Janzen Family Farms
May 2010 News
Dear Friends and Customers,
A lot has been happening at the farm this spring, so we wanted to keep you up-to-date. Thanks, as always, for your business and your interest in our farm.
JFF MENTIONED IN WOMENS FOCUS WICHITA MAGAZINE
We are excited to share the news that we were included in a story on grilling called “Not Yo’ Daddy’s Grill,” by Suzanna Mathews, in Women’s Focus Wichita magazine in May. To see the story, go to http://ifocuson.com/wf_may_2010/ or to the magazine’s main page at www.womensfocus.com, and click on the digital flip book of the May issue.
IT’S FARMERS MARKET TIME – COME SAY “HI”!
Come see Janzen Family Farms at the farmers market: We can be found selling both JFF 100% grass-fed beef and our Kansas-grown freshly stone-milled organic flour. Some summer produce from Norm’s garden will also be available. Ask about Norm’s Little Red Hen Bakery breads as well. If you have specific needs/desires on the 100% grass-fed beef, please let Norm know ahead of time so he is sure to bring enough of your favorite cut to the market.
· Kansas Grown Farmers Market in West Wichita on Saturdays. The market is held at the Sedgwick County Extension Office located at 21st and Ridge from 7 am to 12 noon.
· Doyle Valley Farmers Market in Peabody, starting May 29, 2-3 times a month. It’s at Santa Fe Park (at the railroad tracks!) on Saturdays from 8 am to 12 noon.
If you can’t make it to one of the farmers markets where we are, be sure to get out to any farmers market and discover the diverse and unique food produced locally. For more information on a farmers market near you, go to: www.ksda.gov/kansas_agriculture/content/148.
ORDER YOUR 100% GRASS-FED BEEF NOW
We are temporarily sold out of our 100% grass-fed beef supply—but bear with us: we will have more meat very soon (specifically at the beginning of June, with more coming every other month or so). Selling out is really good news, because it means our customer base is starting to grow. If demand is strong enough, we will be able to increase our herd, which is physically possible, since there is still plenty of space for more animals on our land without stressing the plants, water or soil. We would like to be able to have more 100% grass-fed animals, as we believe raising them really makes sense for many reasons, including the health of the land, animals, people and our farming operation. Thank you for your purchases so we could make it to this point! To ensure your next round of our delicious prairie beef, place your order ahead of time.
NEW CALVES ARRIVING
We have 10 new calves, all sired by the bull we acquired last year. Three of those were born to JFF heifers (2 years old) that we raised from our first calf crop. As a result, the calves from these heifers are our first JFF “born and bred” calves, so this is especially exciting. All calves were born where the cows have been pastured this spring—some on winter barley and some on native/brome pasture (they had access to both). We have never needed to assist or “pull” a calf.
GREAT BIRDS SPOTTED ON THE FARM
As Leroy and Norm were fixing fence, they spotted a scissor-tailed flycatcher out on the prairie. With their unmistakably long scissor-like tail feathers, they are a very unique bird, which Norm notes he hadn’t previously seen over the last three years at JFF. Also, Norm has spotted a pair of barn owls several times in the roundtop farm building—super news since they help to keep the rodents in check. This spring, we also played host to numerous types of geese and ducks, including Canada geese and snow geese. Click here for some pictures: www.janzenfamilyfarms.com/photos.html.
NEW PHOTOS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE; CHECK OUT WINTER PEAS
We have a beautiful crop of Austrian winter peas, which we’ll harvest in June or July for seed, directly after the wheat harvest. On our present wheat acres, we will plant the peas about August/September as a cover crop and/or winter forage for the cattle. As the peas are a legume, they will produce (“fix”) nitrogen in the soil as they grown, and we will till them up for “green manure” next spring. Then we’ll plant milo or some other summer crop. JFF will also replant some peas specifically as a seed plot to perpetuate this part of our JFF crop rotation. Check it out at the JFF website’s photo gallery here: www.janzenfamilyfarms.com/photos.html.
SEE OUR FANTASTIC LADYBUGS DISTRIBUTED TO CONTROL PESTS
We had the pleasure of including the Redpath family at the farm while distributing ladybugs to help prevent pests in the alfalfa. For some fantastic photos of the ladybug distribution, check out our photo page, and to read the Redpath’s blog called “The Burrow,” which includes more photos and an entry about the day, please go to: http://coppercorn.xanga.com/725602475/earth-day-preview/. Many thanks to the Redpaths!
TELECONFERENCING WITH GRASS-FED BEEF SUPPORTERS
Norm and John Janzen had the pleasure of participating in a teleconference with others interested in grass-fed beef at the beginning of May. Coordinated by Jason Schmidt of the Kansas Rural Center at Whiting, near Topeka, the call also included K-State researchers and other producers. Pasture, genetics, marketing and the needs for research in the area of grass-fed beef production were among the topics discussed. We’re looking forward to more communication and cooperation with these and other folks interested in 100% grass-fed beef.
VISITING WITH WICHITA BUSINESSPEOPLE
We also were happy to host a group of interested businessmen and women from Wichita Farm and Ranch (Club), who came to JFF for a tour and picnic on May 20. We showed them the flour mill, steers and yearlings out on our brome meadow, winter peas and the cow/calf herd on JFF’s south prairie. We’d like to thank Mel and Sylvia Epp for a fantastic locally produced fresh garden salad, and Steve and Judy Redpath for the potato salad, baked beans and quinoa salad to accompany our main dish. The entrée of course was JFF burgers on Little Red Hen Bakery buns. More local products including Grannie’s mustard, ketchup from Big Rick, Reno County tomatoes and wine from Grace Hill Winery in Whitewater helped round out the menu. We all enjoyed the picnic while watching the cows and calves interacting on the prairie for the evening.
FARM TOURS/EVENTS
Remember, you can come visit our farm! Groups can arrange for a special tasting event as well (with a small fee to help defer the costs). Please call or email Norm if you’d like to set something up.
THANKS AGAIN
Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments. You can reach us at: (316) 799-2670 or kristi@janzenfamilyfarms.com (communications, the newsletter, website and other publicity); norm@janzenfamilyfarms.com (food & farming questions); john@janzenfamilyfarms.com (financial matters and any overarching issues). Don’t forget to visit our website at www.janzenfamilyfarms.com.
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