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. 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: 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! 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... ... 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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