It feels like we blinked and September passed by! The continued drought we’re experiencing is affecting the cattle — in the form of faster pasture rotations — and pigs — in the form of constant wallow filling and hose offs — the most, but it’s not all bad. And meanwhile we did a big goat sorting project for breeding season and unfortunately, the hens are already beginning their seasonal decline in egg production with the shortening daylight hours.
Read MoreKnock on wood, everything is going so smoothly at the farm in recent weeks! And we’re really noticing the fruits of our labor in rotational grazing all the different livestock species, spreading compost, mowing down extra “green manure” behind the goats and cattle and taking care of hedge rows and ponds for wildlife. As a result, the farm is teeming with life, both domesticated and wild!
Read MoreBesides what’s happening on our farm lately, I’m also diving into a bit about why beef prices are so high right now and how that affects a small farm like ours and pricing for you, our customers. Plus our boss cow is back from her date with the neighbor’s bull, we got doused with rain, all the rest of the livestock are doing amazingly well and we have some goats available for sale!
Read MoreAt long last, we’re on a much better trajectory for our egg operation than any point in the last year! And the pigs are still doing great in the woods, the cattle are fat and absolutely glistening on summer forage and the goat herd continues to thrive on lush pastures, too. Plus some insights from visiting Maple Wind Farm in Vermont.
Read MoreThe our breeding sows and boar are on another Cogon grass eradication mission, while their last litters of piglets are rotating through another fledging section of silvopasture on the other side of the farm. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of lush forage for the goats, cattle and chickens in our pastures and in other wooded sections and the three week old ducklings already moved out to grass, too!
Read MoreWe had an amazing time at a pastured poultry event at Mezter Hatchery in Tennessee and brought home ducklings to start a new duck egg venture! Plus our new flock of chickens is finally ramping up their egg laying, the goats are grazing and browsing with a side of mischief and drama and the piglets moved to a shady woods section, across the ditch from the cattle.
Read MoreThe cattle and the goats are enjoying very lush summer forage right now and we’ve been able to watch them from the windows are they made their way through our house field! Plus we’re breeding sows for fall piglets, the new flock is starting to lay more eggs and we hatched our biggest flock of chicks yet in our new incubator!
Read MoreWe’ve had so many farm visitors lately, which feels like years of work building the farm finally coming to fruition and it’s really fun. Plus we finally reached the end of six and a half months of goat kidding, the piglets are weaned and the sows are on vacation, the main goat herd and the cattle are make their grazing rounds and the bees are happy with lots of beautiful summer flowers.
Read MoreAnother batch of kids has been hitting the ground over the last week and a half, our new egg layers are settling in and hopefully should start laying within the next week or so, the piglets are chunky and getting weaned later this week and the heat is setting in big time!
Read MoreChickens are at the center of our attention right now as we welcomed a new flock of teenage hens about to start laying and are having our first hatches in our new incubator. The April piglets are fat and happy, there always seems to be more goat kids being born and Grant is working on a round of spring bush hogging, aiming for even better warm season grass growth.
Read MoreAll three litters of piglets (and their moms) are doing great, plus the goats are back to grazing again, with some newborn kids complicating the rotational plans a bit! The cattle are sleek and shiny on beautiful spring forage and we’re fighting a major predator battle with one of our chicken flocks. Plus there’s one April Farm Tour left and plans for monthly evening tours as we move into summer.
Read MoreWe have 16 doelings available for sale, born in November 2024. Most are Kiko, Boer, Myotonic Crosses, with some having Saanen and Oberhasli mixed in, as well. Pictures and info about each doe.
Read MoreTwo of our sows had some beautiful litters this week, plus we had a fantastic time at the first of our April Farm Tours. Kidding season won’t quit, either, plus the cattle and the chickens are enjoying lush spring forage and we even had a honey bee swarm that we got into a hive.
Read MoreIn between the severe weather and rain, we’ve had some stunningly beautiful spring days at the farm! Don’t miss seeing it for yourself with our April farm tours. My family is visiting, so we had some very sweet baby goat time and we’re also awaiting spring piglets. The cattle and the chickens are on the move with their pasture rotations, too!
Read MoreWe’re excited to finally start regular farm tours! Plus the cattle have been on a quick grazing circuit, including some cover crop fields, the chickens’ egg production is back up, farm visitors have been loving on goat kids and the sows are fast approaching spring piglets.
Read MoreTwo more goat kids capped off February kidding season! And several rainy days means the fields are wet, the cattle are sloshing through to find spring forage, the pigs are cozying up in piles in their hay bales and the chickens need ever more hay and compost in their fields.
Read MoreMy precious Uma the goat had triplets this week, plus another granddaughter and great granddaughter. And the cattle that are fat and happy, the pigs are still romping around the woods and the chickens are spreading out hay and compost.
Read MoreFour more goat kids (all bucklings!) joined the farm this week, we reached 11 hours of daylight and the hens are picking up their laying and the pigs and the cattle are crisscrossing the farm, working in tandem to help create silvopasture in our woods.
Read MoreThe demand for eggs is as high as ever as Avian flu continues to disrupt the poultry industry. We had to do another price increase on eggs, but we’re fortunate to not be directly affected by the virus at this time. Plus, another round of goat kidding began, the pigs are continuing their cogon grass eradication and silvopasture creation and the winter forage is taking off in growth after the snow!
Read MoreA near blizzard in Southeast Louisiana. Can you believe it? Even after expecting it and living through it, we sort of can’t believe it still! All the farm animals and water lines and even cool season cover crops made out fine, though.
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