You'll never have to ask again

We've been loading our freezers with fresh FRESH beef just for you! All of our beef is pasture fed- no grain! It's true Red Meat and oh-so-very-healthy for you. We are now stocked with all different cuts of Roasts, Steaks, and Ground Beef. These are packaged in friendly 2 or 3 lb packaging for you.

And just in time for the Super Bowl or Datona : Short Ribs!!!!!

So never ask yourself "Where's the beef??"

Right here at Pine Grove Farm!!!

Top 10 in 2010

Thought we'd write a post with some of the highlights from the past year.

2010 was a year that brought some major snow. .. and C~O~L~D temperatures with it!

 Here the Farmer's Daughter is helping with the livestock. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the family all pitching in to help, the snow might never have been moved at all....

 But spring finally came around, as it does every year, and we began with all of the excitement and vigor a severe winter seems to give. Our very first post for this blog was all about spring, and you can read all about it HERE.

Many things happened in Spring 2010. You can read about another one HERE

Along with our classes, we had many posts about Making Butter, Raw Milk Information, and some great Farm Recipes.

 There were some silly Farm Life Stories  (and another one)  that came our way, not to mention one very HUGE storm!

2010 was a year filled with lots of growth. Not only did we have many new arrivals, but we also opened the General Mercantile down at the Farm Shop, and built  a Green House for this winter.

I think, one of the biggest things to happen here was our introduction of classes!  We started with a bang when we introduced you to Cheese Making, and then had some Knitting Classes, and yet another Cheese Class. We have such a grand time at these events getting to know you better while sharing knowledge of a healthier lifestyle. We are very much looking forward to expanding our classes in 2011.

Alright, what started out as a Top 10 has morphed into a Top 12, but can you blame me? So much happened worth sharing that I just couldn't keep it down to 10. =)

Have a very blessed and productive 2011, filled with good home cooking of fresh farm food!

~Pine Grove Farm

PS- (see, this doesn't count since it's at the end..) Check out a view of the Farm House HERE.

May Your Days Be Merry...

Christmas has come and gone, another year is coming to and end, and life still goes on here on the  farm.  Our Jersey Girls all still need to be milked each day, the chickens need to be cared for along with the rabbits, and trhe list gones on.  Even Christmas is no vacation. But we'd have it no other way. =)

We hope that each of you had a blessed Christmas and may your New Year be one of growth and health.

~Pine Grove Farm

Farm News

With the beginning of winter this coming week, and snow already established, it looks as if it's going to be another snow-filled wonderland until spring. Not that there's anything wrong with that though. =/

Here on the farm we've been able to get our wood cut, split, stacked, and some of it burnt. While the fire is truely a delight, since we only heat with our stoves, it makes for C~O~L~D mornings!

Some other "new" happenings around here is our newest Jersey Girl, Jade. She's settled in and doing nicely.  We were recenlty sent some pictures of another finished sock from our Sock Making Class back in October. This student has made a stocking ready for Christmas!

Simlpy wonderful!

We have some fresh lamb on the hoof that will be ready to slaughter at the end of the month. If you would like some super delicious, highly nutritious lamb for your family, just contact us here at the farm! Here are some articles to teach you all about this selenium dense, rich in iron, zinc, and B12, high protein food.

• http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/benefits-of-lamb-6426.html 
• http://hubpages.com/hub/Health-Benefits-of-Lamb  
• http://www.naturallambcoop.com/nutritionalbenefits.htm

We hope that each of you keeps warm and keeps your loved ones near this Christmas Holiday,

~Pine Grove Farm

~Sock Class Revisted~

Life is busy on a farm. And around here isn't any different than on any other farm. So, even though our Beginner Sock Class was held last month, it's only today that I've had time to show you all about it!

 

~Pine Grove Farm

Our Jersey Girls Are the BEST!!

 You GO girls!!!

The Devil in the Milk is a new book written by Keith Woodford is a look into why we neede to drink the proper kind of milk- yup. even when it's raw.

Here's some informative links to this book:

The Bovine (a blog)

Mercola.com




~Pine Grove Farm

Leaves Aren't the Only Thing Falling ...

Well friends, it looks as if we'll be getting some new pork in next week! That's such good news for you because that means (drum roll) we're cleaning out the freezer down in the Farm Shop!!

Without further ado, here's the updated Meat Prices. This list is only good for as long as it's there folks, so get it while the gettin's good! =)

Pine Grove Farm

Now Available All Natural Beef, Pork, Lamb

White Stand Up Freezer

1^st Shelf Rabbit $4.75 lb.

Chicken 4.25 lb.

. Pork Loin Roast 4.54 lb.

2^nd Shelf Beef Arm Roast 3.59 lb.

Beef Rib Steak 5.24 lb.

Beef Silver Tip Roast 4.89 lb.

Beef Sirloin Steak 5.24 lb.

Beef Delmonico Steak 9.59 lb.

Beef T-Bone Steak 5.24 lb.

Beef Liver 2.99 lb

3^rd Shelf Pork Tenderloin 6.24 lb.

Lamb Loin Roast 13.99 lb.

Lamb Crown Roast 13.99 lb.

Lamb Chops 9.59 lb.

Lamb Shanks 7.99 lb.

Lamb Ribs 10.99 lb.

Small Drawer Parmesan Cheese 6.99 lb.

4^th Shelf Beef Short Ribs 3.05 lb.

Bottom Drawer Beef Ground Sirloin 4.89 lb.

Door Beef Soup Bones 3.24 lb.

Beef Ox Tail 3.24 lb.

Bread Country White Wheat 5.50 loaf

Flour Fresh Mill Hard Red Wheat

Revised 10/22/2010

Can't Wait For Tomorrow!

We are really excited about tomorrow! Our Cheese Making 101 is not only the first class we've offered, but also has turned out to be the very well attended.  If there are any of you who still might want to attend, just drop us a line! We'll be sure to take photos and post them here.

This is the first of many classes that we are going to be having here at Pine Grove Farm, so stay tuned!

*Update Policies*

We hope that this letter finds everyone doing well and enjoying their summer. This letter is to inform you of some important changes to the farm's policies. We have had to change certain aspects of the policies due to the growing number of customers we have visiting the farm on a daily basis. These new policies will be implemented immediately and we ask that you observe these new policies on all future visits to the farm in order to keep the farm safe and enjoyable for everyone.

1. The farm has changed the hours of operation to 9am - 7pm Monday - Saturday and 12pm - 4pm on Sunday. The driveway is gated and the farm will only be accessible during the farm's hours of operation. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you need to make a pick-up after closing, we ask that you make prior arrangements at least 24 hours in advance. In addition, if you call the farm after hours, please leave a message and your call will be returned the following day. 
2.  Please observe the 10mph speed limit and keeps vehicles on the driveway. This helps Mr. Wisecarver to maintain the road & ditches for water control, and helps keep the dust down.  The farm is providing a safe place- sometimes there are children walking in the driveway. Please keep in mind that we have several animals that are not fenced in and have access to the driveway that we do not wish to be hit.
3. We ask that you keep your children with you at arms length at all times. This is to ensure their safety. We have many pieces of farm equipment out in the open that pose a possible threat to their safety and we are  finding that some of the pieces of equipment are missing important parts. We also have a variety of animals and some of these animals do not cope very well with strangers. Contact with strangers negatively affects their health.  We depend on our animals as a source of income and we don't want their health affected. While in the farm shop, we ask that you not allow your little ones to touch the times we have on consignment from other businesses. This will help to ensure that the farm will not have to pay for any damages.
4. Everyone, when signing for the Cow Share Program, was given 3 sets of milk jars per share. This is to ensure that there is a set of jars per share at the farm every week.   We  are currently having a problem with jars not being returned, and missing lids on returned jars. If lids are not on the jars, there is always a possibility of dirt and contamination prior to filling the jar with milk .In the past, Pine Grove Farm has supplied extra jars to the Cow Share Owner when the owners have not returned their weekly jars. We have done so in order that the full quantity of the share can be filled for the Cow Share Owner the following week. We will no longer be able to provide this free service of the extra, free, jars due to the increase of cost. Pine Grove Farm will only fill the jars returned for the following week, unless the share owner continues to have their 3rd set of jars here at the farm.  The third set is to ensure that, if the jars are not returned for that week, the following week your share will be filled per the contract.  Every Cow Share Owner should have an extra set of jars here at the farm per share at all times. 

We  understand that there are many exciting things to see here at the farm, but we ask that you respect our time as we are very busy here  everyday and rarely have a moment to spare. We don't want to offend anyone, or come across as being rude, so we are in the process of finalizing a calendar of events with specific days that well allow  you and your family to spend some times here at the farm and get to know us and our farm hands better. We are not trying to ignore anyone; we are just extremely busy trying to make Pine Grove Farm more productive.

Please keep your eyes open for the calendar of events and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call. We appreciate your understanding and compliance with the new policies.

Sincerely,
Jeff & Teresa
aka
The Farmer & The Farmer's Wife

                     
   

Auntie Em!!

Although we  never quite felt the need to run for the storm cellar,  (and we never did see that woman flying by on a bike.. . ) , the storm that hit our area last week was freakish to say the least, and reminded us all of the fact that God is on His throne and in control, to say the most.

Storm warnings went out on the radio and telly. But that is something we get a few times a season, so no big worry there. The Farmer was working on his  Loader  down near the creek bottom and the Farmer's Wife was in the house.

The storm hit. It was the strangest storm in our memory. First the rain would come in from the left and hit the windows, then it would swirl around and come in from the right, THEN it would change direction once again and hit us straight on. Some parts in the area look as if a tornado touched down, ripped up the trees, and went away. Once things began to look dangerous, the Farmer's Wife thought it'd be most prudent to position herself in the most structurally sound area of the house. She figured SURELY The Farmer would be coming in any minute. He didn't.

The Farmer was in the creek bottom. It has very narrow, steep walls and most of the storm was going right over his head. He was just working away on the loader.
The Wife calls the Farmer on his cell "Are you alright???"
"What do you mean, 'am I alright?' " he asks

Just at about that point the storm hit him. Hard. He immediately lifted the tracks off of the ground so that he'd stop being a conductor. (That whole lightening thing) Once that was done, he still had to wait out the storm because he was under the trees and debris was falling all over and on top of the loader. Large branches were falling from trees and some of our oldest trees snapped right off near the base.

Once the storm appeared to be letting up. The Farmer decided to make  a run for the house. He didn't get far. When he was in  the open field, the Storm came back with all of it's ferocity. He made a bee line to the barn, and there he waited out the rest of the Storm. At least there, he was in view of the house and The Wife could see he was, indeed, safe.

Whew.

This picture was taken after the storm had passed. Can you see the rainbow?)

In the quiet of the Storm's passing, we realized it was TOO quiet. You know, the kind of no-electrical-motors-running kind of quiet. Yup, you guessed it. We were without power.
                                              For NINE hours.
We lost over 35 gallons of milk along with everything else.
But.
On the good side? We have some of the best cow share holders who were all very understanding and concerned. Everyone was quite understanding to the problem.







These next ones all happened to the same tree, right where most of our animals either live, or are worked. This tree just split in areas and dropped a few large limbs







Here is where the cows line up to be milked, and to hang out in general. Although you can't get too good of a scope, it really is a large branch:





Just a small amount of the debris we had to deal with:


Thank you for all of you concern, understanding, and patience during the power outage folks!

Just a final reminder from God that He keeps His promises:

*All in a Day's Work*

Did you know that The Farmer also has his own excavation business?

 Yes-sir-eee-bob.



Why, for years now, he's been helping people by digging their home's foundations,


Or dig their pond, excavate a hillside, or re-crown their driveway.


Why, The Farmer has helped dig, plow, or otherwise move earth just about anyhow and anywhere for any reason.

 He'll even take time out to take this silly photo shoot. Yup, nothin' but
work
work
 work.

Please Don't be Bleu...

Cheese accept our apolocheese. 
Our much anticipated  Cheese Making 101 class has been Provoloned.

Back in the late 1800's, Fromage when the farm house was being built, I doubt there was much interest in electricity.But our wiring is old and sometimes life intervenes. How wonderful it would be if, when things did happen around here, we could fix them immediately....

So our Cheese Class is being set back, and as soon as we get things up and running here in the kitchen again, we'll give everyone advanced notice.  There's Stilton's of interest for this class so much so that all of  you couldn't fit into one time slot. (How wonderful is that?!!?) So if our new date (when we get it) isn't Gouda for your schedule, we'll be able to put you in the following class. After all, everyone will then be able to make their own cheese and Edam up!

Ok, OK, I think I've milked this cheese-pun thing for long enough now..seriously, I'm Feta up..

Spring on the Farm

. We are so excited to be starting this spring with so many new ideas and prospects for you and your loved ones.

The coming of spring  brings much work here at the farm. With such a severe winter and all of it's snow, we are going to have to restore the pastures from the winter storms. The cows pushed through the saturated sod and have made some damage. The snow, also, created some rut damage as it melted and ran down the pasture hills. So the Farmer will have his work cut out for him there.

In the past week, 2 of our beautiful Girls have calved. Both Bessie and Amber are back to giving milk. Also, our sheep are lambing and we have 3 new little ones running around the pastures. I love lambs.

Not only do we have the lambs, but the rest of the flock are going to be sheered soon! This means some fresh roving, yarn, and batting! 

In April our new chicks will  hatch here at Pine Grove Farm. They're due to arrive on April 12, which means an increase in our  egg production!! Of course, this won't happen until mid-summer, but spring is such a wonderful  time for new beginnings. 

Another new beginning each spring is our garden. We are planning on offering cut flowers as an addition to our fresh produce this year. At this time we're not certain as to the amount of produce we'll be offering, so please drop us a line and tell us what you'd like to have on your family's table this summer! 

So, welcome to Spring here on the farm! We are excited to have you with us  and hope that you share us with your friends and family. We have so much in store for the coming year, and hope that this blog will make it easy for you and  your family  to follow our family. Please, take a moment and subscribe to  our"Keep Up with Farm News" icon. This will bring all of our posts right to your email in-box.

~Pine Grove Farm Family