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Farm Fresh Weekly Story from the storage freezer-- more chicken found
In the fall when the storage freezer is filling up to carry us throught the winter, we try to arrange the contents so as to not bury anything. This past week as we emptied one aisle, we found a shelf of chicken hind quarters. That was a nice surprise since we thought we had been out of those for a while. They are now in the sales room again-- the supply is not large but does give us a varitey. We are sold out of boneless chicken breasts but still have plenty of whole chickens. Newton and evening Wichita buying club
We did not have enough response to our offer to make it feasible at this time. Thanks for letting us know. Neighborhood farmers
Last year, many of our farming neighbors had one of the best years they have had for a while. It was not due to great yeilds or great prices-- in fact, many of them never harvested a crop. It was entirely due to government payments and insurance payments. I am certainly happy for them making a profit, but this spring with commodity prices at all-time highs, they are bidding cash rent prices way up. I guess why not live wrecklessly if you have those kind of safety nets. We, too, had a good year but never took a cent from either the government or insurance companies. Our great year was due strictly to our great customers and the relationships we have built. Thank you for supporting us. Healthy food for healthy living. Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS 67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470
Farm Fresh Weekly Buying club options --Newton and Wichita evening
We have had requests for buying club deliveries to Newton and also in the evening to Wichita. So we are exploring the option of making a delivery to Newton about 6 pm and then a drop in the north Wichita area about 7 pm. This would be on an alternate week to the current buying club delivery. If interested, let us know. Egg cartons needed
We are desperately in need of egg cartons. If you have some sitting around, please bring them out! Kendra's favorite healthy snack-- fruit/yogurt smoothies
If you're looking for a great healthy snack for you or your family, try this: Put JaKo vanilla yogurt in the blender with a ripe banana and other frozen fruit of your choice (blueberries, strawberries, etc.). Blend until smooth and enjoy! It'll remind you of summertime even in the dead of winter! Stories from the farm
Last Monday morning I had been out doing the chores and restocking the sales room. It was slick from the sleet that fell during the night and I was getting cold, so I went in the house for a cup of coffee. I was standing at the dining room window looking out, cradling my warm coffee cup in my hands, as I observed the birds. There seemed to be a big variety that morning. I saw a group of cardinals, several sparrows, a cluster of chickadees, a couple of blue jays, a wood pecker up the side of the tree, and further out in the pasture was a large flock of blackbirds. Several red tail hawks also circled above the pasture looking for a meal, and all the while geese were flying overhead. As I watched them the thought came to me that God must have an incredible imagination. Wow. Healthy food for healthy living. Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS 67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470
Farm Fresh Weekly Here is email that I received and want to pass on to you. I hope you respond will respond to it. If the link below does not come through copy and paste it into your browser. Ken Hello, my name is Peter Harte, and I work with Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization. We have been working to preserve consumers' right to know in dairy labeling across the country, and this issue has come up in Kansas. The Kansas State Senate is considering a bill (SB 595) which would make it illegal for dairies to label their milk as being produced without the use of artificial growth hormones. We anticipate that the Senate Ag Committee will have a hearing on this issue sometime next week. We are working to build awareness and support in the state for this issue, and are asking people to contact their representatives and senators, and specifically, the Senate Ag Committee members. We are also asking farmers, dairies, and organizations to sign on to a coalition letter to the Senate Ag Committee. I have copied the coalition letter below. Please let me know if your organization might be able to sign on. Also, any help you can offer in spreading the word to your members would be great. We've set up an online action people can do at the link below:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1185/t/741/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=22961 Please let me know if you have any other questions, would like any more information, have other contact suggestions, or if you're able to sign on to the coalition letter. Thanks for your support.
Sincerely,
Peter Harte
_____________________________
Peter Harte
Food & Water Watch
1616 P Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 683-2517
pharte@fwwatch.org
www.foodandwaterwatch.org Healthy food for healthy living. Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS 67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470
Farm Fresh Weekly Milk in half gallons coming soon!
The response to milk in half gallon containers was overwhelming. So, starting this spring with fresh milk, we will offer milk in whole and half gallons. Now we are on a mission to figure out how to bottle half gallons efficiently. Do you know of any small scale bottling equipment that would work for us? Otherwise we will be trying to fabricate something ourselves. Explaining the price of butter
Some people think that our butter price is too high, so let me explain: In the commercial dairy industry, low fat or skim milk has been the hot seller, milkfat is a byproduct they have trouble getting rid of, making butter relatively cheap. In contrast, in our business, we have very little market for skim milk and our customers buy whole milk. Therefore, by making butter we limit the supply of saleable milk. Because of this, butter has to be priced so that it is comparable to the price of fresh milk. Let's do the math. A gallon of milk weighs 8.5 lbs and averages 4.5% milkfat and sells for $6/gal. To make the math simple we divide 100lbs by 8.5 to get 11.76 gallons/hundred lbs. In other words, it takes 11.76 gallons of milk to make 4.5 lbs butter. So 11.76 gallons times $6 equals $70.59 divided by 4.5 lbs butter equals $15.69 per lb of butter simply for product cost, not counting the cost of labor. When you crunch the numbers, selling butter at $11/lb is actually a bargain! Does that change your opinion? Thank you for the freezing expertise
Several people responded to our request for freezing expertise. We now have an arsenal of things to try in freezing our chicken for next year. Stories from the farm
This week as I was celebrating another birthday I sat back and reminised about my life and my occuaption the last 30 years. It seems that evolution is at work. Sometimes there have been big changes, like moving from crop farming to dairying or from conventional dairying to seasonal all grass dairying, but mostly there have been many small changes. I have found that change energizes me and helps me be creative. At the same time there are some things that do not change which help to anchor me. Things like my relationship to God and Jesus and the salvation that they give. At the same time my understanding of their love keeps changing. So where am I at now? I take pleasure in serving my Creator and our customers, knowing that life is a gift from God to be shared. Ken Healthy food for healthy living. Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS 67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470
Farm Fresh Weekly Beef by the side
After we shared the savings of purchasing a side of beef last week, we've had many people express interest. If you've been thinking about ordering a side but haven't done so yet, the price of beef-by-the-side will increase to $2.25/lb as of February 15. Order before then to take advantage of the $2.15/lb price. Eggs
The price of eggs has increased to $3/dozen to cover rising feed costs. We will change the labels to reflect this, but the eggs already labeled will sell at the old price. Freezing milk obstacles
We are running into obstacles with our idea of freezing milk with an ice maker. We found out that all ice makers purify the water as they make ice. This is not conducive to getting a quality frozen milk cube. Another option is to freeze milk in half gallon jugs. A half gallon of milk would thaw four times faster than a gallon of milk. What are your thoughts on buying milk in gallons versus half gallons? Freezing expertise needed
Does anyone have expertise in freezing meats? We are having trouble with freezer burn on our individually frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts. Any ideas on how to prevent this? Stories from the farm
This week as I was moving fence for the cows (which I do daily), I observed many runs and nests that the field mice had built under the snow but above the ground, which had begun to thaw. It was really interesting to watch-- like looking in someone's picture window and observing their lives. It made me stop and think about my life and if I would change anything if I knew someone was watching all the time. Healthy food for healthy living. Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS 67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470
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