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The Tip is 'Manufacturer's sites' I recently ran out of my favorite pancake syrup. I loved the brand we had been using but when I went to the grocery store, I couldn't find it. The syrup was made in Indiana and I was living in Florida at the time. I tried unsuccessfully to find it on an internet. The manufacturer is small and their products are not readily available so I thought I would try their website. They did, in fact, have their own internet store so I ordered it directly from them. Now, I always buy their made in USA maple syrup from their website and never run out. Made in America Secrets has thousands of made in USA products offered by hundreds of small manufacturers. These small Made in America companies are a large contributor to our economy. In fact, according to the 2008 US Census Bureau small businesses, those employing 1 to 99 employees comprise 98% of all the USA businesses. This is equivalent to 5.8 million businesses that employee over 40 million people. Most American's are unaware of how significant small business is when compared to the total size of the US economy. This website is aware of it and that is why 99% of the businesses that advertise on Made in America Secrets are small businesses. Use this web site to for a list of products made in the US- especially since it is likely that a small US manufacturer employs someone you know- your husband, wife, children, or grandchildren. When using Google to search for Made in America products often times these small made in the United States businesses never show up on page one- and most folks don't look past page one. What does this mean? The consumer has a difficult time locating that US made product. Made in America Secrets was conceived to provide a solution to that problem. As an example search for motorcycles Made in America using Google and you will likely miss many of the companies that make this country great. Use Made in America Secrets for the search and you will likely find a hidden jewel. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by JK Skrumpy This Original Hard-Cider has been made on our family-owned farm in Flushing, Michigan for well over a hundred years. It was first pressed back in the 1850's. Not much as changed in the process since then. We use the same apples from the same orchards as my great-great grandfather did before the time of the Civil War. We are proud of that. It gives us a sense of history. The cider has played an important role in the ongoing history of our farm. The sale of cider actually saved our farm during the Great Depression. And, during the Prohibition people came from far and wide for our Special Farm Cider. We grow vegetables and fruits here at Almar, but our cider has kept us in business when times have gotten tough. Regretfully, it seems that history has a habit of repeating itself? These past few years, many of our nation's orchards have closed their barn doors and orchard gateways as the influx of apple juice made from cheap concentrates arrive in the USA from China and South America. Some call it a sign of the times, and others seem to appreciate the bargain at the grocery store. VIDEO DOWNLOAD For a mpeg-format view/download of Jim Koan's Organic Apple Production video [23MB], click here or the image above. To download, click-right and Save As. All I can say is that our Orchard Gate Gold is the real thing. It's not a made using or contains product. IT IS REAL CIDER. Pure, natural and uniquely flavorful. We grow, harvest, and press the apples right here on the farm. It is time-consuming, labor-intensive and worth every bit of what it takes to make it. Our cider is not only natural, it is truly organic. It always has been. It's simply a fact of what we do - and how we do it. We use no insecticides in the farm orchards. Rather, I do what my grandfather did. I have a large flock of guinea fowl that wander about and eat the bugs. Fallen apples that have hit the ground are always a food source for pests, so I let my Berkshire pigs wander the orchard and eat the fallen apples. In a fast-paced, instant gratification society all this may seem a little old fashioned, or not cost-effective. But, we have a cider that is not like any other, and the idea of playing around with what makes that happen... well, it just ain't part of the plan |
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