Tag Archives: local food

How local beekeepers manage through winter’s cold

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Bees and Pollinators
Bees and Pollinators
How local beekeepers manage through winter's cold
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I love walking by the bee hives kept on my farm by Arlen and Mona Ziegler, owners and operators of Plum Branch Honey, Clear Lake, WI.

The hive boxes are stacked on top of one another, their area encircled by electric fence to ward off any curious bear.

During summer, hundreds of bees swirl around the hives and travel to the wild flowers and tree blossoms across the farm, and miles beyond. My husband Dave Toftness and I don’t use pesticides on the farm, so clouds of bees float through the succession of wild flowers and tree blossoms across the pastures. 

In the winter, the hives are wrapped in insulated pads that are silver colored on their outer surface. I caught up with Arlen during a winter-time visit to the bees. He generously opened the lid to show how the bees are kept in a supply of sugar for the cold months.

Dave and I really appreciate the work Arlen and Mona do to keep bees healthy and available despite the challenges of weather and pests. We need bees to pollinate the hundreds of vegetable, fruit and herb plants that feed us.

Co-host Dave Corbett and I enjoyed this in-studio chat, and we hope you’ll enjoy this podcast. You can message Arlen and Mona via Facebook.com/plumbranchhoney

Sylvia

Apple River Farm Tour, July 15, 10AM – 4PM Visit our Farms!!

Well, we’re just one day out from our first annual Apple River Farm Tour – yahoo!!

Pack your sunglasses, grab your insect repellent, and your sunhat for a great day of self-guided tours of up to 9 local regenerative farms. We’re beekeepers, flower growers, humane livestock stewards, chicken keepers, and mushroom growers, apple and berry producers, maple syrup producers, and lots more!

Brochure & Map

Scan the code or click here for your brochure and map.

And after the day of tours, there’s a relaxing event at Dragonfly Garden, just south of downtown Amery.

 

 

 

The participating farms include:

  • Blackbrook Farm
  • Bull Broom Keep (that’s Dave and me)
  • Northwood Mushrooms
  • Schoen Valley Orchard
  • Threshing Table Farm
  • Turnip Rock Farm and Cosmic Wheel Creamery
  • Two Bees and a Bud
  • White Pine Berry Farm
  • Z-Orchard

See you soon!!

July 16, 2022, 10AM – 4PM Come visit — Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour

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Agritourism
Agritourism
July 16, 2022, 10AM - 4PM Come visit -- Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour



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Bull Brook Keep is once again part of this Saturday’s Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour.

Save the date and time:  Saturday, July 16, 10AM to 4PM

It’s a high point of our summer and you’re invited to visit our cows and pigs, as well as the livestock and festivities at nearby farms. Make a day of it! At our farm, you’ll get a chance to meet the moos, sample our beef (and buy ground beef and delicious summer sausage), and learn about upcoming herb-hunting tours called Herbal Safaris.

21 farms from around the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area and western Wisconsin are part of this annual event sponsored and organized by a collaboration of natural food coops. These are many of the sustainable and organic growers who provide food for co-ops, farmers markets, CSAs, and direct sales in our region.

In this Deep Roots Radio interview, organizer Jennifer Dean describes why the coops launched this event a dozen years ago, and how its gained in popularity.

Go to coopfarmtour.com for a downloadable guide and colorful map you can use for your self-guided tour.

I hope to greet you on the farm this Saturday.

Sylvia

Lisa Kivirist on 1st ever nat’l conference on cottage food biz and food freedom April 6-9

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Sourdough w roasted beets

The first time I handed over a fresh loaf of my artisan mild French sourdough and received cash in exchange, I was amazing satisfied and proud of the transaction. I’d done it. People had sampled my home-baked bread, found it to their liking, and purchased several loaves!

That was a few years ago, and at that time, I didn’t realize I was joining a countrywide community of home-based food entrepreneurs. It’s a sector that’s growing rapidly as a part of the food freedom movement. And, interestingly, it took a jump because of the pandemic. More and more consumers were searching for local food, including baked goods.  Who knew!?

Well, as it turns out, there’s a lot to know about, and to benefit from, when you decide to bake and sell hearth breads and muffins, or cook up and sell jams and pickles. Some states have really broad and welcoming regs, while a few others are somewhat restrictive. Still, both cases present lots of opportunity to build a cottage food business in your home kitchen.

The ins and outs, laws and opportunities are the focus of the first ever Home-based Food Entrepreneur Virtual National Conference, scheduled for April 6-9, 2021 wherever you have internet connection.

How to get started!

Lisa Kivirist, eco-innkeeper, author, and long-time advocate for home-based baking businesses, is one of the four conference keynote speakers. With husband John Ivanko, she has co-authored several books about building businesses on farm-based/environmentally-anchored foundations, including the popular Homemade for Sale.  In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Lisa describes the conference program, and reviews the current state of this sector.

I hope you enjoy this interview and sign up for the virtual conference. I hope to see you there.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

 

Woman entrepreneur makes Wildflour – a small town natural foods store – rebloom in time of COVID

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Woman entrepreneur makes Wildflour - a small town natural foods store - rebloom in time of COVID



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There’s hope!

COVID 2020 – a year of pandemic, illness and isolation. We all learned about social distancing, working from home, and how to make sourdough bread. We clocked hundreds of hours on Zoom for professional meetings and family gatherings.

Lots of us dusted off our sewing machines and made face masks.  Our hearts broke as we learned about the hundreds of thousands brought down by the coronavirus. Businesses shuttered, and schools closed, and opened and closed again. Home-schooling was redefined.

Vaccines are on their way, but it appears distribution may take many months, and lots of political haggling.

It was in this chaotic context that Tessa Ingham purchased the local natural foods store, changed its name to Wildfour Market and set to work for the health of her community – Amery, Wisconsin, population 2,902.

Wildflour joins the steadily growing movement of agriculturally-based businesses in this small city just 70 miles east of the Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota metro area. In the last 10 years, numbers of organic farmers have moved to the area to grow and market produce, meats, eggs, artisanal cheeses, mushrooms, fleece and fibers, and certified organic herbs and medicinal herb products.  The Amery area is also home to farm-to-table restaurant, microbrews, wineries, coffee roasters and distilleries using many locally-grown ingredients.   

I hope you enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with Tessa Ingham about hope and imagination, investment and grit in the time of COVID.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

COVID exposes smaller-scale meat processing shortages – what to do

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
COVID exposes smaller-scale meat processing shortages - what to do



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In spring 2020, consumers all across the country experienced shortages of fresh and packaged foods; and for most of us, this was a first in our lives. We found ourselves staring at sparsely-stocked grocery shelves, nearly empty dairy sections, and signs warning us that we were limited to the number of poultry or beef packages we could add to our carts.

News stories told of COVID outbreaks at the very large scale meat plants, and the resultant dramatic cuts to production. We became familiar with pictures of vegetable fields being plowed under, and of farmers emptying milk tanks to the ground.

The lack of capacity in the big factories trickled down to the small-scale livestock producers because more and more consumers began searching for locally-grown beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. All that protein had to be handled at smaller-scale processors – and they quickly became swamped.

Now, we find ourselves with over-burdened processors and the need to build capacity. But can we?  A smaller-scale processing plant is an expensive enterprise to upscale, refurbish, or start-up. Are there options? What about the policies that might help this along?

In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Lauren Langworthy, Special Projects Director for the Wisconsin Farmers Union, describes the issue and the series of farmer/processor/policy maker conversations and webinars now being held to address the challenge.

The next five webinars will be held at noon, Central Time, on January 14, January 28, February 11, March 11, and April 8, 2021. They are free, register here.

I hope you enjoy this very informative interview.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

 

Abt 2021 InPerson and Virtual Fresh Fruit and Veg Conf and Agritourism

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Abt 2021 InPerson and Virtual Fresh Fruit and Veg Conf and Agritourism



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The snow’s flying and temperatures are plummeting, but northern growers will gear up for summer at the January 25, 2021 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference.

Normally held over a three-day period and attended by over 700 producers and marketers, researchers from across the Upper Midwest, the 2021 conference will be held in-person and, for the first time, virtually due to COVID 19.

COVID presented numbers of challenges during the 2020 growing season. Interestingly, in many instances, these yielded increased sales and tourism visits. How to sustain the trend? Other conference topics will include pest control, marketing, and technical issues, said Anna Maenner, a leader in the Wisconsin fresh fruit and vegetable sector and organizer of this year’s one-day event. She stresses that this event can be very valuable for growers exploring commercial scale or agricultural tourism activities at their farms, vineyards, or orchards.

I hope you enjoy this interview and will join me at the conference. I’m scheduled to make a one-hour presentation on regional agricultural tourism efforts.. For more information and to register go to www.freshfruitvegetable.org  

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

Grateful to farm for health of land, cattle, and customers. Reserve beef online now

I don’t know if there are any words to describe the 2020 virtually all of us are struggling through. Every day we’re assailed with news stories and personal accounts that feel more bizarre than the previous day’s reports.

Dave and I are really grateful for these months of relative peace on the farm —  working for the health of the land, our cattle, and ultimately, our family and friends.

Well, I’m not going to attempt deep philosophy, but I will offer one bright note — our online store is open again and you can now order grass-fed-grass-finished beef to suit your budget, freezer space and appetite.

A few of our grazing Buelingo beef cattle

Reserve 25 pounds of ground beef, or several packages of delicious summer sausage — made without artificial nitrates or nitrites.

Choose the size variety package that meets your needs. These packages range from 30 pounds to 200, and contain a selection of steaks, roasts and ground beef. All cuts are vacuum packaged, clearly labelled, and frozen to -20 degrees to preserve flavor and quality.

Boost your immune system by making bone broth with our grass-fed soup bones — lots of meaty bones as well as marrow. Our cattle never get hormones, subclinical antibiotics or grain, so you can be confident of the nutrition in your broth.

Quantity is limited and we’ve scheduled our last harvest. Reserve now.

Questions? Call 651-238-8525, or email, sylvia@bullbrookkeep.com.  Dave and I look forward to being your farmers.  Sylvia Burgos Toftness

In time of need: delish, nutritious pastured meats and veg from local sustainable farmers

Looking for nutritious foods? Meats and veggies that will boost your health – and just when we need it the most? Look to your local, sustainable farmers.

We’re here to help as we face today’s challenges, and as we prepare for a better future. Today, we can offer healthful, delicious foods – as supplies last.

If you’re in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, and in Wisconsin’s Polk and St. Croix counties, here are farmers ready to help with foods grown for health: of the land, of the livestock, and of the meats and vegetables themselves. Contact farmers directly. We deliver, or you can pick up at the farm. Our farms are clustered closely – you can visit two or more in a single trip. We’re an easy drive through beautiful countryside.

We’re the sustainable farmers of the St. Croix Watershed Midlands. We’re committed to great taste, quality and high nutrition. We use organic practice, livestock is pastured, and meats processed at nearby custom USDA facility.

BueLingo cattle graze lush pastures

Bull Brook Keep: grass-fed-grass-finished beef grown without grain, subclinical antibiotics or hormones. Available now —  #1 ground beef packages, soup bones, summer sausage (without artificial nitrates or nitrites), and variety packages of ground beef, cuts and roasts. Variety packages start at just 15 lbs. See my order page here. Call or text with questions, Sylvia@bullbrookkeep.com, 651-238-8525.

Blackbrook Farmstead: pastured pork and fresh spring spinach. Other products may also be available. Contact Ayla or James, 651-343-2595, blackbrook.farm.llc@gmail.com 

Whetstone Farm: pastured lamb and mutton, stored root vegetables, fleeces. Other products may be available. You can also sign up for their organic vegetable CSA. Contact Emily or Klauss: cell 612-354-6282, home 715-268-8454, whetstonefarmers@gmail.com

Turnip Rock Farm: pastured pork, and to sign up for their organically grown CSA. This farm also raises and milks a grass-fed herd that supplies the wonderful milk for Cosmic Wheel Creamery for fresh and aged artisan cheeses that are out of this world. Contact Josh or Rama, 715-268-9311, turniprock@gmail.com.

Additional farms and resources will be added. Check back often. Thanks.

Sylvia

Where to go for healthful beef? Read on

In light of emerging scarcities, and a desire to provide a healthful alternative, Dave and I are offering a smaller variety pack of our grass-fed-grass-finished beef. This 15-lb. pack is called “To Your Health!” and includes ground beef, roast and steaks.  You can pick up at farm, or at a drop site (+$5) in Mpls/St.Paul metro, and Wisconsin Polk and St. Croix counties.

Suppy is limited. Find out more and to order, click here.

Wishing you health and calm.

Sylvia – your local, sustainable farmer

Larger packs, ground beef, soup bones and summer sausage also available.

Questions? Email (sylvia@bullbrookkeep.com) or call, 651-238-8525.