We had lovely fall farm tours, the piglets and their moms are continuing to do well, we brought in some gorgeous pigs to harvest and the freeze zapped the pastures, so we’re bale grazing the cattle and goats and getting ready to process more beef at long last. And we’re feeding out lots of pumpkins you’ve donated, building new pasture pens for all of our young chickens and aiming to seed cool season annuals for winter and early spring grazing.
Read MoreDetails about dropping off your leftover pumpkins for us to feed to our goats, pigs and chickens! There’s Metairie or Bogalusa drop off options and we just ask that there’s no paint, glitter, glue or tacks and that pumpkins aren’t rotting or falling apart!
Read MoreSince it’s farrowing time, we dive into how we ended up with the set up we have now for farrowing, compared to what goes on in commercial operations (and why we no longer leave the sows to their own devices to farrow “naturally” outside).
Plus another litter joined the party, we wrapped up breeding season for the goats and combined the herds back together, we’re close to finishing some beef and hogs to be processed soon and the chickens are starting to decline in egg production a bit more as we wait for the pullet flock to start laying to make up for it!
Read MoreWe have 11 doelings for sale born in February and March 2025 from our hardy herd of meat goats. Most are Kiko, Boer, Myotonic Crosses, with some having Saanen and Oberhasli mixed in, as well.
We’ve bred for good mothering and milk supply as well as natural parasite resistance and overall hardiness for nine years and while we’d love to keep every single doe, we have a big enough herd as it is, so these gals are ready for new pastures! Pictures and info about each doe.
Read MoreWe’ve got two litters of new piglets, the goats are still grazing in two separate herds, the hens picked up their egg production slightly and the cattle are continuing their quicker pasture moves thanks to a persistent drought.
Meanwhile, Grant got to help with our friends’ pastured pork school in Viriginia, visit a bunch of other farm friends and make a trip to D.C. to lobby for the protection of animal welfare standards.
Read MoreFall dates for tours at Local Cooling Farms are finally here! One Saturday and two Sundays in November, with possible December dates being added soon. Come meet our hens, pigs, goats and cattle and see how we raise nutrient-dense food while honoring animal welfare and building soil and rehabilitating our surrounding ecosystem at the same time!
Read MoreIt 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!
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