You can help us stop this wasteful use of taxpayer dollars. Here's how:
http://sfc.smallfarmcentral.com/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/167/Say%20No%20to%20Olympian%20Drive%20FINAL[1].pdf

For contacting our federally elected officials, including Congressman Tim Johnson, Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Roland Burris, you must go to their websites and fill out a form to send them an email. Alternatively, you can call them.  The urls for their websites are as follows:

http://timjohnson.house.gov/

http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm

http://burris.senate.gov/contact.cfm

For a more detailed description of the issues:

 http://sfc.smallfarmcentral.com/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/167/A%20letter%20of%20urgent%20appeal.doc

Support our cause. Come to our first ever "Goat Baby Shower" on March 14th from 12 noon to 5PM. Click on the link below to see the invitation and events planned

http://sfc.smallfarmcentral.com/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/167/Were%20KIDDING%20shower%20invitation%20FINAL.pdf

We expect to have over 150 kids born this year. Doe kids purchased before they are weaned are $75 each.  We are asking $150/ weaned doelings; however, if you purchase 10 or more, we will sell them for $100/each. Breeding bucklings purchased before they are weaned will sell for $150.each.  Weaned breeding bucklings will cost $300.  We will also be selling a limited number of milking does-price $200 each.  All of our does and bucks are registered through ADGA, and we will complete the paperwork for you so you can register their offspring, should you choose.

We have good milk records (DHI) for 2007-09 for all dams.  

 If you're interested in purchasing any of our goats, please contact us at prairiefruits@gmail.com

Come dine with us on the farm and experience the essence and pleasures of eating locally and sustainably. With our on-farm certified kitchen and our Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, Alisa DeMarco, we are creating four to five course meals crafted from the freshest local ingredients. Many of the vegetables and fruits served are grown organically on our farm. The meats and other products come from neighboring farms. We invite many of these farmers as guests so that diners can meet them and learn about their farming practices. We offer a vegetarian main course for those requesting a vegetarian meal. Of course, we try to weave in our award winning cheeses into many of the courses. We ask you to bring your own wine or alcoholic beverage of your choice since we don't have a license to sell or serve alcoholic beverages on the farm. 

We'll kick off the 2010 season on May 22nd with an ode to spring.  In total, we will be hosting 14 dinners every two weeks well into the late fall.  For inclement weather dinners, we now have a newly furbished "dining room" inside our barn.  Using recycled barn siding to line the walls, you're sure to feel cozy. 

 Most of the dinners are held on Saturdays, except where noted in the descriptions. Guests arrive at 4PM and are greeted with hors d'oevres and a refreshing non-alcoholic drink prepared from herbs, fruits and honey produced on the farm. We offer a tour of the farm from 4:30 to 5PM. Feel free to bring a lawn chair if you would prefer to just sit in the orchard and enjoy your hors d'oevres and drinks before dinner.

We serve dinner starting at around 5PM and expect to end the meal around 8PM.

While we strive to create an elegant, peaceful and delicious evening for our guests, we need to acknowledge that this is a farm and the meal is served outdoors. As many of you know, farms come with ocasional odors, insects, wind and dirt. Outdoor events can be subject to inclement weather as well. We will try to complete the meal before it gets too dark and biting insects become a problem. However, if you're attractive to biting insects, we encourage you to bring the repellent of your choice.

Our events will be held RAIN OR SHINE. If rain is forcast, we will shelter you either under a tent or inside our pole barn.

Because we believe that the full flavors of local foods are best savored outdoors, we want you to be prepared for the 'darker' side of the outdoor elements. It could be a hot sultry evening, it could be windy, it could rain or in the fall, it could get chilly. Please wear or bring appropriate clothing and hats for the weather of the day. If the forecast calls for significant really nasty weather, we will move the dinner inside our newly outfitted pole barn.

To make reservations for one or more of the dinners, please go to the section of the website entitled "Buy Farm Dinners." You must pay with a credit card using Google Checkout to reserve seats. 

Our policy regarding children and pricing: Given the limited number of seats for each dinner, we are not able to offer a reduced price on meals for children. We don't discourage people from bringing their children; however they would have to pay the full price. Understanding that most children don't eat like adults, we offer a lower priced meal every year (this year, it is the Native American Harvest Dinner--a Sunday afternoon meal) to encourage families with children to attend. 

CANCELLATION POLICY: You can receive a full refund if you cancel your reservation one week prior to the date of the dinner you are scheduled to attend. Please email or call us as soon as possible, if you need to cancel (prairiefruits@gmail.com or 217-643-2314). If you cancel less than one week prior to the dinner, we won't be able to issue you a refund.

Hello all, please read carefully because you will be tested this Saturday.

It's finally here, the Blue Moon winter market, starting this Saturday, January 23.  Next Market will be in two weeks.   We've decided to try something a little more organized than the regular farmer's market,  we are using a service called SurveyMonkey, which allows you to place an individual order by filling out our survey. Not only are we offering Blue Moon veggies, but Prairie Fruits Farm is also offering a variety of cheeses. Here's how it works:  You get the survey as an email, which tells you what is available for the upcoming Saturday delivery. You fill it out and send it back to us before Thursday noon. This means you just click "Done" at the end of the survey. Then you show up between 9-12 on Saturday at the delivery location, which is in the indoor eating area outside the Common Ground Food Co-op in Lincoln Square Mall. You get there by going out the back door of the Co-op, or entering the mall in the Health Alliance area, east side of the mall. You will pay for your orders at that time.

Important reminders:

1.  Winter harvest is trickier than summer harvest in that it takes longer to harvest, and we have less of it. Also, it's darn cold out here. Therefore, if you place an order, PLEASE PICK UP YOUR ORDER. We don't want to harvest too much, and lose that produce, and we don't want to harvest too little, and incur your disappointment.you must return the survey before noon on Thursday, or we can't get you your order. We will be using the survey numbers to know how much to harvest.

2.  The survey itself should be self-explanatory and simple to use, but let us know if the questions are confusing in any way. The only question you must answer is the first one, in which you provide your name. Then you can order whatever you want. 

3.  Please bear in mind that we are trying something new, so feedback is welcome, and we might have to tweak the system in the future.

4.  If all goes well we will do this again in two weeks....

5.  We had an tough time reading some of your handwriting and a few emails bounced back.  Please let your friends know if they did not get an email and have them email us to get on the list.

Here is a link to the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7JHZSVF

This link is uniquely tied to this survey and your email address. Please do not forward this message.

Thanks for your patience and participation and please Dance for sun.

Blue Moon Farm

Please note: If you do not wish to receive further emails from us, please click the link below, and you will be automatically removed from our mailing list.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/optout.aspx?sm=NeGaHZS5yvXZgiyOvMK7pg_3d_3d

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7JHZSVF

Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery is a small, farmstead & artisan cheeserie located in central Illinois (about 130 miles south of Chicago; just outside the city limits of Champaign-Urbana).  We milk 50-70 goats and receive sheep milk from a nearby Amish sheep dairy.  We make cheese seasonally from March through December and sell our products through farmers’ markets, to restaurants and local retail stores. Our cheeses are used widely throughout the finest kitchens in Chicago restaurants. We have also won several national awards for our cheeses.

We also have a small, certified organic fruit orchard and vegetable garden.  In addition to the creamery and farm, we have a certified commercial kitchen from which we prepare seasonal “Dinners on the Farm” and make value-added products from our organic fruits, vegetables and herbs.  Our Farm Dinner series has received national attention in Bon Appetit Magazine and Food & Wine Magazine. 

We seek a highly motivated, creative person with culinary experience interested in learning the craft of cheesemaking and assisting with our “Dinners on the Farm.” The position is full time (40 hours/week) starting March 1 through the end of December.  We are looking for someone willing to commit to at least one season (2010) with the possibility of a more permanent, long-term position. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Responsibilities include:

• Assist with basic processes of cheesemaking and maintaining aged cheeses
• Maintain good records and hygienic conditions in cheeserie including routine and intensive weekly cleaning
• Prepare and organize cheeses for farmers’ markets and other sales outlets
• Sell cheese at farmers’ markets
• Assist head chef in preparation of farm dinners
• Assist with other kitchen activities such as food preservation and development of other value-added farm products

Desired qualifications include:

• Culinary background (either formal training through culinary school and/or on the job training)
• Strong interest and desire to learn the art and science of cheesemaking
• Attention to detail
• Meticulous hygiene skills
• Willingness to perform routine, repetitive and sometimes tedious tasks
• Willingness to work hard
• Prior cheesemaking experience a plus but not a requirement

Application deadline is: February 5, 2010

Please send a letter of interest, resume and list of three references to:

Leslie Cooperband

Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery

4410 N. Lincoln Ave.

Champaign, Illinois 61822

Tel: 217-643-2314

Email: prairiefruits@gmail.com

Website: www.prairiefruits.com

Do you want to have an intimate relationship with one of our goats and get cheese in return?

Then, the Prairie Fruits Farm "Community Supported Goat" (CSG)Share Program is for you.  Similar to a CSA, CSG gives you a portal into the serene and carefree life of one of our milking does. When you become a CSG member, you'll receive a certificate of support that features a picture of "your" doe. You'll also receive an organic cotton t-shirt with a photo montage of our does on the back. But wait, there's more!! For a full share ($200 per year), you'll receive quarterly shipments or deliveries (spring, summer, early fall and early winter) of an assortment of Prairie Fruits Farm cheeses. For a half share ($100/year), you'll receive the same certificate of support, the beautifully designed t-shirt and two annual shipments or deliveries of our cheeses (spring and fall).  For more details, click on CSG membership signup under the "Interact" heading of our website.

CASSANDRA (pictured above)THANKS YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR FARM!