We just learned that Black Hills Milk now sells organic chickens from Iowa. These chickens are Certified Humane and certified organic by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. That means no hormones, no antibiotics, and organic feed.

These chickens plus raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs, and other products are sold at the Red Barn Farmers Market (located behind the Crow Peak Brewery) in Spearfish Monday through Saturday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The same products are sold in Rapid City three days a week. Yes, Dawn now comes to Rapid City on Tuesday, as well as Thursday and Saturday. Hours are generally 3:00 to 6:00 pm, sometimes earlier. She and her white truck can be found at Founders Park on West Omaha Street in Rapid City.

Wild Idea has grass-fed South Dakota buffalo steak on sale just in time for Labor Day weekend grilling.

The Wild Idea  outlet in Rapid Valley is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. For driving directions call 605-716-0572. Wild Idea buffalo can also be purchased at Staple & Spice or the 8th Street Family Thrift Center in Rapid City.

For the Wild Idea website click here.

Last year I bought Hogen beef at the Black Hills Farmers Market and missed them this year. According to Misty Hogen “We sell to our standard customers if someone wants a quarter or a half.” This beef is still prized by customers because the animals never receive growth hormones, appetite stimulants, or antibiotics. They graze most of the year, in winter are fed corn, silage, and hay raised on the farm, and never see a feed lot. “We’re now taking our cows to Yankton—that’s where we get the best price for a whole cow.”

The day I met Misty at BHFM she was selling vegetables, doing business as Hogen Farms. It’s a family affair. “My brother is home irrigating the cukes and squash.” Now that little brother is in college, stepmom Kathy “spends more time on the tractor now.” Since selling at a farmers market is time consuming, changes had to be made. But the good food keeps coming.

To order beef call 605-456-2841 or email hogenkd@sdplains.com.

Harmony Enterprises of Chadron, Nebraska offers both spring and fall CSAs. They deliver to the Rapid City area on Saturdays and to Chadron and Crawford on weekdays. They are still accepting customers. The fall season is August 14-October 29 and costs $245.00 including home delivery. The basic package is for produce. You can add chickens, eggs, honey, even turkeys in late October or early November.

Lyn and Donna take pride in raising chemical-free produce  and chickens that get to live well. They also sell at the Black Hills Farmers Market on Saturdays.

To learn more and to sign up for a CSA click here.

What could be better than meat from buffalo that never see a feed lot or a semi or a packing plant? Wild Idea buffalo that graze in green pastures south of Rapid City are harvested in the field and then transported to a brand new processing plant owned by ranchers Dan O’Brien and Jill Maguire. For more about the how and the why of their own processing, click here.

Dan and Jill do more than ranch. They are committed to protecting our native grasslands and raising and processing buffalo in the most natural way possible. Dan is also an author, and you can read the story of how he switched from raising beef to buffalo in his book, “Buffalo for the Broken Heart.”

For information on where to buy Wild Idea buffalo, call 716-0572. For buffalo recipes, click here.