2 Days Left to Acquire remaining 1/4 (1/8ths & 1/16ths) Custom Beef for Late February Pickup

First thing First....Custom Beef Share Announcement

As the next and last winter harvest date is nearing, I wanted to start off with a good reminder that all PreOrders for the "Sunny Squirt, 3 Year Old" custom beef that was offered as a surprise Pop Up last week are due by 7 am Thursday morning, Feb. 8th.

There is only a 1/4 share of her whole remaining, which means there is a 1 QUARTER Share, or 2 EIGHTH Shares, or 4 SIXTEENTH Shares, or 1 EIGHTH and 2 SIXTEENTHS.

Any way the fractions sort, for all you mathematical folks out there, you are in store for the best tasting, cleanest beef around to put in your freezer for the remainder of the winter.

I know there are still plenty of shareholder customers that have a PreOrder placed for May or June that did not get in on the "Veggie Girl" Pop Up, that was harvested last week, on Feb 1st, along with our last regular custom beef, "Island Girl" from our 2023 harvest season lineup. I also know there are lots of you, our readers, that have signed up to receive these farm journal post because you have a curiosity and interest in eventually trying one of our custom beef shares for the first time! Then Lastly, so many of you are time, and time again, returning custom beef shareholders that have shared such great stories with us and hopefully others...(HInt Hint) about the wonderful experience you have had with Foothill Frolic Farm on Gammon Creek! So whether you are new or old or out there waiting to be told, this really is your last chance to partake in a Foothill Frolic Farm Custom Beef this winter. Hands down absolutely no regrets.

We LOVE getting to FEEL GOOD about pulling our custom beef cuts from the freezer every week, for multiple delicious meals. Just this past week, we enjoyed the best ever grilled Sirloin Steaks, Ground Beef & Vegetable Iron Skillet Sautes, Hardy Winter Soup, and a Prime Rib Roast served with a garden fresh winter green salad of arugula, kale, and spinach. If only I was as quick with the camera in the kitchen as I was with it out in the fields! Clean, high protein beef, along side vegetables and healthy whole grains makes up for the absolute bulk of our families diet. This type of eating is EASY and HEALTHY!! No ifs, ands, or buts!!

This NEW Custom Beef "Sunny Squirt 3 year old" Pop Up will be ready for On Farm Pick up around Feb. 24th. This gives anywhere from 3-5 months to enjoy eating through our 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed, 100% Grassfed & Grassfinished - Regenerative -Organically Raised Custom Beef, before our 2024 harvest season starts, for On Farm Pick Ups in May. May and June PreOrders have already filled, so July is our current point for available Custom Beef PreOrders.

As always, I cannot advocate enough on why choosing our LOCAL-REGENERATIVE CUSTOM BEEF is a WIN WIN WIN WIN --CATTLE--FARMER--ENVIRONMENT--CONSUMER.

OUR CATTLE our loved and well cared for in a humane and personal way from birth and are not fed grain.

WE THE FARMERS, by using the sun's energy, good and alive soil, and cattle get to create a profitable, regenerative farming system as a SINGLE SOURCE, LOCAL CUSTOM BEEF CATTLE FARM.

The LAND AND NATURE and all it's cyclic systems of water, soil, and air are directly protected by not using any synthetic chemicals, vaccines, or routine medications in our farming system.

YOU & ME, THE CONSUMERS, have access to local, healthy, power packed, clean/chemical free, affordable, delicious and nutritious BEEF to cook and share with our families that hereafter impacts current and future generation's understanding of the important connection that land, farms, food, personal well being & health, and environment play in a thriving LOCAL community.

So, if your beef on your plate comes from the grocery store and it does not translate into the full picture I describe above, then why for goodness sakes would you not want to give Foothill Frolic Farm's Custom BEEF a try!

PreOrder Now & Pay Later at Pick Up/Delivery...Farmer-Consumer Trust at it's greatest!

WEEK FIVE of 2024, Allie's Farm Journal Post

We passed from January on into the next month of February, with much of the same daily happenings. By the way the weather looked, the week appeared to be a week of drying out. Although we did get a little bit more rain on the Tuesday night than expected... .45", so the drying did not really start setting in till about Friday. The clouds too, rolled on away with the passing month and the sun came pouring in on the very first new day of the month with a big welcome. Of course it was well greeted by all under its rays. Lucky for all, he decided to stay for the remainder of the week, leaving us filled with hopes of spring fever for the week to come even!

On Feb. 1st we awoke knowing it was harvest day for two custom beefs, "Veggie Girl" L21 and "Island Girl" G132. As one was a cow and one was a heifer, this meant that they were in two separate locations on the farm, within their appropriate herd. So this meant we would be separating and loading in two different spots, which in itself takes a little longer than when we take 3 from one herd for example. We had discussed and planned out how we would approach each animal, knowing that both their personalities were completely different. I knew that I would be able to walk Veggie Girl right our of the herd heading down and towards a temporary alley way towards the barn. The only problem that I foresaw was the possibility of the whole main herd deciding they wanted to come too. We find it is always interesting how every harvest day location and circumstance is different when we choose to always harvest where the herds are as compared to bringing the chosen animals into a barn setting to stay for days by themselves. As the main herd was in the back gammon field, there was a chance that they could have been 1/2 mile or only 800 ft away from the barn. When I was putting out some pigtail post for the simple temp alley way heading towards the creek, sure enough when I looked up to the very first null past the historically large white oak tree, there she was in the most perfect spot, part of the herd, but slightly out in front, as if she was waiting for me. The rest of the herd was positioned going back from the null on a downslope. Matthew and Dad were stationed to stay behind to close the creek gap behind us, if all went calm and well, and then follow in the back as we made our alley approach to the barn hallway. As I walked up the hill towards her, I was inwardly doing my gratitudes, appreciations, thankfulnesses, and loves as it seems I always do towards whatever beefs we are harvesting the day of as part of a ritualistic routine I suppose. These days are still hard for me, as my gut and muscles feel it in their tightness. Cattle are agricultural beefs and the industry is set up just for that, but there is a cold impersonal non humane feel to the whole commodity influenced system that delivers beef to grocery markets throughout the country. Historically speaking, humans and cattle had profound and personal connections, despite the fact that the animal was still part of a harvest for family or the local community food system and the difference between the first current and the historical second in my mind, and in a cattle's feeling being is like night and day. This connected purposeful journey made locally in between farmer, beef and consumer is one of the main reasons I farm cattle, meaning, we are wanting to show and connect with you, the local community consumers, that this is the way that beef should be able to be farmed and obtained, as opposed to the opposite. When I got about 30 feet away she came right to me for a rub and a alfalfa treat and we quietly and calmly walked down the hill over the creek and towards the barn hallway. To our left, on the other side of the simple temporary ribbon tape alley way, was the 2023 calf group. They enjoyed the procession and walked on with us in a group. Veggie Girl never once turned away or hesitated, she proudly made her way through the barn hallway and we walked together right up into the trailer. She was a beauty and I will forever have an acknowledgement of her and her presence and how she won my heart from the get go by loving all the vegetables in the garden more than any other heifer in the herd!

So then from there we headed out the drive to our across the road, hamilton paddock access, where we had set up a temporary corral to be able to load up "Island Girl" from our yearling/two year old herd. As the planning for harvest day always starts the day before, we had also feed hay to that herd right close to the load point up on a flattened plateau. Sure enough they were all there, eager like always. I mean this herd is our herd that for 2023 moved back and forth from our home farm fields and our maple view fields that are a few miles apart, so they are very use to local hauling. Though out of the whole herd "Island Girl" is one of the most non curious, more stand offish heifers and so none of us were real sure of how our final maneuvering of her would exactly pan out from the herd to join "Veggie Girl" in the trailer. Well as Dad and Matthew were making the final adjustments to the corral panels so they would lead into the trailer I was observing the movements and locations of certain animals within this yearling herd. We had set up a temporary ribbon tape, pigtail post internal in the particular paddock that they were in that funneled towards the corral. Again, "Island Girl" kept repositioning herself to the inner edge of that temporary fence, which was almost a perfect spot for her to non-stressfully head towards the corral with us slightly pressing her from behind. I told Matthew to hurry as we needed to move quickly to take opportunity of her placement. So with a quick here and there and our handy dandy measuring tape, she walked directly and calmly without they rest of the 55 animals, right into the corral and into the trailer to pair up with Veggie Girl. They had been together back in 2021, but had not been in the same herd since then.

Then off we headed on our one hour haul to Russell Meat Packing. Upon arrival they were respectfully unloaded and humanely slaughtered within 5 minutes.

On Saturday the 3rd, in the middle of the day, in between 1st hay & 2nd hay feeding we were excited to be able to squeeze in our "First Saturday of the Month" Farm Tour. After the last two, for both Dec. and January, having to be cancelled for icky, rainy, wintry weather, the nice and beautiful sun filled winter day was a pleasant switch. The fields had dried out just enough to be able to hitch up the Ford to the hay wagon and head out to view all three herds...the yearlings, the main breeding cow herd, and the calf herd. Eastenn Dutch met the group in full motor stride on his vintage snapper and cart set up, delivering fuel to Grampy at the Ford. There were 17 attendees and there was much to be learned and fun all around. Every herd greeted the tourers with such curiosity and gleam, putting forth their best hoofs I will have to say! I think almost every family either already had PreOrdered and custom beefs share or made sure to add an PreOrder soon after. I cannot recommend coming on out for one of our interactive farm tours more. They really offer such a way to connect with the Farm your beef comes from and it gives everyone a better understanding of all our farming practices along with being able to see what beautiful and healthy looking beefs herds that are part of Foothill Frolic Farm from "birth to beef"!

Foothill Frolic Farm's 3 Generation Cattle Series Feature

This Photo Series is an idea I had to show the relation of generations within a "Birth to Beef" Regenerative Cattle Farm.

This week's feature is Mamma Cow G10, a Hereford, and her 3 calves she has birthed since 2021. G10, is a very non personal, down to business Mamma Cow that probably is one of our all time leading good looking, large calf producers. In fact, out of the whole herd, both her 2021 calf, "Dot Spot", and her 2022 calf, "Rodeo Roscoe" are two of my all time favorites. "Dot Spot", G110H is a saved heifer and she is to be calving for the first time this spring! For G10 to be so non-personable, G110H "Dot Spot", is 180 degrees the other direction. Always first in line for special attention!! Mamma COW G10, is currently pregnant with her calf that will be born in the spring of our 2024 calving season.

First Generation, Mamma Cow, G10

2nd Generation, "Dot Spot" G110H, born on Feb. 26th 2021.

3rd Generation, "Rodeo Roscoe" 229S, born on March 12, 2022

4th Generation, "Shooting Star" 311H, born on April 11th, 2023

Until Next Time, Eat Well and Be Well and Please Pass Along,

Allison Mills Neal of Foothill Frolic Farm