Busy days sure do make time go by fast . We are thankful for all the support we receive from our customers that keeps our days full.
This summer we got to help celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the Kalispell Farmers Market. We have been attending the market every Saturday in the summer for 37 years. It was special for Mom and Dad to be a part of the celebration, and get to talk to many old friends. Along with the Kalispell Market, we also did the Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Missoula Markets this year. The Markets have been an integral part of our success and a wonderful place to interact with our customers.
With never-ending fencing projects ahead, we decided to invest in a skid steer with a specialized post pounder attachment for the farm. Anyone who has dug a fence post hole by hand in the rocky West Valley soil would celebrate the loud noise of a fence post being power-driven into the ground. Growing up, whenever Dad gave the orders to set a corner post, I always wondered what I had done wrong to deserve such a punishment. Now the up and coming generation gets excited for the opportunity to hone their skills at operating the skid steer and its labor saving attachment.
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Recently, cooking with animal fats has become quite trendy, so we decided to join the fun. I have always been a fan of pork chop sandwiches and Dad came to love Schnitzel during his Army days in Germany. We took on the challenge and developed a breaded pork cutlet that we fry in rendered pork lard. Our experiment turned out to be a delicious success and now is another option we are offering for a quick lunch or dinner entree.
A couple of other new products of note are our Mango Green Chile Snack Sticks and our Rib Fingers. I have always wanted to make a green chile product as my wife is from New Mexico where green chiles are everywhere. The mango was a harder ingredient to work with as the acidity affects the texture of the meat. After much trial and error we have created a unique sweet snack stick.
The Rib Fingers pay homage to the boneless rib meat Dad used to cook up for special family occasions. In my attempt to turn the concept into a marketable product, we created an almost jerky-like snack. You can still heat up these tasty boneless ribs for dinner but I prefer them for munching on as a change of pace from a traditional snack stick or jerky.
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I need to give a quick shout out to both my siblings who, while not on the farm, have a love for hogs. My brother, Hugh, raises hogs in Townsend and takes them to shows all around the nation. Recently a hog that he bred was entered in the American Royal Show in Kansas City and it won top Chester White breeding gilt. Better yet for us, she is a sister to one our foundation gilts that we are using to build our breeding stock. Good genetics lead to good pork and we are proud of what Hugh and his family have done. Hugh’s boy, Spencer, has also started his own venture selling his Berkshire Pork at the Townsend Farmers Market and the surrounding areas using his own SB Berk brand.
My sister's kids have also been very active showing hogs and her daughter, Quiana, has had the opportunity to show and win numerous large regional shows this summer/fall with her Berkshire barrow. She and Spencer will also be showing at this year's Arizona National Livestock Show in December.
As we take on the challenge of the Holiday season, we want to reiterate how much we appreciate the support we get from our community. It is a privilege to be a part of it. From our family to yours, we wish you the happiest of holidays!
Ken Braaten