MEAT LOVER'S 🎁 GIFT BAGS - For the food lover on your list. At 5 or 10 lbs our Meat Lover's Gift Bags contain a variety of our customer favorites plus a sturdy insulated cooler bag. This gift needs to stay frozen.

SAUSAGE 🎁 GIFT BAG - A spectacular start to a snack platter. Contains our Summer Sausage, Snack Sticks, and Beez Kneez Handmade Mustard.

HOLIDAY ROASTS - Order your local-food centerpiece today - Ham Roasts, Prime Rib Roasts, Brisket Roasts and more.

BODYCARE GIFT BAG - Nourishing your body inside and out. Gift set includes 2 different bars of Handmade Soap, 1 Soap Saver Bag (made of natural fibers), and a 2 oz tin of Body Balm. Shipping available - contact us to arrange.

FARM GREETING CARDS - The perfect host gift. Contains 5 blank greetings cards and envelopes with professional pictures from our farm.

GIFT CERTIFICATES - Available in custom amounts and able to ship. Up the presentation by purchasing one of our logo cooler bags to wrap the gift certificate in.

Did you take advantage of all the beautiful days October provided? While unusual and climatically concerning, the dry warm days allowed us to accomplish some big farm projects.

Farmer Chris and crew installed geothermally heated automatic winter waters for all of our livestock. This is a BIG deal!!! Thanks to the financial support of NRCS and the landowners we will better protect water resources, and reduce stress for the animals and ourselves.

Winter Farmers Markets are revamped this year with the Northeast Minneapolis Winter Farmers Market taking place at Earl Giles Distillery and the Neighborhood Roots Winter Farmers Market returning to Bachman's Garden Center.

Unfortunately these markets are occurring on the same day! We'll have to split freezer equipment between the two markets. Pre-orders are recommended

New this year -- St Croix Valley Food Alliance Winter Farmers Market at Abrahamson's Nursery. A wonderful shopping option for those in the St Croix River Valley, and a fun day-trip destination for our urban neighbors.

Shoppers who buy local, seasonal foods at farmers markets make a great impact on sustaining family farms as well as reducing their own carbon footprint.

Plan ahead for holiday meals by placing an order for your centerpiece roast and side-dish ingredients. Inspiration below -

• 24 Main Course Alternatives to Turkey for Thanksgiving
• Turkey Alternatives For Your Thanksgiving Table

With thanks,
Tamara and Chris

The days are long, but the growing season is short. Anyone recognize that phrase? I just co-opted a common phrase about parenting and applied it to farming. Because while the growing season is a lot of hard work, it's also a lot of fun!

So we are savoring these final days of summer. Grilling, camping, and visiting Lake Superior are on the agenda in addition to grazing cattle & sheep, feeding and watering hogs, hauling hay, and seeing all your lovely faces at the market.

Are you a menu-planner or bulk shopper? If so, you might find our online order form a great tool to use when planning your weekly meals. You can pull out your shopping list and order what you need, for pickup on the farm or market. Check out our Meat Bundles & Shares.
Lamb Shoulder Steaks are on my menu for the week and I'm sharing a great recipe for Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops with Herb Aioli. Herb sauces are what our meat should be wearing this summer.

Savor summer,
Tamara Johnson

Praise be, we have a well! And not just a dribble of a well, but a deep, high-capacity well that will be connected to water lines in all of our pastures. This is a huge, labor-saving development for our farm.

It's thanks to a conservation grant we received from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, plus the good faith and support of the landowners. The grant is also funding better fences and waterers.

The grantees know that supporting regenerative graziers like us, results in soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and protects surface and ground water.

"What do you do with ground lamb?", has been the frequent question at the farmers market. Burgers, Meatballs, Bolognese, Curry, Kebabs, and this month's featured recipe - Mediterranean Lamb Burgers. Here's your market shopping list - 

• Herbs & Veg from your favorite produce farmers
• Hummus from Adelle Foods
• Cheese from LoveTree Farmstead
• & Ground Lamb from yours truly

It's no surprise that we have had to raise our prices as our costs rise with inflation. However we can offer you discounts when you purchase in bulk. It saves both of us time and gas money when you purchase more at one time from our farm. Check out our Meat Bundles & Shares.

Water is life,
Tamara Johnson

While the days farming are long, the animals make them sweet.

Lambing season caught us off guard starting a week earlier than planned. The lambs have been really healthy this year, with only two needing to be bottle fed. We are up to about 73 lambs born on pasture in the last couple weeks.

Any guesses to this year's final total? 

Father's Day is just around the corner and we've put together a Father's Day Gift Bundle for Dad. You can choose to get the Father's Day Gift Bundle in a gift box for $54, or in one of our quality logo cooler bags for $66.

I'm renaming this month's recipe the Market Omelet, because it highlights some of my favorite ingredients at the farmers markets. Here's my shopping list for the dish - LoveTree Farmstead's Ricotta Cheese, mushroom's from R&R Cultivation, Burning River Farm's greens, Bacon ends from yours truly, plus eggs and chives.

Bon appetite!
- Tamara Johnson

P.S. Less than 3 weeks to get your Father's Day gift ordered.