Besides the bucket’s worth we received today, it’s been a dry spring. You come to expect dry July’s and August’s, but April is too early for us to pull out our rain dancing (we can always use help). So the pastures are a bit dryer than we’d like at this point, but besides that the farm is in good shape.

2010 Piedmont Farm Tour

Thanks to everyone that made it out to the 2010 Piedmont Farm Tour this year. It was another great turnout and goes to show how much support local farms have around here. What you missed if you weren’t there:

- Our spring litters of pigs have been dropping since farm tour weekend. Farm visitors had the chance to meet our tiny newborn pigglets. After a bit of warring with the vultures, all the sows have hunkered down and are doing very well with their litters.

- Our three ages of hens- layers, soon to be layers (in July), and little tikes are growing well. This means that within a few months, we’ll hopefully be able to meet the demand for our eggs. Some of our youngest birds will turn out to be males though, so we will have some heritage breed chicken available this summer. This will be the only meat chickens we do this year.

- Speaking of breeding and incubating birds, we have loads of ducks now on the farm. Some are Cayuga, some are Buff Runners and Saxony crosses. So, as they’re mostly mutts, we won’t be tempted to breed them again and should have duck later this year.

- The strawberries have been glorious this spring, tomatoes are shooting up, fresh garlic and onions aren’t far off, and cucumbers and melons and peppers are in the ground. So far so good in the gardens.

Coming To Market:

What to expect at markets- we’re hitting our stride with pork, and should have a larger selection of pork cuts throughout the summer/fall. Fresh beef is only a few weeks away too, and that too should go for the rest of the year. So look forward to veggies, more eggs, more pork and beef, ducks, some goat and a few chickens this summer.

Events

Saxapahaw Saturdays have started, 5-8. We’ll be there selling, but if nothing else, come visit us and listen to some music. The Saxapahaw General Store (and the Eddy, the new pub opening next door) will be teaming with us at Farm to Fork this year, coming up May 23. Hope to see some of you out there, unfortunately it’s sold out if you don’t have tickets. We’re also planning the next “Final Banquet” out on the farm and it looks like it will happen late Sept or early October. We’ll keep everyone updated about that.

Besides that, we’ve been playing a mean game of softball in Saxapahaw every week. The farm and extended family have been duking it out on Sunday evenings- let us know if you want to join.

Farmers Markets: Where You’ll find us

Besides that, we hope everyone is looking forward to a great summer and we hope to see you either at the Farm (TR 2-6, Sat 10-4), in Greensboro (Curb mkt every other week, next is may 22), in Saxapahaw on (Sat 5-8), or in Carrboro (Wed 3:30-6:30, Sat 7-12)

Lata
Cane Creekers

Thanks first off to everyone who got a turkey from us this year. I hope everyone found their bird to be delicious and successfully weathered the stress that is Thanksgiving cooking. By the way, if anyone is interested in how to raise turkeys, here’s the time line
- incubate turkey eggs for 28 days
- raise them for 26-30 weeks
- frantically sell for 5 days and swear off turkeys forever
- suffer from short term memory loss for a few days
- and by early December, start talking about how many MORE turkeys you want to do for next year….

So as for Christmas, let us know any requests you have for special meals. We’ll be attending this week’s market (19th) in Carrboro and in Greensboro, and January 2 in Carrboro. We have 30 more turkeys, cured hams, some bacon, beef tenderloin, export racks (pork loin with bone), shoulder, fresh hams, whole ny strips and ribeyes, short ribs, etc. Our store will also be open on this Thursday 2-6 and Saturday 10-4, but not on Christmas eve. We’ll also have a little bit of lamb early next week, and if you wanted it for Christmas, you’d have to come to the farm early next week. Let us know

Other farm happenings: The staff took off to the CFSA (Carolina Farm Stewardship Association) conference in Black Mountain earlier this month. It’s important to keep our mind’s sharp, learn new techniques and research, and to network with other farmers in Carolina.

Besides that, the wet and cold have been a challenge but our animals are doing well and staying healthy. We have ten new lambs on the ground and as some of you know, they are hands-down the cutest animals in the world.

If you come visit, you can see lambs….

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, New Years, My Bd, Jesus’s Bd, Bowl Season, Boxing Day and those holidays I’ve forgotten. Have a wonderful season

Cane Creekers

The cool mornings, clear days, and fresh breezes have to make this the best time of the year on our farm. Remember to visit the farm store sometime this fall.

Thanks, first off, to all that joined us for our Arabian Nights party. We’ve received a great response and hope to do it again (different theme) sometime in the future. Pictures are on the here on our website if anyone is interested.

A few important updates:

1. We are having an October Beef bulk beef sale. This is definitely the best price we have ever sold beef at. We packed the boxes a few days ago so they have all been frozen immediately (after hanging). They also fit into two boxes, roughly 24″x16″x5″. So don’t worry, it won’t take up as much space as you’re worried about. We’re doing this 1. because it’s the most efficient and sustainable way to sell meat 2. because we would like to move many cows off of our land before the grasses stop growing this winter. This is why communities have long slaughtered animals in the fall and used that meat to provide for the family through the winter. Please see our website for pricing and other details.

2. It is turkey season. We have bourbon reds and broad-breasted bronze turkeys this year. This is a great opportunity to have an ethically-raised, flavorful, and locally-grown bird for your family and friends this holiday. Details about reserving them can be found here

3. About that website- Our new one is up! It’s gorgeous, user-friendly, has tons of info (updated too!), and has some new features like recipes and cooking advice from chefs.

That’s about all. We’ll be in Greensboro this week (and every other week afterward). They’ve been putting us outside, so look for us there. Remember to send any market requests to us during the week. Besides that, just let us know if you’re interested in bulk beef, turkeys, or if you just like our new website (thanks Sarah Cook!)

Well, we’re thinking about Thanksgiving around here. We’ve been raising Bourbon Red and Broad-Breasted Bronze turkeys throughout the summer and are now taking reservations. This is a great opportunity to have an ethically-raised, flavorful, and locally-grown bird for your family and friends this holiday.

As for the two birds – the Broad-Breasted Bronze turkeys will have larger breast (white) meat, and next year we’re planning on raising standard Bronze turkeys, an official heritage breed. If you have a preference – the larger birds will likely be BB Bronzes, and the smaller birds will likely be Bourbon Reds. Both birds are darker and more flavorful than standard white birds.

We are trying to simplify the turkey business this fall!

1. All birds will be frozen.
2. Pickup: You can pick up your turkey at
   • The Saturday market (Carrboro, Greensboro Curb) before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21)
   • or at the Tuesday Carrboro market on Nov. 24.
   • You can also pick up at the farm during store hours.
3. Prices:
   • 10-12lb birds = $75.
   • 12-15lbs = $100
   • 15-18lbs = $120
   • 18+lbs =  @$7/lb
4. If you would like to reserve a bird, email us at canecreekfarm@gmail.com or come out to our farm store or stop by our tables at the Carrboro Farmers Market or Greensboro Curb Market. A $50 deposit will reserve your turkey