Hello again,
It’s Jason from Benson Farms. The weather is pretty and the muscadines are ripe. I heard that this weekend is supposed to be beautiful weather! It should be perfect for picking muscadines with the kids. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy it.
I was happy to get to spend an extra day with Jax this week. He was out of school on Wednesday for an e-learning day. I swear, these kids don't know how good they have it! He and I worked around the farm some that morning while my dad cut the last of the fall hay. Then the three of us headed over to the butcher and picked up beef.
Benson Farms Update: Now that the fall hay cutting is complete, we are gearing up to over seed the fields for winter grazing. We will be planting a mixture of oats, rye, and wheat that we hope will provide for plenty of green pasture until spring. This weekend we will be separating the spring calves and relocating them to the weaning pastures.
Fall Order Fulfillment: We will be working on our next wave of fall fulfillments this weekend. We'll get all of that beef packed up Sunday afternoon and shipped out first thing Monday. If you received a notification that you are in this wave, you will get confirmation and tracking information once your order ships. Our last wave of the fall fulfillment will be next month. We'll be updating those of you in our last wave as we coordinate with the butcher.
Spring Deposits are Open: Deposits are still open for our spring bulk beef harvest. Deposits close at noon on October 31st. Don't wait to lock in your guaranteed share of our limited spring herd! Once your deposit is placed, we put your name on one of our herd and you own it. You can see our products here and place a deposit now.
Welcome to the Benson Farms Family: If you are a new subscriber this week, and this is your first time reading our newsletter, we are happy you've joined us. Welcome aboard!
In the news: The biggest thing that caught my eye this week was the rise in the Food at Home Index. The cost of groceries rose again this month to a 12-month increase of 13.5%. For those of you who remember the early 80's, this is the largest increase since 1979! To put that into perspective, 13.5% annual inflation means that the cost of your groceries will double every 5 years.
Meanwhile, as the Dow dropped more than 1,200 points, President Biden held a press conference to celebrate the recent passing of The Inflation Reduction Act. He said, "The stock market doesn’t necessarily reflect the state of the economy, as you well know, and the economy is still strong. Unemployment is low. Jobs are up. Manufacturing is good. So … I think we’re going to be fine.”
Last week I told you about the potential for a UPS strike. This week it's the railroads. From the Rose Garden yesterday, President Biden announced that the White House had mediated a deal to increase wages for union workers by 24% and avoid a railroad strike. However, CNN warns that we aren't out of the woods yet and a strike may still be eminent.
Recommendations: Now that fall is here, we've started thinking about preparing for winter. One thing that always means for us is checking smoke detectors. A couple of years ago, we installed these wireless smoke alarms from Kidde throughout the house and we've been very happy with them. They are all linked so that when one alarm sounds, they all sound.
Until next time,
Jason Benson
Co-Owner
Benson Farms
