Update: It rained over a half inch on July 28! Picket Fence Ice Cream will be 9% off from July 29-August 4th. Here's to more rain!

As you are aware, local farmers and our lawns are desperately needing rain as we suffer through this historic drought. As of today we are starting a countdown to a drought special on local Picket Fence Creamery ice cream. Until it rains a half inch in Ames in a 24 hour period, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we will increase the final percentage sale price of Picket Fence Ice Cream by a percentage point. To explain further- on July 27th we were at 1%, the day after we were at 2% and so on until the day after the rainfall when the ice cream will be marked on sale at the final percentage off for a week after the rainfall (until supplies last). Here's to rain and some ice cream to quench the heat. Stay up to date on our Facebook page.

Food and Freedom
By Adam Calder, Produce Manager

What would the 4th of July be without watermelon juice dripping down your chin, or an ear of sweet corn in one hand and a plate full of potato salad, bratwurst and chips in the other? It is memories like these that we will take through our lives, try to replicate year after year and look back fondly on in our old age. On the 4th of July in the United States of America, we set aside a day to enjoy our many wondrous freedoms, spend time with our loved ones and pay homage to all those before us whose shoulders we now stand on to reach as high as we do. It is easy to think we are all somehow owed these fantastic lives we live, as we are so used to the many freedoms we enjoy, from the serious to the simple. We are actually quite lucky to have the freedoms and opportunities we do, and at Wheatsfield Cooperative we routinely exercise the freedom to enjoy good food that is safe, healthy, delicious and local. read more

By Susan Jasper, Education and Outreach Coordinator

Broccoli is one of those vegetables that you know is good for you just by looking at its dark green color and the big fat head that’s harvested just before its yellow flowers bloom. The most common broccoli variety we see in the produce section is Calabrese, named after Calabria in Southern Italy where it originated. Other varieties are more slender with many thin stalks or a purple headed option which is less common in the U.S. read more

The July / August issue of the Field Journal  features a local producer spotlight on Hassevoort Farms, one of Iowa's few aquaponic farms, located in Leon. The middle spread showcases the geographical location of all the local producers that sell to the co-op as well as a few local statistics, our member-owner article discusses natural pet care and our Cheese Buyer, Connie, introduces you to Wisconsin Cheeses.

Seymour Dairy Products, founded in 2005, takes great pride in crafting unique organic artisan blue veined cheeses. Our cheese of the week and one of Seymour's pride and joys, Ader Kase Blue, won the 2008 World Cheese Championship Competition Best in Class due to its smooth and mildly earthy flavor.

Located in Seymour, Wisconsin, this cheese is truly a regional superstar.Try it on top of a grilled burger for a gourmet twist. On weekly special, 15% off June 28-July 4.

Bhutanese Red Rice has been grown for thousands of years at 8,000 feet in the Paro Valley, irrigated with glacier water rich in trace minerals. With more potassium than Gatorade, and a significant amount of magnesium, this quick-cooking whole grain is a nutritional and culinary superstar. It will entice you with its complex, nutty, earthy flavor, soft texture and beautiful russet color.

Lotus Foods has been working under a "More Crop Per Drop" philosophy - how they refer to the rice that is grown using their System of Rice Intensification (SRI). SRI is a not a new seed or input, but rather a different way of cultivating rice that enables small-scale farmers to double and triple their yields while using 80-90% less seed, 50% less water, less or no chemical inputs. In addition to SRI, Lotus Foods is working with Bhutan to develop organic rice certification standards.

Learn more about Lotus Foods and their new System of Rice Intensification at their website.

Corwith, IA
91.7 miles-to-market

Tosteds is a natural offshoot of the deeply rooted family-owned and operated Chamber Farms. The Chambers family has been farming livestock and grains on the same land outside of Corwith since 1886 - that is five generations! Today, Norman (father) and Jonathon (son) Chambers, both Iowa State University graduates, produce high-quality, GMO-free and pesticide-free soybeans that they sell to the national and international markets. However, all production is localized- they grow, harvest, process and package everything right on the farm.

They will tell you that Tosteds are a satisfying snack that provide all the health benefits of soybeans and are a great alternative to ordinary snacks. And, they are right!

Pictured above is the Chamber century farm.