Davidson is BACK, plus Two New Events!!

Plus, Bair Trax Dairy is offering a tour of their Certified Organic operation on Saturday October 7th… last chance to sign up is this Sunday by 8pm!!

They’ll take you for a guided look at their family farm, show you their milking operation, and everyone on the farm, from the laying hens to the newest calves! Sign up under the Farm Tour category on The Market page!

And Bree Leach, co-owner of Live Simply Live Richly Farm, is offering a Small Business Facebook Class on Thursday October 12th, for anyone interested in boosting their business with some social media savvy!

Entitled “Making Social Media Work For You”, learn to engage your target demographic, increase visibility and sales, and connect with Millenials! Sign up under the Classes and Workshops category on The Market page!!

The Need of Community...

It may seem unusual for me to dwell on them when I spend every moment touting the benefits of your neighborhood producers and truly local food… but Mary-Howell’s words really hit home, as she responded to a fellow farmer who, having just lost his soybeans to a recent hail-storm, sent his condolences to the Martins after their fire.

We’re trying to make a list of all the things that were in the barn for insurance, but we can’t list the memories of our daughter’s FFA cow project that consumed the entire family, feeding pigs with our oldest son in the baby backpack, laughing as we (poorly) sheared sheep as a young couple, Klaas feeding the heifers each evening, watching our youngest son when in high school sitting beside our intern from Kazakhstan learning a few words in Russian as they milked the cows, the Hassidic rabbis camping out beside the spelt dehuller as we dehulled their kosher spelt overnight. So much of our lives and our children’s lives revolved around that old barn, and it is gone. And the kids are grown.

But remarkably, the bin of Kosher spelt that was right beside the worst of the blaze, complete with its full propane tank, is not even charred, and when the rabbis got here from Brooklyn late yesterday afternoon and checked the grain, it looks fine! Somehow in the midst of the destruction, it still stands.

And the amazing number of friends and neighbors who stopped by yesterday, offering help, standing with us beside the smoking battle scene, bringing enough food for a funeral, hugs and caring, and our community firefighters of all ages, sizes, and genders. What a group! Knowing that so many people gave their entire night and much of yesterday to help us, support us, love us. We are humbled beyond belief. We are strengthened beyond belief. This is not a tragedy – this is actually an opportunity for us to feel and appreciate our community, both in Penn Yan and literally (thanks to Facebook) around the world!

But honestly, you won’t get any of that when your field of soybeans get hit by hail, you won’t get it when your milk market collapses, when your spouse gets sick, when your teenage child gets in trouble, when your key employee quits.
Our ‘event’ will give us all sorts of support and kind words, but most events that farmers deal with get hardly any notice, totally alone, without any support, without any caring.

We understand that very very well, and in some ways, this excessive outpouring toward us right now makes that even more stark, and a little embarrassing. Most bad things, we go through alone. And community/friend support means so very much. Having people around yesterday was a truly wonderful thing.

So Tim and Kris – here are our hugs, our caring, our understanding – for your loss and discouragement. You have no idea how well we understand! You too will be dealing with insurance today, the clinical humiliation and dissatisfaction of that. You too will be wishing there was some way to wind back the clock, change something, make it not happen. You are not alone in understanding this.

Perhaps that is the most important thing we have learned in the past 48 hours. We need to go through these things with a community.”

no one would’ve known the loss – yet they would’ve had to do exactly as they are doing now, picking up the pieces to try again. I’ve heard so many times, when the going was terrible, “well, that’s farming!” but it’s easy to say when you shop at a big box store and your livelihood isn’t contingent on so many uncontrollable variables. You plan as well as you can, yet 5 minutes of inclement weather can destroy weeks, months, years worth of work.

Where do you find Mary-Howell’s optimism, the day after such devastation? In love of the life and its challenges. And especially in community. In the face of customers who understand sweet corn doesn’t grow in Ohio in April, who want to learn why you don’t have the variety to sell that you would’ve liked, and who are willing to exchange chard for kale because the cabbage worms decimated the kale last night. In the encouragement from a new vendor who’s bursting with enthusiasm. In the brand new customer who’s thrilled to find a convenient source for truly local food.

We close tonight at 8pm!

Pumpkin Scones and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Peppery arugula, heirloom tomatoes, and HUGE cushaw squash

New Orange Clove Cinnamon bastille soap

And Davidson Family Growers will soon return, with their hydroponic greens everyone’s been missing!!

Tonight's featured vendor?

Prior to accepting the manager position with the Virtual Market, I sat down to read the different food production rules in Ohio, and nationwide, finding just how intimidating food production can be, for a small-time, start-up operation… what type of crates you can use to legally haul your produce to market, the licensing required to transport frozen and refrigerated goods, what you’re allowed to incorporate into your baked goods, which butchers are licensed and inspected appropriately for reselling… I could go on all night, without even touching on the cost!

And not just any cheese, but a wide variety of handmade, raw milk artisan cheeses, as she’s committed to presenting the healthiest, most natural cheese possible. And where does she create such a product? Her 20’x20’ USDA licensed commercial kitchen… stepping from her lovely home into that pristine workplace, I was undeniably impressed – it was immaculate, and impeccably organized. To stand there and think how much cheese can be made by one grey-haired lady, I was envious of her energy and her talent… if anyone could make such a business endeavor flourish, it’s Andrea!

Being a business owner with several federal licenses and a fully-licensed and inspected facility is a far cry from the woman who began her cheese-making career four years ago, before she learned what an uphill battle she had in front of her. Having been licensed to sell in April of this year, she still has testing and courses to complete regularly to keep her licensing current, from her milk-hauler license to her weekly milk testing for antibiotics. So this is definitely a woman who loves what she does!

Having always sourced the milk for her cheese locally, she currently turns to Lauxfield Farm, a Grade A Jersey dairy in Houston. Conveniently only 6 miles from her home, Andrea heads to the farm once a week for the milk she’ll turn into her artisan cheeses, knowing the importance of trusting the dairy responsible for milk she’s sourcing to produce her craft.

Jerseys are famous for the cream and butterfat in their milk, and all of that cream goes into Andrea’s cheese. Not only that, but her cheese is as natural as possible, as she uses only rennet, salt, cultures and fermentation to create the different varieties – and often the only cultures in her cheese are the natural cultures from the raw milk!

Cheese made from raw milk must be aged for a minimum of 2 months, and some of Andrea’s selections, such as her parmesan, are aged for more than a year!

Andrea is convinced cheese is an art form, and she’s just as adamant there’s nothing better than sharing her art. When she started giving me ideas for using some of her full-flavored cheeses as a garnish in quiche, for an incomparable mac ‘n cheese, or the perfect accent to a party tray, I realized just how much I’d been missing all my life, as I was completely unfamiliar with Fontina, Gruyere, Havarti, Brie, Manchego… and to think I can now experience such variety from a local producer, with a truly local, exquisite product? Not ooooh and aaaah, but Mmmmmm and thanks!

Farm Tour includes Outdoor Bake Oven demos!

Wednesday Sept 20th, from 5-7pm, you’ll be WOWed with her gorgeous outdoor brick bake oven, and amazed as you watch (or help!) power the bicycle to grind local wheat, grown on End of the Road Farm!

Then sample crackers straight out of the oven, and try your hand at some old-fashioned farm tasks, such as shelling corn and churning butter – a food tasting, history lesson, and night out for the family, all in one!

Tonight's Featured Vendor is...

Chez Nous Farm, her 25 acres on the west side of Piqua, has been in her family since 1948. As she showed off her friendly horses, Caroline explained how one of them is the great-grandson of the original mare her grandfather purchased over 50 years ago!

The business plan for her farm has been in the works for several years, as she took courses, studied established practices, and gained ideas from fellow farmers. Wanting to start small, her offerings this summer consisted of potted culinary herbs including basil, parsley, cilantro, and thyme, organically grown in the charming greenhouse built with help (from the best maintenance man in the universe). Finding a niche with low initial inputs allowed her to get her feet wet while building her business and her name.

Her home garden was meticulously neat, the pastures lush, and her woods showing evidence of how much she is committed to hard work – look one direction, the woods appeared as many of our area parks, roadsides, fields, and fence rows do – full of invasive honeysuckle, choking out our native plants and wildflowers. But most obvious was the other side of the path, where she and a friend began the tedious process of battling one of Ohio’s worst invasive species. The difference was staggering, and inspiring.

Caroline glowed when talking about her “big plans” in store for meat goats that she recently brought home to her farm. They’re lightening her load in tackling the honeysuckle, as she rotates them through the woods and uses their appetite to start the clearing process. Can’t you just see sheep and goats grazing along roadsides for the same purpose? I’d like to see the figures comparing the cost and benefit of fencing such an area, and stocking it with meat animals, instead of paying to maintain the same area that produces no food or saleable product. As Caroline talked about her goats, it made me think of the photographs I’ve seen where Ivy League schools at the turn of the 20th century (and earlier) used their large expanses of lawn to keep sheep and chickens that would then be used in the school kitchens. Oh the potential! But I digress ?

Last year, Caroline developed a conservation plan with the Natural Resource Conservation Service. One part of the plan includes some of the acreage to plant pollinator habitat, which also will support another of her new projects – honeybees!

She described how the house and outbuildings were added over the years, including what was once her father’s airplane hangar! Now a godsend for storage of equipment, she still calls it “the hangar”. Then when she explained how she came to own and care for the family farm, Caroline chuckled, saying “The Lord works in mysterious ways”. True, and always for the best – and whether for us to have access to another ecologically-minded grower, or for that 25 acres to be nurtured so mindfully by Caroline McColloch.

Last Call for Orders!

A potted herb from Chez Nous Farm! With everything from versatile parsley to must-have basil,
which will you choose to keep close at hand, adding pizzazz and health to your cooking with just a snip here and a pinch there!

Fall is approaching, and Winter’s not far behind… there’s nothing like some fresh greenery in your home when your gardens are at rest until Spring, while you turn to your favorite Virtual Market for your local produce needs :-)

Stop by Miami County's farmer's markets!

Only a few more weeks to stop by the Piqua Farmer’s market on High St in front of Fort Piqua Plaza -
tonight from 3:30-6:30pm! AND it’s the Apple Pie Contest – Yum!

Three other in-county markets will stay open into October…

Tipp City Marketplace at 3rd and Main, tonight from 5-8pm

Miami County Farmer’s Market at Lowe’s in Troy, Saturday from 9am-2pm

Downtown Troy Farmer’s Market on Cherry St, Saturday from 9am-12pm

And you know we’re open til 8pm Sunday :-)

Use Local Sweeteners for Canning!

Whether you turn to honey, maple syrup, or sorghum, don’t ruin the fruit you’re canning with unhealthy white sugar!!

Making a simple syrup is truly easy, and oh so delicious – peaches in honey syrup, apples in maple syrup, pears in sorghum syrup – we’ve tried several different combos, with tasty results!

Best part? You can cut the amount of sweetener called for in most recipes by at least half – sometimes using only 1/4 or 1/8th of the sugar called for! Quarts of peaches I use for cobblers mid-winter only took 1 cup of sweetener for 8 cups of water – not only did I save money and support our local producers, but the sweeteners enhanced the flavor of the fruit, instead of masking it.

These sugar substitutes are healthy, local, and so versatile you’ll be like me, wondering why you ever bothered to use sugar in the past!

More CHEESES – Cheddar and Gruyere!

More PRODUCE – Beets, Leeks, Salad mixes, and Fennel!

More BAKED GOODS – Pumpkin Muffins, Apple Honey Muffins, Sugar Cookies and Snickerdoodles!

Only a few hours left!

So much going on over the Labor Day weekend!

Whether you head to Aullwood Farm and Education Center today for their FREE admission from 1-5pm, or to the 25th annual Fort Rowdy Gathering in Covington, the market is still open til 8pm tonight! :-)