Guest Post: Recap of Farm Crawl 2015

Thanks, Sean Skeehan of Blue Gate Farm, for providing this great recap of the day featuring a great group of PFI member farms! From Sean:

The ninth edition of the original Farm Crawl was held October 4, 2015.  Although a touch cool and overcast, this year’s Farm Crawl was successful as visitors departed with a better understanding and/or appreciation for the variety of small family farms.  There were over 2,000 individuals visiting some of the farm stops with no less than 800 visiting each farm (method of count: three farms greeted each arriving car and tallied the number of individuals in the vehicle).

This year’s Farm Crawl included eight independent family farms in south-central Iowa (Marion, Lucas and Warren counties) as they jointly host open houses.  Participants drove themselves along a marked route from farm to farm (the full circle at 42 miles).  At the eight stops participants could tour the farms, visit the animals, meet the farmers, sample the goodies, view contemporary and antique farming equipment, discover locally grown & produced products and have lots of fun in the beautiful Iowa countryside.

The eight stops were: Blue Gate Farm (Jill Beebout & Sean Skeehan), Coyote Run Farm (Matt Russell & Patrick Standley), Crooked Gap Farm (Ethan & Rebecca Book), Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch (John & Joy Pierce), Reichert’s Dairy Air (Lois & Jack Reichert) , Schneider Orchard (Arnie & Jane Schneider), White Breast Pottery and Weaving  (Sharon Seuferer & Carol Oliver) and a new this year – Winding Brook Farm  (Larry & Genie Snuggs).

Several of the farms hosted other small farms and area businesses that produce fiber/yarn, photo cards, artisan beer, honey, collectibles, desserts, sheep milk, wine, and pork.  PFI staffed a colorful (and popular)information booth, answering numerous questions about what PFI is and does.

Here are some photos from the farms, courtesy of the Farm Crawl webpage: http://www.farmcrawl.com/