Cost of Milk, Cheese Shortage, Satsuma Abundance 12/2/16

Hello SMALL Farm Enthusiasts!

The question has come up Re: the price of our milk and what will it be
when we become 100% A-2.  Will it be $14 a gallon, $12/gallon or
somewhere in-bNew Postetween?  The complete answer is we are not sure yet. Costs
are rising across the board, not every single cost but most of them. 
My hope is that we can work with someone who has really good pastured
milk that is worth selling as a cheaper option but we do not have this
yet. We had this before and then it ended for reasons beyond our
control.  We would like to do this but have to have the right
connection/relationship/trust to make it work. Not having rain for 8
weeks straight here does not decrease costs in any way but, "this too
shall pass", as Mama used to say. 

Cheddar Cheese in short supply: For more than 10 years
we have been getting amazing cheddar cheese from a known and trusted
Amish source in PA.  Now they informed me that they have zero to send.
Not sure how we will live without it or how you will and the timing of
this is not good as our milk production drops a bit in Winter. They did
have some sharper cheddar which means it is aged a bit more………..we
prefer the mild, although we know several of our European customers buy
ahead a half or whole year to let it age in their refrigerator but most
of us are not up to that. Just letting you know we did our best but will
not have mild cheddar, only sharp.  We do have other flavors that are
good, maybe its time to try those?

Movie Night: Learn farming by joining us on movie night
at FCF.  Every week, on Tuesday, 7PM we are watching "The Salatin
Semester". We will watch an hour or so of this educational teaching then
have a discussion about what we watched. Join us whether you are a
farmer or consumer. Starting this Tuesday eve at 7PM right here at FCF,
$3 per evening, cover charge.

New Tampa pick up location!  For our customers who
usually pick up on Over Par Ave at the empty lot, your pick up location
has moved!  Please go to https://fullcirclerealfoods.co...
to see all the details Re: this new spot.

New Products

Sweet Potatoes 
are still here although the digging of them is over, so what we have is
all we will get. Tis the season, stock up now as the shelf life is
good.

Satsuma’s are back from Little River Organics. I went
to see Randy's crop and it looked absolutely amazing to say the least.  
It's been a few years since he has had a crop. Trees became overgrown
and a serious pruning program was needed. Now they are dripping with top
quality mandarins. Satsumas are mostly seedless and EZ peel so kids
love em, they contain a long list of antioxidants beyond Vitamin C and
the mild-tasting peel is edible adding greatly to their nutrient value.

We have full bushel boxes, half and quarter bushel mesh-bags and half bushel gift boxes ready to be labeled and shipped UPS, by you, before Christmas.

Living Breads Update:

If you’ve been on GAPS diet for a while and are ready to take the step
to introduce some carefully prepared traditional fermented grains to
your diet, Einkorn might be just the ticket. True Einkorn is an ancient
wheat and Sourdough bread is an ideal easy-to-digest nourishing bread
that is perfectly complemented with butter or pate.  You may already
know Dr. Natasha Mcbride's instructions for following the GAPS Diet.  On
her website,'Coming off the GAPS diet', she says that you can introduce
carefully fermented grains after completion of the GAPS diet.

For those of you who already know the benefits of Einkorn, Einkorn Sourdough is back in stock and can be purchased at https://fullcirclerealfoods.com/store/product/einkorn

Pork Highlights:

Hello, Ben the Pork guy here. Piggies are progressing. We have lots of
pigs ready for butcher in the next 2-3 months so please let me know if
you're interested in a whole or half pig. 6/lb for halves, 5.50/lb for wholes. And starting today, the first 2 hogs reserved as wholes or halves will receive an additional .50 cent off per pound. Also we have several pork items on sale right now, including whole pork belly, whole ham roasts, and whole boneless loin roasts. Click here to see all our for sale items. 

In other news, this week I am going to a seminar about raising pigs
put on by Joel Salatin which I am excited about. Joel is the founder of
Polyface farm up in Virginia. As you may know they are the modern
pioneers bringing back multi-species, eco-friendly farming in a big way.
Try you tube for some clips of polyface farm, or Joel Salatin. They
ignite a hope in me for alternative farming that can not only provide
great nutritious food, but can also improve soil and sequester carbon at
the same time. They are an example that I want to keep learning from,
and I know Dennis has learned much from them also. 

That's it from Ben the pork guy. Have a good week :)

Anyone need some mousers? Our cat, who is a good mouser, had her 2nd litter of kittens this year and they are ready to go now.  These are working cats, free to good homes.

Thanks for supporting a small, family farm and contributing to a more sustainable future,

Dennis and Alicia