Westminster Farmers' Market

   The fog was thick at The Town Common on Academy Hill in Westminster Friday afternoon. In spite of the weather, we had a good turn-out by both vendors and customers at the first market of the season yesterday. People were pleased that Ann Patsis is back with her breads and jams. Ann also has mail boxes for sale, that she has toll-painted. A new vendor was there; Bob’s Red House Farm, from Winchendon,  along with our veteran members. As the season progresses we have several other new grower/members that plan on attending.

   On The Gazebo, Joe Reidy appeared at 3 p.m. and Keith McLinden at 5 p.m. They sounded great.Their performances were enhanced by our new audio system. Sue and Steve Nickerson did a great job shopping for, and picking out the new sound system for us. Thank you, Sue and Steve.

Westminster Farmers' Market is cancelled today due to high winds forecast.

  We are a rain or shine market. But the market is cancelled today, due to the forecast of high winds.

  It would be dangerous, if tents started to blow around up on Academy Hill. Gusts are predicted to 45 MPH.

  See you next week.

  Yes, The Westminster Farmers' Market will be open today. We are a rain or shine market. It is raining now, as I write this, at 6:45 AM. But according to " Weather Underground", the chance of precipitation is only 20%, this afternoon between 3 and 6.

  Friday was our first market of the 2010 Season. The weather was great, sunny and warm, with a slight breeze.

  I counted twenty vendors. There were venders of meat, eggs, cheese, baked goods, fudge, and handcrafts. But also at least four venders had perennials and vegetable seedlings.

  We gave away quite a bit of composted cow manure and composted chicken manure; self serve, of course!

  You can read the report from The Fitchburg Sentinel here.

  The time to support local food against federal government sprawl is now. If we don't take action, they will legislate local food right off your plate. 

 Please read this excellent blog piece, by Pat Stewart, one of our grower/venders. :

Hello,

This is a scary time for those of us who value locally raised food, raising livestock and promoting sustainable agriculture. While the National Animal Identification
System is being retooled, its successor
has yet to be seen. But while we wait
for that word, and while groups and individuals work with the developers to
craft this new program, a larger specter looms on the horizon.

   Here is the rest of it.

  When a large corporation, in my opinion markets the product.

  Newman's own is among three companies that are under investigation, following complaints by The Cornucopia Institute, a watchdog group. Read about it in a CBS article:

http://wcbstv.com/business/organic.labeling.cornucopia.2.1660070.html

  If USDA can't handle regulating The National Organic Program, what is going to happen if S.510 passes, and FDA is in charge of food safety?

  I guess more sales for Kraft, Dean Foods, and Monsanto.

  This commentary in "Poultry USA" caught my eye. Editor Gary Thornton states, "Backyard poultry keeping will influence consumer views and possibly, at some point, buying behavior for retail poultry products."

http://www.wattagnet.com/14746.html

  I think he makes some excellent points. At the Westminster Farmers' Market we can clearly see a consumer preference for local eggs.

I am a person with a foot in each camp. I was a commercial egg producer for over 25 years. Our family is now involved in backyard egg production. There is a joke that made the rounds a while ago that a chicken is involved in breakfast (the eggs), but the pig is committed (the bacon). OK, so maybe we are committed to chickens.

  In my opinion, the backyard chicken movement isn't anywhere near peaking. Every month I hear about more friends and acquaintances starting a flock of backyard birds for the first time. There is an interest in local food, but it's more than that. People seem to want to take some personal responsibility for putting food on their table. I see the same interest growing in backyard gardening. It is a real DIY revolution.

    There is a time-lapse video, on YouTube, of a blonde princess (self described) building a backyard chicken-coop. She is very proficient in carpentry skills, and in using power tools. She does a great job on the coop. Her choice of wardrobe is interesting, (not that I noticed) but I would recommend wearing shoes while doing any construction.

  This maybe a way, to get your husband, boyfriend, or significant other to build that chicken-coop you’ve been wanting. Or it may just give you the needed self-confidence to do-it-yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xBiSp6rQM0&feature=player_embedded

  Let him watch the whole video.

    Wired.com has a list of seven disruptive foods that could change the way we eat.   

  OK. So, I know about GMOs, but, organic pancake batter in a can, and nano-bots in your body, carrying energy to your cells? How about non-sentient lab meat? No thanks. Call me old-fashioned.

  You can read about it here:

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/seven-disruptive-foods-changing-the-way-we-eat/all/1

Michelle Obama has a larger garden this year. Read about it in "The Christian Science Monitor":

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/2010/0401/Michelle-Obama-expands-the-White-House-garden

  Will This White House support small scale agriculture? Or are they going to turn local food regulation over to FDA? Follow this link to "S. 510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act"

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-510

I think The White House Garden

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 HR 2749 could hurt small-scale agriculture, local food efforts, and organic producers. But according to this (LA Times) article 90% of industry and consumers approve of passing it into law.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-food-safety22-2009oct22,0,514104.story

Here is the current version of the bill, passed by The House, sent to Senate Committee.

 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:6:./temp/~c111X2LiEt::

 Here is what Erin from local harvest has to say.

http://www.localharvest.org/blog/lh/entry/important_day_to_pick_up

Here is a link to a letter from NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business), opposing The House version.

http://www.nfib.com/tabid/739/Default.adecision.spx?cmsid=49807&v=1

 Like I said in the tittle, who could be against safe food. Please read it for your self and make your own decision.

  With their current record of voting against public opinion, The111th Congress will be looking to curry favor with the electorate. Let's hope it's not at the expense of your local farmers.

 Seventy-one years ago today, The Great Hurricane of 1938 struck New England without warning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Hurricane_of_1938

 My grandparents Hjalmer and Lizzie Johnson lost one henhouse, and the roof was blown off the other. The forest across the road from the farm was devastated. Hjalmer bought the land. He set up a portable saw mill with the help of my dad, Walter, and uncle, Harold he cut enough lumber to repair these two buildings, and build three more. One of the new henhouses was the largest in New England at that time.

  Here is a photo of some of the damage.

 

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Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm

 Did you attend the farmers’ market last week?  What a sight!  There must have been about 20 vendors!  AND CORN IS IN!  What a busy day!  I must confess that I was busy with the Mass Local Food Co-op and did not even get a chance to wander through the market so, for this week, I can only tell you what I have been told.  All the usual items were there.  In addition, we had corn and loads of different vegetables.  And, finally, maple syrup!  All the products that you come to expect including meat, eggs, cheese, breads (including gluten free), jam, relish…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm

 Have a LOCAL Fourth of July!

 I’m planning on great weather this afternoon and, for the first time this year (as of 12:00), there is not a cloud on Doppler! Live Dopler Weather for Westminster!  Check it out for yourself!

 You are all planning for your Fourth of July celebrations and we can help you with that.  We have lots of hamburg and sausage (no hot dogs for your cookout, but after you try the sausage you may never eat a mystery hot dog again).  We are running low on steaks, so if you want these, you may have to get to the market early.  If you are interested in chili for your celebration, we have several nice roasts that would suit your needs perfectly (and you can probably convince Meghan to share her award winning chili recipe!).

 The market will be stocked with vegetables including tomatoes, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, baby greens, Asian greens, shallots, and parsley.  In addition to these vegetables, we will also have eggs, Capri goat cheese and Smith’s Country cheese, a large variety of breads – including gluten free, relish, jam... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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