Monday, September 15, 2008

2008 September Newsletter

Greetings from Dean, Kim & Family at Coulee View Family Farm. This is the sencond newsletter from Coulee View Family Farm. We are again sending this out to friends, acquaintances, customers and folks that have previously expressed an interest in our products. If you wish me to remove you from this mailing list, please drop me an email stating so.

Summer is almost over, the nights are getting colder and the days are getting shorter.

Pastured Meat Chickens. We raised two batches of Freedom Rangers thus summer. This is a slower growing breeds that take slightly longer to reach maturity which means their taste is richer and deeper than the Cornish Cross chickens found in grocery stores. We still have some frozen chickenes available, so contact us soon if you are interested.

The cost of our pastured chicken Freedom Ranger is $3.25 per pound which really compares well to other pastured poultry prodcuers such as this site ( http://www.trautman.net/farm/foodproducts.htm ) which is at $4.50 per pound (but theirs are fully organic except for processing).

We will also be raising one last batch of chickens that will be available mid August. This will be the Cornish Cross variety and the cost will be $2.75 per pound if picked up at the farm on the processing day (we'll have bags, you bring the cooler) and $3.00 per pound frozen. Contact us by email ( drzimmerman1@yahoo.com ) or phone ( 608-874-4144 ) to reserve your's now.

Pastured Heritage Turkeys. We are also taking reservations for our pastured heritage turkeys that will be ready for Thanksgiving. We have added pictures of these birds to our website at https://www.couleeviewfarm.com/Pictures.php . Call or email now to reserve one for a very special Thanksgiving dinner. Pastured heritage turkey pricing is $4.00 per pound fresh on processing day and $4.25 per pound frozen. The estimated dressed weight will be in the 8 to 16 lb range.

Pastured Pork. We will be taking our first pastured pork of the year to the butcher on October 13th. Our pigs are truely pasture raised outdoors in large, frequently moved pens. Be sure to check out the pig pictures on the website. They are primarily fed pasture (grass, weeds and roots) and our grain mixture and supplemented with garden waste when available (currently lots of fallen apples). They are not fed antibiotics, growth hormones or other unnatural chemical stimulants. Studies show that meat from pastured livestock to be high in the heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids in addition to superior taste and quality.

Our cost and estimated weights are shown below:
Product
Processing
Price Per Pound
Estimated Weight
Pastured Whole Hog
State Inspected Butcher
$3.00/lb plus processing costs*
120 - 175
Pastured 1/2 Hog
State Inspected Butcher
$3.10/lb plus processing costs*
60 - 90
Pastured 1/4 Hog (split half)
State Inspected Butcher
$3.20/lb plus processing costs*
30 - 45

* Processing costs include a $24 kill fee $0.34 per pound to cut and package. The cost to cure & smoke bacon is $0.75/lb and the cost to cure & smoke ham is $0.55/lbThe meat would be picked up at the state inspected locker in Eastman, WI (about 10mi north of Prairie du Chien on Hwy 27).

Be aware if that comparing our pricing to supermarket pricing isn't an apples to apples comparison. Not even close. The normal supermarket pork is CAFO raised pork fed a computer calculated blend of the cheapest foodstuffs available at the time resulting in a bland product. To see our our pricing compared to similar pastured pork and I compared our pork price to this farm http://sugarmtnfarm.com/ which does naturally grown pastured but not certified organic pork (so very comparible to ours). They are at $3.50/lb for the whole pig and $4.50 for a half and their local processing costs are much higher. So, our pricing would seem to be reasonable for the Pastured Pork product.

Pastured Eggs. Our egg layers are doing well. They now live in a modified RV that was donated by a good friend where they are closed in and safe from predators at night and let our to range during the day. Recall that testng has shown that pastured eggs contain:
• 1/3 less cholesterol • 1/4 less saturated fat • 2/3 more vitamin A • 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids • 3 times more vitamin E • 7 times more beta carotene
We sell these eggs ocasionally on Saturday mornings at the farmer's market at Blackhawk Junction Mall (near True Value) in Prairie du Chien. If we get enough interested customers in one location, we can also set up a delivery/drop off. Contact us if you are interested in becoming an egg customer. The cost of these superior eggs is currently $1.50 per dozen. As an incentive to purchase our pastured broilers, a free dozen of eggs will be given for every 6 broilers purchased. If eggs are sold out at the time a rain check will be given.

Chicken Recipes.
I found a nice compilation of chicken rescipes on the "Pete & Jen's Backyard Bird" website at: http://peteandjensbackyardbirds.com/recipes.aspx
If you need a basic recipe for grilling or ove roasting a chicken, go to this site and click on the CHICKENRecipes.pdf link.


That's all for now. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Dean & Kim Zimmerman & Family
Coulee View Family Farm
http://www.couleeviewfarm.com/
54247 Valentine Lane
Wauzeka , WI 53826
608-874-4144