February 28, 2025
With the warmer, longer days the hens are beginning to lay, hooray! Last year a Welsummer rooster was dropped off here. The breed is known for richly colored eggs, and indeed he sired pullets (young female chickens) that now lay gorgeous dark brown and dark green eggs.
The ewes and goats are within two weeks of birthing! It’s always a miraculous and exhausting time of year.
Feed, our largest input, has risen 5-11% in price from one year ago, forcing higher prices all through the order form. Please email me through the contact page for the password to the order form page
New folks should read the sections of interest carefully. Returning folks, probably just skim it. You can ask questions through the contact page.
EXPLANATION OF 2025 ORDER FORM
What is a “CSA-type share”? A Community Supported Agriculture share is a concept that began with vegetable farms. Consumers pay for a ‘share” of the farm’s products at the end of winter, when capital is most needed for major purchases. Then products are picked up weekly during the growing season. The idea is that the community participates in the risk as well as the bounty during the season, evening out shortages and overages as consumers eat what’s in season.
EGG SHARES: We’re offering up to 12 full egg shares this year, offered first to returning customers.
A full share is generally 12-18 eggs per week. A half share is generally 6-9 eggs per week. Both run the full 38-week season from March 8 to November 22. Fewer than a dozen may be in shares at the beginning and end of the season. Hens lay the most eggs during the summer when they get 14+ hours of light per day.
Eggs are cleaned, packed in cartons, and labeled with shareholders’ names on Friday afternoon or evening. If there are extra eggs once the shares are full, they will be for sale separately. Last year eggs were sold out many weeks, so please text first to check availability. 872-205-0801 Eggs can be picked up starting Saturday morning, or during any open hours the next week. Please respect that we are closed on Sundays--our day of rest.
MILK SHARES: Milk shares are a minimum of 1 quart of fresh goat milk per share per week for 36 weeks. In past years more has sometimes been included. If your household needs more milk on a consistent guaranteed basis, more shares can be purchased.
Milking is done early each morning in the milk room in the barn. In the house kitchen, the milk is filtered from the stainless steel bucket into glass jars. The jars go into the customer fridge in the store area in the south side of the garage. Please discuss with me what day of the week is best for your schedule and ours. I’ll put your name on a jar(s) of that morning’s milk. Often the milk is still warm when I put the jar in the chill water. You can’t get it any fresher than that!
Eggs can be picked up at the same time.
Extra quarts of milk are sometimes available for occasional customers, but please text 872-205-0801 before making a long trip out here. Last year many days were sold out, especially toward the end of the season.
The 36-week milking season begins March 22 and runs through November 22. Dairy animals give more milk in the first half of their lactations, so we also offer a half-season share for the first 18 weeks--March 22- July 19.
Cheesemaking Share is not on the order form but is possible. You would pick up all your milk once a month instead of weekly, on a carefully pre-arranged day.
LIVESTOCK:
WHAT IS A DEPOSIT? The concept of a deposit to reserve an animal is unknown to many of our customers. The deposit is like “earnest money” in real estate, which shows the seller that the buyer is seriously interested. When the deposit is received, your name is written next to a specific animal on our flock/herd list (if it’s already born), and that animal is saved for you. We will not sell the animal to someone who wants it right now even if they insist strongly or offer more money.
You can make a note on the order form about what type of animal you are wanting--male, female, wether (fixed male); young or old--and we’ll do our best to match that. Just as in real estate, if we accept a deposit and are unable to follow through, your entire deposit is returned. If we accept a deposit and you change your mind about purchasing the animal, the deposit is forfeited.
You’re welcome to choose the animal yourself from among the market stock available. Certain animals in the pasture are breeding stock and are not for sale.
The deposit is subtracted from the total purchase price of the animal.
PROCESSING BY THE CUSTOMER: You the buyer can do your own slaughter. We are not a licensed butcher shop and cannot do the job for you. See us if you have further questions.
LICENSED PROCESSING--We have reserved slots at a locker for hogs and sheep on September 17, 2025. We transport the animals there for no extra charge. New customers must pay Joy of IllinoisFarm the full price for their animal before it will be loaded to go. The processor will cut your meat to your specifications, wrap, label, and freeze it, and you pay them separately for their service when you pick up your meat. Just to be clear, the processor’s fee is NOT included in the price you pay us for the animal.
We charge a minimum amount even if an animal is very young. That helps us to meet fixed and operating costs. Get your reservation in early to be assigned the largest lambs, kids. and pigs!
LIVE POULTRY:
MEAT CHICKENS--Freedom Ranger-type chicks are not available this year to small farmers. They are marked SOLD OUT or NOT AVAILABLE on every website I searched. The only meat birds we expect to have available for sale this year are the lighter-weight cockerels from home-hatched eggs.
DUCKLINGS--The Muscovies are great mommas, and we will be looking for naturally hatched ducklings under the woodpile and in the hayloft all summer long.
GOSLINGS--We have two pairs of geese, which as a species are not terribly prolific. Keep checking the “Available Now ” page on the website www.joyofillinois.com, or read the farm emails to see if goslings have hatched.
TURKEYS--Fifteen turkey poults (day-olds) are on order to arrive in midsummer, for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
HOW DO I PAY?
While events like “Do Morning Chores with Us” and “Saturday Farm Tours” can be booked and paid online, animals cannot. We have a finite supply and cannot manufacture more units like a factory. Also, selling through the website skims 7% or more right off the top...which means raising prices even more.
In light of that, here are suggestions for payment:
1) Stop by the farm with your order form and cash, making sure to get a receipt from us.
2) Stop by the farm with order form and paper check.
3) Stop by the farm with order form and credit or debit card, which I can run on our Square terminal. It will add a card fee to your total.
4) Send your order form with a paper check in the mail. We’ve had some troubles with that, so be sure to follow up with a text or email. Sometimes it’s been my fault--egg on my face!
5) Email your order form and have your bank send a check.
6) Send your order form with a USPS money order in the mail.
7) Email order form and use Facebook Pay--we just have to be friends on facebook--be sure to alert me because I seldom look on facebook.
8) Please don’t use Paypal. I find it difficult to use and it takes a large bite of the pie.
I use the order forms to keep everything straight, so please fill it out! Did you notice each type of animal has a different deposit amount?...which really helps when confusion reigns.
Our target market area is east central Illinois; if you live too far away to drive to the farm, likely someone closer to you is producing what you need. Check with us to see if we know a farmer in your vicinity.
DID I FORGET ANYTHING? Let me know if I didn’t answer your questions. I know how the farm operates, but that doesn’t mean you do. Please email info@joyofillinois.com or text 872-205-0801.