Sugar Mountain Farm

Thank You For Kickstarting the Butcher Shop!

Walter Jeffries — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:44:25 +0000

Ben and Hope’s Latest Cartoon Info-Graphic at End of Kickstarter (zoom)
Thank you from all of us to all of you for making our Kickstarter project a success and helping to fund our dream of having our own on-farm nano-scale USDA inspected butcher shop here at Sugar Mountain Farm!

Funding the butcher shop has been an adventure in and of itself. An adventure beyond the learning all the regulations, learning commercial meat cutting, developing the construction techniques, getting permits, designing the facility and building the facility.

Banks wouldn’t help because they “weren’t lending to new or expanding businesses” to use their words. Government wouldn’t help because we were too small. They literally told us to come back when we needed a million dollars and then they would just give it to us as a grant with no payback necessary.^†

But our customers, fellow farmers, local businesses and many other individuals stepped forward with Kickstarter and before that with many small and larger loans, CSA Pre-Buys, extreme extended terms for supplies and many times outright donations to the project.

I have received many encouraging letters from people like the ones below:

I have followed your farm blog for a long time now, and was happy to see the Kickstarter project launched, and even happier to contribute. I’m a young farmer in Rhode Island, trying to start a cheese and yogurt making dairy with my wife, after working for other cheesemakers for the past few years. We have learned a lot from your posts – who knew you could make concrete float! – and thought it was about time we returned the favor. So thank you for your willingness to share your experiences so freely. We hope to follow in your steps to help other farmers learn from our mistakes and adventures!
-A. Morley

and

When I saw your Kickstarter link, I could not justify sitting idly by. Your project is important; there are too few local processors for meat in the U.S. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you and your family.
Besides, I hope to have a farm of my own in the next few years. By doing all of the hard work of experimenting and taking the extra time to share what you have learned by blogging, you are saving me a whole lot of trouble down the road. If anything, I still owe you a debt of thanks for all of the hours of knowledge and entertainment.
-M. McGraw

and

It was my pleasure to help with your project. I have been reading your blog for over two years. I am so glad that you will be shipping your meat. Your writing is so insightful and is spot on when it comes to knowing where your food comes from and decentralizing our food supply. My mouth is already watering at the thought of pork products.
-J. Salisbury

It is very heartening to have so many people offer their support throughout the past four years as we have gradually wound our way through the path of this journey to on-farm butchering. We are looking forward to sending you your orders of our delicious pastured pork that was bred, born, raised and butchered here on Sugar Mountain Farm!

Outdoors: 72°F/41°F Sunny
Tiny Cottage: 70°F/65°F

Daily Spark: Sage advice: spice lightly.

^†All I was asking for was a loan, not a gift. This is perhaps one of the fundamental flaws in our government and Big Business. Government subsidizes the big guys who are to fat to fail while ignoring small businesses which are actually the backbone of our country. Rather than giving grants they should do loans at reasonable interest rates that are then turned around and re-loaned to help the next business rather than ending up in the pockets of billionaire bankers who drove their businesses into the ground taking the US economy with them. Let’s end all subsidies.

Walter in M.E.N.

Walter Jeffries — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:15:50 +0000

I’ve been a long term reader of Mother Earth News magazine and have most of the issues back to #1. Well, now I’m a writer in M.E.N. too. They republished my What Good Is A Pig article that discussed the cuts of pork and beyond. There’s a FaceBook page where people are making comments. Feel free to go join in.

Last Hours, Cartoon & One More Shirt Winner!

Walter Jeffries — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:09:37 +0000

Final Funding Hours Cartoon by Ben & Hope with cameo by Lio (zoom)
We are in the final hours. Our Kickstarter project closes at 10:01 PM this evening. Thank you to everyone for this wonderful ride into the clouds with the Kickstarter leprechauns!

Be sure to make any adjustments to pledges or rewards selections now. If you’re pledging extra to add-on extra goodies, my upcoming book, the butchering or farm tour videos, the commemorative T-shirt, patch and stickers, small tusk and such I’ll be asking which you would like when it comes time to do the shipping survey. Details in Update #44 and Update #39.

If you would like to save big by buying in bulk now’s the time to upgrade to a whole pig which we can ship to you one quarter at a time to save your freezer space. Share your reward with a friend as several people are doing to further save space and get in on the bulk pork savings of half and whole pigs as described in Update #47.

Just as I was getting ready to post this update Temaperacl pledged bumping us up over the $33,000 mark and winning a Laughing Dog T-shirt as discussed in Update #46. There will be another T-shirt every $500. A half a pig or a whole pig could make that bump easily and secure a shirt!

Outdoors: 64°F/53°F Rain
Tiny Cottage: 67°F/65°F

Daily Spark: Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid. -Albert Einstein

Last 48 Hours of Kickstarter… Upgrades and Adjustments

Walter Jeffries — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:16:51 +0000

Ben & Hope’s latest cartoon info-graphic tracking our progress (zoom)

The pastures are starting to green up and look wonderfully lush. The animals are loving it. Yesterday Hope and I planted about an acre of pumpkins as well as beets and turnips which will be food for the pigs come late fall and winter. Our soil used to be poor, thin and not very fertile. Typical northern mountain soil. One of the great things about having livestock is they improve the soil with their manure and urine. The sun shines, the rain falls, the plants grow, the animals eat the plants and about 80% returns back to the pastures as organic matter which improves the soil for the next round of growth. We also plant legumes like clover to suck nitrogen and carbon out of the air that adds more organic matter and natural nutrients so we never have to buy fertilizers. It is all part of the natural cycle of life. It works.

We’re down to under 48 hours on the Kickstarter project. We’re getting to that point of last chance to adjust pledges and rewards choices as well as making sure you have the extra $20 included for any international shipments (Goodies only). Don’t forget about the option to add the book or DVDs, to add bacon to meat packages as well as to add the commemorative patch and T-shirt which can be added to any shipping packages.

Update: Stickers! As requested, you can get two stickers instead of a patch. Just add the $5 per set to your pledge and then when survey time comes I’ll ask if you would like the stickers or the patch.

Hope did a cameo appearance of the cartoon character Gronk from Katie Cook’s comic series ‘Gronk‘ which you can read on the web and in her books. Look carefully to see if you can find Gronk…

Outdoors: 68°F/53°F Cloudy, Some Rain
Tiny Cottage: 69°F/66°F

Daily Spark: Perfection: to strive but never attain.

iKickstarted Sugar Mountain Farm Commemorative T-shirt & Patch

Walter Jeffries — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:23:22 +0000

We’ve made our goal, thank you to everyone! We made our second goal too! Several people have suggested a special commemorative T-shirt, patch or pin that would be available just to backers by adding a few more dollars to cover the cost and then ship with the existing packages, thus keeping the shipping costs down. A couple of people also asked about a different picture for the T-shirt, maybe with a sow and piglets rather than the pork cut chart. Several people have also asked about getting a small tusk in their package. Can do to all of these requests!

I’ve combined both of these requests into a few new final tiers which can be added onto any shipping package on our Kickstarting the Butcher Shop project.

For a the commemorative iKickstarted Sugar Mountain Farm patch just add $5 per patch to any pledge over $25. Alternatively you can get just the patch at the $30 pledge level.

For the commemorative iKickstarted Sugar Mountain Farm T-shirt just add $20 per shirt to any pledge over $25. Alternatively you can get just the T-shirt at the $44 pledge level.

For the small ivory pig tusk just add $10 per tusk to any pledge over $25. Alternatively you can get just small ivory pig tusk at the $27 pledge level.

Note that if you need international shipping please add $20 now per package. Otherwise we’ll need to contact you later to get the extra shipping which will delay sending out your rewards.

If you would like one, or both, then head on over to the project and adjust your pledge now before the time runs out in these last hours.

Outdoors: 70°F/50°F Mostly Sunny
Tiny Cottage: 70°F/67°F

Daily Spark: “You can’t pull the dreams out of your head if you don’t let them in” -Khristopher Flack

Of Sausage and Law

Walter Jeffries — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:17:32 +0000

There are a number of old sayings that sum up roughly to “you don’t want to see how sausage or laws are made.” Perhaps this is true if poor ingredients are used but it need not be that way. You can use top quality ingredients and you’ll get top quality sausage, and perhaps laws too.

When we make sausage we use good meat. There are no snouts, ears, eyeballs, organs or the like in the mix. We do not grind in the bones. Rather we use quality de-boned ham, shoulder and other delicious pork. One sausage maker with over 50 years of experience told me that our hot dogs taste so good because we use good quality meat as the foundation. Good ingredients means delicious hot dogs, kielbasa and other sausages.

I’m not going to tell you how to make sausage here, that’s another discussion and there are some excellent books listed at the end of this article. What several people on the Kickstarter asked about are what are the various types of sausage we make now and what kinds of sausage do we plan to make once our on-farm meat processing facility is completed so that is today’s topic.

Note that some butchers sell ‘sausage’ which is spiced ground meat but not linked or even pattied. To me that is simply spiced ground and should not be called sausage as it causes confusion. When I think of sausage I think of links or at least patties and I find that this is true of virtually all of our customers too. If it is going to be called sausage then it should be in links or at the very least patties. Our Hot Dogs, Hot Italian, Sweet Italian and Kielbasa are all linked and in natural casings.

I also am of the mind that the ingredients^† list should be kept very short. Don’t make mud by over spicing or blending in too many different things. Keep it simple.

Making Now

Hot Dogs – These are our premier sausage. I began with a German beef frankfurter recipe for my foundation. I changed the meat to pork, the sweetener to maple syrup which is traditional in our region and eliminated the nitrates, nitrites and other artificial ingredients. The result was an all natural pastured pork hot dog that is juicy, delicious and healthy. The natural sheep casings provide a delightful snap when you bite into them. But that’s not all – We smoke these hot dogs which gives them an extra unique flavor. Excellent for bonfires, chopped into chili, corn dogs or just a quick meal. Ingredients: Pork, Water, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Maple Syrup, Salt, Spices. Made with natural sheep casings.
Hot Italian Sausage – I started with a traditional recipe again but doubled the hot spices for a more intense flavor. Again, no nitrates, nitrites or the like. Just good meat and spices. In natural hog casings. Excellent for spaghetti sauce, sausage subs, stir fry, goulash, breakfast, etc. Ingredients: Pork, Salt, Red Pepper, Fennel and Paprika. Made with natural hog casings
Sweet Italian Sausage – This is a traditional sweet Italian recipe made with our all natural pastured pork. In natural hog casings. Excellent for spaghetti sauce, sausage subs, stir fry, goulash, breakfast, etc. Ingredients: Pork, Salt, Fennel, Black Pepper and Sugar. Made with natural hog casings
Kielbasa – In natural hog casings. Excellent for eating fried with saurkraut, in chili, goulash and sandwiches. Ingredients: Pork, Water, Rice Flour, Maple Syrup, Salt, Fresh Garlic, Black Pepper. Sodium Erythorbate. Made with natural hog casings. No MSG.
Breakfast Sage Sausage. – These are in patties for frying pans but we also do them as links sometimes. Delicious with eggs fried, scrambled and as an egg & sausage sandwich. Ingredients: Pork, Sage, Salt, Black Pepper, Sugar, Cloves.

In the Future

Once we have our brine room, smokehouse and curing rooms with proper temperature and humidity controls we’ll be able to do all sorts of other interesting charcuterie including:

Smoked Kielbasa – One of my favorites.
Breakfast Maple Sausage – With real maple syrup!
Cherazzo(sp?)
Pepperoni
Summer Sausage
Salami – Various types
Pork Jerky

If you would like to make your own sausage at home it is quite easy. You can order whole cuts such as ham, Boston butt, picnic shoulder, pork belly or jowl and then grind them by hand or with a home power grinder. Chill the meat before grinding and between each regrind. Or you can simplify it one step by ordering ground pork which is made from the above. Then spice it and mix it by hand before stuffing it into casings which can be found at most hunting stores and online from companies like:

Mid-Western
SausageMaker
Google Search Pattern – and more…

Some good books on sausage making from my library:

Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by Stanley and Adam Marianski
Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman
Great Sausage Recipes by Rytek Kutas
Complete Sausage Book by Bruce Aidells
The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Outdoors: 72°F/48°F Sunny
Tiny Cottage: 69°F/66°F

Daily Spark: “The making of laws is like the making of sausages— the less you know about the process the more you respect the result.” ~Attributed to Otto von Bismarck but it may have originated a century earlier.

^†All ingredients are subject to change as we adjust formulas over the years as we continue to improve the recipes. Rest assured, we’re a NoWeirdStuff.org farm.

Admin Ceiling Form Ready

Walter Jeffries — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:44:26 +0000

Admin Ceiling Forms
Will and Ben have been working hard on finishing up the form work that will let us do our first concrete pour of the year. This is a combination reinforced concrete and ferro-cement method I developed doing animal shelters and then used on our cottage. The boxed in area will cap the Administration section of the building containing the inspector’s office, bathroom, laundry, entry hall and the initial meat cutting room. That meat cutting room will later be the warm kitchen and the smokehouse.

To get this photo I was standing on the peak of the barrel vaulted masonry ceiling of the north end of the chiller looking over the final cutting room catenary arched ceiling which you can see right in front of me. The arched forms for the ceilings of the initial cutting room, hall and office/bath are visible within the form work.

I have a little more conduit work to do plus a bit more internal wall forms and then we’ll pour concrete ceilings soon.

Outdoors: 59°F/33°F Sunny
Tiny Cottage: 69°F/66°F

Daily Spark: “If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world.” ―J.R.R. Tolkien

First Bonfire 2012

Walter Jeffries — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:41:35 +0000

Hope Building Bonfire by Upper Pond
We have bonfires, cookouts, in the winter sometimes but it is more a warm season activity. Hope built our first bonfire of the year and we had hot dogs from our first batch of the year. Delicious!

Holly and I delivered the latest batch of hot dogs to stores and restaurants last week and another batch is due back from the smokehouse this following week.

Outdoors: 54°F/43°F Partially Sunny, Some Rain
Tiny Cottage: 68°F/65°F

Daily Spark: Don’t pet a porcupine backwards.

Finals Week of Kickstarting the Butcher Shop

Walter Jeffries — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:59:35 +0000

We are now in our last week of our Kickstarting the Butcher Shop at Sugar Mountain Farm. We made our initial goal of $25,000 for the butcher shop equipment thanks to all of you!

We made our second goal of an additional $5,000 for pouring the abattoir tower. Thank you, again!!

Some people have asked how high can we go? The sky’s the limit. There are more goals ahead such as pouring the floors of the abattoir, the roof of the abattoir, etc. Help spread the word to as many people as possible in this last week so as to raise additional funds for the higher levels where all backers can get additional rewards added on to rewards packages such as more sausage, hot dogs, bacon and other Goodies.

Spread the Word Game:

Win: T-shirts, mugs, DVDs, books plus more meat and other goodies on rewards tiers.

Goal: Get the word out in this last week. Let’s blast past a new level to help fund the next step: construction of the abattoir to bring slaughter on-farm!

The Message: Kickstart the butcher shop at Sugar Mountain Farm for pastured pigs http://smf.me Pls RT

Feel free to add to that but use at least those words and short link to get things spreading further.

Actions:

Tweet the message to followers
Bonus Credit: Follow @SugarMtnFarm

https://twitter.com/SugarMtnFarm
FaceBook write the message on your wall
Bonus Credit: Like this post, Friend & Event “Finals Week”

http://facebook.com/SugarMtnFarm
Blog the message above with some intro discussion.

Bonus Credit: link to a picture from the project so it shows on your blog – pictures attract attention and make people interested in things.

Discuss our project and mention the message in discussion lists – don’t spam though.

Leave a comment on Update #41 letting me know what you did.
e.g., 1,2,3,4.

Our project ends May 15th. If we can break through to the $35,000 level then backers can get extra meat and goodies added to their rewards as show in in the chart on Update #40.

On May 16th when our project is done, I’ll pick seven random winners from the commenters on Update #41: one for each day of this final week, to receive their choice of a T-shirt, mug, Sugar Mountain Farm Book, Farm Tour DVD, a small ivory pig tusk or extra meat in their meat package!

Outdoors: 57°F/46°F Deeply Misty
Tiny Cottage: 67°F/65°F

Daily Spark: Resolve is an anagram of Lovers.

Abattoir Towering – $30K T-shirt – Onward & Upward

Walter Jeffries — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:01:26 +0000

Ben & Hope’s Cartoon Info-Graphic of Abattoir Tower Funded (zoom)

Wow! Thank you everyone! Not only is the butcher shop funded but we now have enough to pour the concrete for the next section of that abattoir tower. This brings us one step closer to on-farm slaughter in addition to on-farm butchering (meat cutting & sausage making).

Hitting the $30K goal means that everyone at the $25 or higher level by the end of our project (May 15th) will get an extra FarmImage Goodie. If you wish to increase your pledge you can do so at any time this week and still get the extra Goodie.

New Goal: $35K green line to pour the floor and some partitions of the abattoir. I’ve been experimenting with the shipping and found I can pack a little more meat in the box. If we can get to that height I’ll include extra bonus sausage for all meat backers at the $65 level and above plus a mystery goodie for everyone at levels $30 and above.

Congratulations to Bing Shen who won the $30,000 T-shirt! Now that we’re going into our final week I have some great games planned for more T-shirts and other fun stuff so stay tuned for that update tomorrow…

Outdoors: 70°F/29°F Sunny
Tiny Cottage: 70°F/65°F

Daily Spark: Try not to have a good time … This is supposed to be educational. -Charles Schulz