www.JackrabbitCheese.com
Our friend Lee in Virgin reports:
Jeff Brown will be setting up Saturdays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. with his Coalpits melons at the farm stand next to the Post Office in Virgin.
Jeff grows “dry-farm” melons, which use far less water than conventionally-grown watermelons. For more information, click here.
On Wednesday, we introduced a new flavor to Red Acre Farm CSA shareholders and customers at the Cedar City Farmer’s Market: Honey-Fig Chevre. It’s made with Cedar City honey, Toquerville figs, and of course all-natural Jackrabbit Ranch soft goat cheese. The response was overwhelming – and it sold out very quickly! One custimer emailed to tell us:
“I picked up the Fig and Honey Chevre yesterday… It is heaven on my tongue! The sweet, rich flavor is difficult to describe but something truly magnificent. If it were not for self-control I am certain the container would be empty by now. I hope that you can continue this special run while figs are in season.”
We recognize popular demand when we see it – so we’re making more! We have 20 pounds ready for the weekend, and we’ll have more as soon as we replenish our honey supply. Thanks to all who gave such wonderful feedback, and to our friend Chris in Los Angeles, CA for suggesting it!
Wiki photo
Rhubarb is one of the few (desirable) plants that grow well in our yard. The stalks have a tart, fruity flavor. We use it for pies, especially in combination qwith other fruits such as apples, strawberries, peaches, and apricots – or my personal favorite, all of the above!
The leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous to humans. The primary toxin, oxalic acid, causes kidney failure. Rhubarb is also listed as being toxic to goats. So when I saw that the goats had been in the yard again – and that half of our rhubarb was missing its leaves – I was a bit concerned. So began one more phone call to the vet.
It turns out that ruminants, and expecially goats, can develop bacteria that help break down the oxalates found in various plants. If they are exposed to oxalates, they are more likely to develop the bacteria. And since our property grows greasewood quite nicely on our property, a favorite food of our goats that can also be a significant source of oxalates, it is likely that our goats would not be harmed by eating some rhubarb leaves.
According to our vet, oxalic acid would bind the calcium in a goat’s system. A toxic reaction in goats would likely look a lot like milk fever, or hypocalemia, a calcium deficiency associated with the onset of lactation. Symptoms typically include shivering, weakness, low body temp, loss of appetite, and lethargy. (We had a case last spring.)
It’s now three days later, and none of our goats are exhibiting any of those symptoms. It looks like they are going to be okay. Whew!
Over the past several weeks, our customers may have noticed that our cheese prices are inching upward. Here’s why:
With milk and feed prices doubling, we’re getting squeezed. We can’t double the price of our cheese, but we do have to increase it at least a little so we can stay in business.
If you haven’t done so yet, please come check out the Downtown Cedar City Farmer’s Market, held Wednesdays from 4-7 pm in the parking lot behind The Grind, Braun Books, and the Pastry Pub. This week found the market offering a wide selection of vegetables (including locally-grown tomatoes), peaches, cantaloupes, figs, pecans, local honey, fresh artisan bread, hand-made tamales – and of course, cheese from Jackrabbit Ranch!
Some of the more popular items sell out quickly, so it helps to come as close to 4:00 as possible. See you there next week!
Agrilifetoday photo: Drought stunted this wheat crop in Texas.
Flooding in the Midwest, followed by a heat wave… severe drought across the south into Texas… these are the largest of a series of unusual weather that is hurting the farmers that grow our food. The USDA warns that crop yields will be sharply lower than it had previously predicted.
This is not an isolated phenomenon. Tight supplies of corn, soy, and wheat mean higher prices at the grocery store – not just for those products, but for products like dairy and meat that rely on agricultural products as an input. The Des Moines Register reports that beef prices are already up 20%. AP reports that the price of milk is up 38%, sugar is up 20%, and the dreaded high fructose corn syrup is up 22% – leading to a 7% rise in the price of ice cream.
In this poor economy, no one wants to pay more for food. But with severe weather hampering this year’s crops (again), it’s unavoidable.
Jackrabbit Ranch at the Independence Day Parade in Parowan (2011).
Humans (from left): Elizabeth, Jennifer, Suellen, D.J., Justin, Traci
Goats (from left): Sydney, Ainsley,Kerry (behind), Guy, Sati, Dawn.
It’s been a busy summer, and we’ve let our blog languish for the past few weeks. It’s time to remedy that. There is a lot going on here at the ranch, and also events out in the world that affect the food we eat, and especially the cheese!
Most importantly, at least from our immediate perspective, we are selling cheese as fast as we can make it. We want to thank everyone for their support!
Georgio Monteforti photo.
I found this very cool article on the Mother Earth News website. Originally published in 1975, it offers recipes and insight into the traditional art of making goat cheese in Andalusia – complete with the making of traditional rennet. We’ll stick with non-animal rennet, thanks… but the observations on making cheese are fascinating and inspiring. Making cheese doesn’t have to be difficult!
“I try to avoid factory farmed dairy and eggs, if possible. I do this to boycott large commercial diary and eggs producers who really don’t treat their animals in a humane manner. I can produce all our own dairy products here, so there is no reason for me to have to buy from, and support, factory farm commercial producers. If we run out of dairy products, we’ll do without and use soymilk, tofu and ‘fake cheeze’ until our goats freshen again. Just by doing this, I do quite a bit, in my own little way, to not support the factory farm industry.” – Molly Nolte, Fias Co Farm
We often visit the web site of Fias Co Farm, a wonderful resource for everything goats – from birthing and health to milking and dairying. We’re grateful to Molly Nolte for maintaining it as a public service!
On my last visit, I happened to click on Molly’s Humane-ifesto. It is thoughtfully written and well worth a read. It may also make a great starting point for one’s own personal “humane-ifesto.”
Sure, we do our best to be kind to our goats. They are part of the family – we could do no less. But that’s just the beginning.
It’s not easy to avoid the industrial food machine, especially in a climate where it’s difficult to “grow your own” much of the year. We joined a CSA last year that offered fresh vegetables throughout the winter – but in January what grows (even in a greenhouse) is mostly leaves. Sometimes it’s difficult to deny oneself the peppers, fruits, and even (generally tasteless) tomatoes offered at the local grocery store.
Molly has chosen a vegetarian path. I tried that for a while (almost ten years) but was unable to continue. Like Molly, I try to avoid factory-farmed products, including meat. We buy a locally-grown pig once a year, which provides most of the meat we need. I understand there may soon be a source of locally-grown poultry, which will eliminate the need to buy chickens from the store. (Our preferred store carries a brand that claims to be “family farmed,” but having never seen the farm these chickens come from, I have my doubts about the conditions in which the chickens are raised.)
Please take a few moments to read Molly’s manifesto. You may not agree with it, but hopefully it will make you think. From thinking comes awareness, and from awareness comes change.
The Cheesemaker is our favorite source of cultures and supplies for making cheese.
Click here to buy:
Prices include shipping.
