You probably know that when we became organic, we discovered that there were far fewer flies* than when we sprayed chemical repellents. Flies – like any parasite – go for the weakest targets to get their food. Healthy cows aren’t so much of an attraction as those pumped full of antibiotics and hormones.

But we still have flies, which is a problem for us. Flies actually can decrease milk production, transmit disease, cause pinkeye, and irritate a cow’s udders. So even with fewer flies than ever before, we still would like to eliminate them all together.

Of course, we’re not the only ones, which is why the entomology department at North Carolina State came up with amazing invention – the fly sucker! You can see in the pictures that it blows and sucks the flies off the cows.

Organic Valley thought that this was such a great idea that they gave a research grant for NC State to test the effectiveness of the machine. And because we’re an Organic Valley farm (and maybe because George is an NC State graduate…), we were chosen to test it.

So far – we like it! We hope this is another way that organic farms can keep their animals even healthier. And it might be a way for traditional farm to reduce their dependence on harmful pesticides.

And that’s something that would be great for all of us!

*Read “Why Flies Don’t Bug Us Anymore“.

Click on the pictures below for a close up of the fly trap!

It’s no secret that we love food at Reedy Fork Farm. So we were thrilled this winter to be featured in Edible Piedmont magazine! They did an great job telling about our history, how and why we became organic, and how we grew into having a feed mill.

They also shared a couple of fun farm facts that you may not know:

•  Dairy farmers are paid only $16 for one hundred pounds a milk, and the price hasn’t changed much for the past 20 years!

•  We once considered agritourism, inviting others to tour our farm – especially giving field trips for schools – as a way to keep the dairy viable.

•  Before 1950, Reedy Fork Farm grew tobacco.

•  It takes 500 cows to fill the Organic Valley milk truck. We’re a part of a ‘pool’ of farms, and we fill the milk truck every two days.

•  Our cows produce milk for up to ten years. Before we became organic, they only gave milk for 4 or 5 years.

You can read the whole text of the article here.

Or better yet – subscribe to Edible Piedmont magazine and read the whole issue! There’s a fascinating article talking about the four young men who staged the sit in at Woolworth’s in 1960.

Edible Piedmont is a great publication with engaging articles about food from our area – as well as the people who cook, grow, and eat it!

Visit their website to read and subscribe!

We’re a little biased, but we think we have some of the prettiest cows around! Take a look at our gorgeous girls…

Spring is the perfect time for these light and healthy recipes that use organic products. They’ll be perfect for any Passover or Easter gathering! (Are we invited?!)

Ingredients:

1 Head of Organic Lettuce: Dried and Torn or Shredded
1/2 Cup of Organic Onion: Chopped
3/4 Cup of Organic Green Onion: Chopped
1 Small pack of Organic Frozen Green Peas
1 Cup of Organic Valley Sharpe Cheese: Grated
2 Cups of Organic Valley Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons of Organic Cane Sugar

Organic Valley Parmesan Cheese: To taste

Uncured Bacon Crumbles on top of salad: 2-3 Pieces: Optional

Directions: Using a Large Dry Bowl layer salad as listed above. Do not toss salad once layered. Sprinkle with Organic Valley Parmesan Cheese and Uncured Bacon Crumbles. Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

4 Large Organic Potatoes: Cooked until tender but not mushy
2 Organic Eggs: Boiled and Chopped
1/2 Cup of Organic Celery: Chopped
1/2 Cup of Organic Sweet Pickled Cubes
1 Small Organic Carrot: Grated
3 Tablespoons of Mustard
2 Tablespoons of Organic Mayonnaise or Mayonnaise with Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of Natural Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper: to Taste

Directions: Mix everything together once potatoes have cooled. Serve chilled on Organic Lettuce Leaves.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Organic Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons of Organic Valley Butter or Margarine
1 can of Organic Pineapple Slices
Organic Maraschino Cherries: Enough to put in the center of each pineapple
2 Cups of Organic Spelt Pastry Flour sifted
3 teaspoons of Aluminum Free Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon of Natural Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup of Organic Valley Butter
1 Cup of Organic Cane Sugar
1 Organic Egg: Well Beaten
1 teaspoon of 100% Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup of Organic Milk

Directions: Set oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle organic brown sugar in bottom of well-greased 9x9x2 inch pan. Dot with Organic Valley butter. Melt mixture over very low heat. Drain organic pineapple; place slices in pan with organic cherry in center of each. Sift together organic spelt pastry flour, aluminum free baking powder, and natural sea salt or kosher salt. Cream Organic Valley Butter (1/4 cup). Add organic cane sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Add organic egg and 100% pure vanilla extract; beat well. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, alternately with organic milk. Pour batter over fruit. Bake 1 hour or until light brown. Turn upside-down on serving plate at once. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Serves: 9

A couple of weeks ago, George and Cherry attended the “Plow Forward” conference sponsored by Georgia Organics, an organization designed to connect organic food from Georgia farms to Georgia families. We know, we’re not from Georgia, but we’ve heard many times that getting organic feed in Georgia is no easy task. We already regularly ship a truckload of feed to a coop there, and we wanted to get the word out and make a connection with others who need a certified organic product for their animals.

It was a great conference! First of all, Georgia is such a beautiful state, and the conference center was right on the Chattahoochee river. A train came right down the middle of the street where the convention was, and the food was good, too. But the conference is the people, and the people in Georgia were terrific.

We met lots of commercial organic farmers, with a variety of animals. There was a particular interest in our organic goat feed. As always, though, the backyard farmers needed chicken feed. We had lots of discussions on the various types of chicken rations we offer – starter, grower, soy free. The really fun part of the conference was that we got to meet several of our existing customers, including the one and only Daniel Dover, who organizes our Georgia shipment each month.

There were some wonderful seminars and classes at the conference, but you couldn’t prove it by us, because we were too busy meeting customers and new friends. One of the people we met was Cameron Molberg of Coyote Creek Farm in Texas. Coyote Creek also has an organic feed mill, and it was great to compare notes and just make a friend with someone who knows the fun – and challenges – of having a mill like ours!

This is really a side note, but at the conference we began exploring the possibility of putting solar panels up at our dairy barn. These panels would help power the water heater, and would also help heat the milking parlor.

Thanks to all of you who visited us at the conference, and made us feel so welcome! We were struck by how much the organic and sustainable living movement has grown in Georgia since the last time we were there. We look forward to our next visit!

Logo used by permission from Georgia Organics.

Tag – You’re It! The votes are now in and the final count has been made. We are happy to announce that we now have our slogan. It is….

“From Our Fork to Yours”!

We love it, and we think it’s a great reflection of who we are and what we do.

The winning entry was sent in by a mom on behalf of her two sons – Andrei (age 11) and Dmitry (age 12). We think it’s really cool – and sort of significant – that the winning slogan was submitted by the next generation.

Thanks to all of you who sent in your creative ideas, voted, and helped to spread the word.

And Andrei and Dmitry – watch your mailbox, because you’re going to be getting a gift card!

Thanks again to all of you.

We told you we needed a tagline, slogan, motto, and we got lots of terrific entries! We let our staff vote, and we chose our ten favorites.

Now we want YOU to help choose the very best one! Click here to vote. It will only take a few seconds.

You can vote (only once, please) until midnight on March 1st. We’ll announce the winner the next day.

Thanks to all of you who sent in your wonderful ideas. You are what makes Reedy Fork Farm special!

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You don’t see so many Monarch butterflies in the Midwest United States as you did a few years ago. Why? Their primary food source – milkweed– has all but disappeared. A recent study published in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity cites the increased use of GM Roundup Ready corn and soybeans as the culprit.

For the past 17 years, butterfly populations have steadily declined as the usage of GM corn and soy crops has increased. In 2007, commercial farmers spread 185 million pounds of glyphosate herbicide over their crops – that’s 5 times the amount used in 1997.

How does a GM plant work? A genetically modified plant is actually classified and registered as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. Genes are inserted into the plant to change its molecular structure so that every cell of the plant produces a pesticide. Once an insect bites and swallows part of the GM plant, poison literally splits open its stomach and kills it.

Recent studies show that declining Monarch butterfly populations aren’t the only adverse effects of GM use. Malformations, birth defects in animals, cancer, genetic damage and other serious effects have been linked to low doses of glyphosate herbicide (AKA Roundup Ready) use.

Is there a better way? As a customer, you have more power than you realize. Of course, organic offers a better way. Every time you choose an organic product, you are saying “no, thank you” to genetically modified crops and “yes, please” to biodiversity.

Like all organic farms, Reedy Fork Organic Dairy Farm never relies on genetically modified anything. When you buy Reedy Fork organic dairy products or feed, you choose quality for yourself and a better world for the next generation. So drink your milk. Have another delicious serving of delicious yogurt or cheese. Organic choices add up and truly make a huge difference.

Photo courtesy of Emerging Birder and Flickr.

We’ve decided Reedy Fork Farm Organic Farm needs a slogan – a tagline – a motto. And we’d like your help! We’ve decided to have a contest, and let you submit your ideas to us. We’ll collect all the entries, take our pick of the top ten, then open it up and let all of you vote for the best one.

Keep in mind that we have both an organic dairy farm and organic feed mill. We will need YOU to come up with a slogan, tagline, motto that will encompass both!

The winner will receive a $50 gift card. And our undying thanks, exuberant praise, endless touting, and so forth and so on – until the cows come home.

It’s easy to enter. Simply submit your idea(s) via our contact form HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Submit your slogan ideas via email (and yes, the contact form counts as email). You can send in as many ideas as you like. If you come up with the same idea someone has already sent us, the earliest entry that we receive is the one that counts.
2. We will decide on our ten favorite entries, and allow you to vote on the best one. (Voting will be through Survey Monkey.)
3. ALL entries are given freely to Reedy Fork Organic Farm without the submitter having claim to copyright now or in the future. The winning slogan becomes the sole property of Reedy Fork Organic Farm.
4. Slogan may not contain any genetically modified words, hormones, or artificial ingredients, and must be original.
5. Entries must be received by midnight on February 15th.
6. All decisions are final.
7. ANYONE is eligible to enter. That means we may throw our ideas into the mix. But the prize will go to the highest vote getting non-employee of Reedy Fork Farm or Dash Web Consulting.
8. Contestants must provide their name and address. Prize will be sent via US mail to an address in the United States or Canada only.
9. We reserve the right to not adopt any of the entries as our slogan. The gift card, however, will still be awarded.

How’s that for a fun contest?! So – grab yourself a tall glass of organic milk and put your thinking cap on. Contest begins NOW.

Among the new things at Reedy Fork Farm are some baby calves. Like any good grandparent, we’d like to share a few pictures of the new additions, along with some other pictures of our cows as they come home for the night.

You can click on the pictures below for a slideshow.