Statesboro Market2Go:  Be sure to place your order!

Be sure to place your order tonight. More veggies are available!

Champaign, OH:  Don't Go Back To Rockville

Looking at your watch a third time… waiting in the station for the bus…
Going to a place that’s far, so far… away and if that’s not enough…
Going where nobody says hello, they… don’t talk to anybody they don’t know…
(Don’t Go Back To Rockville-REM)

In college, I began a love of early REM. When they were alt/indie/rock. I listened to their first two albums, over and over and over. I have friends, now, from Georgia, who were lucky enough, in the early days, to sit in pool halls and obscure clubs and listen to the beginnings of REM.

Anyway, by the time I was listening to them, I had entered my later years in college. I was dabbling in a minor for my major. I was holed up in the building that housed the journalism, broadcast, media arts students. Serious times. I fell in love with broadcast journalism and started listening and learning and going to programs at an old, run down, historic hotel, in our college town.

I was new to the broadcast department, and it was a total boys club. They sort of just brushed me off, didn’t want to help me, thought they were so cool and smug. The professor took me under his wing and placed a bet with the boys. He bet them that I would kick all of their butts by the end of the semester and that I would get a B in his class.

It was probably the WORST time of my college career. But…I continued. I just kept going to class even though they were all so against the girl who entered their world. I went in, late at night, and sat with the sound guy who worked with me and showed me the ropes of the studio.

At the old hotel, I talked about, the boys all hung out, lived in the upstairs rooms and drank whiskey down in the old bar. I was determined to crack their code. Be one of them. Even if they ignored me. Even if they didn’t want me around. Even if they didn’t want to help me.

I continued to show up at their after hours club. I listened to their radio/television talk. I learned to sip whiskey just like they did. I continued to work hard. Study hard. I called my grandfather, on a regular basis. He told me not to whine, not to back down, and to find something that I could take to them that would impress and make them take a bit of notice at what I had to offer. Use your head, he said.

So, one night, I showed up with my music. I produced the REM cassettes. I talked them into putting them into the old sound system. Silence. A bit of respect. A new taking notice from them. We talked music. We sipped whiskey. We started making plans for our semester projects.

I ended the semester with a B:) My semester project was a short story all set to REM tunes, including this song. It was about a girl, looking for her path, her road, and explored different stages of her life. The ending was pretty dramatic but I will keep it a secret as to what it was…

Because, this all ties into this little market of love. Once upon a time, this market was not wanted, not believed in, made to work hard, needed everyone to take notice, had no clue if we would fail or pass. Now look at us…much like me, the girl in the boys club, we have worked, worked, worked…promoted, gathered vendors, begged people to give us a chance, proved ourselves, and now look…..tonight, we are on the edge of breaking our best record yet.

Let this tale of my college class, this market, my grandfather, and just plain hard work, be an inspiration…

Just go out and make it all happen. It’s not easy but once it all comes together, it’s the best feeling there is.

You have three hours before I close the market, tonight! Please consider placing your orders…help us on the never ending journey to keep proving ourselves.

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

South Cumberland Farmer's Market:  Mushrooms Today!

In Town Organics will have extra Shiitake mushrooms at market today from between 4 and 6 pm. First come, first served.

Republican Valley Produce:  Greetings from RVP online Farmers Market

Hello,

I know it has been a long time and you probably thought you would never be able to order produce online again. Well we are getting ready to start up again this November. We do have some changes for our online market. The biggest change is we will only be doing a drop off in CLAY CENTER. Also due to time constraints and fuel prices, we will no longer offer delivery to Manhattan and we will be the only vendor in our market. We will be attending the Winter Market in Manhattan, so you will still be able to get our produce there.

Linda and I haven’t “Ironed” out all the details yet, but we will be working on those this week. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon.

We just wanted to let you know that we will be planning on opening up the market in November.

Any questions, please send me an email at jaysjellies@yahoo.com

South Cumberland Farmer's Market:  Extra Mushrooms!

In Town Organics will have extra Shiitake mushrooms at market today from between 4 and 6 pm. First come, first served.

Russellville Community Market:  RCM Order Reminder

Hey everyone! Just a quick reminder that we’ll be closing for orders tonight at 10:00 p.m. Get your orders in soon!

Happy ordering!

We hope to see you on Thursday for the market pick-up!

Check out our Facebook page for great info on local foods issues and upcoming events.
Be sure to click on the “Like” button at the top of the Facebook page to get automatic updates. Thanks!

FRESH.LOCAL.ONLINE.
Russellville Community Market

Plattsburgh Online Ordering:  Asgaard caramels available

Caitlin just added Sea Salt and Vanilla Bean Caramels back into the online ordering. Freshly made (they got wiped out at the Essex County Cheese Tour). Ordering open until 9 tonight.

Middle Tennessee Locally Grown:  Just a Short Time Left to Order!

Please remember to place your market order very soon. This week’s market will close for ordering at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday), for delivery fresh from local farms on Thursday.

What good eating, so easily available on our online market! Don’t forget all our eggs, summer fruits & vegetables, local honey, jams and bread! Please note that we have bread from two new bakeries, also including jam from one of them, and lots of new pork products!

We also have a great selection of perennial plants & hanging baskets, herbal & handmade products. Now is a great time to plant perennial plants for spring color.

Pickup will be at Square Books, 113 E. Main St, Manchester, from 3:00-4:30 on Thursday. Please e-mail me at tnhomeschooler@yahoo.com, or call (931) 273-9708 if you would prefer to pick up on Friday morning between 10 am and 1 pm.

Thanks for your orders last week! Please encourage your local friends and family to shop with us and support local farmers!

Here is the complete list for this week. See you on Thursday!

~ Linda

How to contact us:
On Facebook
By e-mail
By phone: (931) 273-9708
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Old99Farm Market:  Old 99 Farm, week of Oct 6 2014 and Eco-friendly Meat and Dairy: 10 reasons why

It’s tues am, a mild spell, the barnyard cover is almost done, and lambs are going to the butcher today. I’m suffering a recurring low back syndrome that got so bad this week, I’m off to a novel spinal alignment therapist.

This is last week for special on ground beef at $5/lb.

Lots of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers in the greenhouse, and new crop of lettuce greens, carrots, collards, kale, beets.

Lots of eggs.

How would you like to read this and pass it on?

Eco-friendly Meat and Dairy: 10 reasons why

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-buy-organic-dairy-meat.html

Eating fewer animal products is a good choice for the environment. When and if you choose to eat animal products you can make a significant difference for your health and the environment by taking these steps, and here’s why:

Choosing to support farms that caretake the environment and the animals they raise in an ethical manner, is a very positive way to spend your food dollar. Animal agriculture produces surprisingly large amounts of air and water pollution, and causes 80 percent of the world’s annual deforestation. It also requires large amounts of water, and livestock worldwide consumes half the world’s total grain harvest.

By supporting local, sustainable and organic farms in your local community you also support the larger community of which we are all a part. By eating animal products raised on such farms you provide the healthiest choice for your family and support the farms that support healthy and ecological neighborhoods.

1. Free of antibiotics, added hormones, GMO feed and other drugs; no GMO animals

Animals raised organically are not allowed to be fed antibiotics, the bovine human growth hormone (rbGH), or other artificial drugs. Animals are also not allowed to eat genetically modified foods. Further, animal products certified as organic can not have their genes modified (for example, a scorpion gene cannot be spliced into a cow gene).

How: The animals are raised in a healthier environment, fed organic feed, and often eat a wider range of nutrients than those raised in factory farms (such as would be the case of free-range chickens and ranch cattle). The animals are not from a test tube.

Highlights: Organically raised animals have been shown to be significantly healthier than their factory-raised counterparts.

More: Visit the Organic Trade Association Web site for updates on the U.S. federal organic standards.

2. Mad cow safeguard: Animals aren’t forced to be cannibals
The practice of feeding cattle the ground up remains of their same species appears to cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a horrific disease that destroys the central nervous system and brain, can be given to humans who eat the cows. The disease in humans has a very long latency period, and is called Creutzfeld-Jakob disease.

How: Animals are fed 100 percent organic feed without ground up animal parts.

Highlights: By eating 100 percent organic meat you are protected by a label insuring the cow has only been fed 100 percent organic feed.

3. More humane, ethical treatment of animals
Factory farms treat animals like commodities, and they are kept in tightly confined pens and often never move more than a few feet their whole lives.

How: Buy meat and eggs raised from chickens raised outdoors free ranging and grazing.

Highlights: Animals are more likely to be raised without cruelty.

4. Animals free-range and graze
The words “free-range,” and “ranch raised” are clues that the animals were raised in a more humane way. Their diet tends to be more well-rounded; the animals are not confined and spend time outdoors in the fresh air.

How: Free range chickens eat more grubs and bugs than their industrially-raised counterparts; free range animals graze as they are inclined.

Highlights: Humane and ethical treatment of animals; more nutritious food.

5. Manure
Small farms use it, industrial farms pollute with it.

How: On small, diverse farms, manure is used to naturally fertilize soil. Industrial farms produce so much manure, on the other hand, that it is a human health risk. The overspill of manure can contaminate wells with E. coli and other pathogens. In one region of North Carolina, for example, hog farms produce 10 million metric tons of waste annually.

Highlights: Sustainable farms use their manure productively as organic fertilizer. The manure is “pure,” coming from animals fed organic diets.

6. Animals are integral to small farms
Using animal manure is considered recycling of nutrients. No farm can cope with all the animal offspring, so selling some makes economic sense. Sustainable farms tend to provide and sell a range of products, and organic eggs and animal products would be included.

How: Most organic farms have a few cows, chickens, etc.

Highlights: The animals—many of diverse gene pools—serve a purpose besides providing food.

7. Fewer chemicals used
Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are not used on the food or land. Residues of persistent chemicals such as DDT, PCBs, dioxin, and many pesticides concentrate in animal fat. Eating organic animal fat reduces your exposure to these chemicals.
Farmers working on organic farms are exposed to fewer chemicals.

How: Organic agriculture works for a healthy balance of the soil, including using crop rotation and other techniques to improve soil fertility, instead of controlling the environment with chemicals. The animals are not fed food containing pesticides, and so the amount of persistent pesticides in their fat is reduced.

Highlights: Safeguards groundwater, farmers’ health, topsoil, habitats, and neighborhood health.

8. Diversity
Industrial farms rely on just a few species of cattle, chickens, pigs, etc., whereas small sustainable farms tend to raise a wider variety of livestock. Entire species of livestock can die out if they are not raised on farms.

How: Support our food supply by buying food representative of a wide gene pool. Every time you even buy a brown instead of a white egg you are helping to support diversity.

Highlights: Support diversity by supporting diversity on your local farms. Buy their milk, eggs, and meat.

9. Factory farms use huge amounts of resources
The factory farm industry is run with cheap, nonrenewable fossil fuel. Producing, transporting, processing, and marketing the food all depend heavily on it. Without cheap fuel, industrial agriculture would be impossible because it would be too expensive, notes organic farming expert Fred Kirschenmann. The heavy pesticide use on industrial farms contaminates groundwater and soil. Kirschenmann believes industrial farms are responsible for the loss of over half of U.S. topsoil.

How: Organic farms uses less energy with careful ecological management, and using natural ecological balances to solve pest problems. Buying animal products from local farms further reduces energy by reducing the amount of miles the food travels to your table.

Highlights: Organic farms use 70 percent less energy than industrial farms, and since they don’t use pesticides they help preserve ground water. The farming techniques of organic farms builds topsoil and doesn’t contribute to its erosion.

10. Your dollars support the farm you buy from
If you buy your meat from an organic farmstand at a farmer’s market you support that farm. On the other hand, if you buy non-organic meat that isn’t local, free-range, or ranch-raised from a supermarket chain, you most likely support a multinational food conglomerate.

How: You can contribute to the well-being of your community by supporting small, local, diverse organic farms.

Highlights: Buying organic animal products is better for your health, your local community, and the larger community as a whole.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-buy-organic-dairy-meat.html#ixzz3GnfYwhjK

Old99Farm Market:  Old 99 Farm Week of Oct 19 2014

A drizzly week, but above normal temperatures for this time of year. I’m progressing on the new barnyard cover project which will give much comfort to our cows and make better composted manure since it will keep the rain and snow off.

We have first baby lettuce greens this week. Lots of carrots in the ground, ready to harvest or store. The leeks are ready to harvest, a bumper crop, as are the beets. I have cilantro, great with boiled potatoes.
This year the carrots are more mature since we got them in sooner, meaning likely less ‘baby carrots’ but all still sweet and delicious as the cold weather causes them to convert starches to sugars.
I have grape jelly from a neighbour, grapes grown on their farm, two recipes one with honey.
Solanum potatoes are being dug for storage. These ones grew in the greenhouse all summer along with the squashes and tomatoes. Sweet potatoes are now cured and ready for sale.

Looking for lamb? I’d like to get your orders so I know how many to take to the butcher real soon. And remember I have baby beef, veal grown on pasture, nursed by the mothercow, now in the freezer. Ground beef special will end Thurs Oct 30th; check around it’s a good price for lean pasture raised ground beef.

Ready for another list of reasons to buy local and organic? http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-buy-organic-dairy-meat.html. It’s a great list, that starts off saying we should all eat less meat…

Please hold off on the egg cartons till further notice, I have scads.

Healthy eating
Ian and Camelia
(and Michael from Hannover Germany, our guest for 6 weeks)