Petit Jean Farm
Weekly Farm Newsletter
February 1, 2010
Dear Folks,
On Sunday night now, the county road running between our house and the barn is nearly clear of ice and snow…there's at least a track. Another interesting winter weekend for central Arkansas. Next fall, if all the animals put on an extra thick coat early on, we will make more winter preparations.
SO! Friday and Saturday markets were certainly not normal, but they happened anyway. What a story! Where are the TV cameras when you need them?
Sometimes one can hear that this direct farm market stuff is merely an elitist luxury. You know; not all that serious; kind of take it or leave it.
A weekend like this shows the real power of the farmer/customer partnerships.
I don't think any perishables were wasted or lost…except for one broken egg…and I hope everyone managed their comings and goings without incident.
Extra flexibility and communications were required. But if there was ever any doubt about the seriousness of our enterprise together, it should be gone now.
It is not my intent to bore you with too much detail but you have just participated in an extremely important happening.
The cash and checks you bring to market do not sit around the farm very long. Your money keeps the electric, phone and all other systems working here. 'Payments due' don't seem to care whether it snowed or not.
On the farmer side, we need to think about quality, taste, freshness, safety, etc. But one question on any farmer's mind has got to be "Can I pay the bills?"
Very few farmers will take the big step to put their entire financial well-being in the hands of direct market customers.
At Petit Jean Farm, we believe that a small independent farm CAN be supported by small independent customers and markets.
A weekend like this is pretty good proof!
Our schedule for Downtown Hot Springs is 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. at the Transportation Plaza. The Village Community Market remains the same, meeting on Fridays from 2:30 to 5:00 P.M. Our new location at the Messianic Synagogue on Hwy. 7 in Russellville is 1:30 to 2:30 on Wednesday. The Locally Grown websites operating this week are Little Rock, Conway, Spa City and VCM.
Orders for Russellville need to be in by 5:00 P.M on Monday. Orders for the Hot Springs and Little Rock need to be made by noon on Thursday by calling us at 501-727-5659 or emailing ed@gatewayfarm-ar.com. To check our available inventory, visit our website at http://www.petitjeanfarm.com/FarmInventory.html. Earlier is always better!
Your Petit Jean Farmers
Petit Jean Farm
1039 Winrock Dr.
Morrilton, AR 72110
501-727-5659
ed@gatewayfarm-ar.com
www.petitjeanfarm.com
