Brittain Family Farm
4470 Alvin Rd.
Mikado, MI 48745
(989) 736-9532
www.brittainfamilyfarm.com
February 2011
2011 Order Form
In preparing to write our newsletter, I reviewed each newsletter I had written
for the farm in the past. I
came to the realization that each year so far has brought significant change
for our farm and family. In
a sense, each year has been comparable to starting a new job. As our farm evolves we never find ourselves getting too
comfortable with old habits. I realized that the advantage and disadvantage is the same. We are always
challenged to learn something new and stretch beyond our perceived limitations.
Being challenged by the newness assures we are never bored but challenged by the continual newness
means we rarely ever settle into a comfortable pattern or routine.
An overview of last year
At the
beginning of last season we had the daunting task of building the hoophouse for
season extension. Our
good neighbor gave us many hours of his time to help complete this job in order
to have it planted for
winter harvest. Without him, I’m not sure that the hoophouse would have been constructed last season. We were
certainly in over our head! In the end, the hoophouse was covered just prior to the first hard
frost/freeze and everything growing in the hoophouse was spared the freezing weather conditions of
fall. We planted the hoophouse with carrots, beets, scallions, salad greens, asian greens,
chard, kale, salad turnips, radishes and cilantro. We served a nine member winter CSA, continued
participation in Alcona Farmer’s Market until the middle of December and took weekly orders via email
through Christmas. We learned SO much! For example: 1) Water early and often in the season. Watering just prior to
a wicked cold snap will cause
frozen, encapsulated vegetables! 2) People in
Last year we promoted and took many orders for red broilers, but ended
up very disappointed with
their grow out. Livability, as expected, surpassed the Cornish X, but finished
weights were not anywhere
near what we anticipated and the proportion of breast meat to leg meat left
much to be desired. The hatchery that supplied us with our initial trial of
these chickens in 2009 couldn’t keep up with demand so we had to change hatcheries. The hatchery that we
changed to could not provide
us with a strain that even came close to comparing to the original in breast
meat quantity or finished weights. Orders received
always give us the answers we need to make future decisions. If there continues to be a growing market for the red
broilers over the Cornish X because of greater livability, better quality of
life, and sustainability etc.- we will continue to offer this variety while searching for a strain
that meets our criteria for a better finished carcass.
New this year
This year’s biggest change that affects both our family and our farm is
Megan. Megan is securing a full
time job off farm and preparing to transfer to
We have listed our farm with WWOOF, ATTRA and MSU organic gardens’ graduates
hoping to secure at
least two interns/apprentices to work and learn with us for room and board and
a small monthly
stipend. We look forward to learning as much, if not more, from this experience
and most definitely would be
lying if we said it did not evoke a feeling of fear and nervousness also. Please wish us luck! If you know of anyone
who may be interested in this opportunity please have them contact us ASAP.
Please take notice that on the order form we have made two changes that
we hope will help to serve
you better. When you order poultry this year you will also be choosing your
processing date. Please
make a copy of the order form before mailing it to us and write these dates on
your calendar. Orders for these
dates will be taken in the order in which they are received and are subject to change if the dates end up under
or over scheduled. On occasion the hatchery cannot honor our schedule and chick shipments get
postponed, which pushes processing dates back. I will notify you of these
happenings well ahead of your processing date.
If you have ordered from us in the past, we
have made note of your previous order at the bottom of the order form. We hope that this record
will assist you in placing an order that best suits your needs for this year.
You can be certain that if you are paying more at the pump for gas,
then farmers across the nation are
paying more at the feed mill for their grain rations. Our prices this year
reflect the huge increase we are
seeing over last season in chick/poult and grain pricing, what we have to pay
in higher fuel prices and
related costs to run equipment to raise the livestock, and make hay. We will continue to make adjustments in price
over the season to reflect any changes until the market stabilizes again. We have not needed to
increase our beef prices for several seasons, because their finishing is not dependent on grain. Along
with high fuel prices, the market brings a 50 yr. high in cattle prices. Any feeder calf, bull or
replacement cow purchased is at a higher price than any year in the past 50 yrs. We had considered
selling our brood cows and purchasing all of our feeder calves for finishing from other local farms. In
light of the current market on cattle, we realized this would not be in our (or
your) best interest right now. We feel we offer superior beef at an economical
value. Our cost for finishing beef is mostly in our time. But, in the price we
received for our beef we must be able to cover our costs to produce it and the
market price in order to purchase replacements or feeder calves to finish
We wrapped up winter harvests from the hoophouse in January. We should
have spring crops available in
April and new potatoes in May. Our garden will be planted with the usual
variety of vegetables for
this season and the hoophouse will be planted in tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and possibly cantaloupe and watermelon. The
majority of these crops vine and we will take advantage of trellising them for vertical growth,
allowing for greater harvest in a limited space. Having the hoophouse to plant some of our warm weather
crops in, means that we should have these crops ripe approximately one month earlier and one month later
than any other year. Our vegetables
from the hoophouse are now available all
four seasons. You can purchase our vegetables through our summer/winter CSA’s,
NE Regional Farm Market, Alcona Farmer’s Market and by weekly order via email for pick up on the
farm.
Important Notices
In the past
couple of years, for the sake of growth and out of fear of losing a sale we
began to compromise
rules and principles we founded our business on. This year we will be
refocusing on those even if
it means the loss of some customers and sales. The burden trying to make dates,
times, etc. work for
everyone has become too great a burden on our family. You must be willing to meet us half way. Our time is of no less
or greater value then your own. We are trying to run a business with a very
tight time schedule. Every day and every hour during the growing season is scheduled out until our heads hit the pillow.
If you wish to place an order with us, you must be willing to absorb the
inconvenience that it causes your family in picking up the order when it is ready for you, not when it is convenient for you. So, please do
not place an order if you are unable or
unwilling to take full responsibility to pick it up.
Poultry is processed on farm and
must be picked up the day it is processed. If you are traveling from a distance, keep your processing days to a
minimum and this will limit the number of days you must rearrange your schedule.
If you are custom ordering a large animal such as a pig, lamb, or side
of beef we would like to clarify what we view as our responsibility and what we
view as yours. It is our responsibility to raise that animal humanely in a way that promotes it good health. Once
raised, it is our responsibility
to deliver it to the agreed upon processing facility. This is where our job
ends. Ultimately, it
is your responsibility to pick it up from the processor. If we are making a
trip to the processor to
get our own meat, we are happy to retrieve yours as well. We have limited
storage space. We own
one large freezer that is licensed for retail cuts and the other freezers hold
our own meat that we are stock
piling for our own use all winter long. If you own a freezer and are stocking up for the winter, how many sides
of beef or pigs or lambs would you be able to fit in it for your friend or neighbor? If you place an
order for a large animal from our farm, please plan on picking it up from the processor at
your convenience or we will be happy to do you a favor and pick up
it up for you at our convenience. Generally there is only a couple days
notice of our trip to retrieve
our order from the processor.
Our processor
of choice is Ebel’s
Please be aware that when you place an order for a large animal from
our farm you are granting us permission
to take your animal to Ebel’s to be processed, unless you specify otherwise.
When we deliver your animal to the processor you are entering a
separate business transaction, apart
from Brittain Family Farm, for the processing of your animal.
We encourage you to personally thank them for a job well done. If any
errors are made in your order
please contact Ebel’s promptly to discuss your problem. We have found that they
are eager and willing to
make any wrong more than right! If you ever encounter any error that is not rectified immediately, we will be more than
happy to speak on your behalf.
New customers
This is the 5
th newsletter our farm has published. Breaking from tradition this year, our
newsletter does not
contain individual explanations of each animal we raise, and a description of
our market garden, hoophouse , shares and CSA’s
available. For our customers that have been with us several years, this information becomes fairly repetitive. If you are a
new customer you can learn much
through our website and archived newsletters or by speaking with us personally
about the questions you have.
In closing, we would like to thank you for choosing our farm to raise
food for your family. We serve a
tremendously grateful customer base and are thankful for your support and
encouragement. We
acknowledge and appreciate the trust you have placed in us and look forward to
doing business with you again this season. Please feel free to write in any
questions, comments, and/or concerns
on the back side of the order form.
Happy day!
The Brittain’s
Robert, Kim,
Megan, Ryan and Gracie
2010 Newsletter 2009 Newsletter 2008 Newsletter 2007 Newsletter