We are excited to announce that we have two interns working with us this summer, Hannah Dubit and David Tilson.  Mind you, interns are not a new phenomenon on the farm, in fact, my grandfather and his friend Roger Mudd were some of the first interns back when Broadview was a dude ranch run by my Great-Grandad Tex Tilson.  Even Josh and I spent a summer working on the farm together a few years back.

Hannah Dubit

Hannah hails from right down the road and has been a frequent guest at our pond parties.  She is a rising senior at Mary Baldwin College and is interested in learning the business of farming and managing large livestock.  Hannah once had an egg business of her own and is experienced in animal husbandry.

David Tilson

David lives on the farm and is the son of Alan Tilson.  He has been working his whole life around the farm but this is the first time we are paying him.  David has been working mainly with the chickens before and after school.  Now that he can work full time over the summer we are looking to get him more involved with the cattle and pigs.

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David took some great shots of a cicada molting out of its old skin.  Click on “View with PicLens” to see larger shots.

Josh and I  love to work in the big garden at the farm- 33 tomato plants plus squash, asparagus, zucchini, chard, peas, and more. But on our last trip out to the garden, we found our squash plants were getting decimated by squash bugs. So we set loose five chickens in the garden for the day and those ladies had quite the feast!

I was cruising eatwild.com this evening and came upon this cookbook. Haven’t read it yet but it certainly looks interesting. For most folks the most challenging aspect of switching to naturally raised products is learning how to cook meats with less fat. This cookbook seems to offer some direction on doing just that and so I’ve ordered a copy for the farm, stay tuned for the results.

For any of you that haven’t seen this fascinating series about chef Jamie Oliver and his effort to change the broken eating habits of America, I highly recommend it. It is truly sad to see the detrimental effects that a broken food culture can have on health, education and communities. Its a six episode series available to watch on Hulu. http://www.hulu.com/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

My lovely bride was feeling a bit under the weather this evening so for the first time since our marriage began two weeks ago I got to cook. Jane has been showing off her skills in the kitchen this last week with home made cinnamon rolls and granola topping it off this past weekend.

I had some Broadview filets that I set out in the fridge on Sunday so I coated them in some olive oil, kosher salt and fresh black pepper and fired up the grill. On Saturday at the farmers market I acquired some fantastic fresh spring greens including my favorite pea shoots, so I tossed them in a little olive oil and balsamic along with some farmer’s market goat cheese and some freshly picked arugula – our first harvest from the Brooklyn garden. I grilled the filet – highest heat, just a few minutes per side – and sliced it over our salad. The outcome was fantastic. So good that I was forced to open a bottle of Napa Cabernet to enjoy along with the steak. If you’re looking for a great healthy spring dinner look no further.

The readers of Edible Blueridge Magazine have voted and given Broadview Ranch a Local Hero Award in the Best Farm category.  Each year, Edible Communities publications recognize outstanding contributions to the local foods movement through the Local Hero Awards which are voted on by readers. We are really excited to have received this award and we would like to thank our customers for their support!

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,62898783001_1955966,00.html

Matt Broxterman was nice enough to send us an picture of his meal.

We received two great compliments last week that I wanted to share with you. The first came from Joel Salatin, who many consider the patron saint of alternative agriculture (see The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Fresh, and Food Inc).  Joel, his son Daniel, and his two grandsons came out to inspect our pigs regarding a possible partnership.  His email the following day stated:

Daniel and I visited Broadview Ranch yesterday and were delighted with what we saw… To say we were impressed would be an understatement.  We deal with so many folks who fantasize about everything so to see somebody really put the package together and get it is truly encouraging. We were extremely pleased with the way the pigs looked.  That is exactly the way it’s supposed to be…they looked totally happy and healthy.

Joel’s email meant a lot to us because he has spent a significant amount of his valuable time with us and helped us in many ways.  There are many aspects of his very successful business that we wish to incorporate into our own.  He has been a very positive influence on our journey so far.  His compliments let us know that we are on the right track.

The second compliment came from a family of new customers.  Matt and Amy Broxterman and their brand new baby visited me at the farmers market and sent us the below email later that day:

I passed this compliment on to the other family members working on this project. We all agree that it is a really great feeling to be a small but acknowledged part of a family sitting down and enjoying a good meal together.  While nutrition, ecological impact, animal husbandry, economics and sustainability are all  core components of our mission, the most important aspect is the enjoyment of a meal, responsibly produced, through taste and family fellowship. A shared meal with family and friends provides so many more benefits than just the nutrients that you ingest.  As much as we appreciate Joel’s compliment, we  appreciate Matt’s even more because it sums up why we are in this business.  Our greatest wish is to have a small part in a million more such meals!

We had a great weekend as one of our own, Sara Henry, married Matt Collins on the farm.  The weather, scenery, and the bride were all gorgeous.  Afterward we had a wonderful party on a crystal clear evening,with great food highlighted by Broadview Prime Rib (thanks Michelle).  Gary Ruley and his band kept us dancing late into the evening.  A good time was had by all.  It was so much fun that we’ll have to try to find somebody else to marry off soon!!