As you can see, I've had much less time to devote to blogging these last couple months. If you've been reading for awhile, you may recall that we no longer have internet access at home so most of my internet use is at work. Earlier in the year, when we were working the night shift, many of my nights were just supervising which left a lot of time to sit at the computer. That was also a colossal waste of productivity. Now we're only running one shift and my computer time is much more limited but I'm also more productive. Anyway, my point is that I haven't abandoned this blog. I just need to manage my time better to post more often.
On the farm, the ewes are all bred (he says with crossed fingers). This is downtime for us where we just do the daily chores and spend lots of time reading and cooking and planning. Jennifer has been making killer chicken broth from our stewing hens.
We've set a goal to add two Dexter cows or heifers to our farm this summer. After lots of consideration, we kept coming back to them. Since we have a wonderful local source for fresh, unprocessed milk, beef is our primary focus.
We also have goals to do some home improvement - specifically replacing the concrete porch with a new wood porch and adding a roof over it. Then we hope to replace the siding, soffit and gutters and remove three exterior doors that are no longer in use.
It was 67 degrees at our house yesterday afternoon.
Be well.
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Still here.
Seven weeks since I've blogged. Anyone who was reading has probably long given up on me but we're still here.
The sheep are breeding, chickens are laying and kids are growing.
Ron Paul 2008.
Be well.
The sheep are breeding, chickens are laying and kids are growing.
Ron Paul 2008.
Be well.
Monday, 15 October 2007
Transition.
Here at Liberty Farm, we've made the transition from summer to autumn. That means something that our family looks forward to every year - vacation. We spent the first week of October on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. The fishing was lousy but all in all it was a very nice relaxing week spent with my parents and sister, brother-in-law and their three kids.
As we move into autumn we have two major undertakings on the farm and they are the things I least look forward to during the year - shearing and dividing the flock into two breeding groups and one group of ewe lambs that will not be bred this year. So, every year about this time I entertain thoughts about what our life would be like if we didn't have this farm, livestock and everything else that goes along with it. I probably shouldn't admit that here but it's true and I know this melancholy outlook will pass soon enough.
Shearing the ewes is tentatively scheduled for October 27th. I will try to get the rams done one evening (or morning, depending on my work schedule) before then. The rams are going to be difficult because we don't have a good way of getting them into the barn and closing them in. The ewes are easy in this regard because their habit is to spend some time loafing in their barn each day so we just have to close the gate when they are all inside.
Dividing the flock for breeding purposes has always been one of the most difficult thins we do each year simply because we don't have adequate handling facilities. The corral I built last spring should be a big help with that. I plan to buy enough wire panels that we can construct a lane connecting the two barns. Then it will be a (simple?!?) matter of separating out the sheep we want to move and driving them down the lane. The white (ewe) barn will house one ram and his group and the red (ram) barn will house the other ram with his ewes. Additionally, we will have 3 or 4 ewe lambs in a stall in the red barn that will not be bred this year. I'm not sure of the number yet because we may breed the biggest of the ewe lambs. I'll know for sure after she is shorn and I can judge her body size and condition without all that wool getting in the way.
As we move into autumn we have two major undertakings on the farm and they are the things I least look forward to during the year - shearing and dividing the flock into two breeding groups and one group of ewe lambs that will not be bred this year. So, every year about this time I entertain thoughts about what our life would be like if we didn't have this farm, livestock and everything else that goes along with it. I probably shouldn't admit that here but it's true and I know this melancholy outlook will pass soon enough.
Shearing the ewes is tentatively scheduled for October 27th. I will try to get the rams done one evening (or morning, depending on my work schedule) before then. The rams are going to be difficult because we don't have a good way of getting them into the barn and closing them in. The ewes are easy in this regard because their habit is to spend some time loafing in their barn each day so we just have to close the gate when they are all inside.
Dividing the flock for breeding purposes has always been one of the most difficult thins we do each year simply because we don't have adequate handling facilities. The corral I built last spring should be a big help with that. I plan to buy enough wire panels that we can construct a lane connecting the two barns. Then it will be a (simple?!?) matter of separating out the sheep we want to move and driving them down the lane. The white (ewe) barn will house one ram and his group and the red (ram) barn will house the other ram with his ewes. Additionally, we will have 3 or 4 ewe lambs in a stall in the red barn that will not be bred this year. I'm not sure of the number yet because we may breed the biggest of the ewe lambs. I'll know for sure after she is shorn and I can judge her body size and condition without all that wool getting in the way.
Friday, 28 September 2007
Good Winter Eating
We have two freezers full of lamb, chicken, corn, broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes, 30+ quarts of canned beans, a big bag of potatoes in the cellar and a very nice crop of celery yet to be harvested along with a big pile of dried beans to be threshed. It's a nice feeling going into winter with all this stored food. Certainly we have the option of buying what we need as we need it but having it already and especially having produced it ourselves makes all the hard work worthwhile.
I was reviewing the "books" this week and see that the lamb we sold this year almost paid for all our hay for the coming winter. That's not bad when you figure we kept two lambs and a hogget for ourselves. The chicken project worked well. The demand outstripped our supply (assuming everyone who placed an order ends up actually buying). On the economic side, $2.50 per pound provides a nice profit margin. A 5-pound bird sells for $12.50. In our experience, it ate about $6 worth of organic grain plus $0.65 for the chick. Basically, Jennifer and I made a combined $25-$30 per hour for butchering if we figure nothing for our labor in actually raising the birds. Since we would have done this anyway to raise chicken for our own table (priceless) that labor is not accounted for. For more information see Gene Logsdon's writings about "pastoral economics" vs. "industrial economics."
Last but not least, I was talking to Mike, who owns Border's Market when I picked up my lamb last night and I think I may have found a source for fat grass-fed beef. Most of the beef we've had has been quite lean. Since we've begun trying to eat in a nutrient-dense, traditional manner, I've become sensitive to eating meat that is too lean. I want grass-fed beef but it must be finished, i.e. fat. Mike gave me the contact info for a customer of his that is doing just that. If you're a farmer in north central Ohio in need of butcher, I can't recommend Border's in Plymouth highly enough. They are one of the only ones left doing on-farm slaughter which, in my opinion, is the most humane, natural way to bring an animal from the pasture to the table.
I was reviewing the "books" this week and see that the lamb we sold this year almost paid for all our hay for the coming winter. That's not bad when you figure we kept two lambs and a hogget for ourselves. The chicken project worked well. The demand outstripped our supply (assuming everyone who placed an order ends up actually buying). On the economic side, $2.50 per pound provides a nice profit margin. A 5-pound bird sells for $12.50. In our experience, it ate about $6 worth of organic grain plus $0.65 for the chick. Basically, Jennifer and I made a combined $25-$30 per hour for butchering if we figure nothing for our labor in actually raising the birds. Since we would have done this anyway to raise chicken for our own table (priceless) that labor is not accounted for. For more information see Gene Logsdon's writings about "pastoral economics" vs. "industrial economics."
Last but not least, I was talking to Mike, who owns Border's Market when I picked up my lamb last night and I think I may have found a source for fat grass-fed beef. Most of the beef we've had has been quite lean. Since we've begun trying to eat in a nutrient-dense, traditional manner, I've become sensitive to eating meat that is too lean. I want grass-fed beef but it must be finished, i.e. fat. Mike gave me the contact info for a customer of his that is doing just that. If you're a farmer in north central Ohio in need of butcher, I can't recommend Border's in Plymouth highly enough. They are one of the only ones left doing on-farm slaughter which, in my opinion, is the most humane, natural way to bring an animal from the pasture to the table.
Friday, 14 September 2007
Late Summer Update
Random thoughts on what's happening now at Liberty Farm.
The garden is on it's way out. Beans are canned, corn, broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes are frozen, kraut and kimchi and made, etc. We still have lots of tomatoes to work with and our dry beans are drying. The potatoes are still in the ground. I really don't want to harvest them until the temperature drops in our cellar. That way they will keep better. I'm not sure how well they will keep in the ground. We'll see.
Pastures look great. I want to apply 2 tons of lime per acre in October. There are some weeds that need to be mowed and I want to trim under the fence one more time.
Speaking of fence, I've made several half-assed repairs this summer that need to be corrected. My goal is to replace all of our steel line posts with fiberglass and corner posts with wood. I would recommend that anyone building an electric fence avoid steel altogether. One problem with one wire on one post and you've got a dead short.
Lamb butchering is scheduled for 9/24 and I have photos of the chicken butchering to post. My youngest son has been proudly telling people that he helped gut a chicken.
BTW- the chicken is sold out! I vastly underestimated the demand. Next year we'll definitely be raising more.
Be well.
The garden is on it's way out. Beans are canned, corn, broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes are frozen, kraut and kimchi and made, etc. We still have lots of tomatoes to work with and our dry beans are drying. The potatoes are still in the ground. I really don't want to harvest them until the temperature drops in our cellar. That way they will keep better. I'm not sure how well they will keep in the ground. We'll see.
Pastures look great. I want to apply 2 tons of lime per acre in October. There are some weeds that need to be mowed and I want to trim under the fence one more time.
Speaking of fence, I've made several half-assed repairs this summer that need to be corrected. My goal is to replace all of our steel line posts with fiberglass and corner posts with wood. I would recommend that anyone building an electric fence avoid steel altogether. One problem with one wire on one post and you've got a dead short.
Lamb butchering is scheduled for 9/24 and I have photos of the chicken butchering to post. My youngest son has been proudly telling people that he helped gut a chicken.
BTW- the chicken is sold out! I vastly underestimated the demand. Next year we'll definitely be raising more.
Be well.
Saturday, 1 September 2007
Food and Water...
...not necessarily related.
Food
We've been doing a lot of fermenting lately. Above is a yogurt cheese made from homemade yogurt. Just pour the room temperature yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined colander. Tie up the cheesecloth and hang it to drain. 12 hours for a creamy, spreadable cheese and 24 for a more dry crumbly cheese.
Below is kimchi - cabbage, carrots, green onions, garlic, ginger and chile pepper flakes. Just add salt and a bit of whey for a starter and pound. Pack it into the jars and press until the liquid covers all the veggies. We fermented this for 3 days ate room temp and then moved to the fridge for aging.
We've also made sauerkraut and pickled green beans. I have a Belgian Trippel aging in the secondary fermenter in the dining room and a gallon of kombucha on the kitchen counter. Our house is a den of yeast and bacteria.
Water
This photo shows the intersection of Sixth and Diamond streets in Mansfield on August 21st. Our machine shop sits just behind the red brick building with the billboard on the right. You may have seen this view on CNN. The Post Office is just out of the frame on the right.
We had 30 inches of water inside our building. 20-odd baked out electric motors later, and we are back in full production. Which explains why I haven't posted the last couple weeks.
Food
We've been doing a lot of fermenting lately. Above is a yogurt cheese made from homemade yogurt. Just pour the room temperature yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined colander. Tie up the cheesecloth and hang it to drain. 12 hours for a creamy, spreadable cheese and 24 for a more dry crumbly cheese.
Below is kimchi - cabbage, carrots, green onions, garlic, ginger and chile pepper flakes. Just add salt and a bit of whey for a starter and pound. Pack it into the jars and press until the liquid covers all the veggies. We fermented this for 3 days ate room temp and then moved to the fridge for aging.
We've also made sauerkraut and pickled green beans. I have a Belgian Trippel aging in the secondary fermenter in the dining room and a gallon of kombucha on the kitchen counter. Our house is a den of yeast and bacteria.
Water
This photo shows the intersection of Sixth and Diamond streets in Mansfield on August 21st. Our machine shop sits just behind the red brick building with the billboard on the right. You may have seen this view on CNN. The Post Office is just out of the frame on the right.
We had 30 inches of water inside our building. 20-odd baked out electric motors later, and we are back in full production. Which explains why I haven't posted the last couple weeks.
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