Hens are OUT. Chicks are In. We Got Milk. Looking for Farm Apprentice.

Spring has officially arrived on the farm, even though the weather over the past week might not feel like it. We have moved all the hens out to their pasture shelters and thus begins the 3X weekly pasture rotations. Pictured above are 500 new pullets (young hens) at our Wisconsin farm. We also have another 500 new pullets at the Dundee farm in addition to the 1,000+ older hens that we carried over the winter. The new hens haven't started laying eggs yet but we expect to start getting some in the next week or two, with full production coming by late May or early June. 

 

We also received our first batch of 1,000 broiler chicks on April 1st, with another batch of 1,000 arriving on Tuesday. They will spend three weeks in the brooder with supplemental heat and a controlled environment, and then we will move them out to the pasture shelters in late April…hoping the weather is a little warmer then! That first batch will be ready to harvest in mid-June so that is when we will have fresh chicken available in the farm store again.

 

Two of our Guernsey heifers (Louisa and Ladybug) had their first calves in the last couple of weeks, and both are producing lots of milk to bring our total production up to the highest level since we went to once a day milking back in February 2023.  In fact we are not selling out online now so most days of the week we have milk available for walk-in customers.  If you got frustrated in the last couple of years not being able to get our raw milk, now might be a good time to try again. 

 

We are expecting another seven calves to be born between now and the end of May so hopefully the abundant milk times will continue into the summer!

 

We have a great farm team in place right now with Cody, Eric, Meg, and Leah caring for the livestock and keeping things running smoothly, but as we transition into the busy season we are looking for one more full-time, year-round Farm Apprentice at our Dundee farm. If you are interested or know of someone that might be interested please read the full job description on our website. We are looking to fill this position immediately.

 

We are hoping to increase the volume of our farm products we ship to customers that may not be close enough to visit our store. This week we have our Pasture-Raised Pork Sampler on sale.  These pigs were raised on our farm, on organic feed with weekly pasture rotations. All smoked meats are cured without added nitrates. Includes hams, roasts, bacon, pork chops, and artisan sausages.  Ships free to anyone living in Illinois, Wisconsin, and most of Indiana and Michigan. Order online today to ship on Monday.

 

We finally have the new produce cooler in the store operational so we are looking to expand our selection of local and organic produce this year. In stock this week we have avocadoes, lemons, apples, pears, red and gold potatoes, onions / shallots, scallions and leeks, bell peppers, cauliflower, sweet potatoes/garnet yams, carrots, celery, spinach, microgreens and fresh lions mane mushrooms.

 

New items this week we have Free & Simple grain-free cinnamon granola made with tiger nuts. 

 

And for your backyard chicken flock we have organic starter, grower, and layer feed available for online or in-store purchases.  This feed is locally milled in Cashton, Wisconsin and we get it delivered evert week for maximum freshness and nutritional quality. And I am pretty sure our prices are much less than what you can find for organic feed at any of the local farm stores. 

 

We will be starting the weekly Saturday farm tours in only three weeks. Tickets are now available online for the May and June tours. 

 

That's it for this week, thinks spring!

 

Cliff, Anna, and the Farm Team