Good Afternoon, As many of you already know, our farming efforts started small, only raising what we needed for ourselves and sharing some with friends and family. It was only recently that we decided to expand, buying the land across Turner Road, and agreeing to rotationally graze a larger number of animals in order to both build our farm up, and improve our pastures. This Fall as we wrap up a season of grazing I can definitely say that we are starting to "get in the groove". Our big pastures still need better topsoil but that will come in time and with hooves on the ground. The pastures that we lease from our friends near Little Sand Bay are improving greatly on a much faster scale. Their soils were built up by sheep and cattle more recently and our cows are really just rejuvenating those soils, not necessarily having to completely recreate them. Spending time in the pastures with the cows, listening to the birdsong near the ponds, and looking at a sea of bright green grass will never get old. It's soul healing and calming the same way a walk through big trees grounds you to your core. Even if I didn't want beef, I think I would raise cows just to experience these kinds of days. I would love to say that walking amongst the sheep flock has the same affect, but with two, one year old guardian dogs and several bottle baby lambs involved it's more like a walk through at the local animal shelter. You're hammered with treat requests and playful puppies, immediately regretting your decision to not wear clothing that you don't mind losing entirely... I love the sheep, but it's just not quite as relaxing lately as the pasture full of sleepy cows. **This Sunday Josh and I will send our two first steers to be processed. We are offering quarters for $4.5/pound plus processing from Lake Haven Meets in Sturgeon Lake MN. Prices include shipping, packaging, and delivery back to the farm for pick up. We will also be offering a 25 pound beef box which will include about 7-8 pounds of ground, and one of each of the major roasts and steaks, as well as stew meat and smaller cuts. The price of each box will be $225. Our beef will be 100% grass raised and finished. **If you want to sign up for a quarter beef, please send me an email and a deposit to put towards your processing costs of $200. Deposits for a 25 lb beef box are $50. Checks can be made out to Turner Road Farm, 89420 Turner Rd. It took us roughly 28 months to raise each steer on our pastures, a far cry from those who are able to feed a higher protein feed in their earlier months and often sell at 18 months or similar. Once you go through the second winter with a cow, you might as well let them graze the grasses until it's time to go. If we can figure out how to feed steers separately, we could offer a silage or alfalfa ration and raise them for a shorter period, but for now this system has worked. You might remember that last Spring, we said we were done raising pigs..well we had three pigs that we hadn't sent to the market last Spring and are finally sending them this Fall after they've spent the entire summer lounging in the grass and rooting up our woodlots. To be honest with you, ever since Josh moved them to their wood lot and took over their care, I sometimes forget we still have them. Lately though the dogs and sheep have been grazing along their opposite side of the fence and we've caught the dogs and the pigs racing each other, back and forth as if they are playing a game of tag, without actually touching each other. It's a great example of communication between species, and I'm glad to see the two puppies are finding ways to entertain themselves. If you're interested in Pork, half or whole, or just in general, please let us know. This year's processing options for Pork are different because we are sending them to Conrath meats, which offers a natural smoking option. If you want pork, we charge $7/lb, including processing. Please specify if you want the natural smoking option or not and how much you are asking for. We only have a select amount of pork left and don't plan on raising pigs for awhile after this. I know I've now said this several times, but third times' a charm right? Lastly, we are still taking orders for whole and half lamb. Lamb is $9/lb whole or $10/lb for a half, which includes processing, packing and deliver to the farm. Our lambs begin to leave in October and won't be ready until likely early November. If you can't tell, we are going to have A TON of products to keep frozen this Fall. I'm slightly nervous about how much we have going on and how much we have to do to get things sold and quite frankly, it's not much fun to send animals off of the farm, so I sort of put it off. It is however, extremely rewarding to be able to give our customers good food, knowing we've done our best to make something that has a positive impact on both the community, and the planet. As a small note, if you are sending a deposit, please consider putting it in our farm store drop box, the Bayfield post office is having a heck of a time, and I don't want anyone's deposit to be missing. If you recently mailed a deposit, chances are that I just received it a few days ago, along with a week's worth of other mail. I've attached an informational sheet about what is typically included in a steer and what you can expect, based on the average weight of an animal overall. If you buy a quarter or a box, items and amounts will be adjusted accordingly and of course, every animal will be a bit different. Here's a quick survey question for you: How thick do you like your steak and why? Is pork steak better thick or thin? Why? How thick do you like your Beef steaks? Why? Thank you for all of your ongoing support. Your purchasing of small farm products makes a huge impact on our small community and the health of our environment. -Esme, Josh, Nori, and the critters at Turner Road Farm.
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Turner Road Farm89420 Turner Road Bayfield, WI 54814 J:715-209-7327 E:715-209-5276
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