 Road Warriors
Rob and Nikki, pictured above, found us through our farm's web site, and gave us a call a few days back. Traveling westward on I-90, they sounded like interesting people on an amazing odyssey. We asked them to stop by the farm and share their adventure with us. We are extremely glad they did. In their own words to follow, you get a brief glimpse into their adopted lifestyle and their plans for the future.
Well, what can we say: we met back in college at Florida State University studying Russian language, each of us having our own funny - you might call them "strange" - reasons for doing so. When we graduated back in 2012 we thought, "what the heck are we gonna do with a Russian degree?" So we did the next logical thing we could think of and decided to move to Moscow, where we spent the next two years teaching English to Muscovites.
We got back from Moscow in May of 2014 amid worsening social conditions in Russia and a currency that was devaluing by the second.
Since getting back stateside our plans have been really up-in-the-air. Last summer we worked on an organic blueberry farm and the couple we worked for gifted us their old delivery van! That van jettisoned us into the unexpected world of van-living. We loved it so much that since then we've been working toward living the full-time "van life"; our intent is to make it out west to California. Well now we're finally on that path, having started in Florida, making our way to and getting denied at the Canadian border (that's a long story), winding our way down country roads until we found ourselves here, making friends and enjoying a bit of much-missed farm life. We look at Hunter Farms as a way to gain additional farming experience, live sustainably, and get a much-needed shower in as we travel across the country in our van.
 Political Outreach
Rob and Nikki weren't the only visitors to the farm this week. U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, Third District, Pennsylvania sent a delegation to our farm. Pictured left to right are, Richard Hunter, Lindsey Shilling, Constituent Services Representative from the Third District Erie office, Brendon Fulmer, Legislative Correspondent from Washington D.C. and Stephanie Stevenson, Constituent Services Representative from the Third District Butler office. Congressman Kelly contacted our farm requesting that his representatives receive a farm tour, and consultation regarding issues faced by Organic Farm operations specifically, and agriculture issues important to Pennsylvania Farmers in general. Some of the subjects addressed were, human caused climate change, invasive species control, labor availability, food safety concerns, and many other issues. The information gleaned from the meeting is being conveyed directly to the Congressman.
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Summer Fare
This week's line up is a summer one for sure. Our tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, but in order to include a meaningful number in each share we are supplementing ours with some fill ins from Clarion River Organics. Tomatoes from either farm will still need a day or two on the kitchen counter to ripen fully. A first for this year in the distribution are Pablano Peppers. Nowhere near as hot as a jalapeno, they still have some heat. They are the classic pepper used in chili rellenos, but we usually stuff them as we normally do a Green Bell and enjoy the added zip. Zucchini are in full swing and each share will include a generous number. Rounding out the distribution are Dragon Tongue Beans, (good to munch raw, or steam like a green or yellow bean) Red Fresh Onions, and conventionally grown Sweet Corn from Weiser Farms in Girard.
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| Available at the Farm Store |
 Time to stock up
Our long lasting winter, cool wet spring, and late starting summer left us out of our farm's popular honey for quite a stretch. The bees have made up for lost time lately, and we finally have a good supply on hand.
Also available at the farms store:
Fresh Little Farm Farm Girl Soaps and Sundries
Happy Mug Organic Coffees
Old State Farms Maple Syrup
Divani Organic Chocolates
Middlefield Original Cheese CO-OP Cheese
Hand-thrown Pottery by Mel's Pot Shop
Frankferd Farms Pastry Mixes Simply Body Soap Nets
Local Beeswax Candles
Grabski Farm Eggs and Antibiotic & Hormone-Free Meats
Beelzebub's Salsa
Farm Store Hours:
9:00 to 5:00 Saturdays, or by appointment.
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The link below details the amazing amount of land we almost all devote to growing a non food crop that takes up three times as much acreage as the top food crop grown in the US, corn.
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