MDA Assessing Needs and Taking Plant Donations for Flooded Vegetable Growers

I didn't have time to write my own story about this, but I wanted to help spread the word. 


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, June 22, 2012

CONTACT:
Margaret Hart, Communications Coordinator
651.201.6131, Margaret.Hart@state.mn.us

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is seeking information from fruit and vegetable farmers and established community gardens that lost crops due to recent flooding or storms to determine how widespread these losses are. The agency is also seeking garden centers and nurseries that may be willing to donate annual fruit and vegetable plants to these growers so they can replant some of their crops.

MDA Assistant Commissioner Matthew Wohlman says if the need is great enough, a process will be put in place through the Minnesota Farmer Assistance Network (MFAN) to help connect the affected growers with nurseries and garden centers willing to donate plants that would otherwise be discarded.

“We know that there are losses and we know that many nurseries are ready to discard plants that they haven’t sold this season,” Wohlman said. “It only makes sense that we try to match up the need with the availability of plants and help some of these vegetable farmers replant their crop.”

MDA is asking farmers or community gardens that suffered crop losses due to floods or storms and are in need of annual fruit and vegetable plants to call MFAN at 1-877-898-MFAN (6326). Nurseries or garden centers willing to donate excess fruit and vegetables are asked to call the same number, 1-877-898-MFAN. When calling the number, press zero (0) to leave a message.

Celebrate Father's Day & Dairy Month with the Latest and Greatest Cheeses & Beer

MARIE FLANAGAN

Cheese and beer with friends on the patio—is there a better way to celebrate Father's Day or Dairy Month? I’ll leave it up to you to track down some guests, but here are a few small batch, local cheeses (and some beer pairings) that have been sparking interesting conversations around cheese plates lately. 

Singing Hills Goat Dairy is Minnesota’s goat farm darling on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook. Lynne Reeck and Kate Wall operate Singing Hills Goat Dairy, a 25-acre farm in Nerstrand, where they’re raising Nubian, Alpine, and Saanan goats and crafting fresh, artisan goat cheese. Creamy and mild, the brine on their slabs of feta-style goat cheese compliments rather than dominates the milky flavor of the cheese. And their fresh curds are soft, slightly salty, and squeaky between your teeth. For a homerun, try their feta piled on a rosemary, parsley, and garlic seasoned lamb burger and wash it down with an American Pale Ale like the World Beer Championship winning Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale. You can find Singing Hills’ cheeses at Mill City, Fulton, or Kingfield Farmers' markets, or Just Food Co-op. 

If you’re the kind of person who can imagine a cheeseburger in one hand and a Central Waters Mud Puppy Porter in the other, get thee some Moody Blue by Roth Kase. This small batch, Wisconsin cow’s milk blue cheese is a bold, creamy cheese smoked over fruit wood, giving it a smokey flavor so assertive that it’s been called “bacony.” Moody Blue out-performed Rogue Creamery’s popular Smokey Blue at the US Championship Cheese Contest in 2009, winning a silver medal. Grab a porter and crumble it on a burger, or make an impressive grilled pizza topped with Moody Blue, caramelized onions, and figs. 

A new cheese that’s making a big splash is Chris Roelli’s Red Rock cheese. The Roelli Cheese Haus in southern Wisconsin is making naturally rinded, creamy cheddar cheese, dosing it with big shots of annatto, and lacing blue mold veins through it to make a visually stunning cheddar-blue cheese. It’s aged in Red Rock caves for a minimum of 60 days while it develops its signature stark blue veins and natural blue rind. Red Rock’s bright color is dramatic on a cheese plate, and its flavor takes a grilled buffalo chicken sandwich to another level, especially with a smoked beer, like a Stagecoach Smoked Porter from Stagecoach Brewing Company in Mantorville, Minn. You can find Red Rock in the Seward Co-op Cheese Department. Want to see Red Rock in action? Check out this video from Wisconsin Cheese Talk:
 

Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 in Permalink

Cross-posted from TC Taste: Celebrate Dairy Month with the Latest and Greatest Cheeses - Twin Cities Taste - June 2012 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Twin Cities Veg Fest is for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Omnivores

The first ever Twin Cities Veg Fest will take place from 10am to 5pm at Coffman Memorial Union on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota on July 14, 2012. 


From the event planners:
"Twin Cities Veg Fest is for anyone and everyone – from vegetarians and vegans to omnivores! If you’ve ever thought about becoming vegetarian or are interested in reducing animal suffering, you’ll love Twin Cities Veg Fest.


Learn where your food comes from, how to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan, and why being compassionate benefits everyone. Plus you’ll enjoy tons of free vegan food samples and delicious vegan cuisine."

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

New Sausages Coming Your Way from Shepherd's Way Farm

Shepherd’s Way Farms makes some of my favorite sheep’s milk cheeses. It’s no secret that their cheese is good—they’ve received scores of accolades for their popular black wax coated Friesago, soft and creamy Hidden Falls, light and tangy Shepherd’s Hope, and spicy Big Woods Blue cheeses. Imagine my surprise, then, when I headed to Mill City Market and found a freezer full of unfamiliar sausages at the Shepherd’s Way market stand.

That’s right, three weeks ago, Steven and Jodi Ohlsen Read of Shepherd’s Way introduced several new varieties of specialty sausages, and they’re made with pasture-raised lamb and pork from their farm in Nerstrand, Minn.

In addition to the existing Merguez, Westlund, and Barlage sausages, the Reads are now selling a sausage made with orange peel and red wine called Sogn Harvest, a Sage and Ginger breakfast sausage, a Big Woods Blue traditional bratwurst made with blue cheese, smoked snack sticks called Birr Sticks, and a hard-to-find smoked sausage link (which is rumored to have notes of coriander and mustard) called Woodsman.

“I’ve always been interested in specialty meats,” said Steven Read. “Charcuterie is an emerging trend, and it’s been fun developing new ideas and seeing them become final products. It’s gratifying and exciting to see people responding.”

The small-scale Sage and Ginger sausage, with just a slight essence of ginger, makes a good breakfast sausage, but could very well be served any time of the day, and a pack of Birr Sticks tucked in with your camping gear will make the great outdoors all the greater this summer. According to Read, the Woodsman links seem to be flying off the shelves faster than they can make them.

Read grew up Swedish in Minnesota, and says making cased sausages and meat sticks simply reflect his upbringing.

Although the Reads raised the animals on their farm and developed the recipes for their new line of specialty meats, they didn’t have the ability to make their own sausages on-site, so they teamed up with sausage maker Dean Anderson at Geneva Meats in Geneva, Minn. Read explained that processing off-site was less expensive than having on-site facilities and licensing, although he acknowledged that it would be fun to have their own processing facility someday. The work they do on their small, family-based farm demonstrates their support of local, sustainable, slow food—they’ve hosted thousands of visitors to the farm, educating and promoting sustainable agriculture, land stewardship, and local foods.

Shepherd’s Way Farms' new line of sausages can purchased at the Mill City Farmers' Market, or you can send them an email and they’ll bring them to the St. Paul Farmers’ Market for you. They hope to start selling the new sausages at local co-ops this summer.

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Cross posted from TC Taste: http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Blogs/Twin-Cities-Taste/May-2012/Orange-Peel-and-Red-Wine-Sausage-Comin-Your-Way/

Celebrate Cedar Summit's 10th Anniversary at Milkapalooza

Cedar Summit is spreading the word about their 10th anniversary Milkapalooza party. Details about the event are posted below.

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Make plans to help celebrate ten years of on-farm milk bottling at the farm in New Prague at Milkapalooza on June 23, 2012, 10am – 3pm. Come help celebrate, it will be a great day for certified organic, 100% grass-fed family fun on the farm.

Lunch will be available for purchase. Food will be provided by Valley Natural Foods, and options will include Cedar Summit hamburgers, vegan vegie burgers, creamy organic coleslaw, kids plates, and cookies and milk for dessert.

You will be able to sample local cheeses and tour the farm with family members. They will have calves for petting and ponies for riding. Local beekeepers will also be showing off their bees – not for petting!

First MN Cheese Festival Coming to State Fair Grounds on Sunday

Check it out! The first ever Minnesota Cheese Festival will be taking place at the State Fair Grounds this Sunday. The following release was sent out from the Minnesota Cheese Festival organizers, and will give you the basic information about the event.

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MINNEAPOLIS - April 9, 2012 - On Sunday, June 3 at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds' International Bazaar, foodies can unleash their inner caseophile (cheese lover) at the first Minnesota Cheese Festival. Minnesota's artisan cheesemakers will be joined by Wisconsin cheesemakers for an event celebrating all things cheese. 

Open to the public from noon - 6 p.m. (with a private media and industry event from 11 a.m. -noon), the event aims to raise awareness for Minnesota's growing cheesemaking community while allowing cheese lovers to sample and purchase artisan, farmstead and specialty cheeses. While its neighbor Wisconsin is best known for a thriving cheesemaking industry, Minnesota is in fact the NO.6 cheese producing state in the US. In recent years, the state's processed cheese giants have been joined by world-class artisan cheese producers - such as Caves of Faribault, Alemar Cheese Co. and Shepherd's Way Farms. All three cheese producers will be in attendance at the Festival, alongside numerous Wisconsin cheesemakers. 

"Wisconsin has incredible, state-run programs that support the cheesemaking community, but the resources for Minnesota cheesemakers are limited," said festival organizer Whitney McChane. "These are hard-working small business owners who are responsible for everything from herd management to product distribution - and marketing often falls to the end of the 'must do' list. This event is hopefully the first of many designed to support and empower the local cheesemaking community while fostering a sense of pride among Minnesota residents." 

Timed to coincide with prime milking season and National Dairy Month in June, the festival is expected to draw sizeable crowds, given America's specialty, artisanal and farmstead cheese consumption is at an all-time high. This can be attributed to a combination of factors including more U.S. citizens traveling abroad and trying unique varieties of cheese; more U.S. restaurants offering a cheese course; and an increased interest in ethnic food (Source: Agriculture Marketing Resource Center). 

"Minnesota has a long and rich history of dairy farming, and while our output can't compete with our Eastern neighbor Wisconsin, our milk quality certainly can," said Keith Adams, Alemar Cheese Company's founder and head cheesemaker. "And, if it isn't immediately apparent, great cheese can only be made from great milk." 

MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(Schedule is subject to change)
Noon: Meet the Chef & Recipe Demonstrations - Gastrotruck
12:30 p.m.: Beer & Cheese Pairing Demonstration - Michael Agnew
1 :00 p.m.: Meet the Cheesemaker - Caves of Faribault
1 :30 p.m.: Wine & Cheese Pairing Demonstration - Leslee Miller
2:00 p.m.: Meet the Cheesemaker - Shepherd's Way Farms
2:30 p.m.: Beer & Cheese Pairing Demonstration - Michael Agnew
3:00 p.m.: Meet the Cheesemaker - Ellsworth Creamery
3:30 p.m.: Wine & Cheese Pairing Demonstration - Leslee Miller
4:00 p.m.: Meet the Cheesemaker - Alemar Cheese Co.
4:30 p.m.: Beer & Cheese Pairing Demonstration - Michael Agnew
5:00 p.m.: Meet the Chef & Recipe Demonstration - Chef Shack
5:30 p.m.: Wine & Cheese Pairing Demonstration - Leslee Miller
6:00 p.m.: Event ends 

REAR DEMONSTRATION AREA
Cheesemaking demonstrations will be hosted by experts from Midwest Supplies, which offers a full line of home cheese making supplies and kits: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/other-products/cheese-making.html

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

New Index Ranks Minnesota 17th in Locally Grown Food Consumption

The 2012 "Locavore Index" has ranked Minnesota as 17th in the nation in our commitment to raising and eating locally grown food. Our neighbors, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, all came ahead of Minnesota in the Index. Eight of the 12 states in the North Central region made the top 20. 

According to Strolling of the Heifers, "using data exclusively from government sources (principally USDA and US Census data) dating from 2010 and 2011, the Locavore Index measures the commitment of states to locally-sourced foods by measuring the per-capita presence of Community-Supported Agricultural enterprises and Farmers Markets, each of which is an indication of both the availability and demand for locally-produced food." 

The 2012 Locavore Index Ranking of States 
(Click here for a PDF chart including the underlying data and sources used to develop the Index):

1. Vermont

2. Iowa

3. Montana

4. Maine

5. Hawaii

6. Kentucky

7. North Dakota

8. South Dakota

9. Wyoming

10. Idaho

11. West Virginia

12. Nebraska

13. New Hampshire

14. Oregon

15. Wisconsin

16. New Mexico

17. Minnesota

18. Missouri

19. Kansas

20. Oklahoma

21. Arkansas

22. Washington

23. Mississippi

24. Rhode Island

25. Michigan

26. Alabama

27. Alaska

28. Massachusetts

29. Connecticut

30. Indiana

31. Colorado

32. North Carolina

33. South Carolina

34. Virginia

35. Ohio

36. Tennessee

37. Utah

38. Pennsylvania

39. Maryland

40. Illinois

41. California

42. New York

43. Texas

44. Georgia

45. Delaware

46. Louisiana

47. Nevada

48. New Jersey

49. Arizona

50. Florida

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]