Our plans for adding free-range (pastured) chickens to the farm are firming up. We have our sights set on a system that lets hens themselves hatch and raise the chicks instead of incubating the chicks in an indoor brooder. Does this sound simple? Well, it’s not! It’s like trying to learn to juggle with five balls instead of starting with three. But we are determined to try.
We will be starting slowly with VERY small numbers at first. But we will need help. That is why we are now hoping to find an intern for the summer. As soon as we iron out the internship details, I’ll post them.
This Saturday, February 6, HBO will premier a new film about the legendary animal behavior scientist, Temple Grandin. If my cattle could talk, they would urge you all to watch since they have been the personal beneficiaries of Dr. Grandin’s life work—humane methods of handling cattle. If this sounds incredibly dry to you, just trust me: you will be pleasantly surprised. This is an amazing story about a truly remarkable woman.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am in the middle of building a corral using one of Dr. Grandin’s designs (which are published free on her website for all to use, by the way). I am currently searching for used conveyor belts with which to cover the walls of the corral. My local gravel pit is fresh out. If anybody knows of a source, please let me know. Just don’t call on Saturday between 8 and 10PM—I’ll be glued to the TV!
I had a really nice visit today from Chad Cochrane, our local District Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. We took a walk in the pouring rain and talked about all our conservation concerns (fencing off a seasonal stream, controlling erosion on a hillside, dealing with soil impact in high use areas, etc.). Chad had some great advice, including which projects might be eligible for funding under the EQUIP program of the 2008 Farm Bill. Whether or not we get the funding, Chad is a great example of what I wish the government could always be: efficient, highly competent, and really out to help us.
E.coli still remains prominent in the news and recalls of product seem to be happening all too often. What is being done to remedy this?
An article written in the NY Times last December, After Delays, Vaccine to Counter Bad Beef Is Being Tested , describes how the meat industry is testing a new cattle vaccination to help make cattle immune to a dangerous form of the E. coli bacteria that is resistant to the acidity of the human stomach. I believe that by vaccinating the cattle, we are only treating the symptoms and not the cause.
Research conducted by Cornell University, Cattle diets could control E. coli danger , shows that cattle fed a grain based diet promote the growth of harmful acid resistant E. coli, and that just feeding cattle hay for five days before butchering, will “dramatically reduce” these forms of E.coli.
Imagine if the cattle ate just grass or hay and did not stand knee deep in their own feces.
Cows have a natural ability to find the right forage they need to stay healthy. The only problem is that they need certain minerals that just aren’t present in my soil. For example, no species of plant will give them the iodine they need if iodine is not present in the soil. So I have just built a free-choice mineral feeding trough. I filled it with 16 different minerals and let the cows at it. They gobbled up the iodine by the way, and did not touch the sulphur or phosphate (our well water has sulphur in it and our soil is high in phosphate).
Eventually, the minerals they eat will be returned to the soil in their manure, returning balance to the soil and reducing (or eliminating) the need to supplement with the trough.
I posted earlier about visiting Greg Judy’s farm. Greg’s pastures are so dense, he claims that his cattle will graze even through two feet of snow.
Recently, I was excited to see a bit of snow-grazing on my own place. I have a small amount of stockpiled pasture where the forage was pretty thick before the snow came. When I gave the cows access to this spot with a normal day’s ration of dry hay and high-moisture hay, they bypassed the hay and went straight for the grass through the snow. It was a nice validation that I’m on the right track with Greg’s holistic grazing management concept.
I would like to wish all my customers a happy holiday season. Here is a great video our friend Chef John did last year about how to get that holiday rib roast to come out a perfect medium rare every time. It really works!
Many customers have asked me if I have thought about adding pastured chickens to the farm. Yes, I have thought about it in the past. But this week, I took advantage of the cold weather to think more seriously. I have not worked out all the details yet, but I do plan to begin raising broiler chickens on a small scale next spring.
I will probably experiment with a number of breeds in order to find one that works well on our pastures and in our climate (possibly starting with the New Hampshire Red, if only to show a little home-state pride). The goal, as always, is sustainability.
To make the planning managable this first year, I will probably raise only the amount of chickens I can presell. So pretty soon, I will be looking for a few hardy customers to sign up for a few hardy chickens. Let me know if you are interested.
We went from 70 degrees to snow on the ground in just forty eight hours. Change sure is a constant part of life. The snow put a stop to my work building a corral with a Temple Grandin design (more about that in a later post).
‘Tis now the season for sitting in the barn office working on spreadsheets. I would prefer not to be inside. As my customers, you might agree—especially when my spreadsheeting results in a price increase. The good news is that the increase will be small (nothing like the recent temperature swings). The even better news is that you can lock in 2009 prices by ordering before January 1—even for advance orders that will be delivered after the New Year.
I am committed to supplying you, my customers the cuts you want, when you want them. But recently there has been a tremendous increase in orders (partly due to the success of Food, Inc. and FRESH! ) and I have not been able to increase my supply of beef in a short time. I do “buffer” my supply in storage freezers, but until my next butchering date (December 10) my buffer is seriously depleted.
So some of my customers have started planning ahead and ordering in advance in quantities that will last months. I realize this is not how most of us are used to buying food—I am a last-minute shopper, myself. But ordering in advance sure helps your local neighborhood farmer to plan.
I have thought about offering a subscription or “CSA” option whereby a customer can subscribe to a monthly delivery of assorted cuts. I’ve always felt that CSAs limit the consumer’s choice too much. But I’d love to hear your opinion. Would you prefer to give up choice in exchange for a guaranteed, steady supply?
Our plans for adding free-range (pastured) chickens to the farm are firming up. We have our sights set on a system that lets hens themselves hatch and raise the chicks instead of incubating the chicks in an indoor brooder. Does this sound simple? Well, it’s not! It’s like trying to learn to juggle with five balls instead of starting with three. But we are determined to try.
