GEFA blog

Click here for yor April News

My son and I drove down to Tennessee on Thursday for a conference with a friend. First of all, I was so happy to be in The South. This is probably because I'm a huge Joel Salatin fan, and I felt his presence as we drew close to the Mason Dixon line. In fact, all my grazing gurus are from The South. Allan Nation, the editor of Stockman Grass Farmer, in Mississippi. Jim Gerrish and Greg Judy from Missouri.

We stayed in Chattanooga, which had been struck by 5 tornadoes the night before our arrival. They're not in the traditional tornado belt and had never had one there before.

One highlight for me, and the focus of this particular blog entry, was a visit to Sequatchie Cove Farm in Sequatchie, TN. When I go on vacation, I like to visit farms. Surfing eatwild.com in my hotel room, I was so excited to find this farm only 35 miles northwest of Chattanooga, and it was a grassfed dairy! Woo hoo! That is so up my alley. 

I begged my friend to stop there on our way home. At exit 155 we got off the interstate and started winding through country roads that felt more and more like The South. Houses on stilts. Pasture shelters and barns that looked so loose and open; they clearly didn't require protection from the elements like we do in central Illinois. The road met scrubby, sandy yards in a low, flat way – no ditches; no banks; no curbs.

Sequatchie Cove Farm was lush and pretty and kind of mysterious. Lots of old forest. Dark wood, mountain-y kinds of shelters. Here is a picture of their store. The kids with us were drawn to the porch, where they played fetch with the very willing yellow dog for the hour that I walked around the farm. An elderly customer rocked in the chair in the shade. I love natural meeting and resting places like this.

Jim Wright, the owner of the farm, graciously gave me a tour of the dairy, cheese plant and shiitake operation. Back in the store I bought their Coppinger raw milk cheese, pork chops and sausage from their whey-fed pigs (pigs are a natural enterprise on a dairy farm as they thrive on milk by-products), and a quart of warm, just-picked strawberries.

 I ate the strawberries all the way home and rejoiced in the movement back toward small, diversified farms like Sequatchie Cove.

Last night we got home from Chattanooga at midnight. Exhausted, I couldn't sleep. It had started to rain a bit (what a surprise!). I worried. About so many things. All my critters, mainly.

The turkeys. My Narragansett and Jersey Buff turkeys sleep on my roof at night. It's comforting to hear them shifting their feathery bulk in the wee hours. Not comforting to imagine their feathery bulk being soaked through with freezing rain, hearing them sniffle the next day and surely succumbing to sudden death the day after that. I rack my brain; how can I make them roost in the hen house or ANYWHERE under cover? I come up with nothing. At least they're safe from the coyotes at that height.

My thoughts turn to the broiler chicks. I moved 75 Rock Cornish chickies from their snug brooder in the garage out to a pen in the big, wild pasture several nights ago. There are some holes in the top of the pasture pen. Again, the rain. Surely it is leaking through those holes and soaking the tender birds, much too dumb at night to move to dryness. They will succumb, too. I know it.

The seedlings in flats in the hoophouse. It was sunny the 3 days I was in Chattanooga (in Tennessee, but in central Illinois, too – incredible!). Did Dad keep the seedlings watered? What kind of withered devastation would I find there at morning's first light? Should I go out with the flashlight right now? In the rain? Should I water them right now?

There you have it. One worried farmer's worries. Somehow, though, everything always turns out okay. It's never worth the lost hours of sleep. I need to learn from the poultry.

Happy New Year Everyone! 

The best New Year Resolution you can make for yourself is to treat yourself and your family  to better health by eating fresh, locally grown produce.  The Good Earth Food Alliance Farmers would be happy to help, we connect you to your food, the land, and to your local farmer.

We are currently accepting memberships for our 2011 season.  By joining early you are helping our farmers to prepare for the upcoming planting season.  Thanks to all of you who have already made this commentment to yourself and to us.  For those of you who are ready to live a healthier life please join soon. 



                                   2011 Good Earth Food Alliance LLC CSA Agreement and Order Form

CSAs create a direct relationship between you and the farms.

You’ll know your produce dollar goes directly to the people who plant, tend and harvest your food.

Joining our CSA is a seasonal cooking and eating adventure!

Please read our FAQ page first. Then complete both pages of this form and send along with your payment to the address listed at the bottom.  Keep a copy for your records.  CSA sign up is on a first come first served basis.

The Following Egg, Poultry or Meat CSA Share may be added or bought as stand alone.

*soy free

Total for Produce Weekly or Bi-Weekly Share $_____________

Total for Meat, Egg, Poultry Share                     $_____________

Total for Fall/Winter Share                                  $_____________   

Grand Total                                                           $_____________

Payment options: one check for the total amount or two checks: first check of $50 and a second check for the remainder of the balance.  The second check may be post-dated May 1, 2011.  We will send you an e-mail reminder prior to cashing the second check.  Please make check(s) payable to:  Good Earth Food Alliance LLC

Primary Contact:                                                                 

Name______________________________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________________

City __________________________________________________Zip___________________

 Preferred phone (required)_________________________________________________________

Email (required) __________________________________________________________________

Drop Site choice (circle one):    Peoria (Main Drop Site: Forrest Hill United Methodist Church, 706 E. Forrest Hill 4:30-6:00 pm Tuesday

Satellite Drop Sites:

United Presbyterian Church of Peoria:  2400 W. Northmoor Rd; 4:30 – 6:00 pm Tuesday

Galesburg downtown site to be announced soon:  5:00 – 6:00 pm Tuesday

Twisted Chicken Farm on Route 8, west of Peoria; 5:00 – 6:00 pm Tuesday

 Morton (to be announced) 4:30 – 5:30 pm Tuesday

 Living Earth Farm- two miles south of Farmington: 5:00 – 6:00 pm Tuesday

 All Satellite sites must have 15 weekly shares to become a site. 

Sharing Households: If you are sharing your box with another household, remember that the farm packs only one box for your share; it is up to you to decide how to split it.  The Primary Contact will be listed on the check off list but both households will receive e-mailed communications from Good Earth Food Alliance.  Include information for the second household below.

Name______________________________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________________

City __________________________________________________Zip___________________

 Preferred Phone (required) _________________________________________________________

Email (required) __________________________________________________________________

CSA Member Responsibilities

• Know when and where your share will be delivered and pick it up at your site during hours of operation on delivery day.    Good Earth Food Alliance cannot issue credit for unclaimed or forgotten shares.  All unclaimed produce is donated to a local charity or a church food pantry.
• Make alternate arrangements for weeks you are unable to pick up your share.  You may ask someone else to pick up your box or allow us to donate it for you at the end of the day. 
• Read the weekly e-newsletters.  Besides news from the farm we communicate important announcements, provide recipes and storage information, and extend invitations and special offers to you through weekly e-newsletters.

As a CSA member, you share in the wonderful bounty from the farms but you also assume the risks that accompany farming. CSA membership allows you to forge a connection with your food, the farms where it is produced, and the people who grow the crops. As such, Good Earth Food Alliance CSA membership is a season long commitment. If you are unable to finish out the season as a member, for whatever reason, you are welcome to reassign your share to another household, but please know that Good Earth Food Alliance is unable to issue refunds after May 1, 2011.

CSA Member Agreement: Please read and sign below.

I understand that joining the Good Earth Food Alliance Produce CSA is a season long (20 week) commitment, with optional 3 mid fall/winter produce shares. I also understand my responsibility to make arrangements for pickup of my share at my drop site during the hours of operation.

As a member, I agree to share in the bounty and the risks of farming with the growers and the other CSA members.

Signature ______________________________________________ Date ­­­­­­ _________________________

Thank you for your support of local, chemical-free foods and sustainable farms.

Please sign above and mail payment and both pages of CSA Agreement to:       Leslie Schenkel,   13018 W. Southport Rd.,    Brimfield, IL 61517