Farm Happenings
Hello one and all! I have decided today to fill everyone in on how our farm business is rolling out and moving forward, but first of all I thought I could share a few happenings. The sun is shining today and I am relieved to say that many of the bans and restrictions from Covid-19 are being reduced or lifted. The kids in our area are heading back to school next week on a hybrid model starting with kindergarteners and first graders, then moving up grade levels from there.
Our daughter, Megan, is auditioning for a musical and theater performance this month, and we couldn't be more thrilled to see her be able leave the farm behind for awhile and experience social activities with her friends again! Our 15 year old son, Blake, is ready to get his game on with his paintballing group and it sounds like they will be doing that next weekend.
One other happening that seems kind of silly but I feel is worth mentioning, is that Megan's cat is sick. The cat has watery eyes and her third eyelids are showing. (It's a thing. You can look it up if you don't believe me.) There is a virus that cats can get sometimes which affects them in this way but clears on its own, however, if Megan's kitty is not improved by tomorrow we will be getting her checked by a vet. By golly, we give our local vets a lot of business! Our mini pony is due for more bloodwork too, but I may opt to try doing a fundraiser for some of his costs because he is a very expensive, high maintenance little dude. But, he is so loved and worth every penny! So many of our friends and followers love him dearly, and they love to hear and see updates on his health and adorableness. Each of our beloved pets bring us so much joy and happiness!
Building Our Business
So, onto the business happenings. There are many steps we have taken to get things going. We now have farm insurance which covers product liability and is necessary to participate in local farmers markets. I am looking forward to seeing people at the markets!
We are now also registered with the state of Oregon as a business. When people look up farms in our area, our 3 Corners Farm information will show up in the search. Next up, we will be working on getting a farm tract number from the USDA which will enable us to change our classification from hobby farm to working farm status.
We will be applying for organic certification in the future but are not sure exactly how far out that will be because I believe it is quite expensive, but it will definitely be a bonus to add to our product name!
Other Tidbits
We will be selling various salad greens, tomatoes, jalapeno's, cucumbers, fresh farm eggs, homemade breads, and later down the road a ways, we will be adding canned goods and honey as well. There are a few other items too, but this is what we have started with so far. I would like to eventually sell rotisserie style chicken, and we have space on our farm for pigs, but I do not see us adding meat products for another few years, if we even choose to do so. I am such an animal lover and truly don't even eat much meats anymore but my husband and kids do. We have had Nubian milking goats in previous years and that is an option I am thinking about. I am really excited about selling jam's, jellies, and preserves as well. Travis is super excited about the cowboy candy, which is a big seller. (For those of you who don't know, cowboy candy is a canned good which is made by using a blend of apple cider vinegar, lots of sugar, and celery seed. It is cooked and then water bathed. It has quite the smell but many people love this form of candied jalapeno's!)
We have a lot of work ahead of us but all of it is highly enjoyable to us.
In other areas of our business, we recently added a DJI mini2 drone to our filming equipment collection to show scenery from our beautiful area in the great Columbia River Gorge, and on our 3 Corners Farm site and other garden lots. We also use the drone to help us capture some of our rural living and homestead experiences, which we post on YouTube. We have added a store to our website, too, so that people can look up and purchase products of their choosing and pay for it up front. That will be very handy when scheduling in deliveries. I am even working on adding captions and links to these blogs to give you, as readers, a better peak into who we are and what we are about if you choose to click on our links or follow along with us at 3cornersfarm.com. We hope to share the knowledge we gain with anyone out there interested in growing their own foods or starting a business such as ours. One of our goals is to share that it IS possible, no matter who you are or where you live, or what kind of lifestyle you lead, to produce much of your own foods! We have learned to grow an abundance of foods with very little space and even managed to sell and expand. If we can do it, anyone can do it! We can all learn from each other and share stories in the process.
And...that's all I have to share for this blog post. Woo! I am tired just writing it all out. We are so grateful to live where we do and have this opportunity to share our lifestyle and love of growing organic food with others. (And to share our love of animals.) It is amazing the abundance that Mother Earth can give us and we are truly blessed by it!
Feel free to follow along with us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
We send our love and blessings to all,
Amy Darr
3 corners Farm
Mosier, Oregon U.S.A.
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