Fridays, From the Farm

We recently got a visit from the State for a "complaint" made about our farm business here. Not only was it a wonderful visit and no issues were found, it inspired an even bigger opportunity for us. Now we are going BIG and BOLD but there are always going to be challenges along the way. 

Learn about our new plans here and what we learned. 

Do you know what your risk is raising livestock on your farm? What about when you deliver your livestock to your butcher? What happens when there is a loss there? We had to learn the hard way. Listen to learn more about our experience when our butcher facility burned to the ground and we lost our pigs in their fire.

We just experienced something we never would have expected as a small farm.

Our USDA butcher, East Conway Beef and Pork, in Conway NH suffered a catastrophic loss due to a structure fire on Monday April 11, 2022. This was a total game changer for us. Not only did we lose our pigs that we delivered the day before but we lost our future dates for processing our pork.

We are not alone, this is a huge ripple affect across the farm community.

Join us and our guest, Jared with Red Fox Carpentry, on this special podcast. Jared talks about his big barn project in Ohio, how he started his business and his plans for the future.

Did you know this podcast was started in 2019? Crazy how time flies!!!

We wanted to share some short recaps about our 2021 year and what we have planned for 2022.

This past Saturday, October 30th, we hosted our first Grand Opening of the Farm Store in the new barn.

WHAT A SUCCESS!!! It was a dreadful raining, cold, windy day and our freshly laid dirt driveway was a soupy mess. I was concerned the bath weather would keep people away from our event. I was wrong! I should have posted that there was a occupancy limit in the little shop. My husband plans to build a covered porch so at least, in the future, our guest can have a place to sit and enjoy the view while they wait for the shop to clear out of shoppers.

My parents were visiting from upstate New York so my mom helped me prepare some fresh baked warm Pretzels and Hot Coffee and Cider for our guest. We bagged some fresh baguettes and hoagie rolls and prepared fresh Chocolate Fudge and Olive Butter, items we dont usually stock in the store. I was surprised at with every guest how much they enjoyed my selection.

I can't thank everyone who attended enough for their support and coming to our farm on that day. I appreciated meeting everyone and connecting with them all in one way or another. I hope you enjoy the stuff you purchased and we will certainly be hosting another fun event at the Barn again soon!

Have you completed a health check of your online business?

In 2021 its almost impossible to be found online unless you have some sort of social media presence. How are you driving traffic to your website? How are you selling through Facebook or Instagram?

Let me share some important details to get you started.

"Feedlots are going to have to pivot in their plans with rising feed prices."

"Surging feed prices will test recovery in US animal protein production"

Its not all doom and gloom for you, the small farmer. Yes, you will likely have to increase your prices, and if you haven't yet, you should be considering it. But this doesn't mean the end for the small farmers. Lets talk about WHY there are these price increases and the NASTY word "GMO."

Lets discuss what Monsanto's RoundUp chemical is doing to our corn and soy and livestock and learn how to navigate our customers to a healthy choice.

Heres a great topic and I get it short and sweet (trust me I could go on and on..)

Farmers Markets: 

How to pick your market? 

Do you do more than 1?

How to dress up your display and make more money.

This segment we chat about customer engagement, displays, pricing and simply HOW TO MAKE MONEY with your farm stuff.

Its been about a month since I left off here on my Podcast! I had a terrible accident and damaged my knee.

Im ok though. I just wanted to stop by and say HI and let you know I am still alive and recording :) 

For more information on Wooded Valley Acres visit: www.woodedvalleyacres.com

To watch this podcast on my youtube channel visit: https://youtu.be/U1dy6yHS8Hw

How do you take that leap of faith from a full time career to self employment?  How do you turn your farm business into a thriving business you can live on?  

Join me, Erin (your host) and Elizabeth Bower with Wooded Valley Acres. Elizabeth had been wanting to turn her farm into her primary career. She started small and aimed high. With planning, organization and an achievable goal, Elizabeth was able to ditch her 9-5 and focus solely on building her farm business.

Meet The Farmers

Cory and Elizabeth Bower purchased their farm in Gilmanton in 2016. It was raw land with a home. Through their efforts, they have established the well working farm that it is today.

While Elizabeth comes from generation after generation of farmers including her own small family farm that she grew up on with cows and pigs, Elizabeth's passion for health and healing your body through diet and herbs stems from an autoimmune disease that was brought to the surface after a traumatic attack by a patient at work. Elizabeth was left out of work for an extensive amount of time with many specialists prescribing prescription after prescription with no success. Elizabeth turned to herbs and natural healing. This is where her knowledge and passion of herbal medicine really began and you'll find this when she talks about how she cares for her animals and how she develops her teas and products.

Cory grew up in the city of Niagara Falls but always loved the outdoors and wanted a different life for himself. He had friends that he would go hunting with and enjoyed hiking. Soon, he and Elizabeth met in 2013 and their dreams became one. Fast forward 3 years and they turned their dreams into a working farm that has continued to grow ever since.

I just wanted to share a recap of our month of March and what we have planned for April.

Thank you to our guest for the month of March for our series on Women in Farming:

Amy Matarozzo with LorrenJoyce Farm (https://www.lorrenjoycefarm.com)

Nancy Mangs with Wild Berry Farm (www.berriesandfleece.com)

Nikki Seavey with Blueberry Ridge Ranch (www.blueberryridgenh.com)

Jenn Forest with Half a Penny Farm (https://www.halfapennyfarm.com)

Thank you to all of our listeners!!

I was so lucky to be able to sit down with Jenn Forest with Half a Penny Farm in Barnstead NH to discuss her farm and how she got started.

It started as a simple idea many years ago to “someday” have a farm. Fast forward 15 years later with a knock on a door, countless hours of hard work and the unwavering kindness and generosity of the Halfpenny and Welch families the dream of Half-A-Penny Farm was realized. Located in Center Barnstead, NH, Half-A-Penny Farm is the product of the dedication and determination of two brothers. Shane and Norman Forest set a goal of raising free range, grass fed, black Angus beef. With many hours and passionate persistence, they have made this dream a reality.

Be sure to tune in for a month you won't want to miss. "Make it Happen", a series of stories told from artist, horse trainers, entrepreneurs, farmers all sharing their success and failures.

I often mention the theme "Make it Happen" because it is something I believe in. YOU can achieve amazing things if you are willing to put in the work, the effort, learn to deal with the failures and push yourself to YOUR limits. You set up those boundaries to be safe but today we are going to talk about breaking beyond your comfort zone and exploring more about your hidden potential.

*Warning: Some Explicit Language

My husband offered to interview me on my trip into Farming and working full time from my Farm. We talk about my past, my introduction into farming, my woes of getting started into entrepreneurship and where I am today.

This is a powerhouse of stories, motivation and insight of what worked and what didnt work for me. I hope this is encouraging for those of you who are listening that someone time you will fall flat on your face, you will get hurt, will you lose but you can still MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!

Wild Berry Farm is a blueberry farm located in Sanbornton, New Hampshire.  We have have several fields with 50+ Tall Bush Blueberry Bushes that produce small dark berries with intense flavor. When in season, we offer packaged blueberries or invite you and your family to pick your own.

In addition to blueberries, we offer many products that are grown and/or produced in New Hampshire. We strive to provide you with the highest quality products that are useful and you will love.

Visit: www.blueberryridgenh.com

Owning a farm has always been a dream of ours! We used to drive around for years admiring farms in our state. We would daydream about the day when we could call our own farm home!

In 2017, those dreams became reality when we purchased a 17 acre farm in Pittsfield, NH. Over the years, we have worked hard to make many improvements to the property. There have been a lot of laughs, learning curves to overcome, good and bad days, sweat, cuss words, celebrations and even some tears -- but here we are! We are proud to grow Blueberry Ridge Ranch in our community!

On our farm we raise pork, beef, broiler chickens, eggs, vegetables & flowers. We also partner with other farm based business owners to provide jams, honey, syrup, dry rubs & unique gifts!

Visit our honor system farm stand (open seasonally from dawn to dusk) or check out our online store! We look forward to bringing all of this farm awesomeness to YOU!!!

Sincerely,

Matt, Nikki, Brian and Eli the silly Labrador!

Join Amy and I as we talk about Amy's journey into farming. Her life as a mom of 2 boys, a dedicated wife and a inspiring farmer.

www.lorrenjoycefarm.com

LorrenJoyce Farm is a family farm dedicated to producing quality products that are grown with compassion, integrity and pride. We specialize in pasture raised beef, jersey cow raw milk and farm fresh eggs. We are focused around the health and well-being of our animals, in order to create the best product possible!

LorrenJoyce Farm was started in December of 2013 by Amy & Brian Matarozzo. The farm began operating at its first location in Londonderry, NH. As the farm operation expanded to include beef and dairy cows, we moved to Center Barnstead, NH. The farm began operating in Center Barnstead, NH in August of 2014. The farm is located on 25+ acres with 13 acres of open pasture. Our focus is on raising quality registered jersey cattle and polled hereford beef cattle. 

The name of our farm is a tribute to Amy’s Uncle, Lorren Pelletier, and her mother, Joyce. Both have passed away and it is important to us that they are remembered. 

Our current products available: 
- Raw Milk
- Raw Cream
- Pasture Raised Beef
- Compost & Manure 
- Steer & Heifer Calf Sales
-REGISTERED Jersey Sales

Every Friday in the Month of March:

I am so excited to bring this amazing topic to the forefront of our March Podcast Series. I have the privilege of knowing so many women in the farming industry. These are not your typical women and they are not your typical farmers either. These are bust-your-ass, full time working, wives, moms, career executives and dedicated land stewards and animal lovers. We “dig” in deep about their lifestyle, marriage and relationships, family life, their careers beyond the farm and their farm and farm business. How did they start? Where do they want it to go? How will they get there? We will share stories of success and failure and talk about the emotional impact farming has had on their bodies, mind and soul. Join us for this motivating and inspiring journey with some of the toughest women in New Hampshire!

Its 2021 and we have SOOOOOO much to share!!!!

This is a short episode just to reach out and say HI and talk about some of the exciting plans for this year. We hope to really narrow down our podcast with fulfilling and substantive information. 

My podcast site does have a domain now too: www.fridaysfromthefarm.com

Heres a new feature I want you to try out!! Go to this link and please leave me a message on what you want to talk about. Share a story or thought. Talk to me :) https://anchor.fm/thefoxandcrowfarm/message

November went by so fast we forgot to blog about it.

Seriously, we have just been so busy preparing for winter. Here is an update on what you've missed.

Erin and Jared describe finding and buying their farm fixer upper. For full video of this recording visit:  https://youtu.be/dx7_X29goQM

Jared discusses his plans for the weekend to prepare The Fox and Crow Farm for winter time.