PRESS RELEASE from Hickory Nut Gap Farm
A good old-fashioned barn raising is the highlight this week at Hickory Nut Gap Farm. A crew of 60 men from the Union Grove Amish Church are constructing a new workshop and equipment shed at the farm Wednesday-Friday, March 5-7. The crew was hired for the job due to their speed and craftsmanship — they anticipate having the workshop building complete in three days.
The connection to the Union Grove Amish Church comes through Hickory Nut Gap’s grassfed, unhomogenized milk supplier , Wholesome Country Creamery, which suffered a devastating fire to its barn and milking parlor last year. Owner John Hoefstellter stated that before he could even think about going out of business, the Union Grove Amish Church came in razed the existing structure, built him a new barn and the cows were back in the parlor within four days, business as usual. Hickory Nut Gap Farm owner Jamie Ager says he was “struck at their community minded spirit and the shear accomplishment of what an organized dedicated group can do” and thought the partnership may work well when he and his wife, Amy, decided to update the infrastructure at Hickory Nut Gap Farm.
The new farm workshop and equipment shed is the first phase of a larger project that will include an on-farm butcher shop, inspected kitchen and expanded retail space for customers. Plans are in place for the store to offer a small take-out menu along with homemade breads, pies and muffins made with farm-grown ingredients. The butcher shop will custom cut grassfed, hormone- and antibiotic-free beef and pasture-raised pork and chicken from the farm as well as an increased line of sausages, stocks and value-added meat cuts.
Construction of the new buildings are scheduled to be complete at the end of August. In the meantime, the farm store will always be open for business Tuesday-Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays noon-5 p.m. Hickory Nut Gap Farm is hosting an open house March 15 with meat samples, a free farm tour with owner Jamie Ager at 1 p.m. and plenty of time to discuss the new project.
Stay in touch with Hickory Nut Gap Farm through their Facebook page www.facebook.com/hickorynutgapfarm or visit their website at www.hickorynutgapfarm.com
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