Bridging the GapAs many of you know, Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm works with a couple of neighboring farmers to
bring you the outstanding pork and beef in your shares (Mark & Kristen Boe for pork and Mike Warren for beef). When
your demand exceeds our farm's production, we purchase additional animals, at a profitable premium over market price,
from the Boe and Warren farms. These animals are raised with the same care and attention to detail as those at Cedar Valley
- no drugs or antibiotics and the ability to express their true nature. In fact, the superior genetics that we rely on were
developed by these breeders over many years.
Unfortunately, we are not able to
take all of their production, and they don't always make a profit on the rest of the stock they sell. This fall we're writing
grant to develop a larger market (restaurant, food coop, and small grocer) for their animals that ensures that they are
rewarded for their dedication and painstaking work - it will keep them in business and ensure YOUR supply as well.
For sustainable agriculture practices to grow and make a difference they need to be
adopted by larger, conventional farms as well as very small farms like ours. To this end we've encouraged our more conventional
friends to adopt sustainable practices. This spring, Mark and Kristen planted 40 acres of GMO-free corn to supply their
pig feed as well as our pig & chicken feed for the 2010 season. This year, Mike Warren purchased
a bull specifically to meet the needs of our grass-fed Milk & Meadow Beef program.
Adding a consistently profitable market for all of their stock will move them another
step closer to sustainability. And, that's what Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm is all about.
Making the SharesEach week I have sixty or more shares to build, for one, two or three delivery locations. As our membership
has grown I've developed a system for doing this pretty effeciently.
I begin early in the week looking at my member
database to get a rough count of how many shares I'll need that week. Then I look at the spread sheet where I keep track
of what each location has gotten each month. I try to plan share so that everyone gets a variety from month to month,
and gets each cut at some point. With that information, I make a first draft of my packing list for that week's shares.
Next I go out to check the freezer, (we haven't gotten a computerized inventory system set up yet, but it's
on my long range plan). Now I can go back inside to finalize my list.
We have our butcher make packages
as uniformly sized as possible, so I have a good idea of the value of each piece, although they aren't individually priced.
I put the price into the spreadsheet and keep adding cuts of beef and pork until I get to around $50. I add in the eggs
(one dozen, or two depending on availability) and finally I determine how much weight of chicken to include.
Because the sizes of the chickens can vary significantly I set a weight that will bring the shares up to the correct value,
then when I pack the shares I get to that weight with different combinations of birds. Since it's difficult to
get exactly the right weight, I err on the size of packing more than I planned. Now it's time
to make the shares. We have six drop off locations, ranging in size from a dozen shares to over seventy. I try
to make the shares the same for everyone at a drop-off, that makes it much easier to fill the shares assembly-line style.
I usually fill 5 or 10 bags at a time, that helps me keep track of how many I have made, and how many to do.
Late in the week I finalize my delivery list, make any special shares (no beef, or no pork) and finally write the newsletter
to tell you what to expect in your share this month.
The day of the delivery, we load the shares into the
coolers and the coolers into the van, make sure we have the check list and we're off.
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