Golden Acres Ranch

I've been accepted as one of thirty-two participants for this sheep industry leadership school in Columbus, Ohio at Ohio State University.  There have only been three others students from the State of Florida since it has been offered. 

The program objective is to provide a greater understanding of meat quality and marketing so that producers can increase the competitiveness of their lamb products and the profitability of their operations. Participants evaluate live animals, observe harvesting techniques, learn about carcass evaluation and grading, and take a hands-on role in the fabrication of the carcasses into wholesale and retail products.

The 2010 Howard Wyman Sheep Industry Leadership School will be an intensive four-day program combining Ohio State University’s popular Lamb 509 program with the site tours and one-on-one small groups format utilized by previous Leadership Schools.

The sheep and goat industry are important in Florida because the weather allows for year round breeding naturally.  In colder areas of the United States, hormones are used to induce females to breed to help overcome the seasonal limitations in the marketplace.  Both sheep and goat are becoming a staple in the diet of informed Americans.

Wow!  What a great festival we had.  More than 300 people came throughout the day.  The vendors did well and folk music was provided by The Mayhaws.   People really enjoyed walking through the pasture to the Mayhaw Pond and watch them being gathered.  WCTV-6 came and put a blurb on the air after the 11:00 PM news.  The Tallahassee Democrat spent a lot of time here also.  We're watching for their write-up.  There will be photos on line as well.

Chuck is taking care of the ranch while we take a short trip.  

Wow, the crew is terrific!  We've put 20 bags of mayhaws in the freezer and it is not 6:00 PM yet.  They're still out there shaking trees.  Our new supper secret gathering method is working especially well. You have to come out Saturday, May 15, to see how it's done.

We used our new gathering method on Sunday afternoon and added 8 bags of berries to our freezer.  They need to be washed one last time then will be ready for the pot to make the juice that is used to make the jelly.  I'm finding that the 4 pound package of berries net 12 jars of the jelly.  I don't water it down or add store bought apple juice. 

Thankfully every tree is not ripening at the same time.  We are able to pick those with ripe berries, shake them into our containment booms, gather into buckets and then take them to the drying area.  There are a couple of high powered fans that dry the newly harvested berry and blow away most of the light debris.  We pick through for sticks and such then bag them.  I prefer to freeze them immediately to keep them fresh for cooking.  The berries can  breakdown quickly in the frig since they came out of water.

We'll have additional folks here to gather starting Tuesday.  I hope to have a full freezer by Saturday.

Fred and I spent most of Saturday gathering mayhaws.  A friend arrived about 3:00 PM and with his help we really increased our capture rate.  We circle a tree, David (big strong guy) shakes the limbs and  the berries come falling on our heads.  It sounds like rain on a tin roof when they hit the water.   I don't care how well we position buckets the berries never fall in them.  David said he remembers back in 2007 when one red berry actually fell in his bucket.  Anyway, after that tall tale, we skimmed the water and harvested the newly fallen crop.  They float beautifully fresh off the tree.

We now have 10 - 4 pound bags ready for sale only 90 more to go to reach my goal for this year.   I have been making test recipes of jelly with the berries collected just for me.    Monday, I'll head to the commisary kitchen to make batches for sale.  Christine, our oldest daughter, has designed a beautiful label for our jars.  She can do stuff like that in minutes while it takes me hours or even days.  Of course, she does this professionally and has the talent and right tools

Pablo and I did a good shake on one tree yesterday afternoon.  Nice batch of berries dropped and we recovered about 10 pounds off this tree.  Many more unripe berries still on it.  174 more trees to go over the next 10 to 14 days.  I'm still making my test jelly recipes. 

We didn't see the snakes but we stayed away from that tree.  We'll go out again later this afternoon. 

Sounds like a beautiful day at the lake tomorrow.

 Several points of interest

    * Deep Roots Meats - Grass-fed Beef out of Madison/Greenville area will be there if all goes well.  Their email is "Troy Platt" <deeprootsmeat@yahoo.com>.

    * We'll have the Moroccan Sausage and some other sausages.    Cuts available:   Rib Chops, Ground, Shoulder,  Stew Bone-In and Boneless, and Organs.

    * This week's Lamb order cannot be picked up from the processor until Thursday afternoon so I still don't have some of the more popular cuts just yet.  I will be at the Downtown MarketPlace on Saturday.  Email me if you want something special.  

    * I'm told there was an article in USA Today stating there is a shortage of goat.  I'm finding that true in this area.  I receive many calls for the live goat and have referred them to most of my fellow ranchers.   They are telling me everyone is out.   Mine are not big enough to process so it may be a couple of months before they grow to the proper size.   Still have a few nice cuts but not many.

Regards to all,

Bobbie

Golden Acres Ranch set up shop at the 42nd Annual Springtime Tallahassee last Saturday. It was a fun day and Ken is super talking to the folks.  Hanna cooks the samples and does a great job.  Val helped too.  Colter helped load up at the end of the day.

We have started offering our products at the weekly Tallahasse Downtown Marketplace on Saturdays which Ken will be handling. We are still going to Lake Ella pretty regularly, too.

Johnston's Meat Locker is manufacturing goat and lamb sausage using our product.  It is marketed under their label and we sell them the USDA inspected goat and lamb.   I have a special lamb recipe with middle eastern spices.  Small amounts have been made so far to test its acceptance.  It is a big hit and selling out quickly. You can buy the live goat or lamb and Johnston's will custom process it for you. They do an outstanding job. They also have a great source of Grass Fed Beef now. 

Johnston's is a great support for us and our "Commissary Kitchen" (required by Food Safety).   I will use them to make the Mayhaw Jelly this year.

Last Monday I went to the USDA producers to have lamb roast processed for the Easter Holiday. I actually did the meat cutting and wrapping and has a much better understanding of the different cuts and the value of various pieces.

Lots happening now that the rain has stopped and Spring has arrived.

The trees are just starting to blossom.  Hopefully there will be no unexpected frost between now and harvest time which is approximately the first week in May.

The 3rd annual Mayhaw Farm Day is set for May 15. We'll have all types of festivities: old fashioned jelly making, hay rides, lambs, goats, chickens and puppies to see.

Wish I lived in Florida for this event!

Organic Edible Landscapes/Let’s Grow Fruit Trees/

March 20-21, 2010

Farmers, urban and community gardeners interested in growing fruit

trees?  During these two-day workshops you will learn how to grow your

own fruit using organic methods. Includes demonstrations,  handouts,

and discussions. Come, learn and enjoy.

This workshop will demonstrate all you need to know to grow fruit

trees including plums, peaches, muscadines, blackberries, raspberries,

strawberries,  apples, and much more. Learn organic methods, pest

management, pruning, grafting,  ground preparation, etc.  

Organic specialist, Jerry Larson of Fort Valley State University will facilitate this two-daylearning session.  

Registration $20.00/person, includes lunch.

Please register at FAMU.Register@gmail.com by March 18, 2010.

Location:   Crescent Moon Organic Farm, 145 Crescent Moon Trail,  Sopchoppy, FL