Ancient Grains & New Products

February 28, 2025

Ancient grains & new products

GREETINGS FROM YOUR LOCAL FARMERS! We hope you are doing well and staying healthy and warm this winter. If you are like us, you are excited to think that spring is just around the corner! With its warm breezes, blooming flowers, and lush green grass, I can almost taste the rich spring flavor being passed on to our milk and eggs.



WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE ARRIVAL OF OUR SECOND SON, ISAAC, ON JANUARY 30TH, A HEALTHY LITTLE BOY. He is named after my brother, who helps us out on the farm as needed. Looks like we might have some help growing more food in the future. ;-)

Pork

WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE WAY OUR PORK SUPPLY LOOKS RIGHT NOW. We are running out of most of the sausage flavors. Our next pigs are going to the butcher on March 14 and should be back by the end of March in the form of sausage and bacon, etc. By the way, these pigs have been supplemented since December with ancient grains presoaked in whey and skim milk. We look forward to tasting the difference.

An Important Note: For those of you who did not receive our January newsletter, we will explain the feeding change: Prior to December 2024 we fed our pigs and chickens with organically grown modern hybrid grains. But as of that month we switched to feeding them regeneratively grown, open-pollinated, ancient grains presoaked in whey and skim milk. These ancient grains are sourced from Copper Horse Farm in Lancaster County, PA.

why do ancient grains make such a difference?

Bob Sullivan, Copper Horse Farm owner, explains: “Historically, cultures all over the world developed unique foods with distinct flavors by using completely unique locally sourced ingredients. Wheat, Rye and Corn were some of those ingredients. But today, these grains have been commoditized and processed to the point where they are uniformly flavorless and lacking nutrition.

We decided to go back in time and grow the exact wheat varieties eaten hundreds of years ago using the same farm practices as they did back then, and processing the grain just as they did, on stone mills.

It took over a decade of hard work before we could start to offer these products. Our seed was sourced from seed banks and seed savers all around the world. We were given no more than 1oz of any ancient seed, and from there we needed to grow acres. We tried growing over 50 varieties of ancient grain and we let nature and our customers’ tastebuds decide the winners.

Every step of the way from growing our own seed to packaging and shipping our flour, Copper Horse Farm directly executes each step. No one else is involved in our supply chain, ensuring that you get all the unique flavor, texture and nutrition that these grains have to offer.”

eggs

Our 200+ young laying hens are now starting to lay eggs.We should have plenty before too long. We apologize for not being able to supply everyone with eggs the last few weeks!

Suplee hollow cereals

Be sure to check out our new line of products from Suplee Hollow Cereals in Honey Brook, PA. These include not only cereals but also seeds, nuts, and high-energy bars. Everything is presoaked and of the finest ingredients. We believe it is good to have some seeds and nuts in your diet, especially considering health benefits.

From Suplee Hollow Cereals: “Why Sprouted Grain? We sprout the grains (oats, seeds, and nuts) and dry them before we do the cereal processing. This helps increase the digestibility of the cereal. Grains that aren’t sprouted before eating emit a gas that can cause a bloated full feeling. Sprouting the grains virtually eliminates any discomfort that comes from eating unsprouted grains. Sprouting increases digestive enzymes, produces vitamin C, and increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5 and B6.”

Looking ahead

We’re excited to let you know that we are developing a website, which we hope to have ready by mid-spring. In the meantime and ongoing you can also find us in Google, plus on Facebook and Yelp and a number of other social media platforms. 

As we continue to grow and offer more features and products to our customers, we reach out to you for any comments, questions, etc. Please feel free to contact us at any time. We hope to see you soon! Winter store hours are Thursdays 9-5, Fridays 9-5, and Saturdays 9-4 (Mon, Tue, Wed by appointment only).

Thank You!

Thank you for taking time to read our newsletter — we hope you’ve enjoyed it. We wish each of you God’s riches and blessings!

Sincerely, Your Farmer Friends,

The Esh Family at Smiling Cow Farm Market