Slow Food Katy Trail: 2015

Monday, June 22, 2015

SFKT's 2015 Ashland-area Farm Tour on Sunday, July 19

Slow Food Katy Trail’s

2015 ASHLAND-AREA FARM TOUR

Sunday, July 19 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Join Slow Food Katy Trail Sunday, July 19, as we spend the afternoon exploring some of the farms that supply fresh, sustainably grown food to the Central Missouri region. This tour is designed to acquaint you with local farmers and give you an up-close look at their production methods and farming styles. Please feel free to ask them questions about how they grow their food.

Featuring

River Hills Harvest

8871 Tom Bass Road, Rockbridge • Guided tour 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Bernadette Dryden

It’s all about the elderberry. Let internationally recognized elderberry guru, Terry Durham, tell you why you need more of this magical native fruit in your life. Sample refreshing elderflower lemonade, elderberry shrub and thumbprint cookies filled with with—you guessed it—elderberry jam. www.riverhillsharvest.com

The Salad Garden

16303 S. Hawkins Road, Ashland • Guided tour 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.

Photo by Angela Reid

Spend an hour with farmer Dan Kuebler in his certified-organic vegetable paradise and discover—while nibbling on samples of each—how he makes his addictive fermented sauerkraut and pickles. Check out his extensive plantings and find out why his produce has been a favorite at the Columbia Farmers Market for the past 25 years.

Blue Fox Farm

120 E. Fox Hollow Road, Ashland • Guided tour 3:15 to 4 p.m.

Photo by Megan Fox

Chickens and turkeys and ducks, oh my! Visit this small, diversified family farm that specializes in pasture-raised poultry, eggs and wild-crafted herbal medicinals. While you sample their kefir soda, wild jams and jellies, let Megan Fox and Alan Helland show you what goes into creating a resilient homestead in the beautiful rolling hills of southern Boone County. www.bluefoxfood.com

— DIRECTIONS —

The tour follows the order listed above, at the times specified. Online map and GPS directions may lead you astray today, so it’s recommended that you follow the directions below. The map links below and those embedded in the tour flyer are approved and safe to use. Click here to download the printable pdf tour flyer.

☛ To River Hills Harvest • 8871 Tom Bass Road, Rockbridge • Guided tour 1 to 1:30 p.m.

From Columbia—Take US-63 S toward Jefferson City. Go 6.8 miles, then turn right onto E. Deer Park Road. Go 115 feet and turn left onto MO-163 (Tom Bass Road). Go 1 mile; orchard is on the right. Watch for the Slow Food Katy Trail farm-tour sign at the driveway entrance. (7 minutes/7.8 miles from Broadway & US-63)

☛ To get to the Salad Garden from River Hills Harvest • 16303 S. Hawkins Road, Ashland • Guided tour 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.

Go right (south) on MO-163 from the orchard driveway and travel 1 mile. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto US-63 S toward Jefferson City. Go 3.8 miles and take the Ashland exit (follow signs for Missouri Y/Missouri M/Guthrie/Ashland). At the top of the ramp, take the third exit off the roundabout to cross back over US-63, heading east. At the next roundabout take the first exit onto Highway Y. Go 2.6 miles and turn right onto S. Hawkins Road. Go 7/10 mile; destination is on the right. Look for the high tunnels and farm-tour sign. (11 minutes/8.7 miles)

☛ To get to Blue Fox Farm from the Salad Garden • 120 E. Fox Hollow Road, Ashland • Guided tour 3:15 to 4 p.m.

Turn left (north) onto S. Hawkins Road from the farm driveway and go 8/10 mile. Turn left onto Highway Y and go 2.6 miles. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto E. Broadway; go 1/10 mile and at the next roundabout take the first exit to stay on E. Broadway. Go 1 mile, continue onto E. Route M, and travel 1.5 miles. Turn right onto Highway MM and travel 4.3 miles. Turn left onto W. Fox Hollow Road; the farm is 1/2 mile down the road on your right. Look for the high tunnel and farm-tour sign. (20 minutes/10.7 miles)

☛ To get back to US-63 from Blue Fox Farm

Turn left (west) onto W. Fox Hollow Road from the farm driveway and drive 1/2 mile. Turn right onto Highway MM and go 4.3 miles. Turn left onto E. Route M and travel 2.5 miles to US Highway 63. (Go north on 63 to head for Columbia or south on 63 for Jeff City.) (14 minutes/7.1 miles)

**** Please leave your dogs at home! • Smoking is prohibited on all farms. ****

Slow Food Katy Trail

is the mid-Missouri chapter of Slow Food USA,

and part of a global movement.

Slow Food advocates for food and farming policy that is good for the public, good for the planet, and good for farmers and workers. Food that is good, clean and fair. Slow Food Katy Trail heartily welcomes new members and new energy for the cause. To join our chapter, please go to www.slowfoodusa.org and click on Donate. Send us an email at: slowfoodkatytrail@yahoo.com. Follow us on Facebook. Come talk to us on the tour and learn more!

See the Slow Food Katy Trail Facebook page for more info and updates.

There is no rain date, so check Facebook or the web site for tour cancellation info in the event of heavy rain or storms. You also may email lauraecarter17@gmail.com for more info, or call 573-220-5354 on the day of the tour.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Ashland-area Farm Tour flyer (Sunday, July 19, 1-4 p.m.)

Follow the link below to print or download a handy two-page pdf flyer that contains all the info you'll need to attend the July 19 Ashland-area farm tour featuring River Hills Harvest, the Salad Garden and Blue Fox Farm. If you click on the directions to each farm you'll be taken to a Google map leading to that destination, or just follow the printed directions.

Click here to download or print.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Save the date

The second Slow Food Katy Trail 2015 farm tour is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, July 19, and will feature three Ashland-area farms: Salad Garden, Blue Fox Farm, and River Hills Harvest. More information, including the event flyer, will be posted soon.

We invite you to join us on this tour and get a close-up look at some of the farmers who produce good, clean and fair food in mid-Missouri.

Friday, May 15, 2015

SFKT 2015 Fayette Farm Tour flyer

Follow the link below to print or download a handy single-page pdf flyer that contains all the info you'll need to attend the May 31 Fayette farm tour featuring Blue Bell Farm and Sullivan Farms. If you click on the directions to each farm you'll be taken to a Google map leading to that destination, or just follow the printed directions.

Click here to download or print.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

SFKT's 2015 Fayette Farm Tour on Sunday, May 31

Slow Food Katy Trail’s

2015 FAYETTE FARM TOUR

Sunday, May 31 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Featuring

Blue Bell Farm

3030 Highway 240, Fayette, MO • Guided tour 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

and

Sullivan Farms

637 County Road 102, Fayette, MO • Guided tour 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Join Slow Food Katy Trail Sunday, May 31, as we spend the afternoon exploring some of the farms that supply fresh, sustainably grown food to the Central Missouri region. This tour is designed to acquaint you with local farmers and give you an up-close look at their production methods and farming styles. Please feel free to ask them questions about how they grow their food.

The tour follows the order listed above, at the times specified, so please join us at Blue Bell Farm beginning at 12:45 p.m. to get ready for the 1 p.m. tour, then follow us up the road to Sullivan Farms for their 3 p.m. tour. You can find more information about each of the farms and what you’ll see there on tour day at the Slow Food Katy Trail web site.

Blue Bell Farm's one-acre vegetable garden is located beside the event barn to allow easy access to the certified commercial kitchen and wash area.

We begin at Blue Bell Farm, a seventh-generation Missouri farm that specializes in hosting on-the-farm events. One of Missouri’s oldest Century Farms, it has become a popular venue for weddings, parties and farm-to-table events during the past year. Their farm-raised produce, grown with entirely organic inputs, is often featured. Owner Jamie Bryant will show us around the flourishing vegetable operation, then Derek Bryant will guide us through the barn/event center. Herd manager Laura Korte will show us Blue Bell’s thriving grass-fed, grass-finished cattle operation and tell us about the heritage turkeys, pasture-raised chickens and sheep she produces with her own Country Neighbors Farm. Both operations are committed to following organic principles and taking a whole-farm approach to land management. Country Neighbors products may be available for purchase at the end of the tour.

☛ To get to Blue Bell Farm from Columbia: Head west on I-70. Take exit 121 (the Midway/Fayette exit) to merge onto MO-240 W/US-40 W toward Missouri UU/Fayette and travel for 9 miles. Continue right to follow MO-240 W, then drive 5 more miles to 3030

Hwy. 240, on the right. Watch for the Slow Food Katy Trail Farm Tour sign.

Bill and Brittany Sullivan at the farm with one of their goats.

Next we drive to Sullivan Farms, where young farmers Bill and Brittany Sullivan raise heritage “pasture pork,” grass-fed and grass-finished goat meat, vegetables, eggs, jams, jellies and more. Their hogs are fed whey (a cheese by-product) and non-GMO feed. The Sullivans are passionate about the way they farm, and they believe in raising happy, healthy hogs. They’ll have products available for sale at the end of the tour, including samples and full servings of their popular “shave ice,” made with their own organic syrups in flavors such as elderberry, lime, pomegranate and pineapple.

☛ To get to Sullivan Farms from Blue Bell Farm, please follow these directions since Google Map directions are not correct! Turn right onto MO-240 W and drive 6.7 miles. Turn right onto MO-124 E and go another 5.8 miles. Turn left onto County Road 109 and drive 1.5 miles, then turn right onto County Road 102. Their farm, 637 CR 102, will be on the left. Look for the Slow Food Katy Trail Farm Tour sign.