Hello beautiful peeps,
Let’s talk farm updates. Babies are here. The Wytheville Farmer’s market information is farther down the page. You can skip there by clicking here. If you are looking for Herd Share pick up info, jump down the page here.
Quail
Let’s start with the quail. We hatched out 34 chicks just a few days ago. They are so cute. In just 8 short weeks they will be fully mature. These are excellent meat birds and they lay lots and lots of eggs too — well the hens do anyway. About half will be roosters. We still need a couple more hens for our breeding group. We rely on them for eggs for eating and for hatching.
Sheep
The sheep have been moved to another field. We ran out of grass in the one close to me. Now I am walking a bit to go check on them. Yesterday we had our first spring lamb. Our youngest ewe gave birth with no issues. The matriarch of the flock looks like she is going to explode. Hopefully, when I check this afternoon she will have delivered. The last two years she has had triplets!!
Goats
The goats are staying the field in which we put them. That is a miracle. Normally they wander around and go to whatever paddock looks good to them. Who knows, when I go out this evening and bring in the cows, we will see if they are still where we left them.
Cows
We are still waiting on Buttercup and Butter to have calves. It looks like it will be at least another couple of weeks. I talked with the vet and asked lots of questions about spotting issues. Everything looks great as of this post. We love our cows so much. From the very beginning, we fell in love with the Normande breed. Their unique coloring and gentle disposition can’t be beat.
Creamery
There is a room in the creamery that is nearing completion. It’s the small cheese cave. It will give me so much more room to store and age cheese. I will also have the ability to control the humidity which I have never had prior to this room. I’m so excited!!
That’s it for the farm update. Now on to the farmer’s market update.
Farmer’s Market
Wytheville Farmer’s Market will be open on Saturday and this time allowing you inside in addition to continuing with Take Out if you so choose. Stringent safety measures will still be in place. A limited number of patrons will be allowed inside, keeping a safe distance (tape will mark spacing), and no browsing. You will enter on the covered side, follow the pathway that is laid out and exit on the uncovered side. We are nearly in the same place as always. The table is turned 90 degrees but in relatively same place. All tables will be set up with a product/price list only and all vendors will be wearing masks and gloves with hand sanitizer ready to be used after each transaction. You still won’t be able to browse around. Step up to the vendor table and place your order based on their list of products.
You can pre-order with us or with your favorite vendor. Find vendors on the Wytheville Farmer’s Market Facebook page. You should find their products listed there as well.
On our list you will find 1/4 and half beef as well as half and whole lamb. The beef delivery is for mid-August. Lamb will be available the first week of August. You can claim your now by making a deposit for beef quarters or halves and/or whole or half lamb. I have very limited quantities and will give you guys first dibs.
Herd Shares
Herd Share Peeps, I will be inside near the exit door. I look forward to seeing each of you. Remember to let me know what you want for next week. Fresh milk and yogurt is available. And as always, cheese and butter.
New herd share opportunities are available. Contact me via email (melanie@peacefulheartfarm.com) or phone (276-694-4369).
Please go HERE to learn all about Herd Shares and get on our waiting list.
News This Week
- Products Available
- Let’s Get Together
- This week’s FarmCast, “Spring Lambs and Goat Kids,” is now available.
- FREE Cheese tasting downloads
Products Available to Herd Share Owners
| Choose 1 per week | 1/2 Share | Whole Share |
| Raw Milk | 1/2 gallon | 1 gallon |
| Yogurt | 1 quart | 2 quarts |
| Butter | 1/4 pound | 1/2 pound |
| Ararat Legend | 1/4 pound | 1/2 pound |
| Peaceful Heart Gold | 1/4 pound | 1/2 pound |
| Pinnacle | 1/4 pound | 1/2 pound |
| Clau d’ville Cheddar | 1/4 pound | 1/2 pound |
Products Available to the General Public
| Beef | Price / Pound | |
| 1/4 Beef (approx 100 lbs) | $7.00 | |
| 1/2 Beef (approx 200 lbs) | $6.50 | |
| Whole Beef (approx 400 lbs) | $6.00 | |
| Ground (approx 1 lb) | $7.00 | |
| Lamb | Price / Pound | |
| Lamb Loin Chops | $18 | |
| Lamb Rib Chops | $18 | |
| Lamb Kabobs | $12 | |
| Ground Lamb (approx 1 lb) | $10 | |
| Whole Lamb (approx 40 lbs) | $9.50 | |
| 1/2 Lamb (approx 20 lbs) | $10 | |
| Chev (Goat) | Price / Pound | |
| Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) | $12 |
As always, we’d love to meet you in person. You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 8:00 am to Noon. Special procedures are in place for your health and safety, but you will be able to come inside the building now.
As always, you may visit us at our dairy farm in Claudville, Virginia Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon and Saturday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm. Find out how we raise our animals and why you will love the taste of tradition that is inherent in all of our products. Herd share holders will be able to see up close how their cows are cared for and the cheese operation and where it is stored.
This week’s podcast, “Spring Lambs and Goats Kids“, is filled with great info on what’s happening on the homestead. Spring always brings new birth and lots of gardening. My favorite news this week is the creamery update. A room is nearly finished!! I am very excited about that. Drop me an emailand let me know which is your favorite animal.
I want to follow up on my previous FarmCast, The Taste of Cheese where I talked about developing your expertise with using descriptive words. The FREE downloads of Classifying Cheese by Type and Category and Expand Your Cheese Vocabulary are still available at our website. Please stop by and get your FREE resources.
You can LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. Or, if you have an Alexa device, just say: “Alexa, play podcast Peaceful Heart FarmCast.”
And don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the Peaceful Heart Farm podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, TuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify
