Bluebird Grain Farms

Notes From A Farmer

The last week of August kicked off this year’s harvest and with our new Gleaner combine and perfect harvest weather we have already hauled in all our wheat and two-thirds of our emmer crop.  We're way ahead of 2008 harvest -- thankfully so.  If the weather holds true, our later fields up-valley should be ready following Labor Day and this will enable us  to get a great start on fall field work.
Our wheat yields were less than we’d hoped for but the quality is very good.  So far emmer yields have been decent and quality excellent.  I have my right-hand man Brian to thank for helping bring it all in.  But most of all we must thank Mother Nature for her blessings on a very promising harvest thus far.    
I welcome autumn every year, as it has always been my favorite season.  With an early harvest underway, I’m looking very forward to enjoying this autumn even more.  I’ll look forward to reporting on the rest of harvest next month and let you know what’s going on in the fall fields, such as digester application, tillage and so-forth. 
I hope most of you had a bountiful summer and are energized for the coming school year.  Please remember there are lots of little tots about the streets now, and some aren’t as mindful of traffic as others.  Take that extra minute to be safe!

Best to all,  
Farmer Sam
 

Bluebird News and Announcements:
Thank you to all of you who filled out our newsletter and website survey.  We loved the feedback and take it to heart; please don’t hesitate to email us if you have further suggestions or requests. It was heartening to hear that 70% of those surveyed want to receive our newsletter on a monthly basis.   

We received a few suggestions on what to improve:  more photos and recipes.  We’ll try our best to start snapping more photos. We are excited to announce that we have a new monthly recipe developer on board. Private chef, author, and cooking teacher Becky Selengut has graciously contributed September's Recipe of the Month: Summer Potlatch Cakes with Cherry Tomato & Fig Salsa.  For more information about Becky and her business, Cornucopia Cuisine, visit her website.

Bluebird on MSN.com: Bluebird’s two minutes of national fame is still available on MSN through next week.  Don’t miss this fine profile video clip of our farming practices and philosophy. With this coverage, it's no wonder we've sold out of several products recently!
  

CSA Subscribers

Through September Bluebird Grain Farms will be offering existing CSA subscribers (past and present) a 10% renewal discount on our Run of the Mill or Breakfast CSA shares.   Please call our office (509-996-3526) to renew your subscriptions. 

Some changes to our CSA subscriptions that you may be pleased to know:  CSA members can trade any and all items regardless of the value.   For example, if you order the Run of the Mill Share you can opt for the standard package (2 flours, 1 pancake, 1 cereal, 1 farro) or you can opt for a combination of any of our 1.3-2 lb pre-packaged products regardless of price.   We have discontinued the low-gluten share only because now you can make your Run of the Mill or Breakfast all low-gluten if you choose.

Product Updates

Starting October 1st we will have a new whole grain flour to offer:  Hard White Spring Wheat- a lovely a whole grain bread flour.   This grain is normally featured as “high performance baking flour.” The hard white wheat has a slightly higher gluten content than hard red.   It offers a less pungent taste and a softer germ and bran, making a fine grind suitable for all purpose flour.   We will performing baking trials for the next month in our kitchen, so stay tuned for results!

Potlatch Pilaf :  a blend of split farro and wild rice will beoffered in bulk.  This has been on trial for the past three months and has been a great success- we are soldout!  We are anxiously awaiting wild rice harvest in Oregon so we can begin filling pilaf orders again. 

Our Soft White Wheat Flour will only be offered in Retail Sales in 2 lb. and 4.5 lb quantities.  We will not be offering it wholesale.  

Please give us a call if you need further information about this change. 

As of September 1st.  our emmer pancake and waffle mix will be packaged  in a slightly smaller size (1.84 lbs. instead of 2 lb.) so that you can have a even 5 cups of mix in your bag!   There will also be a slight price reduction.   We are also considering a family size package.  Email us if this is something you would like to see. 

Farmers Markets

Our Seattle Farmers Market season ends on the September 26-27th weekend, at the U-District Market on Saturday and on Sunday at the Ballard Market. Don’t forget to load up on goods for the winter; we won’t be back until next April. Many thanks to Hannah Viano for representing Bluebird at the Seattle markets.


 

Farm Tours

Now that harvesting is closing in we are getting the granary ready to resume tours.  Our next granary tour will be Saturday, October 10th  from 10-12.  Please RSVP if you would like to join us!

 

We’re off to unload another grain cart!
Brooke & Sam Lucy