June 29, 2008

Farm Fresh Weekly

Frozen milk almost gone
We are almost out of frozen milk from last season.  From now on, we will only freeze milk in half gallons because it freezes faster and makes a better product.  Frozen half gallons will sell for $3.50 each.

How price increases affect our farm
At the bottom of this email is an article from a good friend and fellow producer in New York state.  She writes poignantly about the affect of increased prices on the small farmer, and I thought you might enjoy it.

Chicken butchering July 7
You know the drill.  If you'd like fresh chicken, come after 4:00 on that day.  If you want a sizeable amount, please let us know ahead of time.

Stories from the farm
This week, the whole family is going to Colorado for a family reunion of Judy's siblings.  My brother, Nick, and his family will be taking care of the farm while we are away.  Consequently, there will not be a Farm Fresh Weekly next week unless Nick gets very ambitious.

Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS  67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470

Your Turkey Is On The Chopping Block
By Shannon Hayes, host of grassfedcooking.com.

June 2008

Last Thursday was meat cutting day at the farm. Usually, processing days are pleasurable. Cutting and wrapping requires that we have extra hands on duty, and the long hours spent breaking down a couple beef carcasses inevitably results in a steady flow of bawdy humor and happy camaraderie. But on this particular morning, as I pull into the farmyard, the mood is black. Clint, who runs the saw in the cutting room, hurries by. “Look out,” he mutters, as I shuttle my daughters toward the house to see Grammie, “It’s bad in there.”

I find Grammie (a.k.a. my mom) in her office, staring at the farm spreadsheets, one hand on her forehead as she clicks through the numbers.

“What’s wrong?”
“The price of broiler mash went up $20.”
“What else is new?” My tone was sarcastic.
“In one week. It went up $20 per ton in just one week. The feed mill says there’s no end in sight.”

Price hikes are a grim reality for everyone. The cost of transporting our meats to farmers’ markets has doubled since 2005. So have the costs for heating the brooders and hauling the livestock. The week prior, the price of casings for our handmade sausages tripled. And in only one year’s time, the price of grain has doubled.

We’ve grown used to it. We are a diversified, pasture-based livestock farm, which means we are in a far better position than most folks when it comes to surviving rising fuel costs and a global food crisis. Grazing ruminants -- cows, sheep and goats, can convert forage into good food. And they can make use of our hilly, rocky, frost-prone hillsides that simply can’t grow crops. Poultry and pigs are not ruminants. They are omnivores, and require grain to supplement their diet if we are to produce enough to sell. Because we keep them out on pasture, our grain requirements are minimal compared to producers managing concentrated feeding operations. Still, feed costs make up a good portion of the farm budget. The survival of our family business is like plate spinning, where we focus simultaneously on several elements of the family farm equation: greater diversification, stepped-up marketing, cost cutting, and increased self-reliance.

In truth, we find plate spinning rather enjoyable. Today’s small farmer must be into such a game, willing to assume some risks and to be creative with business management. Generally, we are stimulated by the challenges, forever ready to sit down with calculators, pens and pads to hash out whatever confronts us. If this didn’t hold appeal, we’d all have 9-5 jobs. So I am surprised at the gravity in my mother’s voice.

“Mom. Stop seeing the glass half-empty. We’ll figure out something.”

“Damn it, the glass is half-empty, Shannon!” And her eyes fill with tears. “It’s the turkeys. I can’t control the costs on the turkeys! What are people going to do for Thanksgiving?”

But, I think to myself, the glass is still half-full. The hard times we all face are marked by a generosity of spirit within our community. Daily, I am inspired by the little things folks are willing to do with the understanding that we all need to pull together: The feed mill faces fuel surcharges on all its products. It passes none of them along to the farmers, figuring the increased grain prices are too great a burden already. Many of our expenses have doubled, yet our grassfed meat prices remain steady. Our poultry and pork prices have only gone up 11% in two years’ time. Neighbors call before driving to town to see if anyone on the road needs something. Interns offer to take reductions in pay.

My mother, however, isn’t wrong. The glass is half empty, because the generosity stops with the common man. Like the big oil companies, agribusiness is getting fatter and fatter while the common folks’ bank accounts grow lean.

Last year, neglecting to mandate conservation measures, Congress mandated a five-fold increase in the use of biofuels. According to a story in The New York Times, one fifth of our national corn crop is now used for ethanol production. Increasingly, farmers are planting more and more corn, which cuts the acreage available for other crops, like soybeans, thus driving up those prices as well (1). Next, take a disaster, like the flooding in Iowa, and add it to the mix. I called our local feed mill to find out why our broiler mash prices went up $20 a ton.

“It’s the floods in Iowa,” explained our account manager.

“But those crops weren’t even close to harvest! The prices you are quoting me are for crops that were already harvested. Those expenses have come and gone.”

“Well, you know what they say: investors can kill a crop three times and still make money on it.” The feed mill has no control over the grain prices. They have to pay the going rate as determined by the Chicago Board of Trade, whether the feed they buy is local, or brought in from the Midwest. Thus, the price of grain isn’t actually determined by the farmers who grow it. It’s determined by the investors. The results? Staggering profits for a few multinational agribusiness corporations. According to a May report on Marketplace Radio, in their last quarter, Bunge (a major soybean processor) increased their net earnings by 1,964%; Cargill netted over one billion dollars (an 86% jump over one year ago), ADM’s profits were up 42%, and Monsanto’s net income more than doubled (2). It bears repeating – All these profits are from one quarter only.

The real cost of foods, in which fair wages are paid and environmental stewardship is assured, is a price we willingly pay. But when food costs are inflated by greedy speculation on uncertainty, it is the masses who either pay the price, or go hungry.

Back at the farm, Mom shuffles through her turkey orders. Everyone who placed their order by May first was quoted a set price on their Thanksgiving bird. We made the same deal with customers who pre-ordered their chickens. Ordinarily, our return to labor for the annual chicken production is $10,000. As of last week, it was down to $4,000. We have already begun wildly cutting back the number of chickens we will produce for the season in efforts to prevent further financial loss. We consider whether the same must now be done for the turkeys, which ordinarily would be arriving on the farm in the next few weeks. At this point, we will have to drop our turkey production by half and ask our customers to pay a higher price to stem our losses.

This is a seemingly simple business decision, easily made in hard times. But there sits my mother at her desk, tears falling on her calculator as she runs the numbers. My daughters, ages four and one, scrambled up to her lap. My eldest daughter earnestly brushes her Grammie’s hair out of her eyes. And then I understand.

Sap Bush Hollow Farm has been in business since my family moved to West Fulton in 1979. To keep it afloat, my mother has learned to be a shrewd businesswoman. But she is also a grandmother. And Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, where we celebrate abundance, family, community, generosity, and love. Those turkeys have come to symbolize all of that. My mom is not fretting over the dollars we will inevitably lose. She is thinking about the families who will not have enough food this year, and the corporations, not held accountable, who will reap a great harvest.

1. Martin, Andrew, “Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing,” The New York Tomes, April 15, 2008.
2. Gardner, Sarah, “Corporate Giants Get Fat on Food Crisis,” Marketplace, May 8th, 2008.

June 22, 2008

Farm Fresh Weekly

Egg problem solved...
This week, we began cracking a large quantity of eggs to fill a custom order and found several rotten eggs.  We were quite surprised, and began problem solving to figure out why, among many perfectly good eggs, there could be some rotten ones from the exact same date.  After much research, we think we've figured it out. 

Therefore, we will be making some changes.  First, we discovered that when an egg is washed, it dramatically affects the egg's natural ability to stay fresh.  So from now on, we will only be washing eggs that are visibly dirty.  Second, we will be very careful to stock the sales room with fresh eggs (we thought we were all along, but little did we know...).

If you have purchased eggs from us that were less than fresh, we sincerely apologize.  To make it right, we offer to you a replacement dozen on us. Please help yourself accordingly.

Thank you for working with us, and please let us know if this or any other problem arises. 

Chicken butchering Monday, June 23
If you would like fresh chicken on that day, come between 4:00 and 6:00 pm.  We will also be butchering some stew hens that will be available in the sales room for $2.50/lb.

Stories from the farm
If you visited the farm on Thursday of last week, you may have been alarmed to see Daniel preparing to use a crop sprayer.  Don't worry, we weren't spraying harmful herbicides or pesticides on our pastures, but rather skim milk.  This is part of an experiment to see what benefit added calcium will have on the soil.  And it's a good way to dispose of excess skim milk (the byproduct of making butter) so that it doesn't attract flies.  We're always looking for ways to think outside the box!

Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS  67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470

June 15, 2008

Farm Fresh Weekly

Oops...
Yesterday morning I was writing this and hit the wrong key and accidentally set out the pre-edited form.  Now you know some of my faults.  Here is the corrected version.

Trouble sending last week's Farm Fresh Weekly
We had trouble sending last week's email.  If you failed to receive it you can either let us know and we will send you a copy or go to http://www.jakoinc.com/ffw.shtml to view it.

Lambs going to the butcher
We have scheduled 10 lambs to go the the butcher on July 15.  Let us know soon if you would like a side or whole lamb.

Next chicken butchering date
The next chicken butchering date is June 23.  Come between 4:00 and 6:00 pm if you want fresh chicken.  Let us know if you want a large amount.

Gardening
This year with the consistent rains and cool weather, the garden looks altogether different than it did last year after two floods.  This week we mulched the whole garden with wheat straw and hoed the corn.  It really is pretty.

Stories from the farm
This past week, Kendra went to Pennsylvania to see her fiance.  Between going and coming she had 3 flights canceled.  On the way home, her flight from Chicago to Wichita was canceled but a flight to Kansas City was available.  So she asked her brothers if they would come to Kansas City to pick her up so she would not have to spend the night in the Chicago airport.  They were only to happy to do that.  Multiple experiences of being in overcrowded planes and airports has convinced her that there's no place so peaceful as the farm.

Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS  67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470

June 14, 2008

Farm Fresh Weekly

Last weeks Farm Fresh Weekly
We had trouble sending last weeks email.  If you failed to receive it you can either let us know and we will send you a copy or go to http://www.jakoinc.com/ffw.shtml to view it.

Lambs going to the butcher
We have schedualed 10 lambs to go the the butcher on July 15.  Let us know soon if you would like a side or whole lamb.

Chicken butchering date change
The chickens are growing faster than what we had planned so we will probably butcher on We

Gardening
This year with all the rains and cool weather we have been having the garden looks all together different than it did last year after 2 floods.  This week we mulched the whole thing with wheat straw and hoed the corn.  It really is pretty.

Stories from the farm
This past week Kendra went to Pennsyvania to see her fiancea.  Between going and coming she had 3 flights canceled.  On the way home her flight from Chiago to Wichita was canceled so she ask her brothers if they would come to Kansas City to pick her up late Friday night so she would not have to spend the night in the Chiago airport.  They were only to happy to do that.

Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS  67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470

June 08, 2008

Farm Fresh Weekly

Kefir culturing
When we make kefir we let it incubate for 2 days at room temperature before chilling.  If you like more zing to it let it set out at room temp and continue to ferment until the taste is to your liking.  Since we are still experimenting with it we value your comments.

Economic thoughts
We have customers telling us that finances are getting tight.  For some cutting the food budget is a response.  For others not cutting the budget is their response knowing that healthy food is a very good investment.  What ever your feeling, one way to save money on beef is to purchase a side rather than cuts.  If you eat a variety of cuts (steaks, roasts and ground beef) you can save about 50% by purchasing by the side.  Let us know if you are interested in saving money.

Chicken butchering Monday, June 9
We will be butchering our second batch of chickens on June 9.  If you would like fresh chicken, come to the farm after 5:00 pm.  If you are wanting a large quantity, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Byproduct feeding
Ethanol byproducts are what is left after ethanol is made and some beef producers and dairymen are feeding it because there is a significant savings over feeding corn.  Allan Nation in this months editorial in the Stockman Grassfarmer relays some important information about the practice. One, sulfuric acid is used in the ethanol production process and leaves a high residue in the byproduct feed.  Sulfur at high levels causes problems with the animal and flows trough the milk and meat affecting the consumer.  Two, ethanol byproducts are highly susceptible to deadly mycotoxins.  One of these is alfatoxin which passes through the distilation process unaffected and grows rapidly in the sterile environment of the byproduct feed.  It is a major carcinogen which also survives pasteurization.  Do not be surprised if you here lots more about this in the coming years.  For you our customer the great news is that since we only feed grass and no grain you do not have to worry about these dangers.

Stories from the farm
This week the children were all at home so we had the opportunity to do lots of things.  One hit was talking about wedding plans and for the women dress shopping. Even weeding the garden and corn patch turned into a party with many hands doing the work.  Judy and I are truly blessed to have great children who are finding great spouses.

Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS  67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470

June 01, 2008

Farm Fresh Weekly

Thanks for a great customer party!
Thank you to everyone who participated in Monday's Customer Appreciation Party.  We enjoyed learning to know many of you better and sharing our farm with you.  A special thanks to Linda Dietz, Jan Reckers, and Meghan Baldwin for leading workshops.  We've heard many positive comments from the day, and we're glad you could participate!

Requests for kefir
We've had many requests for kefir (similar to yogurt, but with a different culture).  I have found a place to purchase kefir culture, so we will begin making kefir next week.  Let us know what you think.

Chicken butchering Monday, June 9
We will be butchering our second batch of chickens on June 9.  If you would like fresh chicken, come to the farm after 5:00 pm.  If you are wanting a large quantity, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Stories from the farm
This afternoon (Sunday), we will attend a wedding reception for the son of one of our customers.  The wedding couple requested gifts that were handmade, sustainable, or symbolic of the giver.  It's nice to see examples of people who translate their beliefs into specific actions in their lifestyle.  

Daniel King and Kenneth King
JaKo, Inc.
6003 E. Eales Rd
Hutchinson, KS  67501
www.jakoinc.com
620.663.1470

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