As the summer continues we have been faced with many challenges, and also many exciting things.
One of the hardest things of being a farmer with livestock is loss, especially when the cause is unknown and you feel powerless. We lost 2 of our ducks recently to an unknown cause- Swimmer and Heart. The vet is suspecting a toxin- possibly from a mushroom or something else occurring naturally in the environment, but the uncertainty is challenging. For now, we remain vigilant and remove any mushrooms we see in their habitat and continue to monitor them. So far the rest of the ducks are doing well.
We have also had a challenging growing season, including crop damage due to mice. The mice damaged more than 90% of our carrots, and also summer squash. Of course, our livestock can still enjoy them! We are hoping that the garter snakes we find throughout the property might help keep the population in balance. We are also trying out a strong smelling homemade mixture of garlic, cinnamon, peppermint oil, and cayenne to keep the mice away from the produce.
Another challenge we’re finding is how we can scale up to meet demand, while also balancing finding time for creating new flavors and refining existing processes. As with everything, we are continuing to learn as we go, and doing our best to keep a sense of humor throughout. While every day feels like a sprint to get as many of our chores done as possible, we know this is truly a lifetime of a marathon, so we continue to work hard to pace ourselves.
For some exciting news, we are honored to be included in the 2025 Bayfront Art in the Park as a Culinary Artist! You can find us on August 16 and 17 at this event in Duluth, MN along with a number of other artists. This is a new event for us, and we are excited to share our baked goods with new audiences. We’re especially excited to be recognized as a culinary artist as we do believe that food is art- whether visually or in the flavor combinations we create, we hope to bring something unique to your eating experience!
Thanks to the generous support of Xerces Society and the help of Farmer Emily’s parents, we added just under 600 new native pollinator plants to our farm! The new plants were placed in several spots throughout the farm- close to the new high tunnel, our orchards (future and current), and our raised beds and greenhouse. It’s amazing to watch all of the pollinators hop from plant to plant- with two of our favorite visitors being the dragonfly and hummingbirds. Pollinators like honey bees have been declining globally in recent years. Having more native habitat is one small way we can help support them in our local ecosystem!
Thanks for spreading the news from our farm to your friends and family, and thanks for continuing to show up and support our small, regenerative and sustainable farm! We are grateful you are here!