June has been a rather busy month for the Whitten family, in part June means taking animals to the butcher's and getting ready for market.  We used a different butcher this year, as our one from last year was overbooked with his more established customers.  A significant issue, nationwide, in the development of a direct-to-consumer meat industry is the availability of USDA-inspected facilities.  Currently, the closest one to Red Bluff is in Glenn County, although there has been at least some talk of one of the local custom butcher shops expanding and becoming USDA-inspected.

The loading and transporting of animals went well, but as we were returning, we received a call that one of our steers (who was being held back for custom orders later in the summer) had died.  This was the first time we have had a grown animal die an untimely death (apparently, he got into some pig feed in another field and gorged himself to death), but it wasn't the last, as two days later our original sow, Penelope, was also found dead (apparently from an injury).  Penelope had a litter of young pigs at the time, and so we were particularly concerned about their well-being without their mother, but they have done very well, and seemed to have adopted another sow as their new mother.  Such are the realities of animal husbandry: while watching the birth and growth of critters is better than watching the corn grow, it's also harder to deal with the death of animals, but life does go on.

This year, at farmers' market, in addition to pasture-raised beef, lamb, and pork by the cut (as well as packages of pork and lamb), we will also have a limited supply of pasture-raised chicken available for pre-order.  We will also be introducing "Whittenberg Bucks" - gift certificates that can be bought for your own use or to give to someone else.  Our first market will be the Saturday morning of July 2nd, at the Red Bluff River Park, and we will start the Wednesday evening market season on July 6th.

And while visiting us at the market for meat from happy, healthy, humanely-raised animals, please also check out the information we'll have for Whittenberg Country School, which is a small, private school that will open in the fall of 2011.