Hello everyone - My apologies for the break in emails and blog posts during the month of September and October. :-( Both months just totally got away on me!
But... while we are still busy "buttoning up" the farm before winter comes, our bi-weekly emails and blog posts will resume!
A quick update on what's happening around the farm.
Haying season is DONE! Woo Hoo! If you know of anyone looking for hay for their cows, horses, goats or sheep please let us know and Josh can help. We have grass and alfalfa rounds as well as alfalfa in squares.
Pig Update
Feeder Pigs - We are so excited that our piglets are eating like crazy and are growing great! It seemed like there was a point they were at a stand still but sometimes I think it's because we see them everyday, twice a day that we just don't notice the changes happening as easy. If you are interested in a bulk purchase please let me know as we have a list going with the next ones being ready in January/February.
Sows/Mamas - We currently have eight mamas in our "herd". Shrek is our daddy boar and along with our mamas they produce some very nice babies for us. We have our other boar, Stump, on loan to some friends right now but he will be coming home some. Miss Mia will be moving into the barn sometime within the next month to have another litter of babies.
Lamb Update - like the piglets, the lambs have licked their worm issue and are loving their grain and alfalfa hay. Lambs are scheduled for processing in January and March.
Sheep Update - As you know, we had a predator attack on our flock that took three ewes and Larry, our ram. We are still dealing with bite wounds on the surviving ewes. There are infections and some pretty nasty wounds on their legs that we are treating. Good news is that all are up moving and eating and drinking so those are all good signs for a hopeful full recovery.
We are also working on getting the sheep barn ready for our first fall lambing season! I am so excited to have some baby lambs around again.
Chicken Update - our new baby chicks are getting big and we are currently taking orders for whole or 8-pc birds. The birds will be ready the week of December 4th so if you'd like to order ahead of time please let me know by December 1st.
Eggs - Are you making your holiday baking lists?? We have plenty of farm fresh eggs to help with all your holiday baking needs! The ladies are loving it as we clean out the garden and do some canning as they are getting lots of veggie scraps.
Beef Update - Right now we have three steers getting in shape for "freezer camp" for some great customers who are making bulk beef purchases from us. I have named them November, December and January. :-) We have a friend who has some bigger calves that we have purchased to finish so that we can replenish our freezers to offer to customers. If you are interested in a bulk purchase, it's never too early to let us know. Even if it's for next spring or fall. It really helps us plan on how many calves (or pigs) to keep back when we get ready to sell in the spring.
Horse Update - The horses are sure loving these fall rains as it's given them some fresh grass to graze on. Mocha is done celebrating her champion barrel run from the state fair and is now ready for the high school rodeo season. Hobby, who is now 23 years old, still loves to go for rides but is slowing down a bit. He gets some special feed of his own for seniors now while Mocha gets her performance feed to stay in shape for any winter events she's going to compete in.
General Farm Update - As always we have a list of fall projects for all around the farm. Right now, Josh is adding on to our cattle barn. His addition will give us a covered area for working cows and/or calves, gain us a few more pens for moving cows and calves around and will also give us room to have a couple of maternity pens for once we start calving. Having a good easy process and space for moving mama cows in when they calve is essential once calving season starts. Especially if we would need to pull a calve or give some extra attention.
Well, I think that gets you up to date on what's been happening around here. One last thing before I go is a SAVE THE DATE. Saturday, December 9th will be our THIRD annual Christmas Open House. Along with our farm fresh meats you will find holiday baked goods, jams and jellies, candied jalapenos, Happy Cow Cheese, Up North honey, and even our own Back Home Candied BBQ sauce!
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food!