Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Visit the 1st Pinoy Aquatic Expo 2008

Our permanent booth at AANI, is situated next to the Paluto Area for seafoods :)

Go visit the 1st Pinoy Aquatic Expo 2008.

Weekends

Our lives just roll...am not sure where the week starts nor ends :)

So busy the past weekends more so the past days.

Sunday, I had to take a quick trip to go to Heat at Shang Edsa as there was a family lunch going on and I had to at least show my stressed face to my mother :) Was just there for less than an hour. When I confirmed lunch, the 4th Sunday seminars skipped my mind. The buffet spread at Heat was very inviting to my eyes....must make a trip back there soon in social timetables.

Monday, visited Boystown, to see the ranging area for the Sunshines as demo farm in tandem with AANI. Hopefully we will bring the rangers there by Friday.

Tuesday, we left Manila at 6am for Tarlac, La Union and Baguio, bringing brooders to dealers. Got to Isabela by 12midnight!

Very fruitful past days. Reconnected with some people. Discussed some topics for thesis projects using Sunshines.

Exciting days ahead ....

Monday, August 25, 2008

Septemer 18-20, 2008

Will have Health, Beauty, Fitness and Lifestyle Asia 2008, World Trade Center in Pasay City.

So far, we have booked space. The small problem is time.

We hope to see you there :)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Sunshine Does Change Us

I have so many things on my mind the past days.

While surfing, led me to this song...


Yes true....walk on and with Sunshine. Bring Sunshine into your lives :)

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Our New Branding Look

New Parent Stocks (SASSO Of France), new production of Sunshine Day Old Chicks...calls for redoing our print ads, brochures, chick boxes etc.

1st Batch Of Parent Stocks...GONE!

We have culled our 1st batch of Parent Stocks that arrived as dayold chicks in week16 of 2007, April 2007. Now at week70, they are culled.

Finally OVER our 2nd choice before! We are just very happy now to be with SASSO of France.

I wonder if everyone else who imports Parent Stocks for colored chicken production does follow that culling time frame :)

Now, the more no one should claim they are like "Sunshines".

We are now producing our Sunshine Chicks from the January2008 importation.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Beware Of Fakes

As we were doing the rounds in Central Luzon, we came of the knowledge that a former employee of ours is now with a group that passes their chicks as Sunshines. Using our brochures and flyers, they are able to make the dealers believe that they are delivering Sunshines.

I just got a call also this morning from a man from Bulacan who bought from a store in Bulacan, 3weeks ago. We don't have a dealer in San Ildefonso area. Thank you that they were using our flyers, that led the man to call us.

Please please make sure you are getting from our authorized dealers. The "dealer list" posted shows who among them has fresh stocks/deliveries.

Our Sunshine Chicks are properly BOXED...and not in plastic fruit crates. Dealer stores, beware too!

Baguio Growers

On Tuesday, August 26, we are scheduled to go the route of Pangasinan then proceed to Baguio.

Baguio will be spent meeting up with the backyard growers and scheduling a seminar for those interested.

If you are interested to discuss how to go about raising Sunshines, pls contact us so we can advise you of location.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Cabatuan Seminar

LGU and DAR in the area have asked Doc Rey to give a seminar.

WHEN: 28 August, 9am, Thursday
WHERE: Multi Purpose Hall, Cabauan, Isabela
WHAT: Raising Sunshine Chicken

Please join us if you are interested. It is for FREE.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Raymond Makes Me Laugh

I have always told Raymond how much I enjoy reading his blog.

He is so cute in describing things and humor is very intelligent. You will have to think a second before you can see why you have to laugh wehehehhehe.

Let's see if he can tickle your wish bones too :)

Pamphlet, Books, Reading Materials

Often asked to send reading material, pamphlets etc.

What we have now is a back to back page of information about feeding and brooding. Given free as info flyer. This same page is printable from this blog.

To answer the clamor, we are preparing a pamphlet/booklet in Raising Sunshine Chicken.

Minimal cost will be charged to cover printing. Will update you when we are ready with it. Editing now going on.

What Does Your Feet Wear?

Long before there were the copycats of the ugly looking, colorful slip ons with holes, I had them in several colors. I still do get them. Very comfortable. That's what my feet wears, day in day out.

But come farm visits and rain....I love rubber boots. You simply forget to take care. No need to be scared of snakes, broken glass, rusty nails....and you walk through water :)



I want them too in several colors.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

After Sunset

Rare that I get to see our small farm during the day, moreso after sunset.

I normally get to shut down my computer when I get to hear the Angelus, w/c marks 6pm. Yesterday, I saw the car outside parked a tad earlier than usual so I quickly cleared my desk.

"Let's go to the farm"..... even if we knew there was hardly anything we can see as we are surrounded by ricefields.

We inched our way till the clearing where we park. I wear my ever dependable and favorite feet covers, rubber boots...w/ it you can walk anywhere :)

Greeted by the site of perched grass fed hens. The human feeder must have passed already to give them their grains. Quite late feeding, but the hens here are quite self sufficient and their bantay also has a day job at the store. So they are lucky to eat before he does his own dinner.


We walk further down and some of them are running to us for food? The boots maybe trigger food time :)


Walk more to the next pens, and you witness them getting their grains for the day. Quite unmindful of us already.


Glad I decided to take the camera. I didn't think I can get pictures in the dark. There is a sort of sepia, backward look to the effect that dusk has.


Those were how our own grass fed hens look after 6pm :) The same Sunshines that give you the eggs we sell at Market At The Hills every weekend.

Mark Your Calendars For AFEX 2008

Scheduled for September 6-9, at World Trade Center.

Join us for chitchat, seminar, and one on one discussions on the benefits of eating and raising grass fed Sunshines.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Have To Try Chicken Dish

From Connie Veneracion's blog, the pictures are inviting, the ingredients simple, procedure is easy..so I went beyond imagining.

Try this Chicken and Chilis cooked in Coconut Milk
. Of course using Sunshine Chicken made a difference for me :)

Resourceful


What does this look like to you?


We visited a grower last week in Pangasinan, in between loadings, to make sure the brooders and ranging area are clean.

He excitedly showed us his auto feeder, made from scraps and garbage. Heavy duty actually basing from the materials. The plastic auto feeders are not "under the sun- open air" friendly, but this one is :)

Going around growers gives us a fresh look and air on things. Aside from their ingenuity that we can share with others, meeting young people who are so into natural farming and going back to what their grandparents were used to, is very inspiring. Makes you breathe more comfortably.

Elf Brooder

That doesn't mean it is a miniature brooder...on the contrary, 200 heads were kept on the bed of an Elf truck :) How mobile can you get? Come 21days, they will be moved to the ranging area, the fishpond not to far away from where the truck had been parked.

See how happy and contented the chicks are. No pushing. No stampede, rushing to get heat nor fresh air. They were happily playing around.

Sunshine At Green Daisy

Not too long ago, we had to muscle our way to have dinner at Green Daisy because we had no reservation.

The other night was different. Daisy invited us for dinner. Daisy Lengenegger's farm is in Alicia, Isabela and she wanted to meet a friend of mine who is also now based there.

The chance to have dinner with Ana and her daughter Nicole was enough reason for me to rush my work yesterday. Hubby Pol thought he will miss it...so at the last minute, he brought his meeting to Green Daisy too, at the next table.

Fate will have it that one of the guests at that table was Daisy's high school friend, much like Ana and I.

We had a great buffet, prepared by Daisy herself. Started with pumpkin soup with coriander etc (others said kalabasa with wansoy, of course it was), salad with mango chutney dressing, pasta with clams, steak, crabs in super delicious sauce, and of course...Sunshine Chicken simply slow cooked with mushrooms...the whole spread was heaven!


Consensus: Very tasty, simple taste of natural chicken. You are able to bite into meat. Even the white meat is good. People noticed the color of the meat is dark...and the bones are hard and shiny (that will be another post).

Thursday, August 14, 2008

We Are Proud, But You Should Watch Out

We had been going around the past days and have found out that some salesman, to make a sale, use the tag that "they are the same as Sunshines".

That is a complement on one side, BUT, we did and do everything from day1 we were in operation to take care of who we are, from the boxes, marketing our growers, techical support, free seminars, farm visits etc.

PLEASE... the boxes..... makes sure you don't get your "like Sunshines" in plastic fruit crates that are reused. Some say they are even returned to salesman.

We will post the pictures of our new chick boxes once they are finished.

Our new Sunshines from our new SASSO Parent Stocks are now being seen in our dealers. You will see an occasional black, but SASSO says it is normal for pure heavy farm breeds like ours.

Please reread this post and be guided accordingly, about getting REAL SUNSHINES.

Thank you but no thank you. It may be a complement to say they are like us, but I'd want to be US for all the efforts we are doing :)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Agrilink 2008 Seminar

Agrilink 2008 is set for October 9-11 (Thu-Sat), World Trade Center, Pasay City.

The organizers have scheduled us to give a FREE seminar on October 11, Saturday, at 1-3pm

TOPIC: Raising Grass Fed Sunshine Chickens
SPEAKER: Rey B. Itchon, DVM

Visit us at the French Pavilion.

New Sunshines In Gen San

As announced, we are already shipping our new babies...the Sunshines from our new batch of Certified Parent Stocks from SASSO of France :)

I got pics via email, from a client in Gen Santos City. See how they fare...

Monday, August 11, 2008

Baguio For Lunch?

One of the perks of our work is that there are no set schedules.

Million things to do and we also have routines too...but when we get flashes of "let's go drive around"..we fit it in asap.

Just like over lunch today...."why don't we lunch tomorrow in Baguio"?

So for your inquiries north, and Ilocos area - we will be in your vicinity Tuesday and Wednesday. You might want to meet up.

Green Daisy Organic Store and Restaurant

I had been hearing about Green Daisy from one of my growers, Maawi, as they supply that restaurant with the Sunshines.

All I know was it was in UP, and since I am always around the area, you always postpone the visit :) Then, browsing through food blogs, I got to read about Green Daisy at Table for Three, Please.

Several calls to make a reservation got me nowhere. I wanted to try their chickens of course, but Daisy was always in Alicia. That was when I learned she was from Isabela, where we are based.

Last week I had to go to my printer to check on my new brochures. A few meters was where Green Daisy was. I rang the bell....."sorry, you have no reservation. Rang again.... I said "but your sign says '.....just ring the bell'..."but you will have to wait"...."oh sure, we will take what you say you can prepare"...that got us in :)

We were led to the cozy dining area, after ordering salad and pasta, I prepared to take a series of shots and began with this:


After enjoying our tea, the salad came. Soon after, so did Daisy Lengenegger to greet us. Well, a very engaging conversation! Have you had the experience of having pasta over animated talk with someone standing beside you on the right? Well you sort of twirl your pasta from the side of your eye, and lift the fork with your head at about 11 o'clock, and converse with you tilting at the 10 o'clock angle!

Honestly I didn't taste the food. I knew it was healthy though. But the company was to go back for :) We exchanged numbers, and this morning, we were texting to meet up this week.

Yes I didn't have my photos, but I just linked to the Table for Three, Please blog.

Hope to go back there with good company...and this time, Daisy, please sit down with us!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Ready To Live



Been busy with so many activities that I have forgotten to take pictures of our new production.

Just before the chick van left last Friday, I managed to take a snap :)

Our new Male Parent Stock from SASSO is a pure heavy farm breed, and slight differences in color is normal.

Quoting Louis Perrault of SASSO:

Hi Sandy
The XL44 is a pure heavy farm chicken selected to have
better weight for
backyard chicken. The small variation
of colour is one of his
specifications proving by that
difference that it is a real farm breed.


You can reassure your customers about that précising
that it won't
affect at all the growth.
What about the hatchability?
Kind regards
Louis

NEW Breeders, NEW Motivating Factors, NEW Print Materials

We are agog with our new production of Sunshine Chicks from the ever dependable name , SASSO of France.

We are committed to what we have started. Now on our third poultry building, own hatchery, tunnel ventilation being discussed and our continued all out support to our regular Sunshine growers.

This early, unscrupulous traders say, they are like "SUNSHINES" if not blatantly they are "SUNSHINES". We have always transported in chick boxes, but we are redoing it to make our markings more visible even from afar.



Thursday, August 07, 2008

Le Club's Announcement For Agrilink 2008

Have you read Agri Plain Talk in the Business Section of Manila Bulletin Today?

French firms join Agrilink trade show
please wait 2 seconds for an uncompressed image, or press Ctrl+F5 for original quality page

Eight big European firms are joining the Philippines’ biggest and most prestigious international trade show on agribusiness, food and aquaculture.

This was announced by Le Club, the French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, which confirmed the setting up of a French pavilion at the Agrilink, Foodlink and Aqualink 2008 slated at the World Trade Center Metro Manila on October 9-11.

Le Club vice president Michel Hermelin said the French Pavilion would thus feature eight diverse agricultural and food innovations – from the basic water supply and wind power technologies to the more intricate genealogical genetic selection machineries.

Such technologies will be showcased by Bayle SA, Dosatron, Grimaud Freres Selection, Richel, Sasso, Solraya, Vergnet Hydro, and Stolz, which will join the hundreds of other foreign and local firms at this year’s 15th Agrilink, 9th Foodlink and 4th Aqualink.

These triple events will have Bayle SA presenting its latest state-of-the art bird handling and cut up equipment, spanning various phases of poultry preparations – from defeathering to eviscerating, chilling, grading and washing. An industry leader since 1931, Bayle SA is known across Europe, Africa and Asia for its expertise in duck and geese processing.

Similarly, Dosatron is Europe’s undisputed leader in water-powered proportional dosing technology and ISO 9001-certified by the AFAQ (French Quality Assurance Organization). Dosatron recently launched its new Hygiene System, equipped with all D25 series proportioners.

In animal genetic technology, the Grimaud Freres Selection tops in the research and development work that have ensured the sustained improvement of its products, which include colored geese, rabbits, pigeons, chickens and guinea fowls.

Sasso, on the other hand, is the leading French label poultry producer, providing the best sanitary conditions and high-quality productive strains.

Likewise, Solraya is the local breder and distributor of Solraya’s Sunshine free-range chicken (bonafide F1 day-old-chicks from parent stocks imported from France), specializing in dressed Sunshine chickens and eggs from grass-fed hens. Its produce are also available at the Market at the Hills, a weekend market at Temple Drive, Corinthian Hills (Corinthian Gardens, White Plains, Green Meadows area).

In the field of greenhouses and garden centers, the Richel Group has a track record of more than 50 years, using either glass for maximum luminosity, or plastic for optimum reliability, both making the company the leading manufacturer in Europe.

France’s only manufacturer of wind turbines, Vergnet Hydro is the market leader in mid-range wind power generation with its original technology of twin-bladed aerogenerators that can be tilted down in less than an hour in case of cyclone alert.

Meanwhile, Stolz which specializes in feed and food processing technologies, is the European leader in powder and granules handling and processing.

The participation of these companies in Agrilink 2008 was arranged by Le Club to help them find their niche markets in the Philippines.

Participation in Agrilink 2008 is the best way to help introduce French companies to Philippine business, according to Hermelin.

Their products will thus be exhibited alongside those of many other foreign and local exhibitors involved in agribusiness, food and aquaculture.

Aside from the exhibits, the event includes seminars, live animal and plant display, and other special activities that create business opportunities and generate sales, marketing tie-ups, joint ventures and other productive and lucrative transactions. Email frld@pldtd sl.net for more details.


Read the online version here.

A FREE seminar had been alloted for Benefits Of Raising Sunshine Chickens, October 11, Saturday, 1-3pm

Monday, August 04, 2008

LGUs From Camarines Sur

LGUs of Camarines Sur requested through their Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for a farm visit to one of our growers. Coincidentally, they also spoke with AANI for a study tour.

So it was agreed, they visit one of our growers, then proceed to AANI Herbal Garden for a seminar on Raising Sunshines.

WHEN: August 6, 2008 2PM
WHERE: Seminar Room, AANI Herbal Garden, Quezon Memorial Circle

Everyone will be welcome to attend the seminar!

Sunday, August 03, 2008

A Circle Is Good

I had been texting with this person who plans to raise Sunshines in Baras.

Next thing I knew , he shows up at Market at the Hills to purchase some dressed Sunshines. Introduced me to the obvious apple of the eye, the baby girl who has to be given good food :) There was something about him that I can't figure out.... Conversation led to our being based in Santiago City and he had an uncle there. OMG...he looked exactly like his uncle Tony. The pleasant kulit I guess is in the genes :)

Next day, he attends the seminar of Doc Rey at AANI Herbal Garden at the Quezon Memorial Circle. Few days after we go visit the future site.


Go visit what La Ferme Organique is all about. BTW, I love the logo!

Cagayan Valley Seminars

Due to busy schedules, we will have to set our seminars in Santiago City, as needed and requested.

WHAT: Seminar on the Benefits & Raising Sunshine Chickens

Call (078) 682-3758 or (0917) 847-2639 to set a schedule. We prefer to do Cagayan Valley seminars on weekdays.

When Grown Naturally


A trip is most enjoyable when you visit with friends because you can laugh and say the most outrageous things.

Friday, August 01, we headed to Quezon, first stop was Candelaria. Never been there before and I was surprised at how progressive the place is.

Breakfast was heavenly because dessert was two fresh Durian fruits picked the day before from Daily Dose Farm of the Rubias. As I was swirling the creaminess inside my mouth, I know I was literally eating my words saying how different it was. Raymond replied the freshness mattered a lot when everything else was equal in the variety and farming.

We headed to the Municipal Hall to give the seminars by AANI for the farmers. Well attended and people were approaching Doc Rey after to ask questions.

Lunch was so good. We were introduced to the fact that Candelaria is known for Crispy Pata and Ulo. I was blessed to seat between Doc Rey and Pol Rubia who tries hard not to eat pork :) The best Crispy Pata and Ulo....so far I have had!

Then a small group of us proceeded to Daily Dose Farm of Raymond. Our first time here and the bridge that is the entrance is already a clue to how homey the place is :)

Now I know why the others we left at the bayan, kept telling us to make sure we get Rambutan for them. I went home with a bag now...and I noticed I never had a single one with a hole from a worm...and they were grown chemical free.

As we walked to Raymond's herbs and veggies...I saw Raymond picking some corn and cleaning the some ears of the yellow corn. I can't help but nudge the ever shy Raymond...."was that for eating now?" wehehhehe...."YES" he says and I grab mine :)

GRABE.....never ate one. The sweetest juice bursts inside your mouth, then tickles your gums. Honest, you are missing a lot if you don't try it. But then, these are raised chemical free, and picked just before eaten. They say the freshness of corn runs away fast from time picked.

Next we went to visit the Sunshines of Earthkeepers in Tiaong, Quezon. After picking up their eggs from the range, Tere and Armand leads us to the office for small talk over their suman and coffee. We were raving about the fresh sweet corn, eaten raw....Armand asks if we had fresh Okra. OKRA? Sounds yucky eaten fresh huh?

But I trust the couple....I bit into what seemed like Sampaguita! It was that fresh and of course grown naturally.

Chit chat with Tere and Armand always evolves into a passionate conversation, that you know you will look forward to the next visit.

We go home with bags of fruits and more Durians from Daily Dose Farm, and Pork slices from naturally grown pigs from Earthkeepers. We have raved about how good their pork is in several past postings.

Please do try to eat fresh. Grow your own veggies and fruits or get from reliable sources, to enjoy what I just did. It is not bad to eat meat in moderation, specially of grass fed and naturally grown.