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Wild Carrot goes to (Washington) Montpelier

4/7/2013

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It would be fair to say that all of us at Wild Carrot Farm have a little bit of social justice and activism mixed into our blood. This week were able to combine that with our farming in a meaningful way. Not only are legislatures looking into GMO labeling for products sold in Vermont this year, they are also looking (again) at whether or not to allow raw milk to be distributed by Tier 2 raw milk producers at Farmer's Markets. The bill is S.70, and although it may not be the bill that should be passed to reform current raw milk laws it is a good vehicle to keep the raw milk conversation going and in the mind of our legislators.

We are lucky enough to have two great House members on the House Agricultural and Forestry Products committee: Tristan Toleno and Carolyn Partridge.
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They both seem well versed about the pros and cons of current raw milk legislation and willing to work with raw milk producers to create a safe and scale appropriate set of regulations to serve the growing demand for raw milk and raw milk products. If you get a chance to talk to any of our elected officials make sure you let them know how much you care about small diversified farmers, and that anything from carrots to charcuterie is something you want to be able to get fresh and locally from Vermont's small farms. 


We continue to be pleasantly overwhelmed by all that is happening around us here at Wild Carrot Farm. Our two milk cows are due to give birth soon, the ground is bare!, and the smell of green grass teases us now and then. We tried to extend this excitement to a bunch of new customers this past weekend at Post Oil Solution's farmers market held at the River Garden center in downtown Brattleboro. It think having one of our rabbits there really helped:
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More signs of springs have started to arrive, namely a multiplication of green things and the arrival of our first baby chicks. The chicks are the amazing Freedom Rangers that we have been using at Wild Carrot in the past years. They are built for pasture, and their flavor is amazing! We'll be doing at least 4 batches of chickens throughout the season to satiate the demand for these wonderful birds.

The green house is quickly filling up and the more cold hardy plants like Kale and Collards are leafing out in earnest, followed by "lawns" of onion starts,  and the beginnings of our delicious tomatoes!
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And on top of all of this fun we had Jesse and Caitlin's friends from college who are apart of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange staying at the house for their "spring break". These are high-tech folks who helped us place the high tunnel with a fancy app on their iPhone that can use a picture of a location, coordinated with the GPS, an give you and accurate read on the effects of shadows and angle of sunlight in different times of the year. Pretty wild.




And just incase you are worried we are buckling down, getting serious, and taking care of buisness...

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... well, sort of. I think we need to adjust Caitlin's diet, she might not be getting enough micro-nutrients.

There are still shares of everything available, but there are fewer and fewer spots everyday. Make sure to get in touch with us if you would like to participate of our awesome shares!

Time for chores, see you soon!
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Bienvenue, Spring!

3/27/2013

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Give em' one warm day, and the snowdrops in your back yard will take a mile! 
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Speaking of, we've been welcoming babies of all kinds here on the farm. While we enjoy the antics of the kids and lambs,  we're also anticipating the arrival of the Melba's calf ANY DAY. It's a lot of staring and belly rubbing, but it's terribly exciting to think that we'll be in cow milk in a few weeks, and have an adorable calf or two to love on. 

Meanwhile, raw goat milk is available by reservation currently, at $8/ half gallon and $4/ quart. 

Happy spring, y'all!



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Frosty progress...

1/26/2013

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Ashlyn has been busy knitting up a storm. In addition to her addiction to goats she is currently the spinner at Green Mountain Spinnery, where they take small lots of fiber from local and national farmers and turn it into some of the most beautiful, high quality fiber. Ben has been braving the freezing cold to prune apple trees at Scott Farm. The rest of the time he stares at Melba and Rue, the two dairy cows of Wild Carrot Farm, waiting for a sign that the calves are coming.

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We'll continue to work with the Baileys in the coming weeks while we also renovate the barn for birthing (lambs, calves, and kids!), prepare the greenhouse for starts, and paint the farm house so that we can move in come this spring.



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Did anyone else notice the increasing daylight? Leaving the cozy wood stove twice a day to feed the animals seems less daunting lately now that we actually get to see their faces in the daylight!

Although everyone has been "hibernating" in their own way this winter it does not mean that we have just been sitting around enjoying the frozen and canned goodies from last season (although, there has been a lot of that as well). Jesse and Caitlin were busy just before the ground froze at Fair Winds Farm planting garlic and erecting the greenhouse that came from the land in Brookline.
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The real big excitement lately is that all of us have been learning all about draft power from the Baileys. Over a few weekends we will be seeing if we have what it takes to farm with draft power. So far it has been exhilarating, and we couldn't have started our "classes" with better energy. Last weekend when we started the board of the Draft Animal-Power Network (DAPNet) were meeting at Fair Winds Farm as well, and during our mutual breaks we had a great opportunity to meet other Northeastern farmers who are doing great things with draft animals.
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Make sure to keep a look out for the updated order forms for the 2013 season. We will be offering vegetables, raw cow and goat milk, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and more at our future farm stand  Order forms/brochures should be available in the next week so.

More to come, stay warm!
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And our new Kids...

4/14/2012

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Poppy and Hyssop
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Meet our new lambs . . .

3/10/2012

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Shallot and Cebollin
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