I just can’t believe it is the end of August already; the summer is just flying by. I have a few farms which I have not visited yet this year so I really need to step it up a bit.
Today is the perfect day to visit farms, the weather is beautiful. I am heading south on 71 highway to visit Gayle and Gary Beachner in Butler, MO. In addition to their farm in Butler, they also farm a large section of land in Odessa, MO where most of the produce is grown. The Butler location is mainly greenhouses where they start their plants and grow greenhouse tomatoes. This is also where most of their asparagus comes from in the spring. When I arrived no one was home and thanks to a dog protecting the farm I was unable to get out of the truck. If you look closely you will see him eyeballing me from the front porch. Every time I tried to step out of the truck he came barreling towards me so I will have to settle for just taking pictures from my truck. You will find Buds and Berries at the Market every Saturday (stall 101-104) and Sunday (stall 69-71).
I have a new vendor to visit in Kansas City, Kansas so I thought I would stop in Belton on the way by and visit Peter and Susan Kohl, KC Buffalo. Usually I am out this way in the early spring and don’t get to see all the baby buffalo. Susan informed me that 53 babies were born so far this year and they are expecting a few more late births. Peter has really expanded his heard, when I first started as Market Master Peter had about 150 head; today he has about 250 head of buffalo roaming his farm. In addition to selling at the City Market the Kohl’s also have a store on their property where customers can stop by and purchase meat on weekdays. It is so worth the drive. KC Buffalo is at the Market every Saturday (stall 87) April through October, and the first Saturday of the month during the winter.
Last stop today is to check out a new farm in Kansas City, Kansas. Abdul Khalifah sent in his application a few weeks ago, I must visit all new vendors farms before they are allowed to rent stall space at the Market. I had a terrible time finding the intersection the farm was located at; I had to call Abdul a couple times. In the end I had to drive into another person’s driveway and follow the gravel drive back to the field behind the house. Abdul told me that he does not use any pesticides and had just gone out that morning to cut down a path to get to the back of his field. Abdul has 40 acres, 20 acres of woods and 20 acres for farming. Before I got out of the truck he warned me that his sheep had gotten out earlier that day and were still on the run. I started down the mowed path and realized that in some spots the weeds were over my head and sheep tracks were everywhere. I just knew at any moment one of the loose sheep would be bounding out of the weeds in my direction. I continued looking for watermelons, okra and tomatoes. I finally found the tomatoes just because I saw the stakes but they were not producing anything. I found a few okra plants which were just starting to bloom and I never could find the melons. Abdul will need to wait till next year’s market.
I won’t be doing my blog or visiting farms next week. September 3rd is the Market’s “For the Love of Meat” celebration and Labor Day weekend which is always super busy. I still have farms to check so will plan on visiting Odessa, MO on the 8th of September.
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