Vern's Veggies and More

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Vern's great-grandpa Peter Skow moved to Northern Idaho in 1910, the year much of north Idaho's forests burned in a 3,000,000 acre fire complex. (Yes, that was "million.") He and his family homesteaded in (now)beautiful Cocolalla (12 miles south of Sandpoint--about 30 miles north of Coeur d' Alene) in 1911. His grandma Alice was born there in 1920.

She and Vern's grandpa Forest Spencer bought the land we farm in Cocolalla in 1961 and lived out their lives here with their family. Forest built a greenhouse on the side of the house, and Alice raised bulbs and vegetable starts to sell at the Co-op farm store when it was downtown Sandpoint at Church and 5th. She also had u-pick raspberries and strawberries. (We don't do that now.)

Vern's parents (Ray and Joan) own the place now, and continue raising (with Vern and Amy) the herd of cattle Forest started here in the 60's.

We grow and sell our naturally-grown vegetables to Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Ivano's Ristorante, and Spuds Rotisserie and Grill in Sandpoint and Pilgrims Market and Angelo's Ristorante in Coeur d' Alene. We also sell vegetables, homemade bread, and vegetable plants at the Sandpoint Farmer's Market. We also sell grass-fed beef and eggs from uncaged chickens from the farm--please call or email us to arrange pickup.

Last year Dad (Ray) dug the old horse-drawn potato digger out of the weeds and got the stuck wheels and gears moving again so we could use it. It sure beats digging them all by hand! This spring Ray fixed up the horse-drawn potato planter, which made planting a lot easier, too. Dad did better keeping up with the speed of operating the planter, so we let him operate the planter while Vern pulled it with the tractor. The children helped Vern plant the fingerlings by hand. We had to dig the last 200 pounds by hand, too, because the digger kept getting clogged.

We hope you enjoy our story and especially our meat and potatoes! Here is one of our favorite things:

Amy takes different colored spuds (red-, gold-, white-, and blue- fleshed potatoes) and dices them without peeling. Then she drizzles them with olive oil and tosses them with salt, pepper, freshly squeezed garlic (or garlic powder), and maybe some Italian herbs. She roasts them in a 350 degree oven, turning them occasionally until tender and lightly browned. Different fleshed potatoes also make neat mashed potatoes, potato chips, and chowder.



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Practices (our standards for raising or making our products)
Though we have chosen not to join an organic program and be "organic", we raise all our vegetables to meet the same standards, minus the detailed record-keeping of daily activities. Therefore, legally we are not "organic". Though "naturally grown" does not have a legal definition, we believe this accurately labels the way we grow them.

We go out of our way to buy certified organic seed when we can find it or we save it ourselves--no GMO's. We like to focus on heirloom and open-pollinated varieties. We mix our own seed starting mix with organic materials including compost and rock powders. The garden gets rock powders, fish emulsion, manure, and compost--no chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. We have not even used any of those that are approved by organic programs except a little insecticidal soap in the greenhouse for aphids. We use miles of drip irrigation on the garden, reducing water usage and the need for cultivation. We also use some plastic mulch to gain heat for a few crops we could not otherwise grow well and to conserve water and reduce weeds.

Our chickens get fresh greens to eat most of the time, whether they pick it themselves when we move them to a fresh plot or we bring it to them ourselves. This produces eggs with brighter yellow yolks that "stand up" on a plate, not lay flat like supermarket eggs. In the winter, the chickens get to run around happily in the greenhouse with lots of light and dry dirt to fluff in.

Our cattle herd was started by Vern's grandpa Forest in the 1960's, and has been closed for many years, limiting the introduction of diseases and pests. They eat only grass and hay (and whatever weeds are there). They get no grain or animal byproducts which helps them stay lean and healthy. Their meat doesn't have a lot of extra fat, which makes them taste better in the opinion of some, though it also makes it easier to over-cook. Fat from grain is less expensive weight in an animal, so with a lean animal you get more expensive protein for the weight you buy. We believe the balance of omega-3 and omega-6 acids in fat that is produced by grass is more healthy to consume than that produced from grain.

Heritage Farms

Heritage Farms is located in the beautiful Cocolalla Valley in the Idaho Panhandle. Our animals have a symbiotic relationship with the pastures on which they graze, each feeding the other without chemical inputs to either.

While most chickens are raised in 100% confinement, we've found that pasturing our birds adds quality while making farming more environmentally friendly. On our pastures, there's an entire ecosystem geared towards absorbing manure and eliminating pollution. The addition of fresh green plants to the chickens' diet adds quite a bit of flavor to the eggs, while the lack of crowding makes health problems uncommon. Free range eggs not only taste better and have darker yolks, but they are certainly higher in nutrients and have a superior Omega 3/Omega 6 balance to ordinary eggs.

Our Grazing Program ensures that our cattle are always grazing on lush green fresh grass, while at the same time replacing the broad spectrum nutrients they are removing. Every few days the cattle are moved to fresh pasture, and replaced by chickens, which then scatter the beef fertilizer while adding their own variety and controlling fly and bug populations. The chickens also convert the grass to luscious natural meat and eggs for your dining pleasure.

Through our Herd Share program you can receive milk from your own Dairy Cow, lovingly cared for and milked for you twice daily.

We offer Free Range Eggs and Dairy Cow Boarding year around as well as high quality Grass Finished Beef and Broiler/Fryer Chickens in season. Beef is sold by the whole, half, or quarter, or frozen by the package. Call for availability.

Visitors are always welcome at Heritage Farms; we love to give you and your family a “Farm Experience” tailored to your tastes. Children love to gather eggs, go for a hay ride and pet the milk cows. Sometimes there is a calf that they can bottle feed. Call 208-683-4410 to make arrangements.

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Practices (our standards for raising or making our products)
All-natural, no hormones, antibiotics or chemicals used in production. Organic principles applied, but not certified organic. Beef is never fed any grain, only grass-fed and grass-finished. Our beef has never been given any hormones, antibiotics or other chemical, nor have they ever been fed any grain, which could cause them to have health problems. Research shows that Grass-Finished Beef is as low fat as a skinless chicken breast, low cholesterol, and high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids. And the flavor is absolutely unbeatable!

Poultry are out on pasture when weather is appropriate, cage free at all times in large ventilated barn with fresh shredded hay for feed, excercise, and have fresh hay to eat and to use for bedding daily. The eggs they lay have dark yellow yolks which are perky in the pan, and do not spread out. Plus the flavor is absolutely WONDERFUL!

Additional Information
We practice ecology-based farming which mimics nature to create an agro-ecology where water is conserved and not polluted, and plant nutrients are recycled to produce the healthiest possible plants, animals and human consumers. Animal byproducts (manure and litter) are composted and spread on the hay fields to recycle the nutrients. No chemical fertilizers are ever used. Our goal is to build soil health and plant diversity by supplying natural means. Healthy soil produces healthy plants and healthy plants produce healthy animals which, in turn, help to produce health in our customers. Further information may be had at our web-site: www.naturalheritagefarms.com.

Cascade Creek Farm

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As a family, we started raising our own butcher animals because we wanted healthier, better-tasting and local meats. From a family passion to live and eat better our farm continues to evolve every day. Our pastures are registered Organic (in 2009) and all our animals live in large rotating paddocks, thriving on fresh air and wide open spaces. We custom grind our hog ration here on the farm. This hog ration is made up of LOCAL grains - primarily no-spray wheat grown locally for us here in the Kootenai Valley. We raise a variety of breeds, including some heritage breeds. We sell pork and beef by the cut, or by the mixed quarter, half or whole. We offer a variety of sausages with Organic seasonings, completely free of nitrites/nitrates/MSG, along with no wheat or fillers. We also offer cured meats (with custom hog orders) with a cure made of Organic spices and NO nitrites/nitrates/MSG.

All our beef is butchered and processed when the grass is green and growing. This is important with Grass-Fed/Grass-Finished Beef because it keeps the meat at it's tenderest and most flavorful. To ensure the best possible beef, we butcher beef June through October, when our registered Organic pastures are lush and vibrant.

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Ingredients
All our Sausage and Cure Seasonings are made with Organic spices and are nitrite/nitrate/MSG Free. Sausages contain NO wheat or fillers. All our custom hogs include the Organic sausage and cure seasonings. Currently ordering a custom hog is the only way you can get some of our delicious Bacon and Hams! Please contact us directly to find out more about ordering a custom hog, beef, pastured poultry or heritage turkeys.

Practices (our standards for raising or making our products)
All our animals live on Idaho Registered Organic Pasture (certification is complete in 2009). They are rotationally grazed in spacious paddocks. Our goal is to create living conditions as close as possible to the animal's natural settings. Our whole family is involved in the farm, all our animals are family friendly and love a good scratch! We are supporting LOCAL Organic and Sustainable production of grains in the Kootenai Valley by teaming up with a LOCAL farmer to grow grain for us with no chemical inputs. We grind this grain here on the farm to supplement the diet of the chickens and hogs. Our goal is to convert more and more land to sustainable agriculture.

Again, all our beef is butchered and processed when the grass is green and growing. This is important with Grass-Fed/Grass-Finished Beef because it keeps the meat at it's tenderest and most flavorful. To ensure the best possible beef, we butcher beef June through October, when our registered Organic pastures are lush and vibrant.

Additional Information
We are a Family Farm. We would not be able to practice our passion without the help of our children, Emily (12) and Devin (9). We love what we do and we have lots of fun doing it. It is incredibly rewarding to live the life we live. We started doing this over six years ago to have tasty, healthy meat in the freezer and we are happy to offer the same meats we eat at our table to other like-minded people. We welcome and encourage visits to our farm - Emily & Devin are great tour leaders. Buy Fresh - Buy Local!