FARM HAPPENINGS
Happy Holidays to all, hopefully everyone is enjoying time with friends, family, and some good food during this holiday season.
With the farm store closed on Christmas Day we try to get the farm chores completed with a minimal crew so that everyone can spend most of the day with family. Early Christmas morning Anna and I were getting setup for milking and we sent Nick out to bring the cows in from the pasture, where he discovered a newly-born heifer calf from first time mom Ruby.
We named the Christmas baby Roxanne, or Roxy for short. Pictured above Anna is helping Roxy learn to nurse from her mom. We've got Ruby strapped into the stanchion with a chain as she was moving around a lot and baby Roxy was having a hard time getting hold of a nipple. Both are doing well in the calving pen this weekend and we expect they will be ready to rejoin the herd early next week.
We've experienced some crazy winter weather so far this year, first with the big November snow then below zero cold front, followed by more snow, then horrendous ice, and finally the big meltdown with lots of mud. And to think winter didn't officially start until last Sunday!
Fortunately livestock and farmworkers are surviving the early season winter hijinks after some last minute scrambling to get the pig shelters winterized and cows and hens settled into their winter quarters. So far our milk production has remained strong as the cows transitioned well from a pasture diet to a mostly hay diet throughout November.
Unfortunately our egg production dropped dramatically when we took in about 700 of the older layers for processing into stewing hens the first week of December. We did bring in 600 new organic ready-to-lay pullets (young hens) in late October to replace them, but they are just now starting to lay eggs. Hopefully with weather warming up over the past week and days getting a little longer we will see a significant uptick in egg production soon.
We do have a few batches of Berkshire hogs still to process over the next few weeks. Two batches going in January to Nordik Meats, which does a very nice job on custom orders. We are taking whole hog orders for those January butcher appointments…to fill your freezer with delicious pasture-raised pork reserve here.
FARM STORE UPDATE
With the farm store closed on Christmas Day we are carrying a big surplus of raw milk into the weekend, so now is a great time to stock up if you have been trying to reserve some online. We should have plenty available in the store for walk in customers all weekend.
We will be working on inventory next week so no shipping or curbside orders will be filled. And the store will be closed early at 3:00 PM on New Year's Eve so we can finish inventory and get everything weighed and counted in the store.
Fresh organic produce available in the store this week includes Dates, Avocados, Limes, Oranges, Lemons, Grapefruits, Grapes, Kiwis, Kumquats, Mandarins, Pears, and several varieties of Michigan Apples. Also Beets, Ginger, Pie Pumpkins, Green Beans, Asparagus, Green Cabbage, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Gold, Russet, and Red Potatoes from Igl Farms, Onions, Celery, Cauliflower, and Garlic. And fresh rosemary and sage.
If you are looking for gift ideas for your New Year's party host we have lots of hand-made local soaps, tallow skin care products, candles, charm bracelets, and a variety of books on healthy eating and living as well.
As a reminder the farm store is open 9-5 on weekends, and 10-6 on weekdays. Please remember to bring any extra plastic or paper shopping bags as well as egg cartons on your next visit so we can reuse those and keep them out of the landfills and oceans.
Happy Holidays,
Cliff, Anna, and the Farm Team