Lakeview Organic Grain

I was just asked a question I think others might be interested in about open-pollinated Wapsie Valley corn : We actually sell Wapsie Valley corn to two tortilla makers, and they love it. Certainly, it has much more flavor and color than ordinary corn, but I think probably it takes special skill to make masa out of fresh OP corn. I have ground Wapsie Valley into cornmeal many times, and it makes the most extraordinary-flavored cornbread and polenta - sun-shiny and rich....Continue reading

BEFORE RE-SEEDING A ‘RUN-OUT’ PASTURE Older pastures can develop thin spots where weeds move in. Before you just go out and replant, it is best to first try to figure out what caused the pasture to fail in those particular areas. SOIL FERTILITY NEEDS Before reseeding, especially if you are overseeding, it is a good idea to take soil tests to determine if certain nutrients are needed. Be sure to take a representative sample of the pasture, not just the bad areas, and get the t...Continue reading

Seriously folks, does green get any more green than in an organic clover field at sunset after a gentle April rain? It is the very definition of green! The tangible vibrancy, smells and sounds of life above and below my muddy shoes, the glistening drops on the velvety leaves, birds overhead after a busy day, the retreating gray clouds tinged with a myriad of pinks and golds. The sound of children playing outside after supper in the neighbor’s yard. The cooling evening air.... All this green! The ineffable stillness, presence and beauty of here. Can you smell it growing? Can you feel it being? The is OUR farm, our land, our place I’m guessing you feel the same way about your farm, your ‘here’, don’t you?

Misty April Sunday supper. Covercrop Austrian winter peas and forage turnip greens from the garden; today’s duck eggs; biscuit made with our freshly ground wheat and duck fat; local honey; and our own chicken cooked in Moroccan-spiced yogurt . Just good food that grew here, raised and prepared with love and intention. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

The cover-crop Austrian winter peas and forage turnips planted last fall are growing like crazy in today’s warm April mist Let the world finest salads begin! Salad never gets better than this

Springtime has come in upstate New York! We are nearly done planting oats on the farm. Here at the mill, chick starter feed is flying off the shelf, we are shipping many pallets of seed and feed, and coming out to your farms with dairy feed - it is a busy time of year! The daffodils and crocuses that I planted last fall around our sign along the railroad tracks are in full bloom, a unexpected bright place for everyone in Penn Yan to enjoy. As I planted the bulbs last Octob...er, each a sacrament of sorts for a happier healthier spring, for resilience, for grace, of hope. You should come see them! Spring is good, it really is. We’ve earned it this year , haven’t we?

Europe is leading the way, recognizing and promoting the many values of organic agriculture

Happy Easter, and we hope it has been as beautiful a day where you are as it has been here. Have you been seeing long fields like this - bright vivid green grass? Chances are, you are looking at winter wheat, barley, spelt, triticale or rye. These were planted last fall, and grew enough to get established but then went dormant over winter. Now they are growing rapidly in the sunny days of early spring. In another month, they will start showing grain heads. ... The grain will be harvested in late June (barley) or July (wheat, spelt, triticale or rye) or triticale might be chopped for forage for cows in late May. Many grain farms are growing every month if the year, even up here in the north !

The light is returning, evening sunsets, crocuses, warmer days, we are planting oats, ordering chicks and watching pastures green. Springtime is such a relief. Seed Season is truly intense right now at Lakeview Organic Grain! Pallets and bags are simply flying out the door on the powerful wings of Spring farm hopes and dreams. ... We still have good supplies of most cover crops, small grains, oats, clover, corn and soybeans, but we are running low on some pasture grasses. Give us a call if you need seed! or chicken feed or just want to talk. We do a lot of talking at this time of year!

Thinking KELP! Wonderful stuff, seaweed. We get our red kelp direct from the harvester/processor on the north tip of Prince Edward Island, with wild north Atlantic waves bringing it in from the clean, cold Gulf of St. Lawrence. We were up there a couple of years ago, and took this video of Alex and Joe, explaining the harvest and processing.... It is good for a re-watch! https://fb.watch/4pV58hMRGQ/

An enthusiastic shout-out of gratitude to all the good folks at Finger Lakes Railway! They are a joy to work with, and one of those cars may be filled with sweet Midwest organic barley in its way to your pig and dairy feed! I am so grateful to have the railroad, as a real, useful and tangible presence in my nearly everyday.

I do love daylight savings time - that brief sharp conscious joy of an extra hour of light after work, that gift of being outside in the light in early spring, the earthy smells, the focusing colors, extra time to notice the green shoots, the damp textures, the contrasts of a world awakening. I do love standard time in October - that sharp margin between dark and light, the coziness of a bright warm house, the smells of sharp acrid autumn air in the dark and sweet spicy pump...kin pie baking, the fog of cow breath in chill air, the reminder of a year turning, of warm indoor evenings, the summer work complete. I do love the Sunday morning when standard time comes, that lovely windfall of an extra free Sunday morning hour, a, hour to savor and be mindful of.. I even love this Sunday morning, that conscious trade of one hour in the chilly morning for the joy of more light-time this afternoon. I love being aware of the margins, the contrasts, of seasons changing, the color and light, the smells and damp earth, the light and dark, the emotions and feelings, the steel-gray icy Seneca lake of winter, the luscious cobalt lake of summer, and all the metaphors within. This is all good - it grounds me in being one with the light and dark, not in control, not entirely able to artificially replace nature, in the humility of being a participant Today, I celebrate the coming of spring, the ending of winter, the longer hours of outside, the shorter hours of inside, the winter work completed, the spring work to come.. Today i celebrate the gift of light! And I will celebrate the mirror image in 6 months. mhm 3.14.21