TURKANA FARMS, LLC

Turkana Farms was
established in 2000 on a fragment of a much larger former dairy farm and
orchard which was slated for further subdivision and development. We envisioned it as a weekend farming project,
but it became a full time endeavor on September 11, 2001, when considerable
collateral damage from the terrorist attacks on the
Turkana Farms is
small – 39 acres (about 8 city blocks by 5 blocks), compared with an average
farm size of 211 acres in New York State and 442 acres in the U.S. Our guiding principles are sustainability,
diversity and social responsibility. To
us, this includes:
► Reducing
environmental impact: limiting the
number of animals grazing per acre, fertilizing with composted manures rather
than chemical fertilizers, avoiding pesticides and herbicides. Our small scale allows us to work by hand
rather than machine for many tasks.
► Buying
locally produced grain and feed, organic where feasible. Our poultry eat our own weeds and vegetables,
while the cows and pigs enjoy surplus apples from the orchards of the Rider
Farm, next door.
► Raising heritage breed animals and
heirloom vegetable varieties, to preserve biodiversity while maximizing flavor
► Treating
our animals humanely
► Knowing
our customers. We encourage direct farm
to consumer connections, including farm visits.
► Enjoying our surroundings –
integrating our home, gardens and agriculture into an organic and visually
pleasing whole, on the model of a working “villa”
Peter
Davies and Mark Scherzer, Turkana
Farms, LLC. Our website is under
construction. For current offerings, see
below, email daviesturkana@valstar. Net, or call
518.537.3815
TURKANA FARMS SPRINGS
BACK INTO PRODUCTION

Greetings, friends. It’s that time of year again. Our seeds are ordered, our greenhouse partly planted, we are planning our poultry production and making appointments for our pork and beef processing for the season. For their part, our breeding stock have been doing their work as well. Our first wave of lambs was born around New Years, with a straggler on Valentines Day. The progeny of a second ram should start arriving this month up through early May. Meanwhile, we are closely watching our four breeding sows for signs of imminent farrowing, which we expect to start by April 1. All this means that we are now ready to begin taking reservations for this year’s:
● pasture raised Cornish cross chickens
● French meat guinea fowl
●
● heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving
●
● Karakul lamb (late fall and again early 2009)
● Ossabaw and Ossabaw Tamworth cross pork
● Grassfed British White beef

See the Reservation Form below. Although we don’t take advance reservations for eggs, vegetables, or berries, we’ll again be selling those, via our weekly Green E-market this year. Please indicate on the reservation form whether you want to receive these weekly blasts as well.
As you all know, we are a small farm striving to adhere to socially responsible, sustainable production methods. When we buy grain, it is local, antibiotic-free, and wherever practical organic as well. We use no herbicides or chemical fertilizers or pesticides, relying on our own farm’s compost for fertility. We raise primarily heritage breed animals and heirloom vegetable varieties, to preserve biodiversity while maximizing flavor. We treat our livestock humanely and give them plenty of opportunity to enjoy their “animal-ness”. Several of you have recently mentioned reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Pollan’s paradigm of humane treatment, environmental sustainability, healthfulness and flavor is what we aspire to.
Local though we are, we are not immune to the forces of the global economy, particularly the rising costs of grain on the one hand and transportation and processing costs on the other. We’ve had to raise our prices from last year, but have tried to keep those increases modest.



Please fill out the reservation form below with a check in the
appropriate amount made out to Turkana Farms, LLC,
and mail to
RESERVATION FORM
Name___________________________ e-mail___________________________________
Address____________________________________________ Phone___________________
Please check here if
you would like to receive email offerings in season:______________
CHICKENS: We will raise two groups of pastured chickens this year. Cornish Leghorn cross birds are plump and juicy and have wonderful flavor. They generally weigh between 3 ½ and 5 lbs. Price: $4.75/lb
Number desired July:_________
Number desired Sept:_________
Deposit, $5 per bird
FRENCH MEAT GUINEA FOWL: Lovely birds with game-like flavor (recipes available for the uninitiated). Generally 3 to 3 1/2 lbs. Price: $7/lb
Number desired July:_________
Number desired Sept:_________
Deposit, $5 per bird
Number desired _______
Deposit $5 per bird
HERITAGE BREED
Number desired: ___________ Approx. weight ____________ Deposit $20 per bird
Number desired: __________ Weight desired ____________ Deposit $20 per bird
PORK: Four purebred Ossabaw pigs go to market in late March. Three are already reserved; the fourth will be sold in 20 lb. sample packs (pork chops, shoulder, fresh ham, ribs, sausage, and bacon), at $200 per pack. Piglets born this spring will be offered in the late fall.
Sample pack desired __________ Deposit $35 per sample pack
BEEF: Two British White steers, grass fed only, go to market in late July. Because quantity is limited, we will only sell 20 lb. sample packs (including steaks, burger, stew beef, roasts), at $180 per pack.
Sample pack desired ____________ Deposit $35 per sample pack
LAMB: Four Karakul ramlings (whole or half) will be ready for market by early December. More in early ’09. Primarily grass fed, they do get daily grain treats to keep them loyal. $6/lb hanging weight.
Whole or half lamb desired? _____ Deposit $30 per reservation
Note: Ask if you’d
like organ meats, feet, tongue, liver and other exotica. Meat, turkeys and geese delivered to NYC
(pickup at