Steve Normanton Grass-Fed Beef

Dog Days of Summer

Omar Khudari — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:27:02 +0000

After eleven weeks of raising our chicks without incident, we just lost a number of chickens to a night-time predator. At first, we were baffled. The modus operandi did not fit an owl or a weasel or a fox. It turns out, the culprit is a local dog. We think the dog scared the chickens into fleeing the safety of the poultry net fence. We found several killed outside the fence, and a neighbor reported seeing a dog trotting down the street with a chicken in its mouth.

We have enlarged the protective ring around the shelter, and we plan to add roosting poles inside the shelter to encourage the chickens to stay there. It is a bit frustrating that our system has worked against wild predators, but failed against a domesticated pet. Maybe we will have to get our own dog and train it to guard the chickens.

Sarah Flack

Omar Khudari — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:16:56 +0000

We had a very nice visit from grazing expert and consultant, Sarah Flack a couple of weeks ago. We discussed our grazing plan, forage diversity, livestock management and soil management practices with her. She was excited,” to see a new piece of land that’s just starting the process of being transformed by good grazing practices”. We spoke about abundance of “weeds” in the fields and the necessity to graze problem areas so as to eat the weeds before they go into seed or trample them to add to the organic matter in the soil. She also gave us some great ideas about how to control our fly population, by understanding their breeding cycle and how to disrupt it!

Getting By with a Little Help from Our Friends

Steve Normanton — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:46:28 +0000

Everyone needs a break now and then, and we are no exception! Who takes care of the farm whilst we are away? Well, thanks to volunteers like, customers, Bob Scarchilli (above), and Sara Maxwell along with friendly neighbors like Gus, the farm hardly notices our absence as the volunteer squad feed and move the chickens and pigs and do the daily move of the cows, and make sure, especially in hot weather like today, they all have water.

Antibiotics and Livestock

Omar Khudari — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:45:54 +0000

Seventy percent of the antibiotics sold in the US are fed to livestock. Surprisingly, most of these antibiotics are not to treat sick animals, or even to prevent them from getting sick. Industrial farms mostly use antibiotics to make animals grow faster. Nobody knows why this works, but it does. But this practice almost certainly contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, creating a threat to human health. (Note: we do not use any antibiotics at all on our animals.)

Last week, the FDA proposed a new rule saying certain antibiotics can no longer be used to promote growth. We don’t think this goes far enough. Farmers can still use antibiotics to prevent disease, so they can continue feeding antibiotics and simply claim it is to prevent disease. We think non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock should be phased out completely, as proposed by the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.

Brush Hogs

Steve Normanton — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:23:54 +0000

We haven’t written much about the pigs since they arrived in May, I’m not sure why. Like all the other animals on the farm, they play a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem. Their main job is aerating the soil, turning over compacted soil, and in doing so they are also able to clear overgrown brush areas. They do so by using there snout like a shovel to dig to find great sources of protein. This photo shows a new area we put them in today, where they will clean up so that we can put up a new fence.

Chicken Shelter 2.0

Steve Normanton — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:03:59 +0000

Thank you to everyone who attended our Field Day yesterday. I hope you enjoyed it as much as Omar and I did. We got many nice comments, suggestions, and even some offers of volunteer help!

There is never a shortage of need for help. A group of students from High Mowing School has recentely helped us build a second pasture shelter for our second batch of chicks. The new shelter has an innovative feature: a door for the farmer! (D’oh! We forgot that on the first one.)

The chicks in this batch are all Redbros—the same genetics used in the Label Rouge program in France. Like our New Hampshire Reds, the Redbros are slow-growing and good at foraging for their own food (i.e. well-suited to our pasture day-ranging system).

Our first batch is already spoken for, but we have started taking orders for this second batch, which should be ready at the end of August. Please see our to-order page for prices and ordering details.

Reminder–Field Day Sunday

Omar Khudari — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:40:20 +0000

Reminder: we are hosting a Field Day this Sunday, June 20 from 12 to 4PM. Stop by and help us feed, water and move the pigs, chicks and cows, and learn all about our pasture-based livestock management system. Remember to bring a lunch. Address: 226 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, NH.

We’re EQUIPed

Omar Khudari — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:30:22 +0000

There is nothing like having a giant excavator working on your property to get the neighbors to stop by, asking what on earth is going on. The answer: we just received a grant from the NRCS EQUIP program to fund a number of projects, including repairing this section of road that was badly eroded. In this photo, it kind of looks like a road to nowhere (which has been known to happen with government projects), but really it connects our upper and lower fields. The old road was like a river when it rained and a sheet of ice in winter. The new one will be a huge improvement, except that driving the tractor up and down it in winter will be nowhere near as exciting as it used to be.

New Digs

Omar Khudari — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:18:05 +0000

Today we moved the chicks out of the brooding house and into their new movable pasture shelter. From now on they will get a good percentage of their nutrition from grass, bugs, and worms.

Unfortunately, not all the chicks are clear on the concept of staying inside the poultry net electric fence to be protected from predators. And there is a family of foxes living nearby. We did a test run with a small group of chicks over the weekend, and they all learned pretty quickly, so I have my fingers crossed.

Announcing a Field Day for Father’s Day!

Steve Normanton — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:18:27 +0000

Give Dad a treat this Father’s Day, June 20, and bring him for a tour of our farm! From noon to 4, you can feed and pet the animals and help us move the cows and chickens to fresh pasture. Bring a picnic lunch, and enjoy it on the banks of the beautiful Merrimack River. No dad required—come alone or bring a friend!

226 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, New Hampshire