Celebrating 50 years

of the Amherst Farmers Market

Hello Friends of Leyden Glen,

First off - tomorrow Mark and I will be at the Amherst Farmers Market on the Common from 7:30 to 2:00. It’s a big day - the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Market. At 10 a.m. there will be some notables giving speeches. Stop by and say hi to John Spineti of Twin Oaks Farm who is one of the founders of the market.

It’s been a long time since I have written a newsletter. And boy has it been a long summer. Suffice it to say that the drought we have had here in western Massachusetts has really done a number on this and many, many small farms and farmers. I won’t go into details. We, like most, are holding on if by the edge of the tractor seat praying for more rain and wondering what next year will look like. This year has been a turning point for most climate change deniers - we hope. As farmers, we are going to have to adapt our farming practices in order to keep farming.

The photo below shows the pasture below our farmhouse. Looks like a desert, doesn’t it? We have had to supplement the sheep’s diet with hay because the pastures stopped growing. Never mind that the wells dried up too. Lots of water pumping from a stream and water hauling to the various groups of sheep.

This photo shows the sheep during the first rain in over 7 weeks. Talk about relief!

On a good note, we have excellent stock on all of our cuts of lamb including some beautiful racks of lamb and half boneless legs. Stop by the market tomorrow.

We also have whole lambs for your freezer. The price is $11/lb and weights average between 30-35 pounds of meat (two bags of meat). You’ll get all the cuts and be able to feed your family many delicious meals this winter.

Hope to see you tomorrow at the market.

Fingers crossed for more rain,

Kristin and Mark