting for higher
butterfat and calcium counts): 3 (Holstein, Jersey and Holstein-Jersey crossbreeds)

Percentage of our cows’ diet that is grass: 90

Number of minutes you have to spend hand shaking Five Acre Farms Heavy Cream in a small glass container to make your own butter at home: 20

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.

(With credit and thanks to Harper’s)

Our summer reading list could go on and on, but since Fourth of July is upon us and there is other beach reading to be done before Labor Day, here are six books that we think would be a solid start for anyone interested in local food and farms:

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals – Michael Pollan

Small is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered – E.F. Schumacher

Food Politics – Marion Nestle

Eco-Farm: An Acres USA Primer – Charles Walters

Farm: A Year in the Life of an American Farmer – Richard Rhodes

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.