Spring 2008 Newsletter

“We will never be as careless choosing an auto mechanic
as about who grows our food …” 
Michael Pollan - author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “ In Defense of Food”

Farmer George’s Full Circle Fuel for Farms — Bio Diesel Plant In Operation.
I have been studying bio-diesel production for 2 years.  With the help of my friends, I built a small plant here which is now in operation and is producing a small amount of bio-diesel for our farm.  I’ve asked local restaurants we serve for their supply of used oil.  It is a part of what I consider a “Sustainable Loop” of farming.  Since what we eat at a restaurant originally came from a farm somewhere, we can utilize the used cooking oil and bring it back to the farm in the form of bio-diesel, connecting the circle so to speak. 

Executive Chef Peter Birk at Ray’s Boathouse has agreed to give us their used oil and we are talking to other restaurants to help us accomplish this sustainable ag loop.  I would like to purchase a diesel farm truck and a delivery van, so I can run our vehicles on bio-diesel as well as our tractors.  I can’t afford new ones, so if anybody knows of a good deal on used diesel trucks or vans… please let me know.  With fuel and feed grain prices rising, we are trying one more way to cut costs while going green.



Our Eggs in the “Mother Earth News” Magazine (October/November 2007 Issue)
14 farms around the country had their free range, pasture raised eggs tested in an independent lab to compare their nutritional value with conventionally grown eggs. It’s rewarding to see the scientific proof of what we work so hard to do right.  In this test, our eggs had 5 times more Vitamin E, 2 times more Vitamin A, 10 times more Beta Carotene, and 3 times more Omega 3 compared to the average “nutritional” values of conventional eggs.  When animals are happy outside in the green grass with sunshine, they produce   nutrient rich food.  Period.  If you would like to read the full article, we have a link on our website.  (www.skagitriverranch.com and click on “In the News” icon)



Recalled and Resold, Cloned and Pasteurized : You call that Food?
I am sure you’ve read about the 142 million pounds of contaminated beef that was recalled. The hidden camera showed downed cows being kicked and prodded before being slaughtered for hamburger that would eventually reach school systems.   But do you know that the USDA is allowing some recalled beef to be resold with an added warning label “Must be fully cooked?”  What is worse is that in order to combat frequent E-coli and other harmful bacteria problems, the USDA now allows radiation on some meat products and let the retailers sell these irradiated meats as “pasteurized” meat!  They must think we are stupid enough to believe that a radiation treatment on the meat is the same as heating up the milk.  Or maybe we are supposed to feel warm and fuzzy because “pasteurized” sounds a lot like “pastured”?  Can you imagine the meat plant with a gigantic X-ray machine, protective lab suits, and a Geiger counter to detect radiation leaks, “pasteurizing” our meats?   We have no idea of the long-term effects on humans from the irradiated food.   How about addressing the cause of the bacteria problems and abolishing the feed lots?  These animals need more land, need to eat grass, and need to roam in the sun!

The USDA also recently legalized the sale of cloned beef (beef grown in a petri-dish) and does not require retailers to label it as such!!  Why not tell the truth?   How about “Born Locally in a Lab Near You?”

 
2008 Farm Update and Our Goals  — Sustainable, Ethical & Humane
Sustainability of course, refers to our sustainable farming practices; our goal will always be to sustain our farmland by being responsible stewards of the land.  This concept also refers to the “economic” health of the farm.  Too often, George and I neglect the financial side of farming.  We don’t like staring at numbers, and we keep telling ourselves that we are too busy to sit at the desk.  The cost of farming went up tremendously last year, from gas prices and land leases to packaging supplies.  A few stores told us that we were the only vendor who didn’t raise our prices in 2007.  Belatedly, in order to stay in business, we too raised the prices on our products in February, 2008.  We want to stay small and keep farming for a long, long time.  So we thank you for your understanding. 

Ethical or Moral Standards can not be regulated, in the same way as trust can not be regulated.  When “Free Range Chicken” can be confined in a sunless building, and a downed cow can be fed to school children, I realize the nearly insurmountable task you face choosing your food.  We are continuously impressed with the amount of support we receive from you.  We appreciate your sharing of knowledge and your commitment to us.  I know George and I are evolving with you.  Together, we are getting better at this despite all the obstacles of misinformation and the deception of the large food industries.  Books like “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan, and “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver are inspirational and make us feel good about what we do as farmers.  We are ethically committed to raise our animals in an organic and humane environment.

Humane treatment of animals is especially important to us.  Clean water, green pastures, sunshine and shelter are basic elements all of our animals enjoy.  On this side of the mountains, we deal with cold, rainy and muddy conditions at this time of year.  The manure from cattle combined with heavy rains produce a tremendous amount of muck in the feeding barn and it takes a good 2 hours a day to clean it up. The ground is so soft it’s hard for the tractor get into the fields to move the manure around.  George sometimes envies those guys on the east side who can feed dry bales of hay from the back of a truck in the spring!  But come summer, the sweetest grass is grown on our side of the North Cascades ... even when the east side is dried up.  The animals are muddy in the spring, but they are healthy and happy.  We don’t even own a cattle prod.  Our cows are gentle and they follow my husband from field to field.   He talks to them and sings to them. (They don’t seem to care about the quality of his singing!)  I recommend you visit our farm at least once to experience what we are all about.  

Turkeys, Chickens (Broilers) & High grain prices
You’ve  already heard about the soaring grain prices that are affecting bread makers and other food producers.  The price of organic grains went up 3 to 4 times compared to last year’s, and it is getting extremely difficult to purchase them.  As a result, we are unsure if we can produce turkeys and broiler chickens this year.  We may produce a very limited amount of them for our loyal beef/pork customers or Buyer’s Club members; but at this moment, we are unable to guarantee any production.   We are just not ready to purchase non-organic grain for our animals.  We will continue to produce our organic eggs, and we still have some whole chickens in our inventory from last fall.  If you want stock up, you’ll need to do so quickly.

28778 Utopia Road     Sedro Woolley      WA 98284    
Tel: 360-856-0722     Fax: 360-856-1372  
E-mail: eiko@skagitriverranch.com