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Trying Times

written by

Sue King

posted on

March 26, 2020

HOW ARE YOU COPING WITH COVID19?  

For this week I am switching  things up a little bit.  Next week you can look forward to our continuing Nourishing Traditions series.  

Today however, I want to share some of the ways we are handling COVID19 at the farm  Instead of focusing on the negative that surrounds us I would like to  focus on the positive!  The last thing I want to do is contribute to the pandemonium. 

We gain our strength to persevere through this time from our faith.  For many years my favourite scripture in trying times has been Isaiah 41:10--Do not fear, for I am with you;  Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

As a very diversified farm we do not find it difficult to practice social distancing because the farm work keeps us close to home anyway.  

For many of you though we realize that it is a huge adjustment to make.  You probably don’t want to pack up all the children and head to the grocery store to only find that there is limited stock of the items you need.

Our routines on the farm go on as usual.   Let's take a peek into the average day on our farm as we are preparing for spring in order to continue our service to you!  

The animals don't realize that there is a pandemic.   Their life carries on just like it did a day ago, a week ago, a month ago, a year ago.   

Our work horse team, Dot and Daisy were due for a foot trimming.  So Logan chose a nice sunny day to accomplish the task.

The laying hens keep on supplying us with their beautiful, nutrient-dense free-range eggs.  They are loving the warmer sunny afternoons outside.

The cow’s and ewe’s bellies are expanding as they are getting closer to the end of their gestations.  In a little under three weeks the pastures are going to be teaming with newborn calves and lambs scampering around.  Baby chicks will be arriving on the farm soon.  New life is starting to blossom all around us.

My first seeds of the year have germinated and are poking their heads up through the soil that will sustain them until it is time to be planted outside.

Even the geese are anticipating spring.  They have built their nests and are starting to fill them with eggs that will be hatching in a few weeks.

The animals still have needs that we must meet.  Everyday, whether it is -40C or +5C, the guys hitch up the work horse team to take feed out to the pastures.

My day usually starts well before the sun is showing its light on the eastern horizon.  The very first thing I do when I get out of bed is light a fire in the wood cookstove in order to get potatoes frying, oatmeal simmering, water warming for tea and a soothing cup of broth slowly warming up.  Then it is out the door to get the animals that live around the barnyard taken care of.  The feeder lambs get their morning bucket of warm water and apple cider vinegar, then their alfalfa pellets and fresh hay.  After they are happy I move on to packing five gallon pails of water to the laying hens and pigs.  Then filling up their grain troughs and gathering eggs.  When I am just about finished my early morning chores, Larry makes his way groggily out to the barn to milk the cow (he’s not a morning person).  Then together we head back to the warmth of the house to finish cooking and enjoy a leisurely breakfast.  

After breakfast the guys head back outside to hitch up the work horse team so they can go and feed the cattle, sheep and riding horses that live out on the pastures.  Once dishes are finished I usually head to the farm office to take care of the business side of things, do regular household duties or head to the on-farm meat shop.

After a quick lunch they are off to get firewood for the house and the outdoor wood burning furnace.  Or just to work on their own projects.  

 As of today the Grande Prairie Farmers Market is still open this weekend.  Our freezers are full of grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork.  We have a little bit of grass-fed lamb left.  We are planning to fill the freezers with more lamb for Easter.

As a local farm that has been serving our community since 1998 we are here to help you.  We have always been particular about how the food we raise is handled from the farm to you. We take food safety very seriously.  Our supply chain is short, which means that the risk of contamination is very low.  We have our safe food handling certificate.  

You may not know that we have an online store and that we have been filling orders for pickup in Grande Prairie for some time now.  We have been working toward doing door-to-door deliveries to Grande Prairie as well.  In response to COVID19 we have moved our launch date up.  We are taking orders for delivery to Grande Prairie families.  We are offering contactless porch deliveries to Grande Prairie and Valleyview as well in order to help simplify your life!

When you are ready to place your order click here to access our online store.  Once there you can choose the pickup or delivery option.   Orders need to be placed by 12 pm Wednesday of each week for Friday delivery.

If you are new to Harmonys Way Family Farm we invite you to have a look around our website.  If you have any questions please feel free to connect with us.  If you are not a subscriber we invite you to join us on this journey called life. When you subscribe you will receive our little recipe booklet  4 Fabulous Pastured Pork Recipes absolutely free.

YES, PLEASE!

P.S. Next week we will return to our Nourishing Traditions series to have a look at carbs.


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Are you Absolutely Satisfied with Store-Bought Pork?

Are you Absolutely Satisfied with Store-Bought Pork?

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY PORK DISHES ALWAYS HAVE SO MANY SWEET SAUCES ON THEM? For many years this question never crossed my mind. Until we started raising and eating our own pasture-raised pork. But what lead us to start raising pigs?  Neither Larry nor I had much experience with pigs growing up. We started our married life buying all our pork in the grocery store, but then switched to sourcing it from a neighboring conventional pork producer. We were not aware that most of the pork that is available in the grocery stores comes from pigs that have never seen the light of day. They spend their whole life crowded into huge hog barns. They are fed an industry standard diet of grain with no green, living food at all. They are crowded into small spaces with many other pigs where their natural ability to move is restricted. Much to our surprise and horror, we discovered that the neighbor we were purchasing our pork from was raising them no differently than what we could get in the store. At that time, little did we know that eventually Larry would face a digestive issue from this type of pork. After certain meals he would feel sick to the stomach and end up with diarrhea. It got so bad before we clued into the cause. When we quit eating pork these issues went away. Now we had a dilemma. We really like pork but couldn’t eat it anymore. Being the DIY homesteaders we were back in those days we decided to buy a couple little pigs and raise them ourselves. We knew that we didn’t want to raise them in a barn. So outside they went. These were the happiest pigs I ever saw. They were free to roam around their pasture, rooting in the soil and wallowing in the mud while searching for whatever they thought was tasty to eat. We fed them grains from a neighbor, kitchen scraps and milk from our milk cow. When they were big enough to harvest, we sent them to the processor, not knowing if we would even be able to eat this pork. Much to our delight Larry had no adverse reaction to the meat. It was delicious! The meat was firm, not mushy like barn raised pork. It also had a richness to it that we had never experienced before.  No more bland and flavorless conventional pork for us.  No sauces required! We thought that we couldn’t be the only people who had experienced something similar and wished for a pleasurable eating experience. This success started us on a new farming adventure, raising pastured pork for sale. Encouraged by the success we had with our first pigs we decided to purchase our breeding herd. We have tried many breeds of pigs over the years and have settled on the Berkshire breed. They are a heritage pig that matures slower thus producing an excellent quality meat and the best lard fat that I think you can get. I have heard it said that Berkshire pork is the gold standard of pork among chefs. Besides that, they are very personable and entertaining to have around!  And mischievous. I truly believe from our personal experience that all animals that we raise for food need to be able to live in conditions that are natural for them and have the ability to express their God-given characteristics. When we domesticated animals, we became responsible to steward them well. We strive to do just this with all our animals. One of my favorite cuts of pork is the Boston Butt Roast.  It is juicy, tender, melt-in-your mouth meat. This is the cut that pulled-pork is made from. It is an economical cut that we also use to make ground pork and our special gluten-free, nitrate-free sausages. When you purchase our pasture-raised pork you will experience what real pork should taste like. We offer a variety of options when it comes to purchasing our pasture-raised pork.   Individual cuts to suit your needs. Pork Chops, Traditional salt-cured and smoked ham and bacon, Whole Tenderloin, Boston Butt Roasts, Ground Pork, Breakfast Sausages (Nitrate-free, Sugar-free and Filler-free). Coming soon!  Our "1/4 Pork Bundle."  Our newest addition to our pastured-pork line-up.  This bundle is perfect for a smaller family or if you have limited freezer space.  It will consist of a variety of the individual cuts, including Pork Chops, Pork Sirloin Steak, Ham Steak, Bacon, Ground Pork and Sausage. And, last but not least if you want to customize the cuts you receive, we have whole hogs available.   You can find all of these options in our online store. Do you want to try my simple Boston Butt Roast recipe? It’s so simple. I place the roast on a rack in my cast-iron dutch-oven. Add a little water. Sprinkle chopped onions on top (I used my home-grown dehydrated onions) salt and pepper. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 160F. I slice it and serve with apple sauce, oven roasted potatoes and a veggie.  You can purchase our pasture-raised pork from our online store or from us at the Grande Prairie Farmers Market on Fridays or Saturdays.

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