Now that the farm’s activity has dropped off nearly entirely, and our lives have become much less chaotic, I’d like to take a moment to think back on the season past, and the season still to come.
This year was one of the most successful in the farm’s history; not least because of the fantastic crew that put in so many hours to care for baby chickens and sell pound after pound of pork chops. The pride that each of Copicut’s employees had in their work, and the extra effort they were willing to put into each day, made all the difference in keeping the various pieces and parts of the farm moving. It takes a dedicated and passionate individual to go spend six hours at market, and then drive back to the farm through rain and traffic, and then end by unpacking frozen packages of meat into walk-in freezers. Having been in that very position, I can say with certainty that it is hard work, and sometimes aggravating, but at the end of it all it is satisfying to know that you have sold a cooler full of meat, and even more eggs, and come back with profits to show for it.
Between the cold snaps, copious amounts of rain, and greater than ever predator activity, growing the chickens to a marketable size and filling our egg orders was challenging. Nevertheless, our customers were more supportive than ever, and showed up at markets and ordered deliveries just as fast as we could fill the cooler. We were also excited to notice a willingness on the part of customers to try new items that they weren’t as accustomed to seeing in the grocery store. Think soup chicken, pork hocks, offal, or spatchcocked birds. As someone who is very interested in local agriculture I find it very encouraging that folks are interested in eating meats that commercial farms typically ship overseas. I know at Copicut very few parts of any animal are wasted due mostly to the fact that we are lucky enough to have such an adventurous and knowledgeable community of foodies that understand the human and environmental benefits of nose-to-tail eating.
While the farm is certainly very quiet this time of year, we’ll still be out and about. There will still be several markets to attend with the eggs from our remaining five hundred laying hens, and the pork and chicken we were able to stockpile over the summer and fall before the pastures became dormant. Gretchen will be at the farm packing home deliveries every other week during the winter.
On behalf of everyone at Copicut, I want to wish you all a happy holidays, and a wonderful new year filled with lots of locally grown food!
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Emma Parish
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