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 Greetings!
We are so happy to send out this newsletter announcing that our hens are laying again in earnest!
And they're doing better than ever! It is always our first sign that spring is on the way when we start bringing out the "big basket" for gathering the eggs!
Eggs can be purchased at the farm in two ways : 1) Join our CSA program, where you pay up front for either a certain number of dozens of eggs and can pick them up week by week or every other week. Click on our CSA page for details!
2) Or you can pick up eggs by appointment at the farm - We aren't open consistently at this point in the season, but if you send us a quick email and let us know that you would like to buy eggs, we'll arrange a convenient time for you to come by to pick them up ....
Also, we just dropped off eggs at the Hungry Hollow Co-op in Chestnut Ridge NY this afternoon!! They carry a wonderful and vast array of other local and organic farm goods including dairy products and meats.
_________________________________________________________________________________ Here is some info about our eggs and our philosophies of raising food.... Egg Season is upon us! Egg Season is February through July. Because we do not keep our chickens in houses under lights, laying rates are much lower August through January. We feel that letting our hens go through their natural moulting and resting cycle is better for their well-being and leads to better, more nutrient rich, eggs! They are worth the wait!  We are Certified Organic and Certified by Animal Welfare Approved. What does this mean? Many farms sell fresh, "organically raised," local, "pasture-raised eggs" - but there are some very important factors to consider when trying to determine what makes a truly healthy egg. If the eggs are Certified Organic - it doesn't mean that they are from pasture-raised hens. But it does mean that they have to be fed certified organic grain, which is extremely important. Chicken feed that is not certified organic is primarily made up of genetically modified soy. Also note though, that a farm doesn't have to be certified organic to feed their birds certified organic grain. You do need to ask your farmer though. You want to make sure that even though the farmer may not be Certified Organic, that he/she feeds the laying hens only certified organic feed. Many good willed people don't realize how bad GMO soy is, or that the typical chicken feed consists mostly of GMO soy. I avoid eating eggs, dairy, or meat products produced by animals that have eaten GMO grains. Certified Organic doesn't mean that the hens are pasture raised or that they are treated humanely. These concepts are suggested and encouraged by NOP (National Organic Program/USDA) standards, but are not fully required at this point. It is up the Organic Farmers as to how respectfully they treat their animals or much room the animals get to roam on. To be Certified Organic, a farm has to be inspected and certified by a Certifying Agency, who evaluates how closely the farm applies the NOP rules and standards. Some organic certifiers are stricter about these things than others; be aware that some organic certifiers are very strict and encourage the small family farm model, and other certifiers are more tools of what might be called "giant ag" and service gigantic factory-style organic production. We are certified by NOFA-NY, which is a very good organic certifier, which has always been very supportive of our small farm structure and business. We chose to also get certified by Animal Welfare Approved because we liked the overall purpose and philosophy of the organization. They are growing in numbers and more and more people are becoming aware of what a strong certification they represent. This certification demands true grassfed or pasture raising - on clean, green ground. Every aspect of production is thoroughly evaluated to make sure that the animals are treated with utmost respect and care and comfort. The Animal Welfare Approved label truly represents the very best humane care for farm animals. And thus, the very healthiest nutrient dense animal products. The nutrient density is much higher in the products of happy, peaceful animals raised in a manner that is aligned with their natural tendencies and instinctual needs. Chickens need to hunt for bugs and worms and scratch and sun bathe and eat grass and greens! If they don't get the opportunity to do so, their eggs will have less in them - less nutrients, less flavor, etc. "Pasture-Raised" And the words, "pasture-raised" on an egg doesn't seem to mean anything legally - Last autumn, while our hens were moulting and resting, we ran out of eggs, and I ended up going to Whole Foods in search of eggs. I found two brands of "Pasture Raised" certified organic eggs - 1/2 doz for $6 - they were both from farms in the Southern U.S. I thought, 'these must be like my eggs! ' But when I cracked them open, the insides were weak and runny and the yolk was just a medium yellow color. Not at all like my eggs, which have dark orange yolks and fresh perky insides. To me, 'pasture raised' means the birds eat grass and run around in a grassy pasture. Apparently it doesn't mean much of anything legally as a label. If those birds had any access to grass, which they should have had down south, the yolks would have been orange. My hens now, in the dead of winter, are laying eggs with dark yellow yolks, and I don't see much green grass out there! (And of course, the terms "Natural" and "Free-Range" mean absolutely nothing good on a label.) Consider Raising Your Own Flock of Fabulous Laying Hens!  Not really so long ago, almost everyone had a small flock of laying hens. And I am happy to say that chickens are becoming more and more common to households again - especially households where healthy eating and good eating are important priorities. It is really a fulfilling and wonderful endeavor. If you are considering adding a flock to your household, consider joining one of our workshops - we run a workshop every month or so on How to Raise Your Own Flock of Organic Backyard Laying Hens. We are doing a workshop tomorrow (Sat. 3/3) at 1 pm and there is still room if you want to stop by. and the current workshops are also listed below .....
However, don't get chickens if you want to save money on buying eggs - it really isn't going to work out with the price of organic grain being as high as it is and climbing. Your own eggs will be more expensive than the ones you could buy in the supermarket. But when you keep chickens organically your purpose isn't to decrease the cost of egg buying in your household. The purpose is to get truly healthy safe eggs. And as far as cost for protein produced by oneself, eggs are actually a great deal compared to other protein sources you could produce right in your yard. And you will love having chickens. Especially if you also have a vegetable garden or berry patch - the manure makes fabulous compost and so the hens provide organic fertilizer as well as great eggs! Your veggies and berries will be better than ever! 
We sell our eggs for $8.00 per dozen off the farm. The eggs you'll be producing or which are produced on a farm like ours, are totally different from anything you can find in the store. The balance of fats and nutrients is completely different. For growing children especially, these eggs are so much more beneficial. They are truly "nutrient dense" which is supposedly a new concept, but really is just how food used to be when it wasn't mass produced using the cheapest inputs possible. The costs you see in the supermarkets are for mass factory produced super-cheaply fed and crowded animals. The .99 cent per dozen eggs have a lot more profit built into them than my eggs do at $8 per dozen. When it comes to artisanal quality food products, we have to stop using the supermarket prices as as gauge for judging how much these products are 'worth'. If you are raising animals properly and humanely, the costs simply won't match up with the supermarket prices. But you also really cannot compare the quality of the artisanally- produced product versus the factory-produced.
 Duck Eggs
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Here are some links to more info:
Chicken and Egg Nutrient Comparisons
Raising Chickens
Nutrient Info
More Great Nutrient Info on Pasture Raised Animal Products
NOFA-NY website
Animal Welfare Approved Website Thanks very much as always,
~Barbara and Mark
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Our Winter / Spring 2012 Workshop and Events Calendar - with updates!
This schedule covers our events and workshops from March through April 2012 at Midsummer Farm
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You can register for a workshop by simply clicking here:
Registration Form
Please download and print out the form, fill it out, and send it, with your check to:
Midsummer Farm, 156 East Ridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990
We also offer gift certificates for our workshops!
Email us for more info: barbara@midsummerfarm.com
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Current Workshop Schedule:
 Cooking with Dark Leafy Greens Workshop
Saturday, March 3rd 2012, 10 am - 12 noon
Dark Leafy Greens - The #1 Missing Ingredient in Today's Diets! We will demonstrate a wide range of ways to use dark leafy greens of all types. You will leave feeling empowered to live more healthily with a solid collection of great recipes. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged. In the farm kitchen. Cost is $36 |
Still space available - just send us a quick email
to barbara@midsummerfarm.com to let us know you'll be joining us!
 Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop
Saturday, March 3rd 2012, 1 pm - 3 pm
For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock and in organic and natural rearing methods. We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. This is the optimal time of year to plan for chickens for the Spring. (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place mostly outside (dress appropriately - wear boots) and is weather permitting. Cost is $36
Still space available - just send us a quick email to barbara@midsummerfarm.com to let us know you'll be joining us! WEAR BOOTS!
Pocket Pastries!
Saturday, March 10th 2012, 10 - 12 noon
We'll be making dough and fillings for a variety of what I generally call "Pocket Pastry". We'll make Jamaican Beef Patties with bright yellow tumeric dough, several different Empanadas from various nationalities, and a Spinach/Paprika Calzone. Workshop takes place in the farm kitchen | Cost is $36 | registration closes 3/7/12
 Making Homemade Dog & Cat Food Workshop
Sunday, March 11th 2012, 10 - 12 noon
Featured in the NY Times! Check out the article here!
Healthier, Economical, Delicious. Either as a supplementary meal or as your pets' regular diet, homemade food is better, safer, and easy to make. We will mix up a batch of balanced food using raw chicken as a base. We'll go over tons of options in food bases - raw vs cooked, various nutritional additions, dogs vs cats, special needs pets, and discuss the wide range of commercial diets and brands. You'll take home recipes, a clearer knowledge of the commercial pet food available, and resources for suppliers. We'll also make up a wonderful whole foods supplement that you can add to a commercial diet using higher quality ingredients and for a lot less money than the fancy brand names. Even if you're not ready to switch over completely to a homemade diet, you'll get a lot from this workshop. Workshop takes place in the farm kitchen | Cost is $36 | Registration closes 3/8/12
Gardening For Good Bugs Workshop
Sunday, March 11th, 2012, 1 pm - 3 pm
This is one of our passions! We love bugs. The focus of this workshop is to garden for your good bugs, provide them what they need (and maybe a little extra), and regain balance in your garden to prevent the bad bugs from damaging your harvest. We will get into native pollinators, honey bees, butterflies, predatory bugs and mites, etc. Cost is $36 | registration closes 3/8/12
Crafting Herbal-Infused Salves, Ointments, and Lip Balms
Sunday, March 18th 2012, 11 am - 1 pm
With a focus on organic, fair-trade, medicinal herbs and spices, we'll construct a variety of healing and soothing salves and lip balms. We'll also discuss different types of healing herbs, what they can do for us, and where to get them. You'll never want to be without a jar of Anti-itch salve made with white willow bark and plantain or Dry-skin healing Calendula salve made with self heal and chickweed once you see how fun they are to make and how effectively they work. Workshop takes place in the farm kitchen | Cost is $36 | registration closes 2/16/12
 Legumes! Cooking with Beans Workshop
Saturday, March 24th 2012, 10 - 12 noon
Beans are one of those things that can make a huge difference in your health and well-being just by adding them to your weekly eating plan. And we'll go over a bunch of different ways to integrate them into your every day life easily. This workshop will lead to better overall health. Beans have been missing from the typical American diet and people have strange opinions of them, but they are delicious, easy to digest when prepared properly, and nourishing on many, many levels. We'll do a selection of fabulous bean dips, nourishing bean soups, refreshing bean salads (great for packing for work or school lunches), and a variety of other recipes. Workshop takes place in the farm kitchen | Cost is $36 | Registration closes 3/21/12
Plotting Out Your Home Organic Garden
Saturday, March 24th, 2012, 1 pm - 3 pm
With a strong emphasis on Bio-Intensive Methods. This is an interactive workshop - bring you garden plans and seed catalogs. We'll create a garden plan for you to grow your favorite veggies in less space for a longer season! We'll discuss starting a new garden bed, boosting the efficiency of an old garden and so much more...Cost is $36 | registration closes 3/21/12.
Great Ways to Use Great Eggs! Cooking Eggs Workshop
Sunday, March 25th 2012 10 am - 12 noon
Includes breakfast in the sunny greenhouse!
Everything from simple tips like how to tell the freshness of an egg, or how to clarify a broth, to building our favorite egg recipes like Luscious Acadian Style Scrambled Eggs, Smoked Salmon Fettucine, a variety of Frittatas and Omelets using seasonal ingredients, Shirred Eggs with Spring greens, and more! Cost is $36 | Registration closes 3/22/12
 Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop
Sunday, March 25th 2012, 1 pm - 3 pm
For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock and in organic and natural rearing methods. We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. This is the optimal time of year to plan for chickens for the Spring. (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place mostly outside (dress appropriately - wear boots) and is weather permitting. Cost is $36 | Registration closes 3/22/12
 Asparagus Festival
Sunday, April 1st 2012, 11 am - 2 pm
We'll be planting a new asparagus patch and we're inviting anyone who wants to stop by to come and check out how to do it - It really is simple and an asparagus patch is so worth setting up! Asparagus are one of very very few perennial vegetables and once your patch gets established, you'll have asparagus for years and years to come with very low maintenance!
We'll also have 3 different varieties of asparagus crowns available for sale, and everyone gets a great packet of our favorite asparagus recipes!
Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop
Saturday, April 7th 2012, 10 am - 12 noon
For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock and in organic and natural rearing methods. We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. This is the optimal time of year to plan for chickens for the Spring. (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place mostly outside (dress appropriately - wear boots) and is weather permitting. Cost is $36 | Registration closes 4/5/12
 Annual "Allium and Brassica" Pre-Sale!
Saturday, April 28th 2012, 9 am - 2 pm
(NOTE NEW DATE!)
We designed this Pre-Sale for our gardener and farmer friends, who want to plant in stages. So, we'll have a nice variety of cold-hardy plants and seedlings for sale that are ready to go in the ground! (Or you can hold them for a bit too.) We'll also have some hardy perennials for sale and some awesome orange-colored bearded iris rhizomes.
The Brassicas are all the dark leafy greens: kales, collards, cabbages, pak koi, broccoli, raabs, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mustards, etc.
The Alliums are all the onion-flavored plants - leeks, chives, scallions, welsh onions, walking onions, bulbing onions, etc.
We'll also have spinaches, chards, escaroles, endives, radicchios, chicories, parsleys, lettuces, many thymes, a couple oreganos, a couple sages, cilantro, flowers like violas and violets, celeries, cresses, dill, lovage, mints, many of our hard to find European greens like erba stella and agretti, and lots of perennials and native plants.
Herbal Cocktail Party!
Saturday Evening, April 28th, 5 - 7 pm
A great way to celebrate the Spring Garden! We'll be creating fresh herb-garden inspired tapas and canapes along with great mixed drinks you can make with fresh herbs and other spring garden accompaniments....Lots of festive ideas for your spring herb harvest! Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged. Workshop takes place in the herb garden | Cost is $36 | Registration closes 4/25/12.
Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop
Sunday, April 29th 2012, 10 am - 12 noon
For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock and in organic and natural rearing methods. We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. This is the optimal time of year to bring home chicks! (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place mostly outside (dress appropriately - wear boots) and is weather permitting. Cost is $36 | Registration closes 4/26/12
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Workshops at Midsummer Farm: Classes are taught from a strictly Holistic and Organic standpoint. Class size is kept small to ensure individual attention. Fees include all materials and supplies needed. Children are welcome; children under 5 are free. If more than one person from a single household is taking the workshop together, the second person may deduct $5 from the cost of the workshop. Many classes take place outside in the gardens and are weather-permitting. Participants must register in advance. Cooking classes are hands-on and tasting is encouraged. NOTE: times and dates of workshops are subject to change.
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You can register for a workshop by simply clicking here:
Registration Form
Please download and print out the form, fill it out, and send it, with your check to:
Midsummer Farm, 156 East Ridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990
We also offer gift certificates for our workshops!
Email us for more info: barbara@midsummerfarm.com
If you haven't been to our farm yet, we're located at 156 East Ridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990. And welcome!
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Our CSA Program 2012!
We still have some shares available for the 2012 Growing Season; sign up now to reserve your weekly basket!
I am feeling more and more that this 2012 growing season will be wonderfully abundant!
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Disclaimer
© Copyright 2011 Barbara Taylor-Laino, HHC / Barbara Taylor Health. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Barbara Taylor Laino is required.
This information newsletter is designed as an educational tool for better health. Recipes and information are included as examples for you learn from; they are not diagnostic or prescriptive. Everyone's health needs are different. This newsletter is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your own physician or other healthcare provider. The entire contents of this newsletter and the websites of Barbara Taylor Laino and Midsummer Farm are based upon the opinions of Barbara Taylor Laino, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author(s), who retains copyright as marked. The information on the www.midsummerfarm.com website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Barbara Taylor Laino. You are encouraged to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
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Questions? Please do not hesitate to contact us!
Midsummer Farm Contact Info:
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
info@midsummerfarm.com
Holistic Health Counseling Contact Info:
Barbara Taylor-Laino
Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
info@barbarataylorhealth.com
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