Farm Freshness and Nutrition Matter

By Ron Eichner

Hi folks. August is often called the “Dog Days of August,” a fitting description for a month with the fewest events. It is the last full month of summer. Schools will welcome kids back for the new school year.

If you want fresh fruits and vegetables, seek out area family farms that put in months of seeding, growing, and harvesting. The Farm-to-table concept shortens the distance food travels from production to consumption. Buying locally grown produce ensures freshness and peak flavor.

Buying from local family farms reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance food transportation used by area food stores. Homegrown gardening offers many rewards and helps you understand the challenges of growing crops for your table. If you are too busy to garden, area family farms can be a destination to visit. Family farms offer freshness every day, and community support helps keep them thriving.

For decades, large corporate farms have produced crops at a lower cost, making it difficult for small family farms to compete on price. If you value quality and responsibly grown crops, the additional cost is worth it.

Being part of a family farm and raising chickens and turkeys since 1897, the poultry manure generated is like gold for the fields' soils. Poultry manure is a great source of natural forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are macronutrients vital for plant growth and development. It also contains trace elements, known as micronutrients, that are essential for plant health. 

Several decades ago, all farms had livestock for the manure generated, which nourished the soil. However, livestock and poultry require care seven days a week, and you are limited in how much you can grow crops based on the amount of manure on the farm. When synthetic fertilizer came on the scene decades ago, it reduced the reliance on manure. However, we prefer the natural nutrients that come from manure and continue to fortify our soil this way.

Minerals are one of the keys to health, and manures are packed with minerals. Since the 1960s, naturally fortified feeds have been used in poultry and livestock diets to support health and wellness. 

 So, if you digested these August Facts from the Farm and you are seeking nutritionally sustainable farming for a better foundation for health, check out our family farm.

This past spring, I added a fantastic greeting card selection called Cori’s Card Corner, featuring cards personally selected to reflect themes such as farming, pets, birthdays, and more. These cards have unique and special verbiage and are made in America. Cori is our newest farm family member contributing to the success of our family farm.

Our farm market also offers our high-energy eggs, bacon, six types of homemade pork sausage, kielbasa, lean ground beef and lamb, and four-pound roasting chicken, all ready for your grills.

We are nestled in a valley, and our farm market and greenhouses are open seven days a week. You are welcome to make our family farm a destination to visit Eichner’s Whole Farm and Greenhouses at 285 Richard Road, Wexford, and discover “the rest of the story.”