Beef
Our big beef news is that we are about to install a cattle handling facility. We are super excited about this improvement. It means that we will be able to weigh our cattle as they grow, helping us to improve the quality of meat by providing data to help us decide when an animal is ready to harvest. Right now we walk behind them in the field and wait till the jiggle…..really! The facility will also help keep us provide better healthcare for our animals and keep our helpers safe during sorting and loading. Currently we get into the barn with about twenty 1000+ pound animals and hope we don’t get stepped on…..really! So, like I said, we are excited not to be risking life and limb every time we need to take an animal to the butcher. Our cows are very sweet and calm for the most part but, they would prefer to stay out in the field munching, and they have horns….. :)
Two calves were born in the last month. We have hit a milestone here. We will be harvesting 2 steers this year who were born and raised on our farm. This is quite an accomplishment. The whole process takes about 3 years--nine in Utero and two on pasture.
We currently have beef roasts and ground beef available on the farm. We will have a full selection after our next butcher date in June.
Eggs
It is that time of the year again. We had a mink get into the hen house. They can be quite destructive. This guy killed 25 birds in one night. It takes 5 months to get a hen to egg laying age soo…... we have less eggs than we need, again. CSA members will continue to get their eggs like normal and the Terra Cafe is still getting most of their eggs. We apologize for the inconvenience to folks shopping at the Mountain People’s co-op and All Things Herbal. To keep up morale we resorted to giving hens sled rides.
The Third Plate
If you enjoy eating our eggs we encourage you to try a stew hen. Part of keeping our eggs profitable is selling the hens after they are past laying age. Dan Barber talks about supporting whole farm production through eating on The Third Plate. Stew Hens make amazing bone broth and enough meat for soup. We can provide you with a recipe if you are ready to take the leap! Stew hens weigh about 3# on average and cost $8. They are raised on the GMO free, pesticide-free, herbicide-free grain that all of our poultry enjoy. Also, if you have bought our stew hens and would like to share a recipe or any comments, send them our way!
Chicken and Turkey
Our chick orders have been placed and we’ll be getting some cute little peeps in May. We will be publishing the Poultry CSA form in April.
Spring Fever on the Farm
We have been diligently working on spring activities. Our family uses 6-7 cords of wood to heat our home in the winter. The woodshed is almost full. We are also pruning fruit trees and clearing an area for our woofing campers. We have also completed our website! Whew!
Get out there and enjoy the weather!
Brian, Jennie, Arianna and Aden Kahly