Hello and welcome to the April newsletter for Laughing Duck Farm. Can you believe we are already into spring?! It seems so funny to me that January seems to last for such a long time and then, suddenly, here we are in April. Spring has always been one of my favorite times of the year. It seems to be filled with newness, freshness, and best of all, potential. Potential is one of my favorite things. I see it everywhere. I see potential in people, old buildings, art and craft supplies and seeds. All that potential makes me so happy, and so spring is definitely a time of joy for me. The problem with loving potential so much is that you are going to have to deal with a little disappointment. Some of the seeds will just not sprout, I will never find the time to use all of those art supplies, I could never buy all of the old buildings to renovate, and no person, especially not me, will fully live up to their potential. I don’t let it get me down, though. The world is a big shining ball of possibilities, filled with the excitement of all that potential, and I will see it that way until my dying breath.

On the Farm

This is the “here we go!” time on the farm. Baby turkeys will be arriving on April 3rd and the meat chicks will be here at the end of April. This year my goal for the meat production part of the farm is to keep those darn hawks out of the chickens. Last year we lost so many chickens to one very large, well fed, red tailed hawk. Toward the end of the season I discovered that the only really good solution was to cover the chickens with a fruit netting. It lets all of the sunshine through, but birds of prey have incredibly good eyesight, so he pretty much left them alone. We also kept a puppy back from our litter and I am hoping he will make a good guardian for the chickens. It will take a lot of work, though, as he will need to fully understand that chickens are not for chasing.

My other goal for this year is to improve my garden production. I will never be able to garden on the scale that will produce lots of produce for the store, but I can provide a lot of produce for my family. Unfortunately, right around the middle of July I tend to give up in the battle against the weeds. This year I am thinking about trying out some weed barrier fabric. The good stuff is apparently a little pricey, but it lasts for years. I feel like if we can block some of the worst weeds for a couple of years, then maybe hand weeding will work after that. Up until now I have been using the Ruth Stout method of mulching heavily with spent hay from our animals, but that doesn’t seem to do much against pig weed which will come up through several feet of mulch. I have pretty much eliminated several other types of weeds, though, so it really is just the pig weed that is the problem.

Pigs

If you are interested in purchasing a whole or half pasture raised pig, now is the time to order. The piglets will arrive on the farm in late May and will spend the summer digging in the dirt, eating, laying in the sun, and generally being happy pigs. They are rotated to fresh pasture every week or so and eat bugs, pasture plants, and grains from local farmers. The last week of September, you pig will go to one of three butchers. You can choose from Kessler’s in Glenwood City, Ross’ in Glenwood City, or Sailer’s in Elmwood. I do know that Ross’ and Kessler’s both have nitrate free options for bacon and hams. I’m not sure about Sailer’s. The cost of a pig this year is $300 for a half and $600 for a whole. You pay your own processing so you can make all the choices. Your pig is reserved when your payment is received.

In the Store

Speaking of potential, I am so incredibly excited! The store addition is nearly finished, and Troy has done such a nice job! It is absolutely beautiful, and there is so much shelf space. Now I just have to figure out the most wanted items to fill those shelves with!

Another thing you are going to start to notice is a gradual reduction in plastic. I’m not a big fan of plastic packaging, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. I have, however purchased all of the equipment to package some of our items in jars. You will soon start seeing this change in our herbal items and supplements. I also plan to start packaging some other items in paper. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a solution for the larger quantities of things, but I will keep looking.

Recipe

Today I will share a recipe that I use for Curry Goat. Some of you may know that Troy used to live in Jamaica. While there he absolutely fell in love with the people and the food. Some of those foods I cannot really find here in western Wisconsin. We don’t have breadfruit or something called guineps. I can’t find soursop juice and if you think I’m bringing a stinky durian into my house you have another thing coming. I can, however make curry goat.

Now if you are making a similar recipe in India, you call it goat curry, if you are making the Jamaican version, you put the curry first. I don’t know why, I just know that there is a difference and please don’t say “goat curry” to a Jamaican. I make mine in a crock pot and serve it over rice. That way I know it will come out tender and full of flavor.

Into a crock pot add (in this order)

• One large potato, pealed and diced
• One large onion, chopped
• Two medium carrots, chopped
• Three pounds of goat stew meat
• 3Tbs curry powder (I use yellow)
• 1tsp Evaporated Sea Water (ESW)
• 1tsp crushed red pepper (or one scotch bonnet if you can find it)
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 cup water

I cook this on low for 6-8 hours. Once it is done I stir in about a cup or a cup and a half of cooked chickpeas and I top with chopped scallions. You can obviously play around with the heat level by adding or taking away hot pepper. Troy likes it so hot that it makes him sweat. I am Scandinavian so we compromise.

Bulk Food Order

If you are interested in saving money by ordering groceries in bulk, this section is for you! This month’s bulk food order is due on March 29 and your order will be ready for pickup after 4:30pm on April 4th. I will have my niece, nephew, and grandson here that day, so if you want to bring your young children and hang out for a while while the kidlets play, you are very welcome to do so.

To place and order, just send me a list of the item numbers, a brief description of the items, and the price you expect to pay. This information can all be found on the attached list. Please don’t go off the old lists, or things could get very confusing. If this list is overwhelming for you (I totally understand that) feel free to reach out to me and I can help you find the items you are looking for. You can email your list to northhaus@gmail.com.

Next, come to the farm 2482 170th Ave, Emerald, WI 54013 on Friday, April 4th between 4:30pm and 8pm. Bring cash or a check for payment. Your items will be on a table with your last name on it and you can also shop in the store at this time.

The specials this month include… Butter!!! Alcam butter is very much on sale this month. This butter is very high quality and made right here in Wisconsin. You can either get it in one lb blocks or in sticks. The sticks are item number 198110 and the one pound blocks are item number 198111. Many of the Natural Hope herbal extracts are also on sale. The Zerega brand pasta is on sale. We like these because they are made with semolina flour which makes the texture a lot less slimy. These start with item number 390652 and go through item number 390682. We absolutely love the angel hair and the tri color rotini, both of which can be found in the store. You can also stock up your freezer with Nature Blessed frozen vegetables. These are cases of 6 2 to 2.5 lb bags. They are item numbers 624301-624321. They include everything from mushrooms to stew veg, mixed vegetables, stir fry vegetables, and just plain corn. The IQF fruit is also on sale. When you order fruit from the bulk list, please look for it to say IQF. This stands for individually quick frozen. It means that all of the fruit was frozen individually and should be pretty easy to separate. If it doesn’t say IQF it will come all frozen together in one giant 30lb block that you will have to completely thaw in order to use. The numbers for the frozen fruit start at 624901 and go through 624918. It includes so many things. We use the strawberries almost every day in smoothies. There are also raspberries, blueberries, sour cherries, blackberries, rhubarb, apples and many others. Finally, I just wanted to mention that we now carry whole pitted dates in a 30 lb case. This is item number 710004. You can also find dates rolled in oat flour and date rolls covered in coconut.

Your next opportunity to order in bulk will be April 26 with a delivery date of May 2nd.

Well, that is about it for this month. If you would like to come out and visit the store in the meantime, our drop in hours are Thursday through Saturday 10am-6pm. Outside of that time you can text me at 612-202-4359 to make an appointment. I hope your spring is filled with joy and possibilities and that we see you sometime soon!

Kathy