Eatwild Producers, This Page Is For You!

The Producers' Corner features information of general interest to Eatwild producers. (The public can view this page, but the content is geared toward producers of grass-fed products.) Some of the postings are from us at Eatwild.com. The rest are from you, the producers. To participate, we invite you to send us information about:

• Upcoming conferences, farm events, and resources.
  
• New discoveries, e.g., “Raw honey works wonders on pink eye!"
• Questions you would like answered by other producers: “What is your experience with delayed weaning?”
  “Has anyone found a southwest supplier of canola meal?”
  “What tips can you give me about starting a buying club?”
  

E-mail your information and we’ll post it online. (We reserve the right to screen the postings and make necessary edits.) Also, let us know what other content you’d like to see in the Eatwild Producers’ Corner.

Upcoming Events

CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, AND MORE...      

• Thursday, March 11, 2010. Cattle Producers of Washington (CPoW) General Monthly Meeting, Omak, Washington. Koala Street Bar & Neighborhood Grill, 914 Koala Avenue. Meeting begins 6pm; come early and join us for a no-host dinner at 5pm. E-mail:  cpow@localnet.com  www.cattleproducersofwa.org. (509) 347-6655.

Midget White heritage turkey beats out the Butterball

On November 2nd, Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Virginia, announced the winners of its 2nd annual “Timeless Turkey” blind tasting test. The test pitted eight heritage breeds against the industry standard, the Butterball.

Fifty guests and a panel of judges rendered their judgment. The Midget White was the favorite among the guests, while the panelists preferred the Royal Palm turkey for its “superior depth of flavor in both its white and dark meat.” All the heritage breeds earned high praise, including the Bourbon Red, the Black, the Bronze, the Slate, the Chocolate, and the Narragansett turkey.

The panelists included Anya Fernald, a regular judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef of America and veteran chef Lisa Brefere, CEO of GigaChef.com. For more information about the test, contact Alice Ryan, Alice@Gita-Group.com.

It’s probably too late to order a heritage turkey for this year’s Thanksgiving but you can make a note to contact a farmer next April, which is when decisions need to be made about how many birds to raise for the coming holiday season. (Find a local turkey farmer by searching the Eatwild Producer’s List.)

My Beef Is Just Like Industrial Commodity Beef Except...

The University of Mississippi, The Southern Foodways Alliance, and Whole Foods Market partner each year to produce documentaries. These films focus on producers in the Deep South who embrace southern traditions in their effort to provide non-industrial food for consumers who appreciate fine dining. These documentaries embrace food traditions that honor sustainable, artisan, and humane production practices that are perpetuated by southern family farms.

On August 20, 2009, Ole Miss filmmaker Joe York to produced one of these documentaries highlighting Georgia Eatwild supplier Will Harris and his farm White Oak Pastures. Joe named the documentary “CUD.” View it online at http://vimeo.com/6177004.

Recipes Needed for New Eatwild Cookbook

We are still accepting recipes of all kinds—especially ones for dairy or poultry. Send in your recipes today!

Eatwild is compiling a new book: Eatwild’s 100 Best Recipes. We invite Eatwild producers to take part by sending us your very favorite, fool-proof recipe for cooking grass-fed beef, lamb, bison, goat, dairy, or poultry products. We’ll select 100 of them for the cookbook. If your recipe is selected, your farm and contact information will be featured along with your recipe, giving you exposure to thousands of future buyers.

When you write down your recipe, be very specific. Include information about cooking temperature, cooking time, pan sizes, serving sizes, and how long it takes to prepare your recipe. Double check for accuracy.

This is going to be a “nose to tail” cookbook, so send recipes for the less familiar cuts as well as steaks, roasts, and hamburger. Feel free to add comments about your recipe, such as tips for success or a brief anecdote. 

When you’re done, e-mail your recipe to us at cookbook@eatwild.com, or mail it to Eatwild, PO Box 7321, Tacoma, WA 98417. Questions? Call us toll-free at 1-866-453-8489.

Eatwild Supplier Featured in Emeril Video "Why Grassfed Beef?"

A recent episode of Chef Emeril Lagasse's television show, Emeril Green, recommended grassfed beef for its taste, as well as for the benefits it provides for health and the environment. Featured on a video from the show is Eatwild member Hedgeapple Farm in Buckeystown, MD.

To learn Emeril's tips for grilling the perfect steak and to watch the video, visit http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/grass-fed-beef.html

Time Magazine Article Links to Eatwild Producers

The June 15, 2009 issue of Time Magazine offers information on the benefits of families and friends getting together to buy meat directly from local farmers.

In an article entitled "Cow Pooling," writer Kate Pickert outlines the cost savings of buying directly from the farm (especially when compared to natural food store prices), the advantages of dealing directly with farmers, and the sense of well-being that a freezer full of healthy, delicious grass-fed beef can provide.

Where does the article send people to find a list of farms that sell sides of beef online or locally? Why, Eatwild of course!

Follow this link to view the article online.

Multi-Location Abattoir Opens in Alaska

On June 3, 2009, Eatwild producers Nathan and Bob Mudd of the Alaska Meat Company, announced the opening of their mobile meat processing facility called the “Multi-Location Abattoir.”  It’s the first of its kind in Alaska and one of the most comprehensive in the United States. The abattoir is made up of four 28-foot mobile trailers. One is a support trailer for the other three. The three are connected in an “L” shaped configuration.

The first trailer is the kill floor, and it’s kept between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where the animals are stunned, gutted, weighed and evaluated by a USDA inspector. The second trailer is the cutting room, and it’s kept below 40 degrees. The meat is deboned, and some of the meat is packaged as individual cuts, the rest goes through the grinder. The third trailer is the “cook room.” Ground meat is stuffed into casings, smoked, and vacuum sealed. Then the packages are pressure cooked to high temperatures, killing all the bacteria. The meat is “shelf-stable” and does not require refrigeration. A live animal enters the first trailer and ready-to-eat sausages come out the third.

It takes seven people to staff the facility. One person manages the cattle, one manages the kill room, three are in the packing room, one is responsible for the cooking, and the final person oversees the entire operation.  

Half of the funding came from the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the USDA. The project was set in motion by father and son team Nathan and Bob Mudd. (The operation is owned by  Sitkinak Cattle, LLC)  The abattoir will be fully functional in October 2009. The Mudd family hopes to process 150 cattle this year, which totals 45,000 pounds of meat. In the future, they plan to process bison and reindeer—hey! It’s Alaska.

Documentary Tells Story of Lake Village Farm Homestead

6/3/09–Lake Village Farm Homestead, has been a working farm for over 30 years and features grass fed, free ranging, all natural cattle and pigs. An Eatwild producer since 2005, the farm is also the focus of a new documentary.

Directed by Ryan Booms, the documentary tells the story of this intentional community in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1971, Lake Village was once a "hippie community," but is now a thriving cooperative farm that emphasizes cultivating community in harmony with the earth. 

The documentary captures feelings of nostalgia for our rural past while also offering a promising vision of the world's future. The film is a must see for anyone passionate about eating local foods and fostering community.

To find out more about the Lake Village Farm Homestead, visit their website at http://www.lakevillagehomestead.org/index.html. For more information about the documentary itself, send them an e-mail; contact information is available on the website.

Two Food Documentaries Released Nationwide

4/23/09—Greetings from California! We're excited to let others know of two incredible food documentaries being released nationwide this summer. We've screened both and absolutely cannot say enough good things about each of them!  Very informative and inspiring toward taking the next steps for all of us to reclaim and participate in creating clean, humane and ethical food production.  

FRESH!
4 minute trailer (featuring Pollan, Salatin, Allen):
http://www.FRESHthemovie.com
Independent film producer: Ana Joanes. Highly informative, solution-focused motivating, inspiring.

Nationwide locations, May-June:
http://www.freshthemovie.com/screenings/

Food Inc.
3-1/2 minute trailer (Schlossberg, Pollan and Salatin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQVll-MP3I
Producer: Robert Kenner, thought provoking, informative, jaw dropping,
from those who brought us "Inconvenient Truth." (Began screening in 2008; for current screening dates & locations, select festival schedule) http://www.robertkennerfilms.com/

Support these film makers by attending and passing this information along. Together, Individually and collectively, we can  make a positive difference!

Sincerely, Kathy & Ken Lindner
Lindner Bison
www.lindnerbison.com

More Resources

• Grassfed Beef. This website is a collaboration between University of California Cooperative Extension Service and California State University, Chico, for the purposes of providing scientific information on grass-fed beef. It provides information on how to develop a label for niche marketing of beef products, recipes for cooking grass fed prooducts, and updates of grassfed beef research.
• Livestock for Landscapes: Solving pasture problems one bite at a time. Are you wasting forage because you don't know that many weeds are edible? This website offers tips on what weeds your livestock can eat, as well as how to train them to eat them.