Party on the Farms! Join Us For Strawberry Picking June 1st

We are happy to announce our first farm event of the season, our Strawberry Harvest Party.  The details for the event are in the flier below.  There is limited space, so you will have to reserve a spot. 

This is our first (and biggest) farm event of the year.  We hope you can make it out to meet our farmers, see our produce and fields, and celebrate the first fruits of summer together!

Emanuel's Pastured Organic Eggs

Our eggs are expensive. Right? Granted, at $5.75/dozen that's less than 50 cents an egg and there's a lot of good protein and nutrients in one of our eggs. But still, $5.75 seems like a lot. Why do they cost that much? To put it simply, organic grain prices have gone through the roof over the last few years and you can't raise organic eggs without organic grain. Emanuel says he feels bad charging so much and he'd just quit except for the fact that our customers won't let him. So why do some people keep paying for Emanuel's eggs even when he's forced to charge more than he ever imagined he would? Let me show you.

Ice Harvest 2013

Now that the weather is finally getting warm you might be wondering how Amish produce farmers keep their veggies cold without electric. Well, they simply harvest the cold when it is freely available in the dead of winter. You might remember that last year we barely had enough cold weather to make any ice. That wasn't a problem this year.

Severe Weather

Last week we had some of the strongest winds I've seen in four years of living here. The worst of the winds only lasted about half an hour but that was enough to destroy one of the farmer's calf barn and tear up another farmer's greenhouse.

The greenhouse on the floor started the day clear on the other side of the small greenhouse in the background. Luckily the wind lifted this one high enough that it didn't damage the smaller one as it flew over it.

This whole area used to be under a the roof that is now out in the pasture.

Thankfully we had some warm weather after the storm so the tomato plants in the greenhouse mostly survived until it was rebuilt over the next couple days. The calves were moved to a nearby farm and it will be a while until the barn can be rebuilt with a design that should provide more security.

Cheese Lover Intern

Be part of the Pennsylvania Cheese Renaissance

Clarion River Organics works with five Western Pennsylvania dairy farmers who make farmstead dairy products.  We sell their products and tell their stories at regional farm markets, and distribute cheese shares all over Western Pennsylvania.

Work

We are seeking an intern to help us take this to the next level.  The position involves: managing the cheese stand at farmers’ markets; communicating feedback to farmers about cheese quality; helping plan and assemble weekly cheese shares; and, using social media to communicate with our customers. We would like the intern to help us test the viability of an ice cream business.

The internship will run from June through October, with some flexibility.

Compensation

Commensurate with experience

Other opportunities and benefits

Opportunities to learn about cheese making and milk production with the farmers exist. Specifically with Riverview Dairy an amish goat and sheep milk farm producing hard and soft cheeses and yogurt, and with Pasture Maid Creamery making hard cow milk cheese and bottling milk. One of the farms is aging wheels in a cave with opportunities to learn about caring for cheese and the art of affinage. Use of the facilities for custom production and aging will be available to the intern.

Looking to hire someone soon!

Please contact

Nathan Holmes at nathan@clarionriverorganics.com or (720)-432-8276