February 2011

We are preparing for another year of raising healthy food and my husband has been learning how to speak 'computer'. This means that we will probably have a regular website soon instead of a blog. Not that I will be any better at managing either one, but it should at least be a shorter name to remember. I'll post the exact name when we finish up the new site and our domain name is set.

At this point of the season we are just raising our kids, a kitten and puppy. It is a welcome break and we have been enjoying the chance to get up in the mountains to ski as well as just having some short visits with friends and family without the worry of farm chores. We will start figuring out our prices and have a general feel for finish dates sometime in March for the products we will sell in 2011 and will be open to pre-orders once the newsletter is out.

If you are not on our emailing list, send me a note at firsthandfood@yahoo.com and you too can be one of the first to know what you can look forward to in 2011 from First Hand Food.

We look forward to serving you again in the coming year. Take care.

Susan

Last Quarter of Beef up for Auction at NCA.

(Right)My daughter (5) was cold so she borrowed my sweater. Two of the cows were curious if the grass really would taste better from the other side of the fence. It did and does. That is why we move them frequently onto new grass so they are able to constantly enjoy fresh pasture and not over graze one field depleting the best grasses and nutrition. This is just one way we are creating a better end product, by giving our cattle better grass. We hope you all enjoy the fruit (meat) of our labor and are getting your cut lists ready and freezers fired up for your sides of beef that will be arriving 10-15 days after our January 8th anatomy lesson.

For those still looking to buy beef for January 2011, we are sold out for the year. With one exception: there is one quarter that we donated to the auction at North Shore Christian Academy to help them raise funds to make improvements to their school. Make note: this is not your tax dollars at work, it is a win win situation for better education. You get beef, the kids get a science lab. We like it better this way, and hope you might too. If you want some of our delicious healthy grass fed natural red Angus beef go to the NCA website and get tickets to the auction on November 13th. Then bid to your heart's content on what ever you find attractive knowing it will go toward a great cause, and you will get something in return that you enjoy/can use.

Other items you might be interested in, and are somewhat related to us that are up for bid include two dozen of our neighbor's great multi-colored eggs, from birds that roam and are fed freshly ground GMO free feed. Also, potentially an all natural GMO free, pastured Thanksgiving Turkey from the Johnson family farm at www.pasturedsensations.com here in Snohomish. You may not like eating grass, but these birds and beasts love it and it shows in the superior quality of healthy protein that is produced right here in Snohomish county.

As always feel free to write, call or email if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Sincerely,

Susan Ward

First Hand Food

PO Box 1057

Snohomish, WA 98291

(425)508-9799

firsthandfood@yahoo.com

Fall Round Up

I went all summer without a post. It was a busy season! We raised, butchered and sold our 120 chickens. Hooray! Thank you to all of our new and returning customers. That was a lot of work and even being a veteran of one season I still learned a lot and found the differences in weather and structure challenging.

At the time we started raising our flock of chickens this year we also started our first batch of Turkeys and doubled our herd of cows. Granted that means we only have 4 cows, but this year they are less wild/timid and more 'exciting'; escaping our fences, and charging at me on occasion. I am looking forward to eating these rascals this winter/spring.

The turkeys are promising though and have been very fun to raise thus far, especially compared to our chickens which have nowhere near as much 'personality'. This first batch is a sort of trial run for us, but if you are interested in a turkey let me know an I'll send out an email next spring with prices and due dates if we decide to add turkey to our menu of items for sale next season.

One last plug for the cattle, if you are interested in our grass fed beef please contact me soon. Our quarter shares are nearly gone so don't wait if you want wholesome tender healthy grass fed beef. As always, if you are interested in any of our products feel free to call, mail or email me with any questions, comments or requests.

Happily serving you,

Susan Ward

firsthandfood@yahoo.com

(425)508-9799 or

PO Box 1057 Snohomish, WA 98291

Spring is here & Summer is Coming!

Our Cows should be arriving the first week of May. We are raising 4 this year, and are pre-selling them by the 1/4, with a little more than 2 already spoken for. Get your deposits in soon to reserve your 1/4 or 1/2 before they are all sold out. See the previous post about Beef or send me an email for more info. firsthandfood@yahoo.com

We have sold all our Chickens for this season and have even started a wait list for the 'spares'... the extras we order in case of loss. It should be a busy summer with more than 100 birds pecking around in our pasture along with our 4 new cows.

With all this protein running around out in the pasture I have decided my garden is going to be downsized this summer, so I don't get too overwhelmed. I plan to try some new things in the greenhouse and make some more permanent flower and herb beds that will hopefully yield many beautiful and tasty meals in the future, but plan to keep the produce quantity more in keeping with the size of my small family at present. It should be a fun summer.

As always; feel free to write or call if you have any questions or comments about things in this post or those written previously, and thank you for supporting local, natural, first hand food.

Sincerely,

Susan Ward

firsthandfood@yahoo.com

PO Box 1057

Snohomish, WA 98291

(425)508-9799

Chickens

This year we are doing another batch of Cornish Cross meat birds and will sell them for $3/lb. (Last year's birds were all over 5lbs.) We plan to pre-sell the entire flock this year so if you want some please let me know before April 10th when we plan to place our chick order. All orders are first come first served so get your birds reserved once you know how many you want. We plan to get our chicks in early May and butcher on Saturday July 31st.
New this year the feed we are planning to use is freshly ground each week, GMO Free, and semi locally sourced (some ingredients are from Alaska and Oregon), with no corn or soy. In addition to the feed, our pastured birds will get to eat bugs and grass to their heart's content in the field as well, just like last year. Also new this year, we are using a local processor/family to take the chickens from field to frying pan. I did the processing with the help of some kind and experienced friends last year, but am happy to let you know there are local 'professionals' with 2000+ birds of experience that are willing to carefully process our birds for a fee, (already included in the price of $3/lb). Just like last season we need you to come and 'help' with processing your birds on butcher day by bagging them up to take home. This little step is required by law so keep your calendar open on the 31st so you can come get your birds.
As always if you have questions, orders or concerns feel free to email or call me.

Sincerely,
Susan Ward

First Hand Food
PO Box 1057
Snohomish, WA 98291
(425)508-9799

firsthandfood@yahoo.com

Beef

Sign up now to reserve your 1/4 of our 2010 natural grass fed beef.
Send an email to firsthandfood@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Our price this year is $3/lb hanging weight and will be sold by the quarter once again.
The deposit to hold your share is $125 per quarter.
Like last year it is first come, first served so plan ahead and get on the list.
Our Beef this past year was a great success with over 1300 lbs of high quality healthy meat produced from our two, well fed red angus steers. This ended up being about 110-120lbs of meat per quarter from an average hanging weight of 165lbs. The feed back from customers has all been positive and we hope to produce more of the same this year. If you are interested in our process or have questions about purchasing meat for next year feel free to send an email or give me a call.
Sincerely,
Susan

First Hand Food
PO Box 1057
Snohomish, WA 98291
(425)508-9799

firsthandfood@yahoo.com

Beef Prices and Due dates

Ok so those of you who know what goes into making a cow into a cute little paper wrapped package in your freezer feel free to skip the later half of this message and just let me know if you want to order some beef via phone, email, or snail mail. (Contact info below.) Our price for the two cows we are doing this year is $4/lb for meat. We only have 2 cows this year and will sell them in 1/4's, but feel free to go together with some one else if 175-ish lbs of beef is too much for you and your family. You will work directly with the butcher to pick your preferred cuts. The estimated date of butcher is Saturday January 2nd, and meat should be cut and wrapped by or around the 16th. I have more people on my list than I have portions of cow so it will be first come first served this time, so get your orders and deposits (25% to reserve your portion) in as soon as you know what you want. Feel free to call or email me with any questions.

For those of you who are learning about all this stuff concerning cows here is some of the nitty gritty of what goes into your beef. In our case the cows eat grass of all shapes, sizes, colors, and varieties in our delightful pature in snohomish and gain approximately 2lbs a day. They get a bit of Shaklee Basic H for worming two times a year with water, and have a constant supply of free choice salt and Thorvin Kelp for mineral supplements as they have the craving. In the fall and winter the grass will not be able to grow at a rate that is sustainable for all of the chomping these steers like to do in a day so we will begin to supplement their diet with some grass hay, and the occasional peach, pear, apple or other left over tree fruit that comes our way from a wholesome source. In late October or early November we will switch from grass hay to alfalfa (a legume) to hopefully ensure that your beef is tasty and tender when butchered. In early January we will butcher the cows and they will be taken to the butcher's freezer to age 10-14 days for tenderness. Then they are cut to order and wrapped in neat paper packages suitable for your home freezer and future meals throughout the year.

Ok so that is the info I have for now. Please feel free to call or write with any questions or comments you may have.

Sincerely,
Susan

(425)508-9799
firsthandfood@yahoo.com
PO Box 1057
Snohomish, WA 98291