Cockadoodle-doooooo

Last Friday we had a special guest, Aurora Porter from Vital Farms, speak in the library.  Her presentation was a hit!  We learned so much.  A few things we learned:

1. pasture-raised eggs are healthier than factory farm - higher in Omega-3's, for example
2. expiration dates on eggs really don't mean that much -  as long as an egg doesn't smell rotten, it's OK to eat
3. chickens are much like our domesticated pets in that they play with toys and like people
4. the chickens on the Vital Farms farms (Vital Farms is actually a consortium of farms that practice ethical and environmentally sound farming) live good lives, are not debeaked and lay the best eggs around!

I just checked their website for info on the upcoming farm tour and noticed that MN rated it's own blog post!

As for the farm tour, it looks like that information isn't posted to their website yet.  Check back later in the week for more info.  I'll email Aurora and ask her about it.

She also told us how she got into the farming biz.  Turns out, she was turned onto organic farming through an organization called WWOOF.  This organization places workers on organic farms all over the world.  Aurora worked in Japan, Scotland, and other exotic countries that I can't recall.  Turns out that Mr. Studer's brother was also in WWOOF and now has his own farm in Hawaii.

To top off our day, our very own Joseph Plappert gave Aurora, Mrs. Bligh and I a tour of MN's farm - goats included.  I can't wait until next year when the farm is in full use so I can see all our animals.  MN has chickens, steer, swine & goats!  (I have a not-so-secret desire to raise goats for my own goat milk and cheese.)

But wait, there's more!  This week Vital Farms is having an open farm tour