Weekly Blog

Early this past spring I wrote about the possibility of the Federal Government enacting regulations that would potentially drive local produce growers out of business--well, the House of Representatives has PASSED the legislation--it is now headed to the Senate Click Here for a good summary of what they are working towards. Now the USDA has further narrowed the scope of their target.  This time, the proposal is known as the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA).  The current proposal has been negotiated with and approved by the largest fresh greens growers in the nation (they are located in the southwest corner of the nation.)  And as the plan is written...and as I understand the "legal-eze" we as growers will be assessed a fee to join the USDA's GAP program, and be assessed a fee based on our sales of leafy greens and be required to purchase USDA approved labeling for each individual product sold--here is the list of the proposed produce to be affected:

§ 970.15 Leafy green vegetables.

Leafy greens means the fresh mature

and immature leafy portions of any of

the following: Arugula, cabbage (red,

green and savoy), chard, cilantro,

endive, escarole, kale, lettuce (iceberg,

leaf, butter, head and romaine), parsley,

raddichio, spinach, spring mix (baby

leaf items including, but not limited to,

cress, dandelion, endigia, mache,

mizuna, tat soi, winter purslane) or any

other leafy green vegetable

recommended by the Committee and

approved by the Secretary. The

Committee may also recommend,

subject to the approval of the Secretary,

the removal of any leafy green vegetable

from this definition.

We would also be required to prove traceability of all of our greens products from seed to your table.  A realitively easy task for the major producers with the use of bar codes, but very impractical and nearly impossible for the small scale grower.  Our large coolers of lettuce, mesclun, kale and other leafy greens would not be within the proposed parameters, we would need a refrigerator at market--something that is not possible with our current infrastructure!  We would loose nearly 1/3 of our produce sales--a loss that would be difficult if not impossible to make up!

So, I'm not sure of the timeline, nor can we be certain about the final draft, but if there are not substantial changes made to the current draft you will not be likely to find any greens available locally. Yes, there needs to be better traceability and high standards for growers, but with the ever growing popularity of local foods...I have to ask myself if the corperate growers aren't trying to send your local growers the way of the local dairy farmer!  (I have been told--by a reputable source that up to 30% of PA dairy farmers will be out of business before next spring!!!)

Feel free to give Senator Spector a call or email and let him know how important the local grower is to you!!

Harrisburg office: 717-782-3951

or follow this Link to his web site contact form

The squash harvest is in and we had a bumper crop of spaghetti squash!  We had planted almost 1500 linear feet of acorn squash but the deer LOVE them--none for us!

It has been a very productive 2 weeks for the construction project at Eden View.  The root cellar is structurally complete, just 1/2 a days worth of work in building shelves and hooking up electricity and it's done!  The cleaning station which is directly above the cellar is also nearing completion--the roof is on, the plumbing and electric are finished and the wash station is in place.  We just have more storage and refrigeration to complete the inside and then the outside needs a coat of stain, a load of recycled crushed concrete, and the pasture needs seeding. 

We have less than 2 weeks to complete this work--October is a very busy month!!  Our winter cover crop gets planted early October, Sweet potato harvest starts in early October,  next years garlic crop needs to be planted mid-October, and the winter storage crops start their harvest in late October. 

The construction of the root cellar/produce station continues...the walls are finished and if all goes well this Friday the roof will be on and we will be using the building by Saturday.  Next week we should have more pictures and a complete update.  We are hoping to have a tour day early in November to see the root cellar, the produce cleaning/packing station, Sam the baby burro and his mom, Maggie, Jeremiah the draft horse, our vegetable gardens and licensed kitchen.  More details will follow in the coming weeks.

Chicken:  Our next processing will be mid to late October, we will let you know as the time gets closer.  Please preorder--it looks like we will be sold out before our processing date!  We have increased our production substantially for the November and December rounds, and we will be raising a limited number through the winter.

Beef:  This is the last week to place an order for the September round of Grass Fed English Aged Angus. Follow this link for some great information on the beef!  Orders should be ready for pick up late October.

Lamb:   We have loin chops, hot Italian sausage, garlic lamb bologna, ground lamb, and livers available.

Salmon: We are now accepting orders for Wild caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.  We are offering portion size packages which normally wiegh in between 3/4 and 1 pound.  Price is $13 per pound.

Orders can be picked up Tuesdays at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg between 2 and 6, here at the Harvest Shak Wednesday Friday or Saturday between 10 and 7, and in the shale parking lot behind Uncle Joes Woodshed in the Pleasant Valley Shopping Center.  Not sure where these places are???  Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Here is what we have available this week:

From the garden:   Green beans, baby spinach, radishes, carrots, rutabaga, lettuce, potatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic, beets, mint, collards, kale, hubbard squash, spaghetti squash, many sizes of pumpkins, and even what's called a Cinderella pumpkin-this is a short squatty almost neon orange pumpkin.  Look for a large selection of pumpkins at the Harvest Shak starting Friday or Saturday this week!!!!     

From the kitchen:  Tarts (crusts made with organic spelt):  Apricot Blueberry, Cheesecake, Pecan Chocolate and Pumpkin Custard.  Sprouted Scones:  Dark Chocolate Chip/Almond, Orange Ginger and Lemon Poppyseed.  Sprouted Cookies/Bars: Shortbread Cookies, Oatmeal Date Nut bars.  Muffins:  Pumpkin Cream Cheese.  Flatbreads: Tomato/Basil/Onion (spelt), Asiago/Parmesan Herb (spelt), Shiitake Pablano (sprouted wheat/quinoa), and Fig Walnut Raisin (sprouted spelt).  Flatbread Crisps: Sunflower Poppyseed and Sesame/Flax - great with dips or salsa!   Sprouted Breads: Four Grain (sprouted wheat and spelt, oats and quinoa), Cinnamon Raisin Walnut (spelt), Spelt, dinner or sandwich rolls (spelt).

Sprouts:   clover, alfalfa, sandwich mix

Nutty Berry Mix Granola

Spelt Pancake Mix:  Makes about 10 delicicious and nutritious pancakes - especiall yummy when topped with MacNeal's maple syrup!

Kombucha Tea:  Apricot, passionfruit papaya, ginger, acai berry and wild berry.

Kombucha vinegar: Triple berry - made with red and black raspberries, blackberries, and our own Kombucha.     

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar:  currently out of stock

Meats:  Lamb loin chops, ground lamb, hot Italian lamb sausage, garlic lamb ring bologna, lamb liver, Grass fed hamburger, wild caught Alaskan Sockeye salmon.    

Products from our local partners:  Wild flower honey, Clover honey, Raw honey, pure maple syrup, Tait Farm raspberry shrub, free range eggs.  

Eric & Cindy Noel

WOW!!  The underground phase of the project is almost complete!  The only bits and pieces to finish are a few shelves.  The potato bin is full with nearly 125 bushel of potatoes—that means we should have them in stock right through the spring.  Phase II of the project will allow me to regain my workshop…the space above the root cellar will be used for cleaning and preparing the produce.  Hopefully that will be functional within the next 2 weeks.  Enjoy the pictures!