Changes

Wow! Already June! I thought I was going to be able to write all winter and share the changes and decisions we have made for 2011. Here I am....June.

Thankfully, we did not have a very snowy winter. However, it was very cold. Oil is expensive so we made it part of the day, every day, to chop wood for the woodstove. So, we kept plenty of sweaters on hand and thought about what we wanted to do and not do for the year....

The first discussion on the discussion table...no Thanksgiving turkeys this year. We went back and forth on this one. Actually all last year Scott was pretty serious when he would mention that the landscape of Pleasant Hill would lack Heritage turkeys for 2011. The fields needed the rest. And quite frankly....so did we. But all the hard work and bad memories of 200 turkeys on my front porch and yard, snipping $200 worth of mums days before our first farm tour, quickly disappeared as Thanksgiving approached. Old and new customers calling and scheduling a fresh turkey pick up. Our annual interview with our town's local tv station is always something to look forward to. This past year, Scott actually brought in a live tom turkey to the studio. Luckily he was a good boy(the turkey that is!).

"Maybe we should do turkeys next year", we both thought when Thanksgiving was over. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and we truly enjoy the week leading up to the special day. I went ahead and placed my order for turkey poults for the 2011 season. I find that it is crucial to place this order as soon as possible from the hatchery so we can be one of the first on the list. I have to order early in December so I can receive them hopefully by the end of March. If I can't get them by the second week in April, then I don't bother. They won't be ready by Thanksgiving. Broad Breasted turkeys can be delivered later in the year because they grow so quickly.

At least I had my order in place. That would allow us some time to think about our decision. The order can always be canceled. I don't even think the year finished out when Scott decided he would stick with his original plan....no poultry for 2011. Not even our broilers. At first I did not agree about the idea of not doing chicken. I had just added individual pieces to our product list.....breasts, wings and thigh quarters. I would cut down the larger roasters to accommodate the huge demand. There were times Scott would call me early from the market, "We sold out of chicken parts already! Can you cut down some more and bring them up? Hurry!!!" How could we just begin to offer these chicken choices and then leave our customers hanging the next year?

Well, we stuck to our decision and I'm actually grateful for it (sorry to our customers!). I suppose sometimes we really do need the rest and we can see how our decisions were truly meant to be.

Next on the discussion table......the hogs......