Guidestone Fundraiser Set for April 11 at the Boathouse Cantina in Salida

Spring is coming out and so is Guidestone! Come learn who Guidestone is and what we are doing to ensure the future of agriculture in this valley. You can help us continue this vital work!!

Join us for a celebration and fundraiser on Sunday, April 11, from 5 till 8 pm at the Boathouse Cantina in Salida next to the F Street Bridge. A 5 dollar bill will get you in and buy you a chance at some tempting raffle prizes and to hear some foot stompin’ music by “Local Honey”. Tickets available at the door.

Special guests will include Commissioner Frank Holman, who is participating in a new Guidestone initiative called Land-Link, a unique partnership between landowners and new farmers.

Guidestone will also roll out its plans for this year’s Farmhands education program, a popular hands-on interactive program to introduce children and their families to the total farm experience. An additional Farmhands teaching location will be announced at this event!!

A healthy local food economy equals healthy, happy people….be a part of Guidestone’s efforts to promote and support a sustainable future for the Upper Arkansas River Valley.

Guidestone would like to thank the following businesses for their support in making this event possible. Our sponsors include, Alternative Choices, Antero Hot Springs, Colorado Grown, Colorado Local Market, Natural Habitats, Ploughboy, South Main, Foresight Multimedia and more. Raffle items are being donated by massage therapist Denise Ackert, Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery, Eliza’s Bed, artist Jimmy “Rocketman” Descant, Mount Princeton Hot Springs, Free the Monkey Consignment, and more.

Hope to see you there!

Weathervane Farm Garden and Fruit CSA Shares Available

By Caitlin Roberts

The CSA model of food production creates honest connections between the producer, the consumer, and the land. In joining the Weathervane Farm CSA share you will be an integral part of the effort to produce quality food for our community, while sustaining the health of our local farmland and our local economy. Weathervane Farm provides a weekly share of the harvest, including a newsletter to connect with the farm, and recipes to aid in the use of all the delicious farm produce.

Weathervane Farm will once again offer garden and fruit shares this season. The share season runs 16 weeks from June 19^th to October 9^th. The garden share will include a bounty and diversity of vegetables harvested in season, washed, boxed, cooled and ready to enjoy. Though the bulk of the produce in the garden share is grown on site, we also work with other organic and no-spray growers to provide hot weather crops difficult to grow outdoors at 8000ft. We work with Austin Family Farms of Paonia, CO to provide the fruit for the fruit share. Designed to provide you with a diversity of fruits throughout the season including cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, berries, melons, pears and apples, the fruit share is a great way to experience the bounty of Colorado’s fruit growing region. To learn more about the shares follow this link to the Weathervane Farm website. http://www.weathervanefarmbv.com/products/shares.html

Weathervane Farm also raises chickens for eggs and meat. Eggs will be available at the farmers market stand and meat will be available fresh on the day of harvest. To learn more about Weathervane poultry products and reserve fresh birds ready for your oven or freezer please follow this link to the Weathervane Farm website. http://www.weathervanefarmbv.com/products/poultry.html

New Milk Shares Avilable at Cottonwood Creek Dairy

Cottonwood Creek Dairy welcomes the newest (and cutest) member of the herd! Dot was born on a chilly, snowy morning last week, but she was quickly up and nursing on mom, Angie. Luckily, the three older calves (Chloe, Clara Belle, and Charlie) had just freed up the calf pen and moved into their new home where they have a new shelter and plenty of room to run. So now Dot has the cozy corner pen of the barn to stay warm and be near mom for her twice a day nursings. Please stop in and check out the new calf palace and say hi to Dot when you come to get your milk in the coming weeks.

All this excitement on the Dairy means that we now have an abundance of raw milk shares available for new members. We are also able to offer more extras to our members in the form of yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh mozzarella, and cream. We also have our own delicious milk-fed pork available by the piece. You can try our bacon, sausage, pork chops with out having to buy an entire share of pork this time! Please contact Amy at amyemcmillin[at]gmail[dot]com or call 719-221-9630 about signing up for milk shares or buying pork.

Colorado an "Island of Tranquility" in the Realm of Raw Milk

Many of you likely know David Lynch of Cottonwood Creek Dairy, Colorado Grown, and Guidestone fame. But you may not be aware that David is also the President of the Raw Milk Association of Colorado. This organization advocates for the availability of traditional raw milk products and for a high standard of safety in the supply. Last weekend, the organization held its annual gathering. Blogger David Gumpert of The Complete Patient attended the meeting and wrote about it at this link.

From As Controversy Over Raw Milk Swirls About, Colorado Is an Island of Tranquility:

"I attended the annual meeting Saturday of the Raw Milk Association of Colorado, and also gave a talk that traced the state and federal crackdown on raw milk over the last four years across the U.S., and how it relates to proposed federal food safety legislation. Afterwards, a number of Colorado farmers and consumers came up to me and said they never realized the extent of government harassment that’s been going on around the country. “It’s a scary situation,” one attendee told me.

But in Colorado, legislation enacted four years ago that allows distribution of raw milk via herdshare arrangements seems to be working well."