Beef and Veal

I’ve uploaded all the items now in the freezer of veal (beef about 12 months old, compared to 30 months for prime beef and who knows for store bought hamburg) and beef.

I worked out the prices for the quarters compared to buying all individual cuts that are included in a quarter. With some price changes to items like ground beef, it works out to about the same cost.

The yield after cutting, deboning, etc. is about 74% so your effective cost per lb of meat, buying a quarter, is $6.75. That’s as plain as I can make it.

This is heritage Lynch Lineback beef, flavourful, pasture-fed and finished, grown by me right here.

Go to the beef section and the veal section of the Meats tab to see the listings.

Old 99 Farm, week of July 27 2014

This is the week of new beef! So if you were waiting for grass fed and finished hamburg, steaks, ribs, roasts, this week is it. I took two yearlings, small young animals, so the their will be veal ribs and steaks. A couple of you ordered quarters which will come off the 30month old animal.

Beets, tomatoes, eggplant, chard, cuccumbers, summer squashes, and honey and eggs in abundance.

Know any families looking for a eventempered large outdoor dog? We still have four Maremma pups, now 9 weeks old.

Thanks to the 6 or 8 people who came to help with the hay unloading, we had fun and got the work done very quickly and comfortably. The ones who could stayed after for a beer and a lively conversation about the state of LAWKI (life as we know it).

Healthy eating,
Ian and Camelia

Hayt Day Saturday 26th Help Needed

Hey, it’s a seasonal thing but getting hay into the barn is a job for lots of hands. Can you come by for a couple hours on Saturday? I’m getting 300 bales delivered late today friday. Would be only a couple hours to get all in the barn. there is a 70% of isolated thundershowers sat aft. so would do in hte morning.

Thank you very kindly if you can come by, pls send me email or phone msg to confirm.

We’ll start around 11am.

Ian

Old 99 Farm, week of July 20 2014

Quick reminder, time to place your orders at www.old99farm.locallygrown.net. Since it’s already Wed morning, I’ll accept orders up to noon on Thursday.

Lots of zucchini squash, light and dark skinned varieties. Strawberries are over but still can pick raspberries. Honey crop is in too.

Healthy eating,
Ian and Camelia

Old 99 Farm, week of July 13 2014

The season of bounty has arrived, new crops to harvest each week. Raspberries, vegetable marrow, zucchini, squash blossoms, kohlrabi, beet, cucumber, are the latest.

Now’s the seasonal test of supporting your local farmer, whoever that may be.

Case in point, eggs. I have moved my price up and down as the hens are more or less productive, to keep supply and demand in some balance. But as you well know I don’t offer the produce of my farm at lowest prices, and it needs to be reminded that shopping for bargains is at odds with buying food local, direct and in season. If you buy eggs and you come here for other things, why not buy eggs too? Too expensive? Sure if you compare to the $3.50/doz eggs offered the Hamilton Market and elsewhere. If you can’t convince yourself of the nutritional value of eggs from organically fed, free range (on pasture 24/7) chickens, then you surely won’t see value in the better lifestyle of my hens, or that I keep them two years instead of one (egg production per bird drops by half but they eat the same). Nor will it matter to you that I don’t have automatic feeder and waters, so I have to walk twice a day to the eggmobile to feed and gather eggs, which amounts to about 20 minutes a day for caregiving. And the benefit to my farm fertility and ecological impact of pastured chickens won’t count for much, I wouldn’t expect.

So if you can’t see fit to pay a price for eggs that accounts for all these benefits, albeit hard to quantify, maybe you could ‘dollar cost average’ like they advise in the stock market: buy a few dozen here at my price and a few at the supermarket price such that your average cost of eggs is within your budget and conscience. How about that?

I have three beeves at the butcher, one steer and two yearlings, so-called baby beef. Quarters (50 lb)will be available starting July 31st. So far I have not changed my price from last year, at $5.00/lb hanging weight. Ground beef is is priced higher now at $6.50. Some steaks are up too.

We took our first honey crop off last week and now have liquid and comb honey for sale. Very fragrant, light in colour, delectable. Bring a jar, swap a jar. Same price as last year at $15/L ($12/kg) for liquid honey in 1 L mason jars.

Healthy eating,
Ian and Camelia

PS you should make a trip to the farm just to see the garden; it’s luscious. And the Maremma Pups are now 6 weeks old and full of life and curiosity.

Old 99 Farm, Week of July 6, 2014

Market day happens on Thursday as usual. Add raspberries, kohlrabi and garlic scapes (fresh pesto?) to available crops.
Healthy Eating,
Ian and Camelia

Available to Help with Hay?

Ian’s internet is down again till Tuesday, so I am sending this message on his behalf.
Ian has hay being delivered on Tuesday and Wednesday and he needs help to put in the barn. If you have a couple of hours, he would really appreciate hearing from you by phone that you or a family member could help out.
Thank you in advance,
Camelia

Old 99 Farm,week of June 29 2014

Adding basil and eggplant this week.
Enough orders for beef came in that I can take an animal to the butcher this week.

This Saturday I am hosting a farm tour sponsored by the Ecological Farmers of Ontario, from 10 to 2. Theme: Garden Farming for a Bleak Post-carbon Future. I will be addressing the reasons why the food system we now rely on cannot hold fast and what small farms and urban backyards can do for their own needs as we get used to climate upset, energy scarcity and economic hardships like increasing unemployment, lower wages, food inflation. $10 each or $20/family to EFAO admission. https://efao.ca/upcoming-events/

Climate change?
“The selfish minority will over-exploit and ruin things for the future,” he told ThinkProgress. “So some kind of regulation is really essential — you can’t just leave things to the free market and hope that it will work out.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/06/26/3453548/cooperating-with-future-climate-change-study/

Simply cooperating in everyday life is hard enough, but cooperating with future generations is a whole other challenge — and one that makes addressing climate change so difficult.

Why people are willing, or unwilling, to make present day sacrifices for future generations is the topic of a new study called “Cooperating With The Future” from researchers at Harvard and Yale. Published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the study looks at how people weigh decisions that are dependent on the continued help of subsequent generations, such as climate change and resource management.

Check the link, and while you’re at it, read the article showing in 7 charts how climate change will harm the (US) economy.

Old 99 Farm, week of June 22, 2014

Strawberries are now in, have picked first 10 liters and the crop looks bountiful. Also have basil, beet tops and the standbys: kale, collards, chard.

Greenhouse lettuces are over till the fall, but hot weather crops, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants (yes, lots of eggplant varieties this year) are already fruiting.

I will be taking a beef or two to the butcher next week so get your orders in for quarters, halfs or cuts.

Maremma pups are now 5 weeks old, balls of fluff, falling over big feet. It’s hard to imagine them getting to 100 lbs and being loyal guardians of the family and stock. In case you hadn’t heard, I have 6 puppies from Sheba and another purebred Maremma male, (Justin owned by Jim Wright). These are for sale at $400, with vet inspection and first vaccinations. Please pass the word to big beautiful dog lovers.

Camelia is off her crutches, doing physio and back to her beloved garden.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of June15 2014

Late reminder for tomorrow’s market day here at the farm. Yes I do have strawberries, not too many but will be selling on first come basis.

Regret to say I have decided to cancel the Strawberry Solstice potluck scheduled for this sunday. I have been mentioning it in each weekly newsletter for a month but now I must be realistic; between my slightly broken hand and Cami’s leg, we’re not really up for the preparations.
I know a couple of families were looking forward to coming, but I can arrange something else later in the summer or early fall.

Lots of chard, beets beet tops, lettuce, rhubarb, eggs, and more.

Anyone interested in a half or quarter beef? I noticed today that a couple of steers look quite plump.

Healthy Eating,
Ian and Camelia