Farm News, Herd Share Pick up, Farmers Market info: 1/7/2021

Hello beautiful peeps,

Happy New Year! Hope is has been a great one for you so far. How are those resolutions coming along? I  means it has been a week, right?

It’s market time again. This Saturday 1/9/2021 is the first market of the new year. It looks like here in Claudville we are going to get a pretty good amount of snow with 2 to 4 inches of accumulation predicted. It looks like Wytheville will only get an inch or so of accumulation. I have a wonderful all-wheel-drive vehicle that should get me there safely. A quick note for my herd share peeps. If you think you can’t make it, that’s okay. Just let me know and I will hold your stuff until next time. Let me know the next two items you want and we will meet up on the 23rd. 

The hours at the Farmer’s Market this time are 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. It’s going to be a great market. Come on out and see what we have to offer. We will have our lovely quail eggs for $3 a dozen. I have a couple of pickled quail egg recipes that are working well for me. I’ll have jars of pickled quail eggs as examples of how they look. Three different varieties to give you an idea what can be done. Again, I’ll have pickled peppers (not very hot) for $5 a jar, pepper jam (HOT, Medium and mild) for $5 a jar and apple pie jam, $8 a jar. We have the usual grass-fed meats available – ground beef $7 per package (approx 1 lb), ground goat $12 per package (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb $10 per package (approx 1 lb). Quail meat packages are available 1 lb – $20.00, and pickled peppers $5.00. 

If you are a Herd Share member, this week you can pickup between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. Remember, only show up if you can do so safely. Email me to let me know and indicate what else you want for January 23rd. Also, let me know if you want an additional product along with your regular product pickup. To get to the product section, you can jump down the page here

Quail

The quail are doing really well with the cold weather. These are hardy birds. They are still laying lots of eggs. My latest podcast has more information on what I’m doing with all these eggs. Check it out here. As I mentioned above, I’m pickling them.

Cows 

We spent some time checking up on everybody and repositioning a few cows. The younger calves, Virginia, Wendel, and Luna got moved in with the “big” girls. We left Rosie in a close pasture as we are still closely monitoring her pregnancy. She needed a companion and Buttercup was tapped for that task. They seem to be doing very well together. Yay!!

Can you believe we have gotten this far into winter and have not started giving hay to the main herds of animals. Rosie and Buttercup get hay as their pasture is bare. The same for the two bulls and breeding sheep in the front pastures. The main herd of cows and goats and the younger lambs and ewes are still munching on grass in pastures that we held pristine for the winter. A couple more weeks and they will start getting hay as well as the grass will finally be gone.

Creamery

WOW Scott is moving fast on the roof. Just a month ago I talked about the metal pieces being ordered. It was quite the ordeal getting them delivered and transported from the road back to the creamery. Too much there for this short newsletter. I did go over all that in the “Pickled Quail Eggs” podcast. Check it out. Long story short, Scott and neighbor friend were able to get them close enough for Scott and I to unload them.

Already Scott has nearly the entire roof done. We didn’t actually unload all of the pieces. The longest sheets of metal roofing were 27 feet long. The last one of those came off the trailer today. For the past two days, every 20 to 30 minutes Scott would come and get me to help him get one of these giant pieces of metal onto the roof and into position for screws to secure it. I even got up on the roof one time. I cannot begin to describe the dangerous conditions Scott faced doing this part of job. That metal is slick and cannot really be walked on. Getting into corners and completing the panels at the edge was no easy feat. He made “walk boards” and ropes to keep himself from sliding. By the end of today, he will have completed at least 90% of the roof. Originally he estimated that it would take him a couple of months to get this part done. But here we are less than a month in and he is nearly finished. He’s amazing. In the evening and during “rain” days, he started filling his brain up with information on electrical wiring. That comes next.  

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Farmer’s Market

I will be at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 10 am to 12 noon. We have a new market manager. Come on out and meet Joanne. Again, the weather is going to be a little tricky, but I will leave early and take my time getting there.

Our items for sale include apple pie jam and hot, medium, or mild pepper jam. 

We have all of our meats back in stock for you. I’ll have lots of quail eggs!! 

We have ground lamb as well as rib chops and loin chops.

We have ground beef and ground goat. 

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, I’ll see you in my usual location. Let me know if you cannot make it and want to pick up for the whole month on January 23rd. Add on as you desire and all cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

I still have new herd shares 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 to Herd Share Owners

Choose 1 per week 1/2 Share Whole Share
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

Quail Price / Pound
Quail Eggs (1 dozen) $3.00
Quail meat (approx 1 lb) $20.00
Beef Price / Pound
Ground (approx 1 lb) $7.00
Lamb Price / Pound
Lamb Loin Chops $18
Lamb Rib Chops $18
Lamb Kabobs SOLD OUT
Ground Lamb (approx 1 lb) $10
Chev (Goat) Price / Pound
Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) $12

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 10:00 am to Noon. Special procedures are in place for your health and safety. Masks are still recommended but not required as far as I know. 

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. 


Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast, “Pickled Quail Eggs,” I’m giving out lots of information on just how it’s done. It was so easy. And the second time I made a batch, it was every easier. I had the steps down so good that I only needed the recipe for amounts of ingredients to use. These little gems are the creamiest eggs ever. Give it a try. I canned mine but you don’t have to do that. They can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks.


Free Downloads

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 HEREOr, 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 PodcastsAndroidTuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify


Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Market Info: 12/10/2020

Hello beautiful peeps,

It’s market time again. This Saturday 12/12/2020. Who knows what’s going to be available during this Christmas season?

The hours at the Farmer’s Market this time are 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. It’s going to be a great market. Come on out and see what we have to offer. We will have QUAIL EGGS $3 a dozen and recipes to help you decide what to do with them!! Also to assist with quail egg info, I will have pickled quail eggs. Hopefully, fingers crossed, five different varieties to give you an idea what can be done. Again, I’ll have pepper jam and apple pie jam, $5 a jar. These are great Christmas gifts especially for that one who already has everything. We have the usual grass-fed meats available – ground beef $7 per package (approx 1 lb), ground goat $12 per package (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb $10 per package (approx 1 lb). Quail meat packages are available 1 lb – $20.00, and pickled peppers $5.00. 

If you are a Herd Share member, this week you can pickup between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. Remember only one pick up in December and that is this Saturday. And you will let me know what you want for January the 9th. Hope you have a fabulous Christmas and next I see you it will be 2021. Let me know if you want to add anything to your regular product pickup. To get to that section, you can jump down the page here

Quail

I’m not going to spoil anything with the quail right now. I will have much to say next time. I am experimenting with pickled quail eggs as I mentioned above. I’ll give you more updates on that next time.

Cows 

We spent some time checking up on everybody. That happens every day or two. The “big” girls are in the back pastures and it requires some effort to get out there to see them. But this needs to be accomplished every two or three days to make sure everybody is healthy and happy. I am happy to report that all is well with the cows. Yay!!

Rosie is doing well after her dehorning ordeal. She is interacting well with the three younger calves. I’m really happy about her progress. We still need to keep her close because of her likely problematic pregnancy. She was just too young to be bred. Is that why we thought it important to bring her to the farm? She needs close attention. We are expecting all to go well.

Creamery

Scott is making some excellent progress with the creamery. The roofing materials are ordered. That’s a really big upcoming job. The panels in the cheese make room are being installed. These are special panels that are easy to keep clean. That’s a really, really important piece of construction. We had a regularly scheduled visit from VDACS to see how we are progressing and if there needs to be any changes to our plan. Got to see Rosemary again. Haven’t seen her so much since the Independence Farmers Market outside never happened. Hopefully, next year we will be back on track for that.  

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Farmer’s Market

I will be at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 10 am to 12 noon. This is the only market in December. Check out everything here for those Christmas gifts for that one person for which it is so hard to find the perfect gift. There is only one market in December. The 4th Saturday of December is the day after Christmas and the market will not be open.

Our Christmas items include apple pie jam and hot, medium, or mild pepper jam. 

We have all of our meats back in stock for you. I’ll have QUAIL EGGS again!! 

We have ground lamb as well as rib chops and loin chops.

We have ground beef and ground goat. 

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, I’ll see you in my usual location. Let me know if you want something added on to your regular choice. All cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

I still have new herd shares 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 to Herd Share Owners

Choose 1 per week 1/2 Share Whole Share
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

Quail Price / Pound
Quail Eggs (1 dozen) $3.00
Quail meat (approx 1 lb) $20.00
Beef Price / Pound
Ground (approx 1 lb) $7.00
Lamb Price / Pound
Lamb Loin Chops $18
Lamb Rib Chops $18
Lamb Kabobs SOLD OUT
Ground Lamb (approx 1 lb) $10
Chev (Goat) Price / Pound
Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) $12

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 10:00 am to Noon. Special procedures are in place for your health and safety. Masks are recommended but not required as far as I know. 

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. 


Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast, “Our Raw Milk Cheese Creamery Progress,” I’m giving you the long awaited updates on the progress of the creamery. Lots of pieces of the puzzle are being placed. It’s so good to see our dream becoming a reality more and more each day.


Free Downloads

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 HEREOr, 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 PodcastsAndroidTuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify


Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Market Info: 11/26/2020

Hello beautiful peeps,

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My son and family visited. It was wonderful. Love this time of year.

The hours at the Farmer’s Market this time are 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. It’s a CHRISTMAS Market. Come on out and see what our wonderful vendors have to offer. We will have QUAIL EGGS $3 a dozen and recipes to help you decide what to do with them!! Another great item made specifically for Christmas this week is the pepper jam and apple pie jam, $5 a jar. We have the usual grass-fed meats available – ground beef $7 per package (approx 1 lb), ground goat $12 per package (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb $10 per package (approx 1 lb). There is still a little bit of Lamb Kabob/Stew $12 per package (approx 1 lb). Quail meat packages are available 1 lb – $20.00, and pickled peppers $5.00. 

If you are a Herd Share member, this week you can pickup between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Start thinking about what you want in December because I’m gonna ask. There is only one pickup for December. That means you will be letting me know what you want for all 4 weeks of December. Let me know if you want to add anything to your regular product pickup. To get to that section, you can jump down the page here

Quail

The quail are laying lots of eggs. The additional light is working for them. THey are happy with the additional “sunlight” and we are happy with the additional eggs. The penthouse ladies are getting closer to max laying. Sixteen or 17 eggs from the 20 hens up there. Will we reach a full 20?

Cows 

Cloud finally got the hoof care that she has needed for a while. That required the acquisition of a special chute to hold her securely and safely while the vet worked on her hooves. The vet was also safe from her flailing hooves. It was a good day for everyone.

Well, the day may not have been so happy for Rosie. She got her horns trimmed down to about an inch and a half. Scott checked on her today and, though she was a bit distressed yesterday, today she is right back to her lively, attentive self. No apparent distress from yesterday’s ordeal. She is in the pasture with the young calves but is no longer able to bully them with her horns. 

Creamery

We now have a paved parking area on the south side of the creamery building. We are ready for your on site visits. There are these lovely racoon tracks permanently impressed into the concrete. It’s really cute.  

That’s it for farm news. A short one today. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Farmer’s Market

I will be at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 10 am to 2 pm. This is the first Christmas Market. There will be lots of great vendors there with beautiful items for Christmas gifts. Trees will likely be available as well. There is only one market in December. It will also be a Christmas Market. The 4th Saturday of December is the day after Christmas and the market will not be open.

Our Christmas items include apple pie jam and hot, medium, or mild pepper jam. 

We have all of our meats back in stock for you and now QUAIL EGGS!! 

We have ground lamb and kabob/stew lamb as well as rib chops and loin chops.

We have ground beef and ground goat. 

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, I’ll see you in my usual location. Let me know if you want something added on to your regular choice. As you know, fresh milk is done.  All cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

I still have new herd shares 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 to Herd Share Owners

Choose 1 per week 1/2 Share Whole Share
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

Quail Price / Pound
Quail Eggs (1 dozen) $3.00
Quail meat (approx 1 lb) $20.00
Beef Price / Pound
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
Chev (Goat) Price / Pound
Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) $12

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 10:00 am to Noon. Special procedures are in place for your health and safety. Masks are recommended but not required as far as I know. 

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. 


Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast, “Thanksgiving Tradition,” I add a bit of variety to my usual podcast format. Thanksgiving Tradition has always been about thanking God for all that we have in this world. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln both had input on this subject.  


Free Downloads

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 HEREOr, 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 PodcastsAndroidTuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify


Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Market Info: 11-12-2020

Hello beautiful peeps,

I’m a little late getting this out again. Time just slips away so often here on the farm. Lots to catch up on. The biggest thing is what we have at the market this week?

At the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday we will have QUAIL EGGS $5 a dozen!!. Also, ground beef $7 per package (approx 1 lb), ground goat $12 per package (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb $10 per package (approx 1 lb). There is still a little bit of Lamb Kabob/Stew $12 per package (approx 1 lb). Quail meat packages are available 1 lb – $20.00, and pickled peppers $5.00. 

If you are a Herd Share member, remember this week we start new pickup hours, 10am to noon. Let me know if you want to add anything to your regular product pickup. To get to that section, you can jump down the page here

Quail

It has taken a while, but the quail are finally laying eggs again. We’ve cleaned and sterilized cages, added fresh sand to their sand boxes and give them lots of light. These guys are happy now! As we now have seven groups of breeders, the eggs are starting to pile up. The older ladies are now all laying an egg a day. The penthouse ladies are just getting started. Only five eggs out of 20 hens, but they are getting there. The day before it was only two.

A little bit of a correction. There are two ladies from the older group that are currently separated from the rest. They are not laying due to health issues. We have them inside in a nice comfy box that we use for brooding the babies. With only the two of them, it is quite comfortable. The story there is the first one, the only white one we have, got injured and her head was bleeding. Birds are vicious creatures, especially when they taste blood. I had to get her out of there before they ate her up. The other one got a bad parasite infection. She was fluffed up like a feather ball and lost a lot of feathers from her head. I may need to separate her from Missy White bird because it looks like she is being pecked pretty badly. There is a pecking order even with only two. Did I say these guys are vicious? Anyway, they are both doing well and I expect them to be back with their mates shortly.

Cows 

The calves are weaned. Every time they see us, they moo. They are wondering why their bottle has not arrived. Otherwise they happily graze all day.

The preg checks are done on the big girls. All pregnant except for Buttercup. That is as we expected. And we have new plans for the herd. They get moved around and separated into various groups throughout the year for a variety of husbandry reasons. This time we are moving the two boys in with the pregnant girls (nothing can happen now that hasn’t already happened there) and moving Buttercup in with Rosie who is pregnant but needs extra feed to grow larger. We want to keep her close and Buttercup will be her companion.

Rosie is very small and quite pregnant. The vet recommended we give her grain to help her grow bigger before she delivers her calf in the spring. We want her to have an easier time with delivery, so that’s what we are going to do. She was already getting a small portion of non-gmo, non-soy organic mix of cattle feed that is 16% protein. we used that the train her to go into the stanchion. Vet said anything over 14% protein would do the trick. We will continue giving her high protein feed until she delivers. As she gets close to her delivery date, we will keep a close eye on her and call the vet at the first sign of trouble. We are praying for the best for Rosie and her calf. 

Creamery

Scott is still working on the finish for the walls. He is very close to being done there. Then he said the roof will be next. He needs to measure the size and note the shape of the new covered addition he made at the last minute. After that, he can accurately calculate the amount and sizes of material he needs to complete the roof. I think after the roof is on the building will look like it is complete — on the outside at least! 

Garden 

This will likely be the last update for the garden this year. We finally got a hard enough frost to take out the rest of the plants. The tomatoes are brown. The crowder peas lost all their leaves and are brown. Most of the potatoes are brown. Interestingly, the peppers have yellow leaves and not so much brown leaves, though many of the leaves fell off.

The celery is coming out of the dehydrator today, so that’s done. I still have lots of peppers to process. I don’t know if I mentioned that there has been a canning supply shortage. Jars and lids have been unavailable for months. I paid a hefty price, but I have some jars scheduled to arrive in the next few days. Then I can finish the pepper jam and apple jam. The jars and lids are now coming back into the stores. Still short in supply and limited sizes but they are coming back.

Did I mention I got some apples. It was a great find and I am happy with the results so far. I’ve made lots of apple pie filling and it came out great! Apple jam is still on the To-Do list.

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Farmer’s Market

I will be at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 10 am to noon. This is the the new scheduled time for winter markets. Winter markets are the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. There will only be one market in December. The 4th Saturday of December is the day after Christmas and the market will not be open. The operating hours will be 10 am to noon unless otherwise stated (as in Christmas Markets are 8 am to noon).

We have all of our meats back in stock for you and now QUAIL EGGS!! 

We have ground lamb and kabob/stew lamb as well as rib chops and loin chops.

We have ground beef and ground goat. 

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, I’ll see you in my usual location. Let me know if you want something added on to your regular choice. As you know, fresh milk is done. Yogurt will still be available through the end of November. And as always, cheese and butter. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

I still have new herd shares 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 to Herd Share Owners  

Choose 1 per week 1/2 Share Whole Share
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  

Quail Price / Pound
Quail Eggs (1 dozen) $5.00
Quail meat (approx 1 lb) $20.00
Beef Price / Pound
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
Chev (Goat) Price / Pound
Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) $12

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 10:00 am to Noon. Special procedures are in place for your health and safety. Masks are recommended but not required as far as I know. 

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. 


Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast, “Sheep Breeding,” is a bit of a detailed telling of all the small, but very important, decisions that go into seemingly simply tasks. There is also a broader view of what we did with the quail as well.  


Free Downloads

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 HEREOr, 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 PodcastsAndroidTuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify


Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Farmers Market Info

Hello beautiful peeps,

I’m a little late getting this out. Today was a very busy day. Lots of processing of peppers in preparation to making pepper jam. There will be a hot, medium and mild version.

At the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday we will have ground beef $7 per package (approx 1 lb). We also have ground goat $12 per package (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb $10 per package (approx 1 lb). There is still a little bit of Lamb Kabob/Stew $12 per package (approx 1 lb). Quail packages are available 1 lb – $20.00, and pickled peppers $5.00. 

If you are a Herd Share member, remember this is the last week for fresh milk before we move to cheese and butter for the fall and winter. Let me know if you want to add anything to your regular product pickup. To get to that section, you can jump down the page here

Quail

The quail have been reconfigured. We had 56 birds in the penthouse. We processed some of them, but we kept 24 birds to add to our breeder groups. We now have seven groups of breeders. Additionally, we added an automatic lighting system. It comes on at 4 am and stays on until 6 pm, giving the quail 14 hours of light. The bulbs we are using emit light in the “daylight” spectrum. Hopefully, this is going to make our investment in these birds worth it. Theoretically, we could get 35 eggs per day very soon. That would be if all 35 of the laying hens laid an egg a day. It’s possible, but it will be at least a week, perhaps two, before we see any progress in that area. The new ladies have never laid any eggs and the older hens are not giving only 6 to 8 eggs per day and there are 15 of them. It will take a little while for the additional light to help them out.   

Cows 

The calves are in the process of being weaned. Over the next couple of weeks their milk will be reduced and finally stopped. After we stop milking the big girls, we will wait a few weeks to make sure they are dried up completely and can no longer produce milk before introducing the calves to the rest of the herd. We absolutely have to ensure sure this or the calves will just start nursing again and the cows will keep producing milk. It is very important that they stop producing milk so they can put all of their energy into growing the next calf.

The big girls are getting preg checked tomorrow. Fingers crossed. 

Creamery

Scott is still filling in those open spaces in the walls. Some places are harder to reach than others. For instance, the utility room has very high walls. It requires a ladder or scaffold to get to those places. I think Scott told me that he was creative in his use of ladders to avoid having to move scaffolding. He was careful, but he was standing on the top of the ladder where it says in no uncertain terms NOT to do that. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. You’re just very careful about it! 

Garden 

I finally picked the last of the baby lima beans. I got out there real quick when Scott let me know it was going to rain again — and it was going to rain a lot and for multiple days. I really needed to get them in before they got soaked. That would making drying them take much longer and the possibility they would mold was much higher. I’m glad that it is done.

The peppers are still going strong and the celery is still looking great. Both of them are okay being wet. In fact, when I harvest the celery, having it nice and moist will make it last longer. All of that is going to go into the dehydrator. I use a lot of celery in stews and soups. This home grown stuff has a much stronger flavor. I love it!

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Farmer’s Market

I will be at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 8 am to noon. This is the last of the weekly markets. We are also moving into the winter markets which are the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. The operating hours will be 10 am to noon.

There will be a couple of Christmas markets and I believe the hours will again be 8 am to noon. I’ll let you know as we get closer to those dates. 

We have all of our meats back in stock for you!! 

We have ground lamb and kabob/stew lamb as well as rib chops and loin chops.

We have ground beef and ground goat. 

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, I’ll see you in my usual location. Let me know if you want something added on to your regular choice. Fresh milk is done after this market. Yogurt will still be available through the end of November. And as always, cheese and butter. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

I still have new herd shares 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 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
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
Chev (Goat) Price / Pound
Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) $12

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting 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. Masks are recommended but not required as far as I know. 

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. 


Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast, “Sheep Breeding,” is a bit of a detailed telling of all the small, but very important, decisions that go into seemingly simply tasks. There is also a broader view of what we did with the quail as well.  


Free Downloads

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 HEREOr, 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 PodcastsAndroidTuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify


Farm Updates, Herd Share Pickups, Farmer’s Market Info: 10-22-2020

Hello beautiful peeps,

I’m back from Oklahoma. It was a beautiful wedding. I got to see family that I hadn’t seen in years. Fall weddings are the best. This week’s podcast is on that topic.

At the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday we will have ground beef $7 per package (approx 1 lb). We also have ground goat $12 per package (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb $10 per package (approx 1 lb). There is still a little bit of Lamb Kabob/Stew $12 per package (approx 1 lb). Quail packages are available 1 lb – $20.00, and pickled peppers $5.00. 

If you are a Herd Share member, let me know if you want to add anything to your regular product pickup. To get to that section, you can jump down the page here

Quail

The quail are doing great. In another week we are going to pick out the best hens to keep over the winter. We currently have 15 laying hens but are only getting 6 eggs a day. They need more light. Scott will be setting that up in the next little bit of time. Both the current group of laying hens as well as the new ones we decide to keep will have extra daylight.   

Cows 

I’m ready to wean the calves. We will need to have them weaned before we can include them in the herd of milking girls. We will also have to make sure that the milking girls are completely dried up before we put the calves in there. We tried to put Luna in with them earlier in the season. She immediately began nursing her mother, Cloud. Luna had been separated from Cloud for months and months. It didn’t matter. Once she found there was milk available, she was on it. After a few weeks of not being milk, there will be no milk available, no matter how much they want it. Once they are trained that it is not available, they will not even try once the big girls come into milk again. At least we hope that is what happens. Fingers crossed. 

Creamery

Scott is still filling in those open spaces in the walls. He underestimated the time it would take. It’s not that his calculations were off by so much. It’s that he is making it beautiful. He is giving it a rough finish that is amazing! Once it is painted, the walls are going to look awesome! 

Garden 

The last really big task of cleaning up all the old plants and the weeds growing in the paths is still ahead of us. We have not had that first frost yet so the peppers, lima beans, parsley and basil are still going strong. We know its coming. We just don’t know when. Leaving the potatoes as long as possible is important. Maybe we will actually have a second harvest. We shall see.

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Farmer’s Market

I will be at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 8 am to noon. 

We have all of our meats back in stock for you!! 

We have ground lamb and kabob/stew lamb as well as rib chops and loin chops.

We have ground beef and ground goat. 

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, I’ll see you in my usual location. Let me know if you want something added on to your regular choice. Fresh milk and yogurt is available through the end of this month. Yogurt will still be available through the end of November. And as always, cheese and butter. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

I still have new herd shares 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 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
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
Chev (Goat) Price / Pound
Ground Chev (approx 1 lb) $12

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting 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. Masks are recommended but not required as far as I know. 

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. 


Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast, “Fall Weddings,” is a recap of my wonderful visit to Oklahoma and my grandson’s wedding. I love fall weddings. It’s a beautiful time of year and weddings are always an affirmation of continuation of life.  


Free Downloads

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 HEREOr, 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 PodcastsAndroidTuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify


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FARM STORE HOURS:

Tuesday and Wednesday:  10am – 12pm
Tuesday:  4pm – 6pm
Saturday:  by appointment

Peaceful Heart Farm

224 Cox Ridge Road, Claudville, VA 24076

Can you find our products?

We'd like to make sure we have cheese available where you can get it. Whether it be at the Farmers Market or a specialty food store.

Let us know where you'd like to see us and we'll try to make it happen. We'll notify you via email when we get our products to your favorite shopping destination.

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FARM STORE HOURS:

Tuesday and Wednesday:  10am – 12pm
Tuesday:  4pm – 6pm

Saturday:  by appointment

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Independence Farmers Market:

Fridays:  9am – 1pm (May thru October)
Fridays: 11am - 12pm (October thru April)

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