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Farms
Thanks for wanting to learn more about the farm we use at Isidore Foods - Organic and Local Food Delivery for Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cleveland. We hope this information begins to build a connection between you and your local farmers and artisans.
Vegetable Farms
Yoder Farm - organic (not certified) vegetable farms located in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
Clarion River Organics - a group of organic Amish farms in Clarion County, Pennsylvania. Find them on the web at www.clarionriverorganics.com/
Milestone - hydroponic lettuce grown in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Find them on the web at tinyurl.com/4vm6usr
Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative - a group of organic growers based in southern Pennsylvania. Find them on the web at www.tog.coop/
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Fruit Farms
Triple B Farms - fruit and vegetable farm in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. They grow fruits using integrated pest management techniques. Vist them on the web at www.triplebfarms.com/
Soergel Orchards Family Farm - fruit farm located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. They grow fruits using integrated pest management techniques. Vist them on the web at www.soergels.com/
Sally's Cider Press - old fashioned cider press located in Butler County, Pennsylvania. They use ultraviolet light, not heat, to pastuerize their cider. This process retains the flavors of the locally grown apples they use when making the cider.
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Dairy Farms
Manchester Farm - an organic dairy located in Washington County, Pennsylvania that raises forage-fed cows and works with Colteryahn Dairy to bottle its certified organic milk. Find them on the web at www.manchester-farms.com
Middlefield Original Cheese Cooperative - a cooperative of Amish farms from Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania that raise forage-fed cows and use their milk to make Northeast Pastures Artisan Cheese. Their cheese is pasteurized and contains no added hormones or antibiotics.
Hartzler Family Dairy - a family owned farm located in Wayne County, Ohio that produces its own country style roll butter. Find them on the web at www.hartzlerfamilydairy.com/
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Meat Farms
McElhaney Family Farm - a family farm located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania that raises grass and forage fed shorthorn beef.
The first step they take to ensure a quality beef product is feeding our cattle a green diet of grass, hay, haylage and green corn silage. They add starch - ( Roasted Barley and Oats) that comprises about 40% of their diet for 60 days ahead of harvest, with the remaining 60% being the same green diet.
No added hormones or antibiotics.
Visit them on the web at www.familyfarmbeef.com
New Creations Farm - a family farm in Geauga County, OH. They raise pastured pork, beef, free-range chickens and eggs. No added hormones or antibiotics. Their processed meats (Bacon, Sausage, Hams) are MSG and Nitrate free.
Find them on the web at www.newcreationfarms.com/
Jarosinski Farm - a family farm located in Butler County, PA that raises pastured poultry. Their chickens are free-range and eat all the bugs they can find in their pastures.
Find them on the web at www.localharvest.org/jarosinski-farms-M24400
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Bakery
Wood Street Bread Company - a family owned business in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. They have been making artisan bread since 1996. Visit them on the web at www.woodstreetbread.com/
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Pantry
No Pantry products are available at this time.
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Glossary of Farming Terms
The local farms listed above take the following principals seriously as stewards of their farm for their generation and future generations -
- Soil fertility - they maintain the long term fertility of the soil by helping worms, insects and other organisms to flourish. They add nitrogen naturally by planting cover crops and rest part of their land each year to improve its soil tilth for future plantings. Healthy soil means healthy plants!
- Rotating crops - they rotate the types of crops and animals in a field each year. This helps to keep the soil fertile and to prevent the build up of weeds, pests and diseases that can occur if the same crop is planted in the same field each year.
- Animal husbandry - they have high standards of animal welfare which take into consideration the natural behavior patterns of the animals. The animals range freely outdoors, they are fed on a natural diet and given proper veterinary treatment. Animals are also an important part of an integrated farming system as their manure fertilizes the fields whose grasses they feed upon.
- Protecting the environment - by reducing or avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, farmers who sell to Isidore Foods reduce pollution in the soil, waterways and the food chain. They encourage natural predators to help control pests rather than using chemicals. If necessary, they will spray their crops as part of their integrated pest management (IPM) system. No genetically modified (GM) crops or animal feed are permitted.
Vegetables and Fruits
Certified Organic: Federal as well as state regulations govern the use of the term “organic” in the marketplace. Vegetables and fruits sold as “organic” must be grown and handled in accordance with these regulations. Operations with more than $5,000 gross annual income from sales of organic products must have their production and handling methods certified by an officially recognized organic certification agency.
Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.
Integrated Pest Management: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.
Eggs
Free-Range or Free-Roaming: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not set standards for "free-range" egg production. Eggs purchased by Isidore Foods are from pastured chickens in warmer months and uncaged free range hens in colder months.
Milk, Meat and Poultry
Pasture-Raised and Grass-Fed: The animals have access to the outdoors and are able to engage in natural behaviors, such as grazing. However, neither stocking density, frequency, duration of outdoor access nor quality of the land is regulated. Producers must submit affidavits to the USDA that support their animal production claims to use these labels.
Hormone-Free, rBGH-Free, rBST-Free and No Hormones Added: Growth hormones are commonly used to speed growth in beef production. While the use of these hormones has been approved by federal regulatory groups, there is no scientific consensus about their long-term effects on the environment or on human health.
Producers may not legally give chickens or pigs hormones.
Grain-Fed or Corn-Fed: Ruminants do not naturally eat grain, and their stomachs are not designed to handle it. So, feeding them grain can cause liver abscesses and problems with lameness. In addition, cows raised on grain (especially corn) are higher in saturated fat and lower in omega-3 fats than cows raised on grass.
Thanks to China Millman for gathering some of these definitions while writing her article, "How Humane is Your Food?", which appeared March 2 2008 in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
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