Where has the time gone? Last time we were writing, it was winter, the goats were bedding down in the barn and kidding season was upon us. Suddenly, it's sunny, clear and spring, the goats are still kidding (no kidding!) and it's time for the market to start again!  We had hoped to write more during the winter months, but it appears that did not happen and we do apologize for being so out of touch! We did very much enjoy the rest that winter always brings and time to gather our thoughts, take care of ourselves and relax a bit.

The easiest place to start with this update is to tell you that tomorrow - May 12, 2012 - the North Atherton Farmers Market opens for the season! We (Young American Growers) will be there with goat meat. We decided to start off the year on an easy foot by requesting from our butcher the same cuts that you've grown accustomed to buying from us - ground meat, stew meat, loin roasts, organ meat, etc. As the season progresses, we hope to expand the choices (more about that below!). The market will start with about slightly more than half of our vendor membership. As we come closer to mid June we should have our full compliment of vendors available. Tomorrow, in addition to fresh (not yet frozen and just cut today) goat meat, you'll also find early season produce (potatoes, greens, radishes, rhubarb, etc.) and all the staples (meat, cheese, ice cream, bread, baked goods, etc.). We are also excited to announce that we have a few new vendors this year - two of which come to the market with soap and other beauty products (organic and homemade!) as well as wine from a vendor that is proud of the fact that the wine is entirely made of grapes grown on their farm! Please come out and give a warm welcome to these new vendors.

Regarding our goats, there is much to say! Our kidding season, as we reported earlier, got off on a bad foot. We kidded shortly after the start of the new year and quickly began to experience some issues with stillbirths. It was a terrible time, but when we began talking to other farmers in the area, so many of them were facing the same trouble. Although it is still unfortunate, we did take some comfort in knowing that we were not the only ones going through this. AFter many discussions and alot of thought, the best we could all figure was that somewhere between the extremes of the incredibly wet spring, the intense summer heat, the fall rain and then the snow drought, that nutrients in the browse, hay and other feeds were bound up and unavailable therefore causing developmental issues with the kids, lambs and calves in our area. Some area farmers had tests done that confirmed some selenium deficiencies and others were less clear. Either way, we were not alone, but that doesn't take away the difficulty of the problem. Luckily, all of our goats did not get pregnant at the same time (much to our surprise) and as we speak, many goats are still kidding. This is good news! It is also nice to start off spring on a such a fun foot with the kids bouncing around the pastures. Soon, we will be moving the herd to their summer grazing site and will start the cycle again! That is one thing that we both love about Pennsylvania - the seasons force change, reevaluation and rebirth ALL THE TIME. It is a good thing!

Elsewhere in our lives, things continue to be busy! As we mentioned last year we were looking into buying a slaughterhouse in Spring Mills. That plan has come to fruition! Along with Mike and Virginia Byers, we are now part owners of our newly formed Rising Spring Meat Company. Presently, the slaughterhouse is under renovation and we hope to open as soon as possible. We have employees lined up (we created three new jobs right here in Penns Valley! yay!) and they are hitting the streets as we speak to make sales and new contacts. We are also working on many improvements to the physical structure of the building. Our goal in reopening this plant is to make quality butchering more available to small local farmers with less wait time, more customization, excellent customer service and individualized attention to branding and marketing their products. In time, we also hope to open our retail shop (part of the property) for weekly sales of fresh meat (beef, pork, lamb, goat, etc.). Please visit www.risingspringmeats.com for more information - you can also find us on Facebook!

Although we don't often provide updates about our nursery here, things are going well on that front as well. We continue to provide wholesale nursery raised perennials (Astilbes in particular) through a growing contract with Creek Hil Nursery in Leola, PA. This relationship is relatively new for us (in relation to the age of our nursery business) and it continues to grow and stabilize. Our partners at Leola nursery are great mentors, colleagues and friends and we enjoy the working and personal relationships formed through this venture very much. 

Lastly, we (the people running around doing all these crazy things!) are doing A-Ok. Being married and owning multiple businesses (not to mention holding full time and part time jobs) is not the easiest thing two people can do. People often comment on where we find the time and energy to sustain our passions and pursuits. The answer is not difficult actually - we love what we do, we love connecting and networking with people, we are passionate about local food, we are animal lovers, we are horticulturists through and through and we are fortunate to have extremely supportive friends and family.  The even shorter answer is that when we connect with you at the market and you enjoy our product, partake in our story and share your story back with us, it makes the hard work and the difficult times worth every minute!

Thanks for being loyal customers, for supporting local food and for reading these very long emails! 

We hope to see you at the market tomorrow! Spread the word that we (North Atherton Farmers Market) are open again (PLEASE!) and stop by to say HI! We've missed you!

With gratitude and hopes for a continued wonderful spring time for you and yours,

Laura and Jay Young

Young American Growers (and Rising Spring Meat Company! - still getting used to saying that!)

A few weeks ago we wrote about our first two kids that were born this season. As I write this we now have 9 happy kids in the barn jumping around (one who is slightly less happy with a goopy eye) and 2 sitting on my lap as I write this. There are many mothers that have yet to kid and we are thankful for this brief break in between kid crops! The low temps have been hard on the kids and the moms, but we keep moving forward. We brought the 2 kids that are on my lap into the house last night and this morning as it was becoming clearer by the minute that they were not drinking enough and needed some help. After a warm bath, some time by the fire and some warm milk, they are perking up, running around the living room and creating anxiety in our dogs - a good sign! This is one of the happy stories!

As with most seasons though, there are always sad stories to tell as well. Yesterday, a sad story presented itself at a very inconvenient time- reminding all of us that no matter how romantic farming can be, it can sometimes slap you in the face too. One of our very loyal customers and friends stopped by for a planned visit to see the kids. She was with her sister and brother in law and they had a Christmas tree to donate to the goat feed pile and wanted to meet the babies. Slightly before their arrival, I had noticed one of the mothers struggling with labor. By the time our visitors had arrived I was becoming convinced that maybe she was experiencing prolapse, but we hadn't seen that condition in years since we stopped feeding grain and I was baffled. Shortly after we headed into the barn, it was clear she was having trouble pushing. So, I got our visitors all set up with some kids to hold and play with and tried to keep a close eye on the mom. At some point, I realized she was giving birth to a stillborn and she needed help. So, as all good goat midwives do, I got one knee down on the barn floor and started to help her pull out the kid while she pushed. It was clear that the goat was also baffled. She wasn't crying and I could sense she just wanted it all to be over. When the kid came out, I immediatley wrapped it up in a blanket and let it lay by her side. Sometimes when we remove the kids too quickly (for whatever reason) it causes alot of stress to the mothers. She stood silent for a little while and we thought maybe she had another kid in her. After a short while, she sniffed at her kid and then she shook it off and headed out to the hay bin for a meal. T'is the life of a goat.

And so it goes, and so it goes and so it goes. I could tell that our visitors felt the sadness just as much as I and the goats and the dogs did, but we all just moved on from it for the sake of the afternoon.  In some ways, it was nice not to be alone throughout it all as it is always sad to lose part of our goat family and although we were silently mourning this without discussing it, it is always nice not to mourn alone. On the other hand, I was sad they had to see that when they were likely expecting a much more entertaining afternoon. Not to mention, seeing a live birth is truly a wonderful thing to be a part of and it's too bad it turned out the way it did. Alas, these are the downs that balance out the wonderful ups of farming. I was relaying the situation to a good friend who is a dairy farmer that stopped by later that afternoon and how horrible I had felt that it happened in front of our guests. He said, "You know the old saying...When you have livestock, you have deadstock".  And however hard it is, he's right. It's a reality - a harsh one, but a reality nonetheless. As it should, I always feel affected by a situation like this, but overall each time we have a loss, we become a little wiser. 

And so, we started out this day on a hard note as we pondered the events of yesterday and then we spent this afternoon looking for a little inspiration! We cleaned the kidding pens and we finally got the kids tagged (ID tag in their ear) and let them out of the pens. Within minutes, they were jumping around the barn (the scene I had written about in November - an experience that can right any bad day...the experience our visitors were looking for one day late) and we took another step forward in our goat lives. 

To our visitors, thanks for being a part of our farm yesterday and for being understanding that sometimes downs are part of the bigger picture. We owe you one!

Enjoy the snow everyone!

Laura and Jay Young

Young American Growers

We're writing to let you know that the kids have arrived...well, two of them have! Sante Fe (daughter of Martha), one of our stellar breeding does born on our farm in 2007, kidded around 10am this morning. Despite the frigid temps today, the kids are doing quite well and Sante Fe is being a good dam (goat mom).  

As you may recall from one of our previous newsletters, the goats instinctually breed during a time of the year that will produce kids 5 months later in colder temps. In colder temps, the kids have less parasitic challenges (since many parasites are dead or inactive at low temps) and it helps to give them a good solid start.

The does typically begin to go into labor during sudden changes in barometric pressure like we saw between yesterday and today. We have also noticed that once one mother kids, there is a hormonal switch that seems to trigger with the other goats that are bred and they soon go into labor. Today's birth no doubt starts that clock for all of our goats and for our watchful eyes as well. During temps like we've seen today, we have to keep a close eye on the mothers that are not smart enough to kid in a protected area. On a night like tonight, kids can turn hypothermic really quickly, as we know all too well. Saving them from hypothermia is not always successful. Depending on the conditions of the mothers before we go to bed, sometimes we have to do a barn check in the middle of the night. 

The attached picture you see here is Laura holding the two new kids. The goat that has the white blaze on its head is a buck (boy) and the one with the chocolate brown head without the white blaze is a doe (girl). You can also see Sante Fe popping her head up to see what is going on with her screaming kids. She is always a great mother. 

These kids born this winter will be with us for the next year or so depending on their quality as it relates to the breed standard and how they grow. In the spring, they will be sorted. The bucks will be castrated and/or separated from the does and they will go to a separate grazing/browsing site to prevent any unwanted pregnancies. Historically, our breeding bucks have often thrown a 50/50 buck to doe percentange. It will be interesting to see how our new buck faired this year. 

We will continue to update you on our kidding season as we are able! If anyone wants to visit the farm to see the kids, we will be happy to be available to show you around!

Jay and Laura Young

Young American Growers

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

We arrived home tonight after candlelight service at church to all of the goats laid out in the far end of the barn where the cows usually are. We had left the lights on and so it looked a bit romantic. Like proud parents we just watched them peacefully resting - a good night to peacefully rest under a bright sky and crisp air. The mothers are heavy bred and we are expecting kids any day now. The wreath orders are all done and as we look ahead to busier days with the kids jumping around and a bit of chaos in the barn, we are thankful for this brief rest and reflect on a productive and successful year on our little farm and are thankful for your business, friendships and the relationships we've formed with all of you.

In lieu of being able to hug you or shake your hand at the market, please know we are thinking of all of you tonight and hope that you are having a restful and Merry Christmas. Enjoy your families! Enjoy the goodness of today! Enjoy each other! We have alot to be thankful for!

As the kids arrive, we'll be sure to send updates and pictures as we are able.

With Thanks and Love,

Laura and Jay Young

Young American Growers 

MISSING THE MARKET SCENE
Good morning everyone!  We have missed writing to you about goats and seeing you at the farmers market every week. Please remember that there are two indoor farmers markets in town. One is the Boalsburg Farmers Market which is held on Tuesdays from 2pm-6pm at the Boalsburg Fire Hall.  The other is the Old Gregg Farmers Market held on Saturdays from 10am-1pm at the Old Gregg School in Spring Mills.  The more support that the winter markets get, the more reason there will be to have them more often and for farmers to work harder to bring more goods to the market. Please consider supporting these markets! 

NEW WEBSITE
Our new website is now done. I hope you will take some time to check it out at www.youngamericangrowers.com. It is more comprehensive than our old site in that it refers to the multi facets of our business rather than just the nursery component. Your subscription to this email list can now be managed by YOU! Up until now, we have just maintained an email list at home. Please see the home page of our site on the right margin for mailing list information. Also, please refer the site to others who may be interested in receiving updates from us!

THE GOATS ARE HOME
We are happy to report that all of our goats are home from their various summer browsing sites. We are very much enjoying having them in our backyard again and are steadily preparing for kids to arrive in the next month or so. We'll be sure to keep you updated with all of the happenings and updates as they come. 

YAG AT THE 3RD ANNUAL LEMONT CHRISTMAS MARKET TODAY AND TOMORROW
Lastly, tonight from 5pm-8pm and tomorrow from 11am-5pm we will be vendors at the 3rd Annual Christmas Market in Lemont. This is a relatively new market and its organizers are trying to create an old fashioned german market experience. It was very well attended last year and we would love to see you there! We will be selling our Christmas wreaths which are all hand made from locally harvested greens and carefully and lovingly decorated.  Prices range from $25-$50. 

GOAT MEAT
If you are interested in goat meat between now and when the market reopens in May, please just send us an email and we will be happy to collect orders from individuals until we have enough to slaughter a goat to meet the orders. For those of you that have already contacted us about whole or half goats, we will be getting back to you shortly. 

We hope that you had a safe and restful Thanksgiving and that you took some time to be thankful for all of the wonderful things in your lives. We continue to be thankful to get to know all of you.

Up to our necks in wreaths greens,

Laura and Jay Young - Young American Growers

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, we obviously have so much to be thankful for with under year of business under our belts with our heads still above water, however minimally! Thank you to all of our customers, friends and family who help us to live our passions every day.

Travel safe and we hope your turkey is local!! :)

Laura and Jay