Lettuce Eat Well Farmers' Market is held inside year-round for your shopping comfort at Cheviot United Methodist Church 3820 Westwood Northern Blvd. 45211. The market is held in the church's Narthex, which is just inside the main entrance of the church. Please note that this location could vary depending on other activities taking place at the church. Follow the happy voices and you'll find us.
Abundant Green Pastures Ranch
In a previous newsletter I included a brief announcement about our newest vendor and a promise that I would give more information about them and my visit to their farm, complete with picture. Here goes. It was an on again off again rainy morning as I headed out to West Harrison, Indiana, an easy 30-minute drive. Gratefully, the rain stopped before I reached my destination.
When I arrived at Abundant Green Pastures (AGP) Ranch, I was greeted by Mike Ortwein, the mastermind behind what I witnessed as an amazing place. After a tour of their walk-in freezer (designed and built by Mike. Did I mention that he has owed a construction business for over 40 years?), where they store the meats, Mike told me to hop on the Gator, a golf cart type contraption that would serve as our transportation over the 120+ acres. And, yes, Mike took me over every inch of the ranch, up and down the hills, through the valleys, and over the small bridges spanning the numerous ponds and lake. The extensive tour gave me a bird's eye view of the amazing operation where they produce the quality 100% grass fed beef now available at LEWFM.
Abundant Green Pastures Ranch is certainly an appropriate name for what I
experienced on my farm visit that day. Green, green, green everywhere. If you were a cow living at AGP Ranch you would feel like you were in hog heaven. Well, maybe that mixed metaphor is a bit wacky but the point is well taken that as I observed the cows they looked totally happy to be munching away on their favorite feast: grass. Yes, the cows at Abundant Green Pastures eat grass and only grass - no grain, ever. Why is this important? Because, cows are not designed to eat grain! Cows are herbivores.
Although I could go on and on about my farm visit, I'd like for you to hear straight from the "horse's mouth" (hmm, another mixed metaphor?) regarding the background of AGP Ranch. I asked Mike to tell a bit about the origins of the ranch and about himself and his wife, Deb.
Abundant Green Pastures Ranch, Mike Ortwein and Deb Ward
Deb’s
current contribution to my endeavors rests in developing brochures, from
photography to manuscript, price brochures, inventory control and suggestions
on how to prepare the meat in a delicious way.
Although Deb's part of the article from Mike was much smaller than that of the cattle, nonetheless, her involvement is significant. Deb stole the show their first day at LEWFM as she greeted the customers with a most pleasant smile and the offer of samples of meatballs and roast she made with their 100% grass fed beef. If you didn't get a chance to sample them, stop by this week.
To give you an idea of how popular Abundant Green Pasture Ranch's 100% grass fed beef is, I include this letter from one of their customers.
When I arrived at Abundant Green Pastures (AGP) Ranch, I was greeted by Mike Ortwein, the mastermind behind what I witnessed as an amazing place. After a tour of their walk-in freezer (designed and built by Mike. Did I mention that he has owed a construction business for over 40 years?), where they store the meats, Mike told me to hop on the Gator, a golf cart type contraption that would serve as our transportation over the 120+ acres. And, yes, Mike took me over every inch of the ranch, up and down the hills, through the valleys, and over the small bridges spanning the numerous ponds and lake. The extensive tour gave me a bird's eye view of the amazing operation where they produce the quality 100% grass fed beef now available at LEWFM.
Abundant Green Pastures Ranch is certainly an appropriate name for what I
Although I could go on and on about my farm visit, I'd like for you to hear straight from the "horse's mouth" (hmm, another mixed metaphor?) regarding the background of AGP Ranch. I asked Mike to tell a bit about the origins of the ranch and about himself and his wife, Deb.
Abundant Green Pastures Ranch, Mike Ortwein and Deb Ward
In 1974 I
purchased 125 acres in St. Leon, IN with the goal of creating a sustainable
living environment for my future family, complete with my own source of water,
energy and food. By year 2000 I had
achieved all but my food production, which was limited to fresh fish from my
lake and ponds.
In 2005 I began
my research on cattle production by reading many books and attending seminars
in New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia,
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana. Through these resources I determined four
things of utmost importance for healthy cattle production:
1.
The right genetics for the animal to flourish on
a grass only diet.
2.
The right type and quality of pastures.
3.
The appropriate grazing system.
4.
Water to make it all happen.
The first
thing I did was to set up the ability to irrigate all of my pastures so 6 in.,
4, in., 3 in. and 2 in. waterlines were buried with water taps strategically
placed to both irrigate pastures and water livestock. I then seeded a mix of both local grasses and
clovers to the pastures.
In 2008 my
son and I traveled to a farm 40 miles west of Boston, MA to purchase four Red Devon
heifers, the beginning of my closed herd.
Red Devons are a Heritage breed, originally brought to America by the
Pilgrims because of their unique qualities – they could be harnessed to pull a
plow, they provided meat and milk, and their hides are extremely thick to make
excellent leather. In industrial agriculture's haste to
create cattle that do well in feedlots, Devons have been overlooked; therefore, their genetics
remained pure.
I use high
intensity mob grazing and move the cattle every day to a new pasture. The residual forage will be stomped into the
ground by the animals and that, combined with uniformly distributed manure, is
the basis for creating topsoil, organic matter and micro life in the soil. My rotation system replicates how the
buffalo grazed - only one or two days a year on the same real estate with a
three to four month rest period. My cattle
are never vaccinated, given hormones or antibiotics and they live outdoors 365
days a year in sunshine and fresh air - we have no livestock barn.
The variety
of forages that the cattle consume creates an extremely healthy animal with a unique
taste – the flavor you will remember from your childhood – the way beef used to
(and should) taste.
Although Deb's part of the article from Mike was much smaller than that of the cattle, nonetheless, her involvement is significant. Deb stole the show their first day at LEWFM as she greeted the customers with a most pleasant smile and the offer of samples of meatballs and roast she made with their 100% grass fed beef. If you didn't get a chance to sample them, stop by this week.
 |
| Click image to enlarge |
To give you an idea of how popular Abundant Green Pasture Ranch's 100% grass fed beef is, I include this letter from one of their customers.
NOTICES
Abundant Green Pastures Ranch will begin their once a month schedule starting this Friday. They will be at our market the first Friday of each month with their 100% grass fed beef from their Red Devon heritage breed cattle.
Mahlon's pastured pork update: Mahlon's supply of pork is temporarily low; therefore, he will not be at market this Friday. He has an appointment to take his pigs to the butcher later in September. I will keep you updated in regards to timing and availability of his pork.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
Newsletter compiled by Mary A. Hutten, Market Manager
Some of you are long-time readers of the newsletter; others are new to the market and are reading the newsletter for the first time. This section is included each week to bring your attention to important happenings around the market and around town.
**************************************************************************
Pre-ordering Pays Off
Have you ever arrived at market to purchase your favorite item/s from your favorite vendor/s only to be disappointed because the vendor/s sold out of the item/s? Did you know that no longer has to happen? At LEWFM you can pre-order your items and pick them up any time during regular market hours. Pre-ordering not only pays off for you, it also helps the vendors know how much to prepare/harvest, which greatly reduces waste. Pre-ordering is a real win-win for all, and it only takes a few minutes of your time to plan ahead and place your order. Given the importance of Eating Well, getting into the habit of placing your pre-orders each week will likely become a high priority on your weekly To Do List.
There are two easy ways you can place your pre-orders, in person at market or via email. Here's how the email ordering works: Email me at LEWFMLOCAL@GMAIL.COM and ask to be added to the vendor email pre-order list. Each week you will receive emails from the vendors detailing the items they have available for you to order that week. Reply to their email, letting them know the items you wish to order, then come to market on Friday to pick up your items.
**************************************************************************
For a full listing of our vendors, their products, and services including:
Have you ever arrived at market to purchase your favorite item/s from your favorite vendor/s only to be disappointed because the vendor/s sold out of the item/s? Did you know that no longer has to happen? At LEWFM you can pre-order your items and pick them up any time during regular market hours. Pre-ordering not only pays off for you, it also helps the vendors know how much to prepare/harvest, which greatly reduces waste. Pre-ordering is a real win-win for all, and it only takes a few minutes of your time to plan ahead and place your order. Given the importance of Eating Well, getting into the habit of placing your pre-orders each week will likely become a high priority on your weekly To Do List. There are two easy ways you can place your pre-orders, in person at market or via email. Here's how the email ordering works: Email me at LEWFMLOCAL@GMAIL.COM and ask to be added to the vendor email pre-order list. Each week you will receive emails from the vendors detailing the items they have available for you to order that week. Reply to their email, letting them know the items you wish to order, then come to market on Friday to pick up your items.
**************************************************************************
For a full listing of our vendors, their products, and services including:
- Kids & Krafts, where the kids can have loads of fun so you can leisurely shop the market
- Many food and non-food items
- and a list of vendors who accept credit cards
**************************************************************************
***********************************************
Please share this newsletter with friends and family to help spread the word about LEWFM!
Produce Perks
For those who noticed the logo at the bottom of the newsletter recently and wondered what it means, here is the good news about a new program. Produce Perks is an incentive program that is meant to encourage and help those who receive EBT (formerly known as food stamps) purchase more produce. Produce Perks is a dollar for dollar match (up to $10), with the matching dollars used on produce. The Produce Perks website offers the following additional information:
Please help us spread the word about this very worthwhile program. One way to help get the word out is to stop by the market management booth to pick up brochures to share with those you know who receive EBT benefits. You could also leave brochures at your church, doctor or dentist's office, or any locations that would permit you to do so. For those who noticed the logo at the bottom of the newsletter recently and wondered what it means, here is the good news about a new program. Produce Perks is an incentive program that is meant to encourage and help those who receive EBT (formerly known as food stamps) purchase more produce. Produce Perks is a dollar for dollar match (up to $10), with the matching dollars used on produce. The Produce Perks website offers the following additional information:“Produce Perks” is an initiative modeled after a similar program in Cuyahoga County. Focus is on access and affordability of healthy fruits and vegetables for under-served consumers.
Produce Perks are incentive tokens given to customers at participating farmers’ markets who use an Ohio Direction Card (“electronic benefits transfer” or EBT card) to purchase food. A customer wishing to use their food assistance benefits can swipe their card at one central terminal, located at participating market’s information booths, and ask to withdraw a desired amount. The market provides tokens for the transaction and additional Produce Perks that can be spent on fruits and vegetables. As the name suggests, Produce Perks are only good for purchasing fruits and vegetables. All other tokens purchased with the Ohio Direction Card are good to use on eligible items at the market.
***********************************************
Please share this newsletter with friends and family to help spread the word about LEWFM!
We hope to see you real soon at Lettuce Eat Well Farmers' Market!
No comments:
Post a Comment