THUNDER BAY – Food Now – Welcome to 2012, a year in which we hope brings happiness, prosperity and LOTS of good things growing on farm. We are experiencing a renaissance around here where our thoughts, minds and brainstorming are returning to some of our farming practices from years gone by and even some new ideas. If you are looking for some good reading, we just finished Joel Salatin’s (of Polyface Farms in Virginia) latest book entitled “Folks this Ain’t Normal”. Salatin’s knowledge and wit have reinvigorated our minds to the benefits of a diversified farm, with a focus on sustainability, community and self sufficiency. Matt’s visit to Polyface a few years back continues to be an inspiration and a wealth of creative ideas for a small scale farming operation like ours.
We will be getting back into pasture raised beef this year after a couple of years hiatus as well as raising and tending to Leigh’s favourite: laying hens, which will provide us (and you, if you so choose) with pasture raised, organic eggs. We are also looking into the possibilities of pasture raising pork and meat chickens. There are, of course, plans in the works for a whole bunch of delicious vegetables and herbs as well.
As a result of all this diversity, our 12 week CSA share this year provide you with a couple of options,
Veggie Share: $450 ($37.50/wk)
Veggie Share + Eggs (1 doz/wk) : $510
Veggie Share + Eggs + Winter Storage Share = $610
In addition, as CSA members you will have first pick at our meat offerings, which we can and will tell you more about later in the year.
Those of you who purchased shares last year may take note of the drop in price for the Veggie Share. We have fewer infrastructural and equipment investments to make this year, as a result we would like this to be reflected in a lower overall cost to you, as it is for us. We will have some spots for work shares again this year, please let us know if you are interested in this 12 week commitment.
We are planing a Farm Orientation Day this year for ALL members (paid and workshare) on Sunday, June 9, 2012. This Orientation Day will provide you with the opportunity to come out to the farm, get a tour of our operations as well as answer any questions you may have about the CSA process and what you can expect the 12 weeks to look like. These are things we often don’t have the opportunity to communicate at our busy drop nights! Speaking of drops, we will continue to bring your veggies/food to town on Wednesday evenings for pickup between 6 and 7pm in the Lakehead University parking lot.
If you are interested in a share this year, please let us know by responding to this email so that we can hold a spot for you. In order to save you the hassle of stamping and mailing an envelope with your cheque and because we’d love to see you, we will be at the Thunder Country Market (at the Dove Building) on Saturday, January 21st and January 28th from 8am to 1pm for members to drop off cheques/cash for your shares. We will also get you to fill out a CSA member information sheet at that time. If you would rather send your cheque via snail mail please find our mailing address below, be sure to include a note with your preferred email address (if its different than the one we’ve used here) and a contact phone number. Also if paying for your share in two instalments works better for you and your family feel free to do so, just let us know your intention.
We very much look forward to being your farmers this year!
Sincerely,
Matt & Leigh
Boreal Edge Farm
Organic Vegetables
RR#1
Marttinen Lane,
Nolalu, Ontario,
P0T 2K0
(807) 475-8835