Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm

About the Farm:

The first CSA I am going to feature is Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm. This CSA offers Beef, Pork, Poultry, and Eggs and is located north of Ottawa Illinois, on the banks of Indian Creek. That makes the farm approximately 84 miles from my home, well within my 100 mile radius.

The land is farmed by Jody and Beth Osmund and their children. The Osmunds were more than happy to provide me with information, pictures, and advice. Beth and Jody are committed to the local foods movement and re-establishing local economies. They also work in farmer education hosting workshops and teaching courses in several venues throughout the year. Jody informs me that "Sustainability is our watchword. What we do has to be sustainable in all aspects - environmentally, personally, agriculturally, and financially. Sometimes there is tension between these, our most important job is balancing these tensions and making the best decisions for our family, our customers, our farm, and our livestock."

Getting the opportunity to meet wonderful people, with such a strong commitment to change is just one more benefit of joining a CSA. Cedar Valley offers several ways for members to get to know their farm, including a spring farm tour, and a summer cook out.

About the products:

Now let’s get into specifics, Meat shares are sold in 3, 6, and 12 month increments. A 3 month share will cost you $255, or $85 per month, for which you will receive a box that will vary each month, but will always contain a variety of farm raised meat and eggs. One share usually contains 2-3 packages each of beef, pork, and chicken, and a dozen eggs.

Below is a sample of what a monthly share might contain:

Sample Monthly Share:

3 lb roast

2 lbs hamburger

1 lb Italian sausage

1 package (2) pork chops

1 pasture raised chickens (whole)

1 pasture raised chicken (cut-up)

1 doz. Farm fresh eggs

The 6 month will cost you $500, or about $83 per month, and the 12 month share will cost you $985, or $82 a month for a full years worth of local, healthy, humanely raised meat products. Cedar Valley also offers large quantity meats for those who would prefer to get it all at once and have room for storage. You can purchase beef by the whole, half, or mixed quarter. Pork is sold by whole or half hog, and pasture raised turkeys are available with deposit.

About the Animals and Husbandry Methods:

Cedar Valley's laying hen flock consists of a variety of breeds, most of which lay brown eggs. Thinking about sustainability is every aspect; the hens they choose are good foragers and are capable of surviving our cold Midwestern winters without supplemental heat. That is pretty amazing to me! The chickens raised for meat are Cornish cross chosen because of their taste and ability to adapt well to their farming methods. Cedar Valley's chickens are a truly free range, moving to fresh pasture twice a day. They eat locally grown grains, forage for bugs, and worms, grass, alfalfa, clover, and weeds. This highly diverse diet makes for healthy, happy, and tasty chickens.

The healthy looking animals at the top of the page are Hampshire/Duroc crosses. They are known to have a high quality of meat. Jody says that "cross breeds are healthier and grow faster, and these breeds offered the best available genetics, locally." All of Cedar Valley's animals are raised in such a way that they don't require drugs or antibiotics to promote growth or maintain health. For me, especially with pork, this is a very important fact.

The cows are Angus beef, a breed most of us are familiar with. The cattle are allowed to graze freely in small groups in the pasture, and fed on locally grown hay and grains.

Delivery Options:

Cedar Valley currently has the following drop off points, but these can change due to demand. While the Lincoln Square drop off works for me, I am happy to learn that a possible drop off at the Green City Markey in Lincoln Park/Lakeview is on the table.

Beverly
1^st Saturday of each month
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Blue Moon Coffeehouse
1742 W 99th St Chicago

Oak Park
2^nd Saturday of each month
1:30-2:30 p.m.
100 S. Marion Street
Marion Street Cheese Market

Naperville
2^nd Friday of each month
6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
Cabernet & Co.
88 W. Gartner Rd, Naperville

Logan Square
3^rd Saturday of each month
1:30 – 3:30
Provenance Food & Wine
2528 N. California Ave.

Lincoln Square
4^th Saturday of each month
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Provenance Food & Wine
2312 W. Leland Ave.

If you by chance are unable to pick up your box, a friend, neighbor or family member can pick it up for you, or you can skip that month and get the next delivery - while adding a month onto the end of their share.

Overview:

Cedar Valley farms is a great option for local meats. Sustainable farming techniques, sound decision making, good people, and great products make it a stand out choice for me. I have just joined this C.S.A and cannot wait to receive my first shipment. I know that price is a deterrent for many people, but I feel this is a great bargain. It is much better for us, and for the environment if we limit the amount of animal products we consume by ensuring that the meat we eat is responsibly raised and of the highest quality.

Special thanks to Jody and Beth and Cedar Valley Farm for all the help and answers to questions, as well as the great photographs shown above. For more information on this farm, please visit http://www.cedarvalleysustainable.com/index.html

Eat Local

I'm back, and I am about to embark on big experiment. I am in the initial planning phases of a plan to see if it is possible, plausible, and affordable to eat an almost entirely locally grown diet (within a 100 mile radius). I admit, I have my doubts about this. A recent article in the Chicago Reader , entitled The Whole Hog Project, Eat Local Year Round was my inspiration. I am in the research phase right now, and plan to begin implementation in the summer, when local crops are abundant.


It seems the days of Co-Ops are giving way to something new (at least to me) called CSA's or Community Supported Agriculture. It works in much the same way as a co-op. Essentially, you pre-purchase shares in a farm and when its time to butcher/harvest, you are given back a portion. This is a shared risk/shared reward venture, if crops yield is low, if it's another bad year for tomatoes, you feel that as well. One thing I really enjoy about most of the CSA's I have been looking into is the availability of information. Most sites give information on the breeds of animals they raise, their animal husbandry techniques, their farming methods (ie: biodynamic, perma-culture, etc.) and many encourage you to visit the farm to meet the people making your food and to touch the soil.

I plan to put this into action this summer when the crops are at their peak. I am going to purchase shares in selected CSA's and supplement this with trips to local farm markets to buy extras for canning and freezing to get us through the winter. One thing I have not yet figured out is where to get my grains, and dairy. Most of the CSA's I have seen do not offer dairy products or grains. I know that some grocery stores around me offer local milk at least. Grains I am at a loss for so that will be my next area of research. In my next few posts I will be highlighting some of the farms I am considering and highlight their offerings, and the costs associated with it.