Tasty treats like fava beans at early farmers markets

Yes, we’re still getting occasional snow flurries in Mt. Shasta in late May, but farmers market season it on it’s way! (Sorry, so excited that I rhymed.) I just got an email that the Mt. Shasta Monday farmers market is set to open on June 7th. The market is held on the north end of downtown on Mondays from 3:30-6:00pm. Growers will be coming from the Shasta Valley and Orleans on the Klamath River with early season crops – think garlic and greens. There will also be plant starts for those of you who want to plant your own gardens. It’s not the only market that will soon be starting, I’ve posted the market schedule for all of Siskiyou County below.

And a reminder to folks, the Egg Buyers Club is midway through its 6-week trial period. This week there are everbearing strawberry starts and next week they’ll have organic veggie and flower starts from Healthy Gardens for sale at the pick up location (see the post below). The eggs at the buying club come from two farms in the Shasta Valley, and members of the club can read about those farms and their practices when they buy eggs. This is project that will only continue if it gets solid, consistent support. I know a lot of people are looking to fresh, local eggs – this is your chance! So get down to the drop point at 630 N Mt. Shasta Blvd anytime between 10AM-4PM, Monday thru Friday.

Siskiyou County Farmers Markets

Dunsmuir market – Certified market
Saturdays 9:30-12:30 in Children’s Park on Dunsmuir Ave
Starts 1st weekend in July through last weekend in Sept.

Mt. Shasta – Certified markets
Mondays 3:30-6pm on Mt. Shasta Blvd
Thursday 3:30-6pm on Mt. Shasta Blvd
Monday starts 2nd week of June thru mid October
Thursday starts week after 4th of July thru mid October

Montague Market
Saturdays 9am-noon at Railroad Park
Starts first weekend in June

McCloud Market – Non-certified market
Saturdays 10am-1pm at General Store parking lot

Fort Jones Market – Non-certified market
Tuesdays starts 5:30pm at Ray’s parking lot
Starts in July

Yreka Market – Certified market
Wednesdays 11am-2pm in parking on Main Street just south of Olberlin Road (1209 S. Main St)
Starts June 9th thru mid October

Big Springs Market
Tuesdays 2:30-6pm at Mayten Store

Lake Shastina Market
Thursdays 2:30-6pm, location TBA

Farm fresh eggs in a convenient spot in Mt. Shasta – great news for folks looking for local food! This has been circulating for a few days now as our first local egg buyers club is set to start on May 17th. This is another brilliant idea from the folks at Kid Creek Farm – many, many thanks to Shawna and Jacob. They’ve set up a location in downtown Mt. Shasta where farmers can drop off their eggs and shoppers can drop by Mon-Fri to pick up eggs. They did this in part to help out a farmer in the Shasta Valley who has way too many chickens to be selling one dozen at a time, but can’t sell through retail outlets because of that whole USDA-regulation thing. So here we have a wonderful, local-food based option in the egg buyers club. You’ll have to join the club (for a $1 lifetime membership) so you can legally buy eggs – it’s another one of those loophole tactics. If you want to learn more about why local food is so highly regulated, visit the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund site. I’m not going to climb up on my local food soap box just now, really I just want to spread the word about this fabulous opportunity. Go get some eggs!

Here is Shawna’s explanation of the club:
In effort to meet our community’s desire for locally produced eggs, you are invited to participate in an experimental model for connecting farmers and backyard egg producers with local consumers.

For the next 6 weeks we shall learn if this model is viable and desired in this community! Your participation, or lack thereof, will determine whether or not there is a demand on the part of consumers for locally produced eggs, whether the model will continue.

Here’s how it works:

1. Beginning Monday May 17th, come by 630 N Mt. Shasta Blvd. (Ridgecrest Mortgage), anytime Mon-Fri, 10AM-4PM.

2. The first time you come, sign up to become an “Egg Buyers Club Member” by providing your name, email address and/or phone number, and a $1 lifetime membership fee. (The eggs will not be sold “retail” but rather this model is for the private sale of eggs directly from farms to buyers club members.)

3. Choose your eggs from the designated egg refrigerator.

4. Leave your payment in cash, with the correct change. (At this time, only cash will be accepted. In time, other means of payment will be possible.)

A few questions you may have:

1. How much do the eggs cost?

Buyers club eggs cost $5 per dozen. This price fairly compensates the producer, and covers the cost of the administration and commercial space required to provide the convenience of a downtown pickup location. It also produces a tiny profit than can then serve as capital for more infrastructure (another refrigerator, larger location, etc) should this model grow. Purchasing eggs this way allows you to invest in this project!

2. How many eggs will be available through the buyers club?

During the trial phase, we will attempt to distribute 40 dozen locally produced eggs per week. As demand grows, we will continue to add more producers to meet the demand.

3. How will I know where my eggs come from, and how they are produced?

Each participating producer will affix a label to their cartons, and will fill out a “Producer Information Sheet” detailing their growing practices and providing contact information. Information Sheets will be posted on site for the buyers to access.

4. How fresh will the eggs be?

Producers may only drop off eggs that are no older than one week.

A note about the shelf-life of eggs: Eggs kept under refrigeration have a very long shelf life of six months or more. On average, grocery store eggs are over one month old by the time they hit the shelves. Additionally, unwashed eggs wll remain fresh for 3 weeks or more unrefrigerated due to a special coating that is left on the shell with the egg is laid. Unwashed eggs have an extraordinarily long shelf-life.

5. Will there be other local food products available?

This is certainly possible in the future if this model proves viable. We would love to see this project be the embryonic stage of a local food distribution system.

I came across the Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture today on Facebook and loved reading it. What really struck me is that some one or a group of people took the time and energy to sit down and formulate this. I’ve been thinking, writing and talking about local food systems, but not to this degree. I found the scope of the work inspiring. View the Declaration at http://fooddeclaration.org/ and sign it if you like it. Enjoy:

We, the undersigned, believe that a healthy food system is necessary to meet the urgent challenges of our time. Behind us stands a half-century of industrial food production, underwritten by cheap fossil fuels, abundant land and water resources, and a drive to maximize the global harvest of cheap calories. Ahead lie rising energy and food costs, a changing climate, declining water supplies, a growing population, and the paradox of widespread hunger and obesity.

These realities call for a radically different approach to food and agriculture. We believe that the food system must be reorganized on a foundation of health: for our communities, for people, for animals, and for the natural world. The quality of food, and not just its quantity, ought to guide our agriculture. The ways we grow, distribute, and prepare food should celebrate our various cultures and our shared humanity, providing not only sustenance, but justice, beauty and pleasure.

Governments have a duty to protect people from malnutrition, unsafe food, and exploitation, and to protect the land and water on which we depend from degradation. Individuals, producers, and organizations have a duty to create regional systems that can provide healthy food for their communities. We all have a duty to respect and honor the laborers of the land without whom we could not survive. The changes we call for here have begun, but the time has come to accelerate the transformation of our food and agriculture and make its benefits available to all.

We believe that the following twelve principles should frame food and agriculture policy, to ensure that it will contribute to the health and wealth of the nation and the world. A healthy food and agriculture policy:

1. Forms the foundation of secure and prosperous societies, healthy communities, and healthy people.
2. Provides access to affordable, nutritious food to everyone.
3. Prevents the exploitation of farmers, workers, and natural resources; the domination of genomes and markets; and the cruel treatment of animals, by any nation, corporation or individual.
4.Upholds the dignity, safety, and quality of life for all who work to feed us.
5.Commits resources to teach children the skills and knowledge essential to food production, preparation, nutrition, and enjoyment.
6. Protects the finite resources of productive soils, fresh water, and biological diversity.
7. Strives to remove fossil fuel from every link in the food chain and replace it with renewable resources and energy.
8. Originates from a biological rather than an industrial framework.
9. Fosters diversity in all its relevant forms: diversity of domestic and wild species; diversity of foods, flavors and traditions; diversity of ownership.
10. Requires a national dialog concerning technologies used in production, and allows regions to adopt their own respective guidelines on such matters.
11. Enforces transparency so that citizens know how their food is produced, where it comes from, and what it contains.
12. Promotes economic structures and supports programs to nurture the development of just and sustainable regional farm and food networks.

Our pursuit of healthy food and agriculture unites us as people and as communities, across geographic boundaries, and social and economic lines. We pledge our votes, our purchases, our creativity, and our energies to this urgent cause.

I hold in my hand my farm share owner receipt from Kidd Creek Farm – today was sign up and orientation day for our local goat milk and cheese herd share. This morning 25 to 30 people stood in the chilly barn sampling goat cheese from the farm and sipping tea as Shawna and Leslie explained the ins and outs of herd share. Some of the folks were new, some returning from last year. The goat milk shares (14 or 17, I forget which) sold out in under 72 hours, so there were also some folks there hoping to find someone who would split their share with them. The basics of the herd share are this: you buy a portion of ownership in a goat, you pay a portion of its boarding fees for a whole year, and then you pay your weekly labor fee for milk or cheese (or both!). I believe it was $17 for goat ownership and $50 for boarding fees, if you didn’t already purchase ownership in an animal last year. Then it’s $10/week labor fee for a gallon of milk. Yeah, $10 a gallon, plus the $67 you pay up front. It’s totally worth it.

I had never had goat milk until I heard about the herd share last year. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try it because my mom and dad both said they didn’t like it at all. Well, after one taste I was hooked. When I tasted it early last summer it put me in mind of spring grass and flowers bathed in sunshine (perhaps that’s the writer in me). Plus, herd share owners get to go to the farm to pick up our milk. That alone is a major draw for me. Kidd Creek has 11 acres of grass – well it’s not all grass. There is a huge garden that keeps getting bigger, a couple of barns and pond. But there is also grass: beautiful pastures with content cows and goats grazing in this mellow, unhurried way that acts as a balm to a day full of rushing around with work and chores. Time moves differently on a farm, and I get to experience that every time I go pick up my milk.

When there is extra cheese or farm fresh eggs, herd share owners can buy those things too. It was “just lovely” (to use Leslie’s phrase) to hang out in a barn watching people sample fresh milk, listen avidly to Shawna and Leslie and crowding into a stall to watch Buttercup the goat get milked. Leslie went through the whole process of milking so we would all know exactly what happens with our food source. They talked about what the animals eat, how they are cared for if they become injured or ill and where their food comes from (goats and cows want to eat locally too!). It was really a good, solid introduction into what it means to take part in a herd share. As they put it, entering into this agreement is similar to a CSA share: you take the risk with the farmer, and you are entitled to know how things work on the farm.

Shawna and Leslie also talked a little bit about why a herd share is necessary and why they can’t become a licensed dairy (they don’t have a spare $1 million lying around to meet regulations). The farm became a member of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which promotes herd shares as a means for local farms to legally sell their milk. They also mentioned that if you’re not used to raw milk, you should do some research to find out about the difference between raw and pasteurized milk – the Weston A. Price Foundation is a good source for this info.

So that’s the skinny on the herd share. Sounds like we’ll be waiting a few weeks for the milk to start. One of the ladies is expecting, and she’ll need a few weeks to nurse the little one before the milk goes to humans. If you know someone who has goats, cows or sheep and wants to sell the milk, the herd share is one option (if they want to be legal). The model at Kidd Creek Farm is the kind of thing we need to replicate all over the county and the nation so we can get milk from local sources. Shawna and Leslie are working to create something that can be recreated on other farms, so if you want to talk with them just let me know.

I had a great day talking about local food in Siskiyou County today. These days that’s something I do a lot of since I’m doing a local food system assessment for the Siskiyou Economic Development Council and meeting with a group of South County folks who are super interested and motivated to see locally grown and raised food become accessible. Hot topics today were creating venues where local produce, dairy, eggs, meat and others goods could be purchased. Co-ops in Mt. Shasta and Yreka were discussed, and in fact one Shasta Valley farmer is working to organize a co-op in Yreka this season. I also heard that our new co-op – Beaver Valley Trading Co in Etna – is doing great, with folks coming in to shop and dropping off goods. We also shared thoughts on a big issue in local food: changing laws that suit massive corporations that control most of the food in the U.S. to better serve small producers who are trying to feed their neighbors and fellow community members. It should be an easy, natural thing to share your produce with your neighbors, sell eggs to those who don’t raise chickens and trade milk from your goats or cows for food stuffs you don’t raise. But it ain’t simple by any stretch. As we talked about in our group, the USDA treats milk with the same highly regulated status that the government treats drugs. Legally, you can’t give milk away, and that’s something that’s just got to change.

But moving on, the point I wanted to make and the great feeling that I carried with me today is that people are talking about local food – everywhere. One of our local nurserys in Mt. Shasta is talking about hosting classes to teach people how to can food and grow food crops in containers. As posted earlier, the Scott Valley Feed Store is already on it with classes, and Beaver Valley is planning on scheduling classes too. Community gardens are coming together and it sounds like we might have two new farmers markets starting in Big Springs and Lake Shastina.

Outside of the area, co-ops, herd shares, CSAs, food policy advocacy groups, farms to schools, programs to feed the hungry with local food – these things are gaining huge momentum. Sometimes it can be hard to see that it’s happening, but I assure you it is – and it’s coming to Siskiyou County. And to share some hope, some examples and some ideas about local food, I’m going to include some links to places I’ve been inspired by. There is plenty going on, and with the energy and vitality of spring coming to our area, growing food is a popular conversation topic. Let’s embrace that green-inspired hope of spring and build some consensus about local food and what we want for healthy living!

Willamette Food and Farm Coalition Oregon is really moving
Thrive: Buy Local, Buy Rogue – Ashland’s BALLE network
Marin Agricultural Institute – check out the cool “Stories” section under programs
Gorge Grown – local food group in the Hood River area
The Intervale Center, Vermont – this is an amazing, mind-blowing example of how a community can come together to support local food
Center for Rural Affairs – so much good stuff, don’t forget to check out the blog
Oregon State Extension Service – lots of classes and a beginning farmer program

When I talked to Gareth of Scott River Ranch a few days ago, he was driving a tractor out into the field to plant pasture grass while telling me about his certified organic beef products. It was a fine day for planting grass out in the Scott Valley, and a good time to talk about the family’s organic, grass fed beef. The operation is family owned and operated outside of Etna where they’ve raised cows and hay for years. The ranch had been adopting organic practices over the last 10 years, he said, with their organic certification secured two years ago. The ranch had been selling its hay to cow operations on the coast and near Petaluma, when Gareth realized that they could use that product to raise their own grass fed beef. Now they’ve got cows grazing on pastures and eating home-grown hay through the winter, instead of shipping out for finishing on corn and heading to a huge slaughter house somewhere far away.

Beef products from Scott River Ranch are being sold at Berryvale Grocery in Mt. Shasta, the only retain outlet in Siskiyou County currently carrying the products. Gareth is working on adding more retail stops, and by the end of the month online ordering will be possible on the Scott River Ranch website. On the website you’ll be able to see the full product line, which includes some rare parts that are sought after by Weston A. Price followers.

It’s so great that we have another source for home grown organic beef here in Siskiyou County in addition to Prather Ranch (see my post). I’m also excited that another ranch family has taken the leap to leave the main stream system and placed its faith in its neighbors and fellow State of Jefferson residents to support it in its new endeavor (a store in Jacksonville also sells Scott River Ranch beef). There are so many benefits to eating grass fed beef, but even more importantly, there are so many benefits to sourcing our food locally. One of the great things is that if you want to know where your beef came from: i.e, how it was raised, what it was fed, if it was given antibiotics or hormones, you can call Gareth. He’ll tell you how the cattle were raised and treated, and that takes all the mystery out of a transaction that is loaded with uncertainties when you buy beef of unknown origins from the supermarket. Plus, when we choose to support local ranchers and farmers, we bring some of our food dependency home to the the places we live, which is how it should be. It’s a recent human development that food production has been removed from the places we live and pushed into remote areas so we forget about it. When it’s not in view, we can quickly lose connection to how food is raised, and once that connection is severed, we just don’t know about the quality and nutritional value of the food and whether it was raised with values and practices in line with our own. When choosing how to feed ourselves, those should important issues.

The folks at Kid Creek Farm are hosting a Poultry Butchering Day at the farm, which is just outside of Mt. Shasta, on Saturday, April 3rd. Last year the Barr family got 100 meat chickens and some turkeys to raise on the farm, and that meant that in the fall there was a big butchering day. I couldn’t make to that one, but it was their proving ground, since there were so many birds to process.

Now some of you might feel a bit squeamish about this, and that’s understandable. I love my hens (and the dumb pretty boy), and even though they don’t have names, I know it will be difficult when their laying days are over and it’s time for them to become stew meat. It’s easy to get attached to chickens, and therefore hard to think about killing them. But here’s the thing: I owe it to them. If I’m going to raise an animal: care for it, provide it food and shelter, and put my energy into respecting its life, then it’s also my responsibility to care for its death. To give it away, neglect it, or turn it out so the coyotes can take care of it is not in line with the care and respect I’ve given it during its life. So, even though its hard, I feel that chicken butchering is my responsibility. We’ve chosen to raise poultry: right now we have 22 birds, and we want more, so I’ll be grateful to attend Poultry Butchering Day at the farm.

The Barr family and the other families who share in the work, the beauty and the love at Kid Creek Farm are all about creating local food: they have an amazing herd share program that’s already sold out this season, a lot of laying hens and a garden that keeps on growing. Be sure to check out the blog at Kid Creek Farm to read about all of the work that went into the farm last year. Among other things, Shawna canned like a true farm wife, her pantry is amazing.

This is the announcement for Poultry Butchering Day that came from the farm: “Come spend the morning sharing how we create our own food right here in Mount Shasta. Sharing the experience to help promote local food independence. There will be a complete demonstration from chicken to freezer and all are encouraged to participate if they choose. A suggested farm donation $25 per person or $40 couple would help inspire more of these homestead type of events.”

I know there are a lot of backyard chicken owners out there, so think it over. The Morning at the Farm is Saturday, April 3rd from 9:30am-12:00pm. Call Leslie at 926-6836 to RSVP.

The Scott Valley Feed stores in Yreka and Greenview are feeling the spring spirit with a number of classes coming up in March. They’ve got four programs that will run through the summer and into the fall. Go visit these fine folks and take their classes to learn more about a number of gardening and homesteading skills, kids and the outdoors and cooking. And, it’s that time of year when you can stop in to see the baby chicks and listen to their soft peeping. Beware – once you see them, you’ll want to take some home.

Contact Scott Valley Feed for more info about their upcoming classes at 842.6801 (Yreka) or 468.2434 (Greenview)

Animal Days
March 6th – Poultry class
June 19th – Wildbird summer feeding class
Aug 21st – Tack Swap Meet in Greenview 10-3pm
Oct 9th – Wildbird winter feeding class
Oct – pictures with family/pets, pet costume contest all month long
All Animal Days will be held at 9:30-10:30am in Greenview and 12:00-1:00pm in Yreka, unless otherwise noted.

Garden Days
March 13th – Plant pruning class
April 10th – Composting class
April 29th – Container planting – Greenview, 5pm
April 30th – Container planting – Yreka, 5pm
May – Planting Patio Containers (all month)
May 15th – Drought gardening class
June 26th – Water Gardening class
July 10th – Artist in the Garden – Yreka, 6pm
All Garden Days will be held at 9:30-10:30am in Greenview and 12:00-1:00pm in Yreka, unless otherwise noted.

Kid’s Days
March 20th – Underground gardening class
April 24th – Open House
May 8th – Mother’s Day Tea
July 24th – Insect picnic
Sept 25th – Kid’s Bulb day
Oct 23 – Pumpkin carving
All Kid’s Days will be held in Yreka and Greenview and will start at 10am, unless otherwise noted.

Cooking Days
March 26th – Cheesemaking, Greenview
May 28th – Herbs and Teas and natural remedies, Greenview
July 30th – Canning fruits and jams, Yreka
Aug 13th – Drying fruit and vegetables, Greenview
Sept 24th – Pressure canning, Greenview
All Cooking Days will be held on Fridays at 5pm.

I had a great day in the Scott Valley today where I visited with Jennifer Greene at Windborne Farm and David Waymire at the new Beaver Valley Trading Company in Etna. Things are happenin’ in the Scott Valley, and with the fog drifting over the tilled fields outside of Fort Jones it felt like spring was just beyond our fingertips.

On Windborne Farm, which offers a variety of CSA options that I’ll discuss below, planting time is approaching. There are winter grains to be put in and spring veggies – like salad mixes and spinach – that need to be seeded. The draft horses Thor and Orin will be going to work soon, but today they were enjoying the early spring grass in a field next to the baby goats and truly free ranging chickens. Jennifer and I walked the length of the 25 acre field where she alternates grains, veggies and cover crops. Then she cracked an egg for me – I thought I had seen dark yolks in our eggs, but her far ranging chickens produce a yolk so orange it borders on red. I can’t wait to eat some tomorrow morning along with the goat milk she sent me home with – yummm.

Windborne CSA Farm is selling shares locally this year, which is so exciting. To get started you sign up for a vegetable share that gets you 30 weeks of whatever is ripe on the farm, which will start out with spring lettuce mixes, spinach and other greens. Come summer time there will be tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and other traditional crops, along with melons, which Jennifer says grow exceptionally well there. CSA members have the option to sign up for additional shares – eggs, grains and a goat lease that yields milk every week. I’m looking forward to the grain share which can include barley, oats, rye, wheat, buckwheat, amaranth, teff and millet that she mills on the farm. Jennifer is distributing flyers in Scott Valley, Yreka, and the South County, so keep an eye out. I’ll try to get one posted here as well. You can also email her at windbornecsa@yahoo.com to learn more. She starts making deliveries in mid April, so email or call her soon at 530.643.0540.

Etna has its own food movement coalescing at Beaver Valley Trading Company, where David Waymire is creating a food club where locals can join to buy or trade locally raised foods or crafted goods. Veggies, fruits, meats, eggs, and milk will be coming in from member farms and there are more possibilities on the horizon. David is planning a soft opening this Saturday, Feb 27th from noon to 6pm. In March the store will be open Tues thru Sunday from noon to 6pm. Farmers are harvesting onions and garlic and crafters are bringing in goods this week. As we move into spring the inventory will grow, so stick with it. The BVTC will also be a hub for classes – currently there is a sign up for a spinning class (wool, not bikes) and cooking and food preservation classes are on the calendar as well. Beaver Valley is located in downtown Etna at 435 Main Street. You can get info about the food club by emailing bvtradingco@gmail.com or calling David at 530.925.2280.

The Joel Salatin talk in Medford last week was packed – thanks to the folks at JCLAC for bringing such an energetic speaker. Mt. Salatin has become a popular supporter of the local food movement after being featured in Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma.

The evening opened with a discussion of elements of a local food system, and Mr. Salatin broke it down this way:
1. producers who grow the food
2. processors within the community
3. accountants & business types
4. marketers who spread the word
5. distributors who link farmers to consumers
6. customers who “get” local food

It’s interesting to look at our community and/or region and start asking the questions about those elements: which do we have? what are we missing? how can we create those things? is there enough interest? can we all connect to support a local food system? Presently I have the great opportunity to be working for the Siskiyou Economic Development Council where I am doing just such a local food system assessment and working to connect with those growers, processors, sales people, customers and community members who want to get involved and contribute to the exciting work of growing our local food system. In a place like Siskiyou County, where the Shasta, Scott and Butte Valleys are capable of growing a lot of food, there are a lot of things to consider, not least of which is who wants to buy local food. I think we’re looking at a chicken and the egg situation right now: we need more farmers growing food for humans, and we need more people buying locally grown food so that we’ll drive a need for more farmers. Huh.

In talking with people from different areas of the county I am feeling that there is interest building around local food and momentum is building. From large gardens to CSAs to emerging food clubs and herd shares, folks are finding their way to local food. It’s an exciting time.

Mr. Salatin described people who “get” local food as those who are willing to go on a “treasure hunt to learn what grows locally.” I like the treasure hunt idea, and I have certainly been on my own treasure hunts in past years, especially when is comes to gleaning fruit. What I’m finding these days is that there is a lot of food diversity here in Siskiyou County. Just this week I talked to folks who are raising goats, cows and chickens and selling milk, cheese and eggs and folks are growing veggies, fruits and grains. I heard about a man in the Scott Valley who has a producing Meyer lemon tree. There a plenty of grains out there too, once again in the Scott Valley: wheat, rye, teff, amaranth, oats.

With all this good stuff within such a short driving distance (compared to the average 1500 miles that food travels from producer to plate) the trick is to get connected, to hook up with these farmers and ranchers and start buying from them. And that’s what this site is about: making connections around local food. Keep reading, it gets more and more exciting every day that spring approaches.