New: Goat Meat

We now have a limited supply of goat meat available for sale.

The animals were all raised on our farm from birth this past spring. Our goats receive a diet of hay, organic grain and foraging. The cuts are similar to what you would expect for lamb in terms of size. Goat meat is very lean and is exceptional in curries.

Cuts available:

Loin Chops
$17.50/lb	Average 0.75-1.0 lbs
Leg Roast
$10.50/lb	Average 1.2-1.5 lbs
Shoulder Roast
$9.75/lb	Average 1.5-1.8 lbs
Stew Meat
$9.00/lb	Average 0.5-0.9 lbs
Shanks
$6.50/lb	Average 1.0-1.4 lbs
Neck Slices
$4.50/lb	Average 0.3-0.4 lbs
Ribs
$8.00/lb	Average 1.3 lbs
Shoulder Steaks
$11.50/lb	Average 1.4-1.6 lbs

To order goat meat for pick-up from the farm or at a farmers market, please e-mail glenvalleychris (at) gmail (dot) com or call 604-626-0067.

Please note: our goat herd is not part of our certified organic program; although we strictly follow organic standards for care, we cannot always source certified organic hay.

2011 Variety Reviews: Part II

Aside from reviewing some of the new varieties we grew this year, I also put out a call to the organic community for variety reviews. The echos of silence were deafening . . . well, almost. Adam from Sundog Vegetables in Delta (who also worked for us last year) provided notes from his experience this year. 

Sourcing Great Seed

Sourcing great seed can make the difference between enjoying growing veggies and finding it to be a frustrating experience. As an organic farm, our certification process requires that we try to source seeds that are certified organic before considering conventional options. That can make our seed purchasing a bit tricky at time. Here are some of the sources we use on our farm.

2011 Variety Reviews: Part I

In his book The Winter Harvest Handbook Eliot Coleman states that farmers have a responsibility to share their knowledge and experiments with each other to improve organic growing. In this spirit, I offer the following variety reviews from our trials this season. This is the first installment of reviews -- I have other varieties to note, plus reviews shared by other growers.

War, Agriculture and Remembrance

It has often occurred to me that November is an appropriate time for Remembrance Day. The days are generally bleak and the natural world is in a hasty decline as frost kills plants and trees shed their leaves. In short, the world around is a reminder of death.

This past week I have been thinking about the relationship between war and agriculture. More precisely, I've been considering the impact of war on agriculture.

The connection between war and agriculture is relatively new to me. My family has no history of veterans since most who were of service age during the world wars were farmers and thus exempt from military service. At the same time, I understand that war and political instability were motivating factors for some of my ancestors to leave their homes and travel to what they hoped would be a more stable future in Canada. War is at the root of many global migrations, particularly concerning rural peasants.