The Duenk Farm

Chicken | Photo: Kelly Hunt I promised to tell you about this great farm I found and here it is – The Duenk Family Farm. It is run by Peter Duenk and Karen Eatwell. The farm is really not too far from London, it is past Ilderton and on the way to Ailsa Craig, but well worth the hike! Duenk Cows | Photo: Kelly Hunt These are Angus cows (the black ones, that pale one is a Charolais). Angus cows are originally from Scotland – I did not get close enough to hear the accents, lol… but they sure looked friendly enough. Peter went right out into the field with them and explained to me they were one of the more docile breeds of cattle. The pretty white one is the only one that is a Charolais, that means she is a Frenchie. The wonderful thing about these cattle that Peter and Karen raise are that they are almost fully “Pasture Raised”. The cattle roam about the farm all summer long in pasture and then in the winter they come in and are fed some healthy grains and some fresh cut hay that is grown on site. Because they are pasture raised, they naturally stay very healthy and do not need any antibiotics or hormones. The last 60 days of their time at the farm, they are brought into the barn and fed some corn to sweeten up the meat a little bit and improve the marbling – this is what distinguishes a good cut of meat. They are then aged for 21 days for a tender product. Here is Karen showing me the grains that they feed the chickens. Karen took me for a tour of the farm and it is loaded with good things. First off, let me say that they really believe in doing things right at their farm. They are interested in the grains they feed their animals, the habitats they live in and the treatment of them overall. There are meat chickens at the farm and there are egg laying hens at the farm. They are kept seperate from one another. The chickens are ecologically raised, which means that they have indoor outdoor pens. Most of their diet consists of a mixed grain that they mix on site. It includes flax and some other good things. The inclusion of flax (as well as another secret ingredient) increases the omegas in the chicken and make for a more moist and tender bird (sorry vegetarians!). One of the things that was a great fun to see were these baby turkeys. They were so cute, just look at them! I was in there like a “city-iot” and asking to pet them. They were so cute, they actually would stick out their little turkey chests and let you have a pet! They have ordered in about fifty turkeys and will sell these fresh for Thanksgiving – yes,that is right – by October/November these little guys will be huge! I know where I am getting my turkey. There are all cuts of beef and all types of roasts available at Duenk”s. There are fresh brown eggs available,whole chickens as well as turkeys. There is also a pet goat and a small horse and a few friendly and awesome dogs. You have to get there. If you have any questions, call Karen – she will be happy to help you out. Oh – and just a warning to my faithful readers – you are all stuck with this post for quite a while because I am going on a little summer vacation to Vancouver Island. I will have lots to post about when I get back because everything will be in season! We are going into July, which means cherries, peaches, currants, melons and even corn!!! Its all just around the corner. The Duenk Family Farm Karen Eatwell & Peter Duenk 25425 New Ontario Road RR#3, Denfield ON N0M 1P0 519-232-4105 Check the google map!  Read More

Happy New Year!

Yes, I am a little late wishing you all a happy new year, but better late than never! I thought I would start by sending you all warm wishes so that you may feel some small warm and fuzzy feelings back towards me. You see, I have some serious guilt about not posting ANYTHING since Christmas Eve! I really don”t know how it happened. I had 2 weeks off work and the time just slipped away from me. Unfortunately, time is not the only thing that slipped away from me over the holiday season…locavore common sense also slipped away from me – indeed it was an avalanche of sliding, slippery and unlocal food decisions. I do have guilt about not posting, but heck, I have some serious anxiety about all of the foods I ate from around the world. There I said it, I have come out with it – I have been a very bad locavore. I ate cheese from France and England, along with plenty of red wine from France, Australia and South Africa. I ate grapes from Chile, pineapple slices from god knows where and I think I even pecked away at a very exotic looking starfruit. Of course,I may have been one of the most appreciative guests at these food tables because I have been depriving myself of such luxuries for some time. I assure you there were loud exclamations of guilty delight. Setting all guilt and anxiety aside,there is no time like the present for starting anew. The new year brings promises for the future and these promises get kicked off with some resolutions. My resolution for 2009 is to move around more. In fact I have dusted off that big hamster device in my room called a treadmill and I plan on turning it on! I also want to continue my search for good, nutritious local food and I will not stop. I will keep posting my adventures for all those interested in reading about what I find. There are predictions being made that the current global economic crisis will fuel the already growing local food movement, that more and more people will come over to the light side and join us in our search for affordable, nutritious and low carbon eating! I just read an article on Treehugger here – that speaks of the increase in people keeping urban chickens as a source of cheap eggs as well as helping with compost issues – apparently you can feed chickens all kinds of kitchen scraps and they also keep the grubs out of your lawn… go chickens! What do you all think? Anyone want to share a resolution? Did anyone else overindulge on the non-local items at the festive feasts? Anyone already have backyard chickens that wants to tell us how easy it is to keep them? I have been wanting chickens for a while now, and would love to hear some advice! Happy New Year to all! Kelly  Read More