Lamb is here!

At long last, our freezer is filled with delicious ground lamb and a few individual select cuts of lamb. Come and get it! While we only had 4 sheep for our first trial this season, it was a great experience and we hope to expand a bit more next season.

We raised a sheep breed called "Rambouilett" and they kept the grass "mowed" ahead of our meat chickens and added needed fertility to the pasture. We experimented with this alternative vegetable / livestock rotation model as part of a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer Grant we received this year. It was a good learning experience for us and we'll be writing up our end-of-season report in the next few weeks (stay tuned on our website). One of the really wonderful unintended effects of the grant this season was the wonderful community building that happened in the neighborhood near White's Pond where we Sheep in front of chickens

pastured the sheep and chickens. The field had been in continuous vegetable production for many years, so seeing the ground seeded to pasture, watching the portable electric fencing and shelters arrive, and then learning that hundreds and hundreds of chickens and a few sheep would be part of their landscape peaked the curiosity of homeowners, dog walkers, and White's Pond visitors. Folks from the neighborhood met new neighbors and made new friendships while keeping an eye on the sheep and educating their children about the benefits of pasture-raised livestock. We feel proud to have put a positive "spark" in the neighborhood!

Ground lamb is $8.50/lb and individual cuts are priced as marked. We will continue to have fresh, organic eggs throughout the winter and we will soon (in the next week or so, we hope!) have fresh rabbit for sale. For those who did not order a whole/half-hog or sampler packs of pork, we will have individual cuts of pork and fresh bacon in our freezer beginning the first week of December. We also have delicious herbal salts, handmade soaps (our own Backyard Bubbles), frozen garden pesto, chicken feet and gizzards - delicious for making stock, and yummy dehydrated tomatoes.

For folks who have been asking about placing chicken orders for next year, we will be circulating and posting our 2009 order form on the website in late February 2009. Order early as we are sure to sell out fast! We'll also be asking you to kindly complete a customer satisfaction and feedback evaluation survey toward the end of this year. Your input helps us to plan our production and product offerings each season, so we very much value your opinions, thoughts, and suggestions.

Thanks again and enjoy all of your Backyard Birds products!