A week ago, Broadview Ranch had the pleasure of hosting the Rockbridge Hunt Club Poker Ride! A Poker Ride is a long trail ride with five stations along the way. Riders stop at each station and draw a random playing card from a deck of cards. Once all the riders have returned to the stable, they compare “hands” and whoever has the best poker hand wins a prize! It was a day full of fun– and of course, delicious food. Sus and I grilled out for the riders, offering an array of h’ordeuvres including Chorizo, beef and pork stir fry, Hot Italian Sausage, and more. It was a great way to serve a community organization and have fun, and we are so glad to have been a part of the event!

Always working to improve our systems and increase efficiency, Broadview has just made a great purchase– a full walk-in freezer to house our products.   Don’t worry, our Farm Store isn’t going anywhere– you will still see the same beautiful, homey Broadview Ranch when you come to visit, and have the convenience of selecting our meats firsthand from the Display Freezers.  However, the walk-in will mean that we can store more product at a time and provide more flexible service to customers that need custom cuts or large quantities of an item.  We are excited about the new opportunities this will afford, and will keep you updated as they develop!

July is a great month all-around.  Summer is in full swing, and all the fun things that come with it–  including barbeques!  Rebecca and I are mixing our parties up this summer by offering not only traditional beef burgers, but pork burgers as well.  The unique and full flavor of Broadview pork makes these babies the hit of any gathering.  We have been using a delicious Rachel Ray recipe (found here) and just cannot get enough.  So, make sure that this month you order some Broadview Ground Pork and treat your family and friends to variety– the spice of life.

Curious to see the life on Broadview Ranch firsthand, but haven’t been able to make it out for a farm tour yet?  Can’t get enough of our Perky Berkies or our Cute Chicks?  Well, don’t fret!  I have embarked on a mini-project collecting video of life on the farm so that we can share it with you in more ways than one!  You’ll have to excuse some “shaken-camera syndrome,” seeing as I am armed only with a handheld camera and sheer gumption.  Think of it as one more all-natural, organic aspect of life here on the farm!  Feel free to access these videos on YouTube by visiting my user homepage, http://www.youtube.com/user/Asilwen  Don’t forget to comment!  And remember, firsthand farm tours are even MORE fun than these videos, so use it them as an incentive to visit us in person

Rebecca and the chicks get along just great!

… Goslings, that is.  Broadview is pleased to welcome 6 chirpy little additions to its family.  They certainly are cute and friendly now, but these chicks are not here just to be adorable.  Soon, they will grow up into strong adult geese.  Why is Broadview raising geese, you might ask?  The answer is simple: these geese will be raised alongside the chickens and, once they are older, will be able to protect them from predators.  Our chickens are very tame and not strong enough to scare off hawks or coyotes– six big geese, however, will have a much better chance of doing just that.  By raising them with the chickens from a young age, the geese come to consider the chickens their “flock” and stick around to keep them safe.  We just can’t wait to start this new project– as soon as the goslings are big enough not to fall over when they walk!

Broadview is excited to announce that we are launching our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program this month!  CSAs allow you to sign up for a monthly, to-your-door delivery of a “Broadview Bundle” including all kinds of our delicious meats.  There are three bundle sizes to help you find the best fit for you and your family.  With the easy recurring payment feature, CSAs are a no-hassle revolution with multiple benefits on the part of consumers and the ranch alike.  We are starting to take signups now, so for more information be sure to email Rebecca (rebecca@broadviewranch.com) so she can give you the full scoop!

We all know Broadview Ranch has pork products of the highest quality, but we’ve just embarked on an exciting project with a company called SausageCraft.   SausageCraft is Richmond-based with strong beliefs in the humane treatment of animals and meat free from steroids, hormones, and antibiotics.  This makes us perfect partners!  As our relationship develops, we are excited to explore new opportunities and products– and so it is, without further ado, that we unveil a masterpiece: Broadview Chorizo.  SausageCraft’s signature recipe makes this link sausage absolutely to die for (and I can say this from personal experience!)  This Chorizo is our first gourmet pork option, and the classification is well-deserved.  For those of you in the Richmond area, make sure to ask about Broadview products next time you see SausageCraft available– and for our other faithful customers, put in your order for these new links ASAP!

Broadview has recently welcomed 8 new additions  to the farm!  These little cuties are Berkshire piglets, and they are making themselves quite at home.  They are currently housed in the farm’s “pig barn,” eating all-natural feed for a few months until they are big enough to defend themselves from predators like coyotes.  Soon, they will be out in the fields and forests with their big brothers and sisters.  Until then, they are spending their time learning to root around in daily-supplied fresh mulch– good training for their upcoming time in the forests.  This keeps their curly tails wagging (literally!) and makes for happy, healthy piglets.  We hope you can come meet them soon!

 This past week, I helped out with moving Broadview’s pigs from one 5-acre wooded paddock into a new, fresh one.   The proccess involved setting up temporary fencing along the road between the two paddocks and herding the pigs along about a fifth of a mile.  If anyone has doubts about the high spirits and health of these pigs, all they need to do is come try herding them!  The pigs are smart and playful, giving us a run for our money in terms of who is leading who.  Eventually, though, we were successful and the pigs made it safely into their new pasture.  They are loving rooting up all that fresh new soil in search of hidden goodies!

It’s summertime, and that means it’s time for interns! Broadview welcomes our first
intern of the season, Susan Watkins, to the team. Susan was born and raised in Virginia
Beach, VA and attended Christopher Newport University with me. She just completed
a year of graduate school and has decided to take a break from studies in order to get some hands on experience in the agricultural industry. When I asked Susan what made her decide on working with Broadview, she said it was the opportunity to engage meaningfully and responsibly with nature. She is hoping to learn as much as possible about all of the different aspects of running a ranch like Broadview. As a result, she will be splitting her time between animal care with the farm manager, Bryn, and business development with me. Next time you’re on the farm, look for her and she’ll be glad to share more of her experience with you!