USDA's Farm Service Agency County Committee Nominations Begin Monday

USDA Farm Service Agency County Executive Director S Raymond Shelley just announced that farmer and rancher candidate nominations will begin on June 15, 2009, for local Farm Service Agency county committees. The nomination period continues through Aug. 3, 2009, with elections taking place this fall. The 2009 election for Darlington County will be held in Local Administrative Area (LAA) 2.

"County committees are an important link between the farm community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and give landowners, farmers and ranchers a better chance of having their opinions and ideas heard," Shelley. "In recent years, we have seen a trend of increased nominations of minority and women producers and I hope that will continue."

To be eligible to serve on a Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area in which the person is a candidate.

Producers may nominate themselves or others, and organizations representing minorities and women may also nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign the nomination form, FSA-669A. The form and other valuable information about FSA county committee elections are available online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms for the 2009 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 3, 2009.

FSA county committee members make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other important agricultural issues. Members serve three-year terms. Nationwide, there are about 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. Committees consist of three to 11 members who are elected by eligible producers.

FSA will mail ballots to eligible voters beginning Nov. 6. The voted ballots are due back to the local county office either via mail or in person by Dec. 7. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office Jan. 1, 2010.

NOTE: FSA news releases and media advisories are available on the Web at FSA's home page: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

Ovis Hill Farm Farmers Market

“If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.” (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle , Barbara Kingsolver)

Ovis Hill Farm Farmers Market will again participate in Hartsville’s "Good Living Marketplace" Saturday, June 6th from 9 am to 1 pm located along Cargill Way and Burry Park (between 4th and 5th street behind Appleby’s). Other vendors will provide crafts, homemade jewelry, artisans, woodworkers, flowers, baked goods, etc. The "Good Living Marketplace" will be an ongoing market taking place on the FIRST SATURDAY of each month. This is a rain or shine market. It is your support that will enable your community to continue this market. Please come out. We hope to see you there.

This will be a full market for our farm network, much the same as our Florence market, with Happy Cow milk and cheeses, free range eggs, beef, lamb, free range chicken, organic vegetables, organic grains and Amish dry goods and more! Heather Perry will work with the McCarley family to run the Hartsville market and several of the farmers will likely be available.

NEW!! “THIRD SATURDAY” HARTSVILLE MARKET! After much discussion with customers and our partner families, June 20th will be the first of our “second” markets in Hartsville. Because having the one Saturday market frustrated customers desiring more regular groceries from our farms, for three months we will present two markets a month in Hartsville and by the response see if you want us to continue. More information will be available at this Saturdays Hartsville Market and by email. THANK YOU!

Ovis Hill Farm Update

FAMILY PACK SPECIAL: We are offering a 10 LB (approximately) pack of beef and lamb at $49.95 containing a nice size chicken (about 4.5 to 5 LB), a beef roast, two packs of hamburger and a pack of stew. We tried for an assortment that works in a variety of recipes and is a significant discount. Last Saturday they were well received and I will have several at the market.

Florence Market Details:
Thursday 03/19/09 - 4 PM to 7 PM
and
Saturday 03/21/08 - 10 AM to 1 PM
at NATURALLY OUTDOORS, 2519 W Palmetto St., Florence

Rain or Shine: If rain, look for the truck by the side door

You can also make purchases at Ovis Hill Farm, 1501 Weaver St., Timmonsville. Hours are 3-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10-6 Saturday.
www.ovishillfarm.com

Ovis Hill Farm News & Events

HARTSVILLE MARKET: Ovis Hill Farm Farmers Market will again participate in Hartsville’s new "Good Living Marketplace" Saturday, March 7th. Hours 10 am to 2 pm located along Cargill Way and Burry Park (between 4th and 5th street behind Appleby’s). Other vendors will provide crafts, homemade jewelry, artisans, woodworkers, flowers, baked goods, etc. The "Good Living Marketplace" will be an ongoing market taking place on the first Saturday of each month. This is a rain or shine market. It is your support that will enable your community to continue this market. Please come out. We hope to see you there.

This will be a full market for our farm network, much the same as our Florence market, with Happy Cow milk and cheeses, free range eggs, beef, lamb, free range chicken, organic vegetables, organic grains and Amish dry goods and more! Heather Perry will work with the McCarley family to run the Hartsville market and several of the farmers will likely be available.

With our limited resources, this is big commitment for our farmers and partner families! The Florence Naturally Outdoors Market is a rain or shine year round market. Hartsville is a wonderful community and we are excited about the possibility of this new community. Please come out and support the new community market!

COLUMNS REENACTMENT: Along with Robin Kelefant, an accomplished fiber artist spinner and weaver, we will participate in both the educational program on Friday and the Saturday and Sunday programs at the Columns Reenactment providing a homestead food and fiber historical program. This is new this year and hopefully will be expanded in years to come. Also, Stacy and Michael Atkinson will present a Farmers Market on the vendors side to showcase our farm network. The weather promises to be very nice so come on out!

BEEF & LAMB WINTER SPECIAL? We will continue to discount the price of ALL LAMB AND BEEF by 10% through March! This Saturday only, beef roasts will be reduced by 15%!!!

COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA): Jannie and Rocky Dickson of Dickson Organics and Ovis Hill Farm will work together to begin a CSA this spring. CSA’s are very popular in other localities and are a joint venture of customers (members) and producers (farmers) to provide a regular (usually weekly) supply of the farms’ production. While most CSA’s are veggies only, because of our association we will be able to offer veggies, herbs, dairy, meat as well as other products. CSA’s provide badly needed working capital, planned production, and quality products at competitive prices. There will be another email to provide more information.

Ovis Hill Farm Update

BEEF WINTER SPECIAL? For the remainder of January the price of hamburger, stew and roasts will be reduced by 10 percent! In addition, the price of a ½ or whole cow will be reduced from $3.25/LB to $3.00/LB carcass weight.

NEW!!: We have Arugula and Cheese (also a few sausage and cheese) quiche (heat and serve) this week. These are prepared with our food by Hampton’s Restaurant, Sumter. We are partnering with the wonderful new restaurant located on near the corner of Hampton and Main, to bring ready to eat dishes and baked goods to market. These meals are not inexpensive due to the cost of the ingredients but are an excellent value considering the cost per serving (less than a Hardees Hamburger). For example, with the addition of a little salad and fruit I find an 1/8th of the quiche a very satisfying meal. There will also be a several baked goods (pumpkin bread). Our intention is to provide special dishes for special meals using our organic, free range, and local products. Chef Lawrence Gotleib is excited about our products and we are excited about the Chef’s creations. Please try them out!

Ovis Hill Farm
1501 Weaver St., Timmonsville, SC 29161
843-992-9447

Organic, local, what's best?

The debate has been going on since the marketing of organic and local foods got ramped up. Remember the big push for Certified South Carolina?

Which is more environmentally-friendly? That's debatable. Of course, if you only drive 1 mile to a local shop compared to 15 or 20 to get to Florence. You have saved something there. Food that's grown locally also doesn't have to travel as far to get to you, so it's fresher (and tastier).

Which is more community-friendly?
Shopping local. Money spent locally stays in our community. It doesn't travel to some corporate office in Arkansas or New York. It stays here. Your dollars have 3 times the impact on your community when spent at locally owned and operated stores than those dollars spent at national chains. That goes for fresh food to the latest fashions. Plus, local businesses contribute to local causes like little league teams and church groups.

Below is a portion of the Ovis Hill Farms eNewsletter that got me thinking about the issue. Alice Caldwell, Charlie's wife, makes some good points that you should consider on your next shopping trip.

ALICE’S COMMENTS:
SALMONELLA, E-COLI, LOCAL AND ORGANIC FOODS and COMMON SENSE. Once again this summer, there has been illness from food contamination and it took months to pin down the location of the source of the problem. This brings a couple of things to mind. One is that by eating foods locally grown, you know exactly where your food comes from. Ovis Hill Farm vegetables and herbs and the fruits and vegetables grown by Gus, Jannie, and Amanda are all organically grown which means they are grown without pesticides or herbicides or chemical fertilizers, so you don’t have to worry about that kind of residue contamination. However, as with all fruits and vegetables, they are grown on or near the ground and are handled by people and therefore should be washed or peeled before eating. In other words, just because our food (or anyone else’s) is organic, does not mean it is germ-free.

There is a good article in this month’s “Cooking Light” about the nutrient values of organic vs conventionally grown foods and fresh, local foods vs long-distance transported foods. The results are from a ten year study and include a list of which foods are most likely to have pesticide residue and which are most important to eat from a local, organic source. So, buy those local, organic tomatoes and know that not only do they taste better and support your local farmers, but also have more vitamin C and antioxidants. One last comment in the article was that, in general, Americans are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, so enjoy the bounty of the summer while you can.

Post your ideas and comments about local and organic foods.

Ovis Hill Farm/Naturally Outdoors Farmers Market

Saturday we finished the first round of shearing (the woolliest of the woolies) and of course had a cold rain that night. Jonathan left enough wool so that the freshly shorn did OK, even though they no doubt were a little chilly. Jonathan and his son Ben will be back in several weeks to finish up and we will let you know when so that you may visit. We are grateful for the many kindnesses shown by our customers to us and to other customers. We feel very Blessed. We do need help setting up and/or running our farmers market as well as the farm store, so if anyone has time and interest for helping please let me know. Helping with set up takes about 30 minutes and is a huge help. Please share any ideas you may have on ways to improve the way we serve you.

Come visit us Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at NATURALLY OUTDOORS, 2519 W Palmetto St., Florence
We will have an even better supply of wonderful fresh green and yellow vegetables!! There should be a good selection of beef, free range chicken, and lamb. There should be a good supply of eggs, milk and cheese. Grains and raisins are back!
“SCRATCH AND DENT” SALE: 25% off marked price! Please look for a cooler with chicken and beef packages that have lost their vacuum. The cause is usually a hole, usually so small it cannot be seen, that allows in air and moisture. Because the packages are stored at zero there is no freezer burn and even though there is nothing wrong, their appearance is not good. Our family has used them for years with excellent results.
NEW VEGETABLES: We’ll have a limited supply of new yellow squash and zucchini as well as good supply of greens although some are still in limited quantities: black seed simpson lettuce, spinach, tendergreens, baby collards, onions, baby garlic, maybe baby onions and garlic. There will be a few bags of shelled sweet peas, and lots of sweet snow peas that you just eat shell and all!
MILK and EGGS: We have a good supply of white and chocolate milk, buttermilk, and eggs!
COFFEE: Aroma Underground has closed but with Wes Andrews help we will continue to offer Larry’s fair trade and organic coffee by the bag. As last week, we plan to brew an urn of coffee for a complimentary cup. Last week we used Larry’s Costa Little Ricky. Please come have a cup of coffee with us.
PET FOOD: We have a supply of the Oaklyn Plantation (David White) ground chicken pet food at $2.50/LB. Please let me know if you want me to bring it to market.
BEEF, LAMB AND CHICKEN: We have a very good selection of hamburger, roasts, stew, flanks, and a few steaks! This week we will have a very good supply of lamb! The mutton sausage did very well and we will produce more. We have a few chicken breasts and plenty of drumsticks, wings, maybe some other cuts, whole birds and cut up whole birds
FARM VISIT: You are welcome to visit our farm store. Hours are 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM Tuesday through Thursday, and 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Friday and Saturday. To visit at other times, please call 843-992-9447 for appointment.

Spring Sheep Shearing

Ovis Hill Farm will be shearing most of the flock today and tomorrow morning. The shepherds are truly at the mercy of the weather and shearers schedule. Jonathan began yesterday and now that the thunderstorms seem to have passed, it seems safe to invite visitors. With enough sheep dry in the barn to get us started today while the others dry in the spring breezes and sun, they will shear throughout the day till about 6 or 7 PM tonight and begin again tomorrow morning and work till sometime midday. Visitors are welcome. For later this evening or near midday tomorrow, please call 843-992-9447 cell or 843-346-3646 store to verify we are still working.

Sign of Spring

On a trip to the Ovis Hill Farm on Weaver Street Saturday, I saw a lamb that was just a few day's old, born on Valentine's Day. What a gift for that proud mom.
Amazing.

This sign of spring, in spite of the groundhog's prediction that we'll have six more weeks of winter, reminds me of all the things in nature that we forget about as we whiz through life online, on cell phones, but not really "on." Perhaps on your next trip out the door, you will feel the sun on your skin or stop and smell the roses.