We have been harvesting our 2020 summer honey! We have been fortunate to have a great crop (so far) and are continuing to remove supers and extract the bounty our bees have provided for us.

Summer honey is mostly from the clover growing in our pastures, as clover is the dominant flower during spring and summer. This honey is mild in flavor! However, because our bees also pollinate our 120 apple trees in the spring, we have been able to detect a hint of apple flavor in this year's crop!

Summer honey (and what remains of the 2019 fall honey crop) is available in 12 oz. bears, 1 lb squeeze bottles, and 1 qt glass bottles. The quart jar of honey contains 3 lbs of honey. You can find our price list on the Cattle page; just click on the button!

Did you know that the flavor of honey depends on the flower the bees visit? As described above, our summer honey has a mild, clover-based flavor with hints of apple. Our fall honey has a bolder, more aromatic flavor because the bees visit goldenrod and aster plants in the late summer and early fall.

If you have never tasted different flavors of honey, we are offering a "Taste & Compare" special. You can purchase 1 lb of summer honey and 1 lb of fall honey and conduct your own taste test for only $15! Just call or email the contact info on the price list.

It's been just over a month since our last post. We've been through a lot since then!

The Good!

We put up hay in early June. We caught some good weather and the equipment didn't break down! (If you know anything about farming, that's an amazing combination.) We put up 8 bales in a spare paddock on our farm, and put up 56 bales on the adjacent hay field owned by relatives. All of the hay is in the hay shed, and we are on a good start for our winter feed.

​We have picked up our half-steer that was butchered on May 29, 2020. We now have a decent supply of beef in the freezer and have posted a new price list on the Cattle page. Our next steer will be processed on August 7, 2020. There are still two split quarters available! Our last steer will be processed on October 8, 2020.

The bees have been bringing in honey like crazy this spring. Cool weather has led to lots of clover growing in our pastures, and the bees have been producing. We expect to harvest summer honey in the next week (if the weather holds) and have some 2020 mild-flavored summer honey available soon!

The blackberries are red, and we picked the first few black ones today. Hopefully, the Japanese beetles won't eat them all! See the Ugly entry below.

The Bad

Jeff tripped stepping over the hay rake drawbar and took a tumble. He thought he'd hurt his back, but several doctors later, it appears to be nerve pain in his right leg, not his back. (That part is good!) But he has been severely limited over the past few weeks. Physical therapy is helping, so we are hopeful for a recovery soon!

The Ugly

The Japanese beetles have arrived again, and we are trapping them like crazy! They are trying to eat the leaves off some of our apple trees. Some varieties are getting hit hard, while others remain untouched. Who knew Japanese beetles are picky eaters? We are drowning them in soapy water as fast as we can. Hopefully, the trees will survive the attack and we'll still get apples this fall.

Finally...

Remember that family farms depend on repeat customers. Even though we aren't at any farmers markets this summer, we offer no-contact delivery in the local area. Local food is all the rage, and we love our local customers. In addition to our beef, we also sell honey (mild summer honey and bold fall honey), blackberry jam, apple butter, and later this fall, apples, too! See our order form on the Cattle page!