New additions

Some new additions arrived on the farm this week. On Monday Lynn and I made a trip to a livestock auction to purchase some more stocker calves to finish for this winter. Demand for our beef far exceeds the number of calves that our cattle produce. We usually purchase weaned calves and raise them on our farm until they are old enough to process. However calf prices are extremely high, approximately 2 times what we paid last year. At that price we can not finish the beef and market it at a reasonable price. Our beef sales may have to change to reflect the lower than usual number of calves we will be raising. 

 On a "positive" note. There were other creature that were reasonably prices. I can tell you now there is a good chance I will be winning father of the year after bringing home these two "pets". The girls were and still are very excited about the new additions. The Appaloosa is a 16 month old gelding and the bay coloured is an 8 month old filly. Very affectionate little fellows. The girls will be responsible for basic obedience training over the next year. The horses cannot be ridden until they are 2.5-3 years old. But training starts now.

We are not really horse people. Horse people can be pretty extreme. However we do enjoy horses. Unlike other livestock they can have a genuine affection for their caretakers. Sheep, cattle, pigs, chicken, etc. only really care that you bring food. The gelding was afraid of the trailer while. So after several attempts and praise and petting, I could tell he was not sure about the trailer. While stroking his neck and telling him it would be OK, he leaned into me placing his head against my chest. If horses could hug that was one. He eventually loaded and was fine on the trip home.  

Lynn's Polish hen decided it was time to be a mother hen. A Polish hen is a funny looking thing. They are the only white egg layers we have. It takes 21 days of dedication from the hen to sit on eggs in order to hatch them out. Several  chickens share a nest box, so we don't know who actually laid the eggs that this girl hatched. We collect our eggs on a daily basis, but ever once and a while the hens find a new hiding spot. These guys were hatched out in the wall of the barn.

We keep a few goats, I am not sure why because they can be a real handful. This little girl was born this week and looks to be in good health. when we have more time, such as through the winter we like to milk the goats. They provide excellent milk that is far more nutritious than the watered down, broken down stuff you buy in the store. Goat milk is much easier to digest then cow milk because of the different sugars (lactose) and the fat globules are smaller making them easier to digest. Goats are one of the other animals on the farm that has a personality. But that is not always a good thing.

Guard duty

Jack and Jill standing guard.Luckily for everyone we have not seen or heard any coyotes or wolves since winter. The odd fox comes around at night, but they know better then to cross the fence. The sheep are enjoying the pasture and the lambs look great so far. Our flock (as well as approximately 90% of all Ontario flocks) have been plagued by foot rot. Foot rot is an infection caused by the combination of two bacteria. It can cause discomfort for the sheep and effects the performance of the lambs. If left untreated it can lead to more serious problems. One of the bacteria is found in almost all soils, the other is usually imported when   an infected sheep is purchased. The infection is a major issue across Canada and around the world. It can be very difficult to cure, especially here where 

the climate is humid. However through much research and and planning we think we have effectively cured our flock. All without the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are only moderately effective as treatment because the bacteria live on the hooves of the sheep for months, hiding in any cracks or crevices. The bacteria can also survive in the environment for weeks. We are anxiously watching the flock for signs of infection, but have been infection free now for two months. If all goes well we will start marketing our ideas to other sheep farmers. Spring is usually the worst time for foot rot.

     

Real grass fed cattle

The girls are finally out on pasture. Its is a little later then usual, but we had to fix fences before they went out. Last season we had a rouge cow that wandered the bush for about 3 months. We don't want a repeat of that. we use electric fencing here. Electric fences are what is called a psychological barrier. A 1000lb cow could easily walk through the wire. However once they learn and feel the shock of an electric fence, they never want to touch one again. It works on humans too. I know everyone in our house is terrified of touching the wire. Even if you know the fence is unplugged, you will think twice about touching the wires. An electric fencing causes a sensation that is not really painful, but extremely uncomfortable. Our fence puts out a minimum of 5000 volts, and up too 10000 volts. The variance is dependant on fence length, and how much grass growth is touching the fence. Before anyone begins thinking that this fence is going to kill the cattle I should mention that volts do not kill. The amperage kills. Electric fences produce very low amperage. That is why even Allison and Christina touch the fence at least 3-4 times a year. So far everyone has touched it once this year.
The sheep are out on pasture as well. Lambs have been out for a while, they can sneak through the fences. Several are getting too big now and are having a difficult time getting through.

A few calves enjoying the fresh green grass. The marbled one on the left is our new young bull. He is still a little shy. The girls give him a rough time. But he should bulk up and star assuming the bull role over the summer. The small brown calf in the background is the bull calf that had pneumonia in the early spring. He is a little stunted because of the experience.

This picture is of one of our latest calves. He is out of my favourite highland cow. He is very well built and growing extremely well for a highland. If he keeps doing this well we may decide to sell him as a breeding bull in the fall.

Her is a picture of his mom (my favourite highland cow). She is one of the boss cows. She can be very pushy with the other cows, but gentle with us. Plus I really like her colour. Colour doesn't really affect meat quality, but it helps to have cattle you like to look at.

The cattle hiding in the spruce trees. They love to hide in the bush, and scratch on the branches. The new bull is looking into the sun.

Our youngest calf getting a good drink. Her mother is not the best looking cow, she is small even for a highland. However the calf is healthy and growth very well.

Finally here is a year old heifer calf. I think she wonders what I am doing with the camera.

I will get some pictures of the sheep soon.

It feels like summer

The weather is balmy here on the farm, but that's not why it feels like summer. Its the black flies. I think I fed the whole population on Friday while planting potatoes. I even had to don a bug had and put on bug spray. I am not an advocate of bug spray. I remember when the push was on to stop using DEET products. That was pre-westnile. I rarely put it on any of the promoted products such as bug sprays or sun screens. The ingredients in each of these products have proven to cause skin cancer. I find it ironic that the health agencies promote cancer causing products, to save us from other deadly illnesses. I prefer to limit sun exposure and use the products sparingly. Covering up usually works for mosquitoes and blackflies. Not this week though. The pigs have found a way to keep cool and stop the flys. Pigs don't sweat, so they require a wallow to roll and soak in. These guys look very comfortable. 

                                                                                              

The meat chickens out. As you can see in the picture they are enjoying the grass. Meat chickens are not the smartest creature. They require the "chicken tractor" to keep them safe from predators and provide shelter, while letting them get their fill of grass, legumes, bugs and fresh air. Meat chicken grow to heavy weights are are very lazy. Most "free range" chickens are put in a barn with an open door allowing access to the outdoors. Unfortunately the birds have no desire to walk out the door when the feed is inside. It is false advertising. 

 

The laying hens are a different breed all together. They are slimmer birds made for walking around. Her it is difficult to see but there are a bunch of chickens beside the old manure pile. In the foreground there is a chicken scratching through the grass. The holes in the dirt beside her were created from the chicken dust bathing. Dust bathing grooms the feathers and helps control parasites. Our plans are to build a portable hen house to get the chickens out on the pasture with the cattle. Chickens are great for cleaning up bugs and spreading the patties out. The chickens also add large amounts of nitrogen to the soil, which in turn promotes grass growth. At this point the chickens only roam the pastures close to the barn.
Our latest litter of piglets are 4 weeks old. That is the age we put them out of the barn. The sow was one that we purchased, as a piglet, from the auction. She has turned out to be a great mother raising 9 piglets. All are large and very muscular. I think it is our best litter we have ever had. Lynn and the girls love the colours. We have had red spotted pigs before, but they were always males. This litter has 4 spotted females. The two best just might stay for breeders.

The green house is up and running. Thank goodness I have my kitchen back . It was getting pretty crowded in there with all the seedlings.

We have hundreds of plants now well started in the greenhouse, and many more already planted in the garden. So far the smaller gardens are planted with carrots, beets, garlic, green onions, spinach and Spanish onions. The larger garden has potatoes, two types of beans, peas, lettuce, cooking onions, kohlrabi, bok choi, beets and the corn will be in before the weekend is over.
Things are getting busy. On top of all this I still have hay to bring home, 15 acres of grain to plant, fence expansion for cattle, manure to spread, sheep to shear, and probably a dozen things I am forgetting.

 Hopefully the blackflies get their fill on campers this week end and go back to sleep

It' not all work

The girls have been working very hard on a new project. We have actually had "Maisey" for almost two years.  However she spends much of her time out on pasture. We adopted Maisey from a local couple that were afraid of horses. Maisey was their foster children's pony, but the foster children had long moved on. She was neglected and in rough shape. She still suffers from a disease called heaves, similar to COPD in humans. The primary cause is years of feeding on dusty hay. Some days are worse for her then others. She will never be a good riding horse, but she is fun to play with when she is feeling up to it.
The girls have been friendlying her up since we brought her home. It has taken until now to get her calm enough to saddle up. When we originally brought her home we were told she was ridden often. However when we saddled her up she turned into a bucking bronco that could have given any bronco rider a run for their money at the Calgary Stampede. After much work the girls found the way to Maisie's heart is through her stomach. She would eat a whole bag of carrots if you let her. Maisey was in an exceptionally good mood when this picture was taken. She had her first taste of grass for the year. As you can imagine after a winter of dried up old grass (hay), fresh green grass is a treat. We had to limit her intake because Maisey would eat enough to make herself ill.
Allison and Christina have been bugging for a while now to take her out of the corral for a little ride. After a quick brushing they saddled her up with an old pony saddle and to my surprise she was very calm. I was even able to get her up to a trot with Allison on her back. I was able to get her galloping for an instant but had to slow her down. I am not sure if she was uncomfortable or if it was the sound of Allison screaming, NO SLOW DOWN, but her bucking bronco days returned. However after going back to a trot she calmed down quickly, so did Allison.
A short ride and a brush, then Maisey ate her carrots and returned to the easy life in the corral. Allison and Christina have done a very good job of friendlying up Maisey. We have had many dogs and other pets, but horses are a special animal. Training is very different compared to training dogs. Horses are a prey animal. They need to trust their trainer, they are always getting "spooked". I have had horses stop dead and not move because of a shadow on a trail. Maybe someday the girls will take the experiences with Maisey and train a good trail riding horse  
  

New CSA porgram

After much discussion Lynn and I have decided to offer a CSA for this year to a limited number of lucky people. For those that are not familiar with what a CSA is there is a wealth of information on the internet. CSAs are becomeing increasingly popular all over the world. They offer participants a steady supply of local vegetables all year. Usually farm produce is made available on  a weekly basis. Purchacers pay for a subscription that lasts from June to October. Usually 18-20 weeks. Knowing how many people to supply upfront allows the farmer a chance to plan out production better. This type of program works well for both the subscriber and the farmer. The subscriber accepts some of the risk. For instance if potatoes do not do well they may not get as many. However if another product does well then more will be made available. In our case subscribers will be getting a healthy supply of organic vegetables for a price that is often less than conventional vegetable prices. The CSA subscriber pays for the subscription up front. This allows the farmer to have the capital to start the season as well as shows commitment from the subscriber.
Our CSA will be operated in a simular manner. The cost of a subscription for a season will be $525. Half subscriptions are also available for $275. Payment can be made partial payments providing the total has been payed before the delivery of the first vegetable box. A half subscription offers the same vegetables, but on a bi-weekly pick up schedule. Because we are offering fresh weekly vegetables subscribers are required to make arrangements for pick up if they are unable to make it. Delivery to your home will be an option with in city limits of North Bay for a small fee. If picking up we ask that you bring grocery bags. Other products can be added to your box such as some of our many meat products as well as our popular free range eggs.
Lynn and I have spent many hours going over how to price our CSA. Searching other farms the prices range from $500-$850 for a subscription. We settled on $525 because this is our first year operating a CSA. We are expecting that subscribers will help us learn from this season. We grow allot of vegetables evey year. However a CSA requires much more planning. When growing vegetable regularily it does not matter if all the tomatoes ripen at the same time. With a CSA we want some to ripen early and continue through out the season. Our price is equal to $26-$29 for a 1/2 bushel per week depending on the length of the season. We think this is more than reasonable for organic vegetables. Selection is limited at the beginning of the season but as it progresses the variety of vegetables will increase and change.  
The CSA is the next logical step for our family in our progress as a farm. It allows us to expand availablity of local products to North Bay and area residents. As we all know local foods are the key to healing our family and our planet. We will be making up a pamphlet detailing the CSA and what we expect will be included. I will also be blogging more on the topic in the near future.

Where did spring go?

I am beginning to think we were really spoiled by the weather this March. It looks like winter just does not want to let go. There must be 3 inches of snow outside. It makes for damp slippery conditions that no one is happy with. When I go outside the cattle and sheep look at me like its my fault. They are not impressed by the damp cold weather. The soil that I was worried was too dry has turned into a soupy sloppy mess that has is very good at removing rubber boots. There is not much more maddening than trying to make it through the mud only to have a rubber boot sucked off your foot. Before you have a chance to realise what has happened your shin deep in mud with a socked foot. If you were lucky enough o keep your sock on. Sorry no pictures of this experience.

Luckily there is allot of work that needs done in the house. Lynn is still planting away. She just informed me that she is up to 1000 tomato plants. My house has turned into a tropical rainforest. It is getting difficult to walk through the house without knocking over a plant of some kind. Our window sills are covered with plants of various kinds. I feel like a jungle explorer peering through the jungle foliage every time I look out the window to see what the dogs are barking at, or why the cows are mooing.

Spring can't come soon enough now. Looking at the long range forecast suggests that thing will improve by next week. If you trust the weather network, that means we can start putting these plants out into the greenhouse.  Night time temperatures have to start staying above freezing before we attempt the relocation of Lynn's spring efforts. Next year we hope to have some sort of supplement heat for the greenhouse.

If everything goes well we should have enough vegetables to feed a small village. Lynn and I are hoping people enjoy our vegetables as much as they have our meats. We are have faith in the fact that there is a growing number of people out there that are worried about how and where they get their food. Our customers trust that we produce foods with the right priorities in mind. Unfortunately there is a growing number of "commercial" producers even locally that are starting up and taking advantage of the public trust. People need to start looking into where their food comes from. Ask questions. Don't trust catch phrases such as free range, naturally raised, grass fed, or even organic. Ask your farmer exactly what they do and how. You might be surprised to find out it is not what you think. You might even find out the person you are talking to isn't a farmer.