Pasture-Raised Chicken

One question that I get asked every Saturday is "Do you have chickens yet?" We are getting close to having some fresh pasture-raised chicken.

Here are a few pictures I took of the chickens in their chicken tractor which is moved daily to fresh grass.

Bees to School

Lee & Domisty- beekeepers

One of our favorite things to do is to educate the public especially children and teenagers about not only our farm but agriculture in general. On several occasions we have gone to elementary schools and talked about our farm, we have been involved on various panels, we participated at a Earth Day celebration at a local community college, and have had public farm tours as well as private tours on the farm. So when our oldest son asked if we would come to his school to talk to his class about bees we said as long as his teacher agreed we would come. His teacher was thrilled and wanted to know if we would talk to all 4 kindergarten classes and of course we did.

It's always a lot of fun to see the students reactions and hear the questions that they ask. I think every student told us a story about their mom/dad/sister/brother/cousin/grandparent getting stung by a bee. My favorite was the little boy who said his mom had to chase the bees away because his dad would not get off the couch!! You never know what the kids tell at school.......

Lee talking to local elementary students

Lee talking to local elementary students




The Observation Hive- thanks Buddy!

Our model wearing a beekeeping veil & gloves

WTF newsletter May 21, 2010

Wild Turkey Farms Quick News- May 21, 2010

Yesterday was a day of anticipation, worry, then excitement. We had Frank Corriher Well Drilling Co come out and install an irrigation well for our garden so we can get back into providing some of our tasty DNO (dang near organic) veggies later this summer. As anyone who's had a well drilled know it's a gamble- only you don't know the odds or whether the wager is for $3000 or $10,000 but you do know at the end of the day you'll owe someone a bunch of money. I was out of town so I was elated about 1pm when I got the call saying we had hit plenty of water and hadn't gone that deep- thank goodness something finally went our way!!! (the last well we drilled cost nearly as much as my truck and only yielded 1 gallon per minute). Anyhow, come on out to the farmers markets this weekend and stock up on our great tasting Pasture Raised Berkshire Pork and Grass Fed Beef to help pay! for this great addition to the farm.

Thanks so much to everyone that came out to our open house last Saturday- especially those volunteers that made everything go so smoothly.

We're excited to announce that we are restocked on beef this weekend (after a 6am run to the processors this morning). Our freezers are packed to the tops so we need your help making some room. This week's specials are:
Beef- short & long ribs- 20% off
Beef Liver- 1/2 price!!!
Pork- Hot Italian Links, American Bratwurst, and Breakfast Patties (hot or mild)- 10% off
Pork Shanks and Beef Shanks 25% off
Chopped BBQ Pork- Back by popular demand- 1lb vacuum packed & frozen only $7.99 or 2lbs for $15
New Items this week-
Cajun Sausage links same great flavor as our Anduille but with a little more kick
Hot Breakfast Patties- a fast option for busy mornings.

Come join us at the China Grove Farmers Market at the Mill today!!!! We'll be at the Roller Mill in China Grove with other local farmers from 4-7pm.

Davidson Farmer's Market (8am-noon). Remember that we're in the parking lot of town hall this year so that we can work out of our trailer. This allows us to have a larger volume on hand & better serve everyone. We'll be beside our friends at the Correll Farm so come to "the South End" to stock up on great tasting locally raised natural meats, eggs, and veggies. Our young chickens are starting to lay pretty good but it'll still be a few weeks until we'll have plenty of eggs & stop selling out by 10am . Sorry but until then you'll need to be there early to get eggs.

Domisty will be set up at the Salisbury Farmers Market tomorrow so come find us under the big green tent 7am-noon so come on out and load up on great pork, beef, lamb, & goat. She'll be working out of her van with limited space so you are welcome to email us your order today to make sure you'll get what you need tomorrow & help her better prepare. If you're interested email us to get an updated product list.


We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.
Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM
Chef Charles To Go- Davidson
Hippie Kitchen Bakery- Huntersville / DFM
Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte
Weaver St Market- Hillsborough/ Carborro/ Chapel Hill
Whirling Wisk Bakery- Mooresville

Will Allen & May 13 newsletter

We had the opportunity to meet Will Allen & hear him speak at The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) 2009 Sustainable Agriculture Lecture.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/92477004.html

Wild Turkey Farms May 13, 2010

Come join us at the China Grove Farmers Market at the Mill tomorrow 4-7 pm!!!! We had a good opening day last week so come out and bring a friend or 2 or 3. Make sure you come around behind the Mill where most of the vendors are at. We'll be in the corner of the back parking lot with our enclosed trailer.

Davidson Farmer's Market (8am-noon). Remember that we're in the parking lot of town hall this year so that we can work out of our trailer. This allows us to have a larger volume on hand & better serve everyone. We'll be beside our friends at the Correll Farm so come to "the South End" to stock up on great tasting locally raised natural meats, eggs, and veggies. We've got lots of young chickens that are just starting to lay so hopefully in a few weeks we'll have plenty of eggs & stop selling out by 10am . Sorry but until then you'll need to be there early to get eggs.

Domisty will be set up at the Salisbury Farmers Market tomorrow so come find us under the big green tent 7am-noon so come on out and load up on great pork, beef, lamb, & goat. She'll be working out of her van with limited space so you are welcome to email us your order today to make sure you'll get what you need tomorrow & help her better prepare. If you're interested email us to get an updated product list.



Last Call for the WTF open house, tour, and BBQ -

You can pay at the door or at the farmers markets but an email RSVP is required by Friday @ noon

When: Saturday May 15
Time: 4pm- 7pm (or dark)

Location- 1015 Old Cress Rd Salisbury NC

Come join us for an evening on the farm. We'll have a full hayride tour of the farm where you'll get to see how we produce our grass fed beef & lamb, pasture raised chickens & Berkshire pigs, free range eggs, goats, honey and produce. After the tours we'll finish up with a great dinner of BBQ Berkshire pork and fixins. We'll have our classic "WTF" stickers & t shirts for sale and of course we'll have our market trailer with lots of fresh products so you'll be able to stock up if you can't make it to the farmers market that morning.
____________________________________________________________________________

Please print & use this email as your registration for the tour.

Name(s) ___________________________________________________

Phone # ____________________________________________________

Email ______________________________________________________


___ adults ($15),
___ young adults 12-18y/o ($10)
___ Kids under 12 (free)

Keeping the Farmer in Farmer's Markets

I hope you will all take the time to read this article. Depending on what Farmer's Market you go to & their rules the farmers may not be growing everything that they are selling. Some Markets are growers only where the farmer grows 100% of their product. Other markets have a 50% rule based on a certain date that the farmer must grow at least 50% of his product.

Different markets also have different rules about the outside product brought in. I know one market in NC that does allow other product but it must be grown in NC. Some markets ask the farmer to label the outside product with the name of the farm and/or the state it was grown in.

My advice to you if it matters ask the farmer. That's not to say they won't lie to you but if they have corn in May they probably did not grow it at their farm.

Many people think if it is at the Farmer's Market the farmer grew it and that is not always the case.

http://www.grist.org/article/keeping-the-farmer-in-farmers-markets/

New Farmer's Mkt opening!!!

Farmer's Market opens Friday in China Grove


This ran in the Salisbury Post on Thursday, May 6, 2010.


CHINA GROVE — The North Carolina town that many associate with its annual Farmer's Day Festival has started a weekly Farmer's Market at the China Grove Roller Mill on Main Street. The Market at the Mill will start Friday and be open from 4-7 p.m. on Fridays throughout the growing season.The Market at the Mill is a partnership of the China Grove Board of Trade, The Historical Society of South Rowan and The China Grove Board of Aldermen."The Farmer's Market will provide a place for our local farmers and gardeners to sell the fruits of their labors to their neighbors." said Chairman of Farmers Day and Mayor Pro-Tem, Lee Withers. "We expect to have offerings ranging from locally grown vegetables and flowers to freshly cut meats.

"A Facebook site has been established for updates and it can be found be at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/China-Grove-Farmers-Market/122967544386212?ref=mf .

If anyone would like more information about booth space, they can contact Alan Goodman, Goodmans Farm Supply, 704-857-5938 or farmersdaychairman@carolina.rr.com.

Why are antibiotics given to farm animals?

I find myself saving links to articles that I have read or tearing out articles from magazines so that I can share them on the blog. Here is one article that I have had to post for almost a year now. I get asked about 20 times (or more) on Farmer's Market days is we use antibiotics or hormones on our animals. My response is of course no. But here is a little more insight on antibiotic use.

This question was in the June/July 2009 issue of Organic Gardening.

Why are antibiotics given to farm animals?

Doug Gurain-Sherman, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientist, replies:

Animals raised in CAFO's (confined animal feeding operations) are given human antibiotics in their feed to accelerate growth and prevent diseases caused by overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions. An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics produced in this country- nearly 25 million pounds per year- are used in animal agriculture for these nontherapeutic purposes. That's more than eight times the amount of drugs used to treat human illness.

Many physicians and scientist believe that the overuse of antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine is contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans that are costly and difficult to treat. Certain microbes that can cause foodborne illness exist naturally on livestock, and therefore proper sanitary preparation and storage of meat products is important regardless of the way the animals are raised. Because organic production does not depend on the routine use of antibiotics, however, it is much less likely to contribute to the rising problem of antibiotic-resistant foodborne pathogens.