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Welcome to the first issue of the Fresh Times Newsletter. We’re hoping you’ll find our features timely and interesting. These farms and retailers are just a few of the great partners on MichiganFamilyFarms.com. Use the site to fill your grocery list or vacation itinerary – there’s something for everyone.
I’ll admit it. I spent more on my produce this morning. Not because it was a last minute decision, or an impulse buy, but because I went out of my way to get it at a local farm. When my daughter started eating the vegetable right in the store, I didn’t have to make her wait until it was washed. I didn’t wonder how fresh it was, because that morning, it was still in the field. If I wondered what sprays had been used on it, I asked the woman behind the counter, who had planted and picked it
herself. So even in this age of budgets, it was worth it to me to continue an age old tradition.
I purchased food from a farmer. – Jena Van Wagner, Executive Director
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Goat Gate Farm
What started as a simple quest to find milk her children could drink, has now turned Thresa Schumitsch’s life around.
 “My kids couldn’t drink the milk sold in stores, so we decided to try goat’s milk,” said Thresa. “With five kids, we decided it was cheapest to buy our own goats, but we just wanted it to be a small thing, so we started with three.”
Now, 12 years later, you’ll find somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 goats on Goat Gate Farm. In fact, they had 32 new kids born just this year!
Everyone in the family is involved in farm operations. From helping with the animals to making hay and everything in-between. “My youngest kids were milking goats practically before they could walk,” said Thresa.
But owning goats, or any livestock for that matter, is a learning process. To help others take this step successfully, Goat Gate is offering a variety of classes to share the experience they have gained.
Classes cover a wide range of topics, including:
- Basics of Dairy Goats and Milking
- Mother Daughter Cheese and Soap Making
- Gourmet Gardens Pesto
- Brewing Beer and Making Mead
- Ice cream, Yogurt and Butter
- What’s the Buzz? – Basics in Beekeeping
Wait, beekeeping? Yes, as the Schumitsch children grew, so did their interests. And again, simple want for good honey led the family to a new business on the farm. With over 20 hives on the property, they are producing honey, raising queens and setting up hives on customers’ farms as well.
“Farming is tiring, crazy and sometimes dangerous, but it instilled a work ethic in these kids that they couldn’t get anywhere else,” said Thresa.
Goat Gate Farms is located in Millington. View them at www.MichiganFamilyFarms.com/GoatGateFarms and find their classes in the Event section.
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Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa
In addition to championship golf and the Crystal Coaster Alpine Slide, people will find fresh produce from local farms at Crystal Mountain this summer. Each Friday from 4 to 7 pm neighboring farmers will be selling fruits, vegetables, flowers and other garden produce. The market is located at the base of the slopes right in the midst of all the family fun activities, near the Mountain Adventure Zone.
 Local food is plentiful at Crystal Mountain. The menus within the resort’s restaurants are infused with countless local ingredients from fresh asparagus to cherries. Crystal’s quaint shops also offer local delicacies like Food for Thought’s organic preserves and Michigan Maple Syrup.
“The Farmer’s Market is another way for our guests to experience northern Michigan and offers a great opportunity to bring the local community together at Crystal,” says Kristin Kiteley, director of food & beverage. Considering that most of the resort’s accommodations feature full kitchens and outdoor grills, those fresh ingredients are likely to go straight from the market to the dinner table. Kristin shares one of her favorite summer recipes:
Cavatappi with summer squash, spicy sausage and goat cheese
Serves 4-6
Kosher salt
1 pound dried pasta
3 T extra virgin olive oil
¾ pound spicy sausage – Rice Farms (not in casing)
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
2 cups diced yellow and green summer squash
3 oz. fresh goat cheese – Land of Goshen
2 t flat leaf parsley finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely grated Raclette Leelanau Cheese
Cook the pasta in salted water
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook. Break into pieces while cooking 3-5 minutes. Transfer sausage to bowl using slotted spoon. Pour fat out of pan but do not wipe clean. Heat remaining oil in skillet over medium heat, cook the shallots until tender then raise the heat and add squash. Cook stirring frequently until the squash is barely tender. 3-5 minutes. Retain ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, Add pasta back to cooking pot, add sausage, squash mixture, 2 T of pasta water. Toss over med heat until sausage is fully cooked and noodles are perfect al dente. Add more cooking liquid as necessary. Remove from heat, add goat cheese and parsley. Toss to lightly melt cheese and coat pasta. Season to taste and garnish with Raclette.
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 Our expert this month is the Owner of Tuthill Farms & Composting, Sandra Tuthill. The Tuthill family has worked their farm for over 100 years, and with over 15 years of running a compost operation under her belt, Sandra is the perfect person to give advice on what to do with all of that dryer lint.
Q: Why compost?
A: Composting reduces the waste stream. We’ve become good at recycling, and this helps divert food waste from landfills. Plus the end result is great for your garden, flowerbeds and the earth – there’s just really no reason not to.
Q: How do I start a backyard compost pile?
A: First check your local ordinances. Every county has a solid waste department and they can tell you what your options are for composting and even give you tips to get started. There is a lot of information on the web about composting, but basically, you just need food waste and a good place to put it. It’s important that you think of your pile as a living thing, you don't want it too flat or too dry. Keep in piled up and moist. For some that means keeping it in the shade, others may need to water theirs on occasion – think of it as a system that supports a living organism.
Q: What can I put on my compost pile?
A: We get asked that a lot. For backyard composters we recommend no dairy and no meat. If you have a “hot” enough pile, it will handle some grease, but it’s probably better to avoid it. Other than that – anything that is (or was) food goes in, plus anything that will break down, such as coffee filters, pine needles, vacuum dirt, hair and yes even dryer lint. We get asked about eggshells a lot, because they don’t break down much. I say use them, they are like natural vermiculite and help keep the soil light. Then follow the steps on our site for adding green and brown material.
Q: How do I keep pests out?
If you keep your food in the middle of the pile, with green and brown over it, and keep out meat and dairy, it really shouldn’t attract large pests. As far as bugs and flies go – they are part of the process. A well maintained pile really won’t have much of an odor either. In some places they are just really persistent though, so you may need fencing or a lid.
Q: How long until I see my “black gold”?
Compost piles do require patience. A pile that is kept moist with organisms and worms living in it that is turned with a pitchfork on occasion could start producing in less than a year. But for the average pile, it might be a little more than that. Do be aware that here in Michigan, things don’t really break down over the winter, so that delays the process as well.
Thanks to Sandra for all of the great information – now get composting!
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Maple Valley Farms
What would motivate a typical suburban family to give it all up and head for the country? Follow the Kuncaitis Family as they go off-grid.
Join Homemaker Ang and the Gentle Giant, along with their five children as they take a step backwards in time in a quest to live their life in a simpler way. Outhouses, fermented food (on purpose), cutting ice with the Amish, canning, home birth experiences, chasing ponies in their pajamas, haying with 8,000 pounds of horse power (neigh), teaching others to make homemade laundry soap – it’s always a joy to see what is happening at this 40 acre farm.
Follow along at our blog.
See a complete list of Farm Markets!
Visit us on Facebook!
To join Michigan Family Farms and/or be featured in this newsletter, please contact jena@michiganfamilyfarms.com or 616.915.5967.
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