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The Online Market is open for ordering from 8 AM Wednesday till 8 PM on Thursday.
Spring time is upon us again. The planting of vegetables and flowers is in full spead as we work to provide an aboundance of fresh new products. Please feel free to make your selections from the great products available this week.

Remember the New Customer Referral Program
From March 20 through June 30

How it Works
1. Tell a friend about the CUMMING HARVEST farmers market.
2. Have them register at cumming.locallygrown.net. (the market managers will contact all new customers to ask who referred them)
3. After their third purchase (3 different weeks), your credit will be applied to your account.
Thank you for sharing your love of healthy food and for helping to support our local growers!

Stephen Daniels
770-905-9155



 
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Newsletter - January 9, 2013


This post expired on January 09, 2023.

Market News

FEATURED FARMER OF THE MONTHINDIAN CREEK ANGUS
A new goal for 2013 is to find ways to connect you more with the farmers. Once a month we’ll feature one of our farmers as a Featured Farmer so you can learn a little more about them and why they do what they do. Hope you enjoy this first issue of our Featured Farmer.

Indian Creek Angus is a “Certified Naturally Grown” farm in Carnesville, GA.
An Interview with farmers, Dennis Barron, Carol Corbin, Denny Barron, and Ansley Payne.

North Fulton Photography: Indian Creek Angus Social Media Size &emdash;

How long have you been farming?
Dennis Barron has been farming his whole life, including when he was young on his father’s farm. But we just began raising grass-fed beef three years ago. Son Denny has been farming his whole life too. Carol just started three years ago, and Anslee, our newest worker, just started January 1.

When and why did you create Indian Creek Angus?
Indian Creek Angus was created in 1995 but started selling grass-fed beef in late 2009. We created it to grow healthy food at a reasonable price and to use sustainable farming methods that would benefit the planet, our community, and our customers.

North Fulton Photography: Indian Creek Angus Social Media Size &emdash;

Tell us about the land/property you have.
We own 225 acres and we lease another 100 acres. The land straddles Interstate 85 between exits 160 and 164. This land used to be in cotton and indigo, and the land was terraced to keep rain from running off, so now the cows graze on rolling terraced meadows.

What is the most challenging thing about raising cattle?
There are many challenging things about raising cattle, and each of us would have a different answer. Dennis would say it is trying to keep our heads above water financially. Carol would say it is dealing with drought and keeping our cattle well fed year-round. Denny would say it is keeping up with the enormous workload that includes fencing, bush-hogging, moving and feeding cattle, and so forth. Anslee would say it is locating new markets.

We all have learned a great deal about raising grass-fed beef in the last few years. Dennis and Carol attended a grass-fed conference (American Herbataurus Society) in Illinois in November, and we met a number of Amish farmers who are raising grass-fed beef for the Chicago markets. They know a tremendous amount about the genetics of grass-fed beef. It is really like going back in time to breeds that have not been adapted to feedlots. The Amish have always done it the way we are now. We ended up buying a new Murray Grey bull from an Amish farmer in Indiana named Shorty. Murray Grey is a breed from Australia that does very well on grass, and when judged against feedlot carcasses, it proved superior.

North Fulton Photography: Indian Creek Angus Social Media Size &emdash;

What is your favorite job on the farm? Why?
Carol’s favorite job is moving cattle and inventorying cattle. She likes to spend time with them because they become very used to her company and she can get to know them individually. The calves are so curious about humans and will come up and check us out. Dennis’s favorite job is feeding hay to the cattle in the winter. He likes to watch them eat after he spreads it out for them. Denny loves every job he does, he claims, but he also loves feeding in the winter. Anslee’s favorite job is giving farm tours and meeting customers.

Do you have any help on your farm? Who helps you?
All our help is family help—papa Dennis, mama Carol, son Denny, and Denny’s soon-to-be wife, Anslee, plus the grandkids—Den and Taylor.

Do you have a favorite recipe? What is it?
Our favorite recipes are all on the website (www.indiancreekangus.com), but the one we like the best is grass-fed beef pot roast with onions, potatoes, water, salt and pepper. We cook it at 200 degrees overnight or all day (8-10 hours) and it comes out perfectly.

Do you have any short term or long term goals for your farm?
Our biggest short-term goal is to mob-graze our cattle this spring. Mob-grazing is intensive rotational pasture management. It means that we fence the cattle into small areas each day and then move them every day or sometimes twice a day. It is the best way to have the grass grazed completely (not letting them take just the best of it), to spread manure evenly over the pastures, to rid the cattle of parasites (from sitting in the same places every day), and to get the most weight gain. Cattle love to move to a new pasture, so when you move them often, they think they have entered an exciting new restaurant and they eat like crazy.

Our long term goal is to decrease the time it takes to get the cattle to the processor. We need about three years’ growth now, and we want to get that down to two years. Our short-term goal will directly impact on our long term one. In the long run we want to have the finest and healthiest beef in Georgia (or the southeast). We think it’s pretty good now, but we think it can be even better.

North Fulton Photography: Indian Creek Angus Social Media Size &emdash;

How do you decide which cattle to take to the processor?
Once when Dennis was asked this question, he answered, “The one that made me the maddest that day.” In truth, we take them when they are the right age and weight. For Carol this is the hardest part of the job, because she gets to know the cattle individually, and saying good-bye to them is very painful. We all thank them for giving their lives for our customers’ well-being and for the benefit of our farm. And we know that if we didn’t harvest them, they would never have had the good life they did on our farm.

Indian Creek Angus has been selling with us since 2010. They would love to have you come out and visit their farm in person, just contact them to schedule a good time. You can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/indiancreekangus and their website www.indiancreekangus.com.

VOLUNTEER NEEDS
Every Spring we’ve had a Market Festival to help bring in the season, introduce customers to farmers and to hopefully connect with new customers interested in locally grown. I’d like to get a jump start on planning a Spring Market Festival and would like to get a planning group together. If you are interested in helping or even better have event planning experience and would like to help us organize a Spring Market Festival, please email me at thecummingharvest@live.com.

PAYMENT OPTIONS
You have several ways to pay for your order. Check/Cash are preferred, but you may also pay online or with a CC when you pick up. There is a 3% convenience fee to pay online or with your card at pickup.

LOCATION & PICK-UP
Building 106, Colony Park Dr. in the Basement of Suite 100, Cumming, GA 30040. Pick up every Saturday between 10-12pm.
Google Map

To view the harvest today and tomorrow till 8pm, visit “The Market” page on our website, The Cumming Harvest

Partners


Cane Creek Farm is our Farm Partner for 2010-2012. Thank you Cane Creek for all your support!
The Cane Creek Farm Blog

Secure Services, Inc Thank you for generously providing our market location!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!