Apple Family Farm

Spring! New Beginnings...

2011-03-30T10:15:00.000-04:00

Spring is here! Well, as I write this, it's 33 degrees, and actually spitting SNOW! But I'm still excited. The most exciting sign for me is that the cows are reminding me that they were created to live on pasture, and eat grass, not just stand in front of a feed bunk. Though they have all the free choice hay that they want, they have all but abandoned it and are now spending all their time on the pasture.

This is great for several reasons. For one, I can stop purchasing really expensive hay. One thing I've learned in the past few years is that this land produces the best hay I have ever found anywhere. I have purchased truckloads of supposedly excellent organic hay from Colorado, Wyoming, Ohio, and all over Indiana. With only one exception, (Neal McDonald's hay from Trader's Point Creamery,) the production has always dropped significantly when I ran out of my hay, and switched to purchased hay. This year, our home-grown lasted until March 1st, longer than ever before. My goal for this year, is to produce enough to make it all the way through next winter.

The most exciting thing about the cows being on grass, is that the milk is surely infused with higher doses of beta carotene, vitamin D, and who knows what else! The production is also up by 40% in the past few days. The Great Milk Shortages of 2011 are hopefully ending with the end of Winter. And, new calves are being born!

Remember, that no matter what you might be going through, no matter how hopeless or harsh, there is sufficient Grace to see you through. There is Hope, (which also happens to be the name of a young heifer that recently calved, and looks to be a wonderful addition to our herd. :)

Spring is here!

(follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/markapplefarm

The Blog Is Coming to Life!!

2011-03-29T12:58:00.001-04:00

After having a Near Death Experience that has lasted for a year and a half, the blog is waking up, rubbing the sleep from its eyes, shaking the cobwebs, and ready to get back to work telling of the life, events, and fun on the farm. There are changes coming to the store, and there is renewed energy and excitement for the future. I want to thank everyone for your interest in the farm, your support, and your friendship.

The farm is not just a typical business with customers. This is truly a community of people working together. We are all co-producers. Your words of encouragement have truly lifted me. I intend to do a better job of communicating my part of 'co-producing' for our community. I hope you will take part as well.

I believe great things are in store for 2011. (pun intended:)

For those of you on Twitter, feel free to follow along @markapplefarm.

Yet Another Amazing Story of Adoption

2009-09-28T18:50:00.006-04:00

No subject melts me like adoption. I am blessed to be a dad through adoption, twice! If you are a Facebook friend you might have read about one of our cow share families, Brian and Mandy Harvey, and the incredible journey they are still on in welcoming one of the world's 147 million orphans into their family and into their home. Within a month or so, they will be flying to India to pick up Mia, their daughter, and bring her back to Indiana. If anyone is interested in following their story, they are chronicling their journey at: http://www.harveyadoption.blogspot.com/

If you are a cow share owner, you know that we have had supply problems the last few weeks as we have waited for several cows to give birth. The supply problems are hopefully a thing of the past, as we have now had 8 calves born to 6 cows, with another 5 or 6 to calve soon. The first cow this fall to calve was Baxter, an older cow that came to us from The Swiss Connection, the dairy that makes the wonderful cheese, butter, yogurt, and cottage cheese that we feature in the store. Baxter ended up giving birth to healthy twin girls on 9/11. Unfortunately, it was more than Baxter could handle at her age. Despite Brayden and I giving her calcium IV's, she died about a week after giving birth. It was heartbreaking to go check on her after milking and finding her dead, with her twins sadly snuggled up to her. I knew it would prove difficult to keep the twins alive after this, but when I got to the farm the following morning, I had one of the most pleasant surprises I have ever experienced on the farm. Penelope, another cow from The Swiss Connection, who had given birth to a male calf two days prior, had completely adopted Baxter's twin girls. Not only was she feeding them, she was getting upset with them whenever they would wander too far from her. I think it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen, Penelope wandering in the lush grass with triplets frolicking all around her wherever she would go. I truly felt that I was watching a true act of Providence.

For those like me who are truly moved by adoption, another family in our family of cow share owners, Ben and Stacy Houk, are once again organizing and hosting a golf outing and fundraiser for Show Hope, a foundation to assist families who wish to open their homes for adoption. Show Hope, or Shaohannah's Hope, was started by my friends Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, who have adopted three children from China. While in China, they saw the enormous need for families to welcome these children, and realized that all many families lack in order to open their homes are the finances. So this golf event on October 5th has the goal to provide 10 families with the necessary financial resources. I want to appeal to all of you to join me in sponsoring Ben in this endeavor. He and several other golfers are going to play 100 holes of golf in one day. What we can do is give $.25, $.50, $1.00, $2.00 or whatever per hole that Ben plays. The web site to sign up to sponsor Ben is: http://www.marathoneventmarketing.com/100-Holes-of-Hope-Ben-Houk_fd2d2.html

Thank you for considering this. Adoption is the theme of my life. Nothing else so well illustrates the hope I have within me. There are numerous religions, and there are numerous people with no religion, but in Christianity the whole foundation is adoption. We have a father who loves us, who has adopted us into his family, and has lovingly provided us with all we need. He not only provides for us as his children, but he even calls us friends. Just as Brian and Mandy are providing for little Mia, and even as Penelope cared for the helpless twins, we are lovingly provided for, even in, and especially in, our helplessness.

Lamb & Veal

2009-09-28T17:43:00.008-04:00

Unfortunately, we are still understocked with our 100% grass fed beef. We are still waiting on a few steers to get up to size. They are looking great. While we are waiting for all the steak and roast cuts to be available, we do have plenty of ground beef and round steaks. The round steaks are obviously the most under-appreciated cut, perhaps because not everyone is sure how best to prepare them. They are excellent as Swiss steaks, or in beef Stroganoff. They also are excellent prepared as roasts. One rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the least tender cuts, like the round steaks, often have the richest most savory flavor.

Veal is an excellent substitute for beef in most cases. I'm often asked by new customers in the store how the veal are raised, so I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we do not raise the veal in the conventional manner, locked in cages, kept in total darkness, and fed a diet entirely of milk. Our veal lives the first part of their lives at their mama's side getting all the milk they want and eating grass. Until they finish, they are raised on milk, with grass and/or hay. The meat is tender, but because they get grass, hay, and sunshine, the meat has a richer color than conventional veal. The color is due to the nutrients in the grass and hay. For those that avoid pork, the veal bratwursts are excellent, either on the grill or for breakfast.

It will likely be late October or November before all the beef cuts are available. Thanks so much for your support and if waiting on specific cuts, thanks for your patience!
9/28/2009

Rock the FARM! THIS FRIDAY!

2009-06-23T09:14:00.001-04:00

What's New?

New Shopkeepers, new ideas, a woodworking shop for kids, a coffee bar,
a small herd of dairy goats, a flock of ducks, some silly geese....
and Mr. Steve the Lamma.  AND new events.

New Events???

Yes, new events.  Starting on Friday Evening, June 26th from 6PM to
???, we are going to have a weekly party at the farm.  (We have an
inside joke calling it "Rock the Farm!")  This is your chance to meet
all the other folks who are a part of the Apple Family Farm community.
You will also get a chance to visit with Mark Apple, the farmer, and
meet Josh & Sarah Brown, the new Shopkeepers... and their seven
children.  Mark will be firing up the grill, and Josh will be running
the espresso machine and banging on some instruments... So bring your
music and bring a friend, because when you bring a friend we'll give
you both a free latte, mocha, or iced coffee.  Artists and craftsmen
are welcome to show up to give samples and sell their wares.  Bring
food to eat or share, or if you like, there will be beef thawed out
for purchase.

BRING LAWN CHAIRS or BLANKETS!

If you have FACEBOOK, you can RSVP HERE [http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=93123044865&ref=nf]
, and invite your friends!  Otherwise just show up.

Pharming for Phish

2009-06-15T20:53:00.004-04:00

Up until about five years ago, I had a side job as a manager at outdoor amphitheaters. My main building was in Nashville, but I also did the Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio facilities, and occasionally subbed here in Noblesville at Verizon Wireless. (I still call it Deer Creek.) Organic farming and the concert business was an odd mix, and only rarely did the two worlds collide. About the only things I remember where there was any crossing over was when we hosted Farm Aid in Columbus. The Farm Aid people thought it was real cool that I was a farmer and went out of their way to send interviewers my way. And Dave Matthews Band is really into organic farming, so much so that apparently Dave buys up farms in his neighborhood when they go up for sale and converts them into organic operations. He turned one farm into a winery. They usually gave me a bottle of his farm's wine at each concert. I have not really even thought about the concert business in years until a couple of days ago when I got an email from a woman named Sarah with a fun job title: Phish Farm-Fresh Food Forager. The jam band Phish is playing this Friday at Verizon, and Phish is totally dedicated to the whole organic, sustainable farming, buying local, food movement. So they have hired Sarah to try to find local farms in each market to provide the food to feed 38 people for three meals.

It was fun when the caterer for the show called to give me the menus and to work out logistics. It only took a few minutes before we realized we remembered each other from all the years I spent on the road with Michael W Smith, Amy Grant, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, White Heart, Steven Curtis Chapman etc.. where she was the caterer all over eastern Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia etc... I knew her well and had enjoyed her meals many times. She had done a mapquest and told me I was 11 miles from Verizon. (All that was going through my mind was the memories of occasionally running late to get there, I always made it in 12 minutes, and that was going past Hamilton Southeastern schools, hopefully they weren't in session, think of all the children's lives I endangered, and I hate to remember all the small animals that were actually sacrificed in my rush, sorry PETA people!) It's so strange when two unrelated worlds collide.

We have set Friday June 26 as our first ever Rock the Farm Friday. Well, that's just a working title, we'll come up with a real name and Josh & Sarah will post more details. I think the time will be 6:00 pm until ??? The green coffee beans for espresso/cappuccino and coffee are being ordered. I will roast the beans the day before. We want you all to join us and have fun!

I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to read this, whether you are a customer, cowshare owner, friend, or someone who has just stumbled on this searching for something on the Web. You are all significant, treasured, and loved, whether you know it or not! Life is so precious, and we're usually all way too busy to care much for each other, but that is what life is truly about. You have a Father that loves you way more than you can imagine and I want to be all about communicating that to you. We are striving to have a successful business here on the farm, but more than just trying to sell food to nourish your bodies, it would please me more to be able to help you find nourishment for your soul, the peace that surpasses understanding. Peace and blessings!

Mark

This is a short piece Sarah Brown put together of her children enjoying the animals here at the farm. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs2QUBJ7jA4

Bulls and Computers: Love 'em and hate 'em!

2009-05-28T21:22:00.004-04:00

For the most part, I have successfully avoided technology and gadgets. Not that I am against them, I just don't look for reasons to need new stuff. I would rather eat a blackberry than stare at my emails on one. But in the harshness of this past year, I have really enjoyed and truly have been blessed by reconnecting with old friends and discovering new ones via Facebook and smallerindiana.com. Friends who, because of similar circumstances, have really reached out in ways that others could not. Who would have thought an introvert like me would enjoy and be so blessed in the world of social networking. (Especially since I always made fun of it!) Who knows, we may start using these tools to help us better connect with you. Someone has suggested we use Twitter for the cowshare owners to stay connected on issues such as supply, and other uses as well that I don't really understand. It's not really my thing. We'll see, I'm open to it.

This past beautiful week was absolutely perfect for making hay. Making hay is one of my most important jobs because our winter feed expense is our biggest expense on the farm. While everyone else was making hay, I was not. Why? Uh, well, some computer malfunction on the hay baler. Hay balers have computers? Yeah, so they can help me bale lots & lots of acres per day. Well, the Amish with their horses got alot more hay done than me and my high tech equipment last week. (And they probably ate blackberries in the shade while their horses rested and drank water.) Oh well, at least I read some good emails last week, while they were getting so much work done! Hopefully I'll be ready to go when the weather cooperates next.

On kind of a humorous note, we have 2 good Dutch Belted dairy bulls. Both are good, but one I think is outstanding. The kids I think call him Big B, but his given Christian name is Slick Willie Nelson Mandela the 2nd. His only job is having healthy intimate relationships with 30 hot cows. (Well, I'm just assuming they're hot by the way he acts.) He takes his job very seriously. He 'had' it pretty good. 'HAD!' He developed a bad habit of knocking over the mobile water tanks in the pasture which would sometimes break the water lines. I don't know if he was just showing off for the ladies, or if he actually realized that if he broke it at night when I wouldn't notice, the water would spray all night and by morning there would be a small pond for him to stand in. After the second time, I told him "from now on, it's swimming OR the women." He decided that night it would be both, swimming WITH the women! I got to the pasture the next morning with all the cows bunched up standing in water. So I removed him from the milking herd and put the other bull in. Slick Willie is now in a pasture with about 10 calves that all hang around him like he's a bigshot celebrity. I wish I were tech savvy enough to take and post photos on here because it truly is hilarious. He just stands at the edge of the fence looking at his women in a far off pasture and just moans so sadly like he has lost all that matters to him, which is exactly what HAS happened. Poor guy!

I love this time of year because this farm now truly is a land flowing with milk and ...... uh, that reminds me, we do actually have local raw honey back in the store, thanks to the Browns. I so much appreciate all the beauty that has been added to the store thanks to Josh and Sarah, especially Sarah's art, both on canvas paintings hanging on the walls, and now directly on the walls themselves! I love it! The canvas paintings are for sale, the walls stay here. I also really appreciate Heather Harvey and all the flowers and landscaping. Beauty is so uplifting to the soul!

I wish you all a wonderful day. Please come and hang out with us, and let us know what more we can do for you. Soon we will start our Friday evenings featuring all the coffee/espresso drinks you can think up, maybe smoothies, Trader's Point ice cream, yogurt, and chocolate milk, (which many have pointed out causes a "crack" like addiction.) We'll have the grill going if anyone wants to cook out, and we'll make music and have great conversations about anything and everything, and just let the spirit lead. Sounds like fun, I can't wait! God bless you all!

Mark

Signage/Espresso

2009-05-25T14:48:00.003-04:00

Oh how I love a good latte or cappuccino. In our travels to Italy I usually way overdose on the words "un cappuccino" (one cappuccino) as we travel from coffee shop to coffee shop. In fact, I'm quite particular about the way the coffee drinks are made. Starbucks just doesn't cut it! They don't do it right (I could go on and on).

Well we're going to do it right at the Apple Family Farm Store. A few years ago when preparing to open a youth hang out in Fortville (The Cabbage Head), we purchased a genuine Faema Italian espresso machine. We've now installed that machine at the farm store in preparation to have a weekly "open house" where family and friends can gather at the farm store for great coffee, snacks, and taste tests. We even plan to have a grill lit up and ready so you can cook the meats you purchase at the store (we'll have plenty defrosted).

By popular demand, we have started adding signage to the property (temporary at this point) so no one will ever again wonder "Where's the store???" Now you can tell you friends with confidence to visit and know they'll actually make in to shop!

Feel free to call my cell if you have questions about the shop! 317-439-2920 (also my computer business phone number).

Blessings,
Josh

The New Shopkeepers

2009-05-20T00:22:00.005-04:00

Hello,

I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself. I'm Sarah. My husband Josh and I have taken on a new adventure; we are now the shopkeepers at the Apple Family Farm Store.

Any of you who have been part of the farm for at least six years may remember when Debbie first opened the Cranberry Cottage Shop- but it wasn’t at the farm, it was at our house on Main Street in Fortville. Back then I was the live-in shopkeeper, while Debbie and I both contributed our dreams and products to the little shop. It was about five years ago when we moved the shop to the farm, I was too busy with my babies to be very involved at the time, but my children are older now, and it’s a good time to help out at the farm. So, it seemed very natural to step back into the shopkeeper role at the Apple’s store.

We’ve made many updates over the past few days, and we think you will really enjoy what we have in store for you all. We have added a few new products, and many more new things are on the way, so check in often. As we add new products to the store we would like to hear what you think. What kind of things would you like to see in the shop? Were there products offered in the past that you would want us to bring back?

If you have been to the store lately you may have noticed the espresso machine, and the big coffee bean grinders. Today we had a waterline for the new coffee bar installed, and in a few weeks we'll start hosting a weekly Friday Night Coffee House at the store. To celebrate the opening of the coffee bar we will serve free Lattes, Mochas, and Cappuccinos to anyone who brings friend to the Farm Store. We’ll even give your friend a free latte too.

During the Friday night open house you will all be able to meet other patrons of the Apple Family Farm. There will be some music (bring your instrument!), free samples, and other fun stuff for the whole family to enjoy. Watch for updates so we can tell you when the friday night gatherings will begin.

We will also be planning workdays on the Farm from time to time. There are many things happening on the farm, and Mark has really had his hands full lately. Would any of you like to join our family and others to give Mark a hand? We are also hoping to build a new petting farm this summer, and we are looking for volunteers as well as lumber materials. This will be fun!

We look forward to meeting you all, and hope to do all that we can to create a great experience and provide everything you would look for in a farm shop, and more.

If you would like to learn more about our family visit www.BusyBrowns.com. We are a homeschooling family with seven young children, we have one son who is ten years old, and six younger daughters, and a baby due in the fall. You will enjoy seeing the products that some of our children are producing for the Farm Store. Our family lives just a couple miles from the Apple Family Farm.

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, ideas or dreams that you want to share with us email me at sarah@ruralvillage.org or call Josh at 317.439.2920. We would love to hear from you!

Blessings,
Sarah Brown

P.S. Here is the link to some fun Youtube Movies our family has made:

http://www.youtube.com/user/SimplerTimesFamily

The Resurrection of the Blog!

2009-05-18T22:29:00.001-04:00

Hello friends,

After an eight month hiatus, we are back in the blogosphere! There have been many changes here at the farm, with many more to come, and I have delayed communicating these changes until there was more certainty of how the dust would settle.

The good news is that the farm is alive and well. There is renewed vision and purpose, and being spring, the pastures are green and lush and full of life. I will attempt to keep everyone updated about the happenings on the farm, some of the triumphs as well as the challenges, the lessons learned as well as the things that seem to defy explanation. Fun stuff as well as photos. One thing about farm life is that life can be so different from day to day, just as each season is so radically different.

If you have been in the store in the last few days, you were probably surprised in how the store is taking on a new personality. Josh and Sarah Brown are the new shopkeepers. They will be using this blog as well to communicate what they doing and to explain some of their ideas and how their vision will expand the farm store.

Well, just as we have all survived another winter, the hope of spring is here! With that hope is sunny warm weather, new blossoms and flowers, adorable baby calves and lambs all over, fresh tasty nutritious food, and a bountiful harvest. May this hope be in all of you, no matter where you live and what you do, and what your circumstances are. Where there is hope there is vibrant life.

Mark Apple

"We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand - out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
There's more to come: ... we can't round up enough containers to hold everthing God generously pours into our lives..." (Romans 5)

Effects of the Drought of 2007 Finally Over

2008-09-19T16:33:00.009-04:00

Finally, the effects of the drought of 2007 are over! Last year during the long and hard drought we found that many of our girls did not get pregnant. Unfortunately, it usually takes 9 months to find out, and by that time it is too late to make changes.

Well, last night we began to have babies galore. Four babies in 24 hours! If all goes well with the new moms our milk shortage should be a thing of the past. These four girls have the potential to almost double our milk supply. We are milking 16 cows of whom most are at the end of their lactation and getting around 30 gallons. These 4 cows together should contribute another 20 gallons.

Below Baxter is lounging while her baby girl tries to get her up for a drink. Brianna and her baby boy go for a walk, while Jill makes the rounds to check on her sleeping baby girl.

And finally, after over a month of waiting after she bagged up, Marlene gives her baby girl the finally licking to clean her off before presenting her to the world.

All the mothers are doing well but Baxter gave us quite a scare just after calving. Milk fever set in this morning but a good dose of calcium brought her around just fine.

All the girls were milked this morning but all of their milk will go to the babies. After about one week there will be enough to share with the cowshare owners.

We should see two more babies born this week. All of the babies look just like their father, Big Stuff, (Big B for short).

We would like to thank all of our cowshare owners for their patience while we waited for these little wonders.

Baxter and baby girl

Brianna and baby boy

Jill and baby Girl

Marlene and Baby Girl