Dusting Off (Snow!) And Preparing For Spring

It's been a long hiatus from our farm blog -- too long! I apologize for falling behind on this task. I particularly wanted to blog about processing day here on the farm. What happened, to keep me from writing? I suppose I can always blame a lack of time management skills, but instead I'll blame farm life for just keeping us incredibly busy! It's really hard to find both the time and energy to sit behind the computer and write something when it's light a long time outside and there are more farm (and life-in-general) chores than anyone could possibly accomplish! Add in a growing toddler and I have little brain power left at the end of the day. I'm not complaining, just stating what is probably obvious to a lot of folks familiar with a farming lifestyle. Animals and plants don't wait while I type...

All that said, we're getting ready for another "chicken season"! We haven't made too many changes to that side of the business this year. In a few weeks, we'll have 100 little chicks here, peeping away. We're confident we won't make the same mistakes we did last year, and hopeful the weather will be a little more cooperative this time. We're also going to start a few weeks later, just in case! I'm happy dusting off the blog and the snow off my windshield, but having to shovel snow off the chicks' run's roof and de-ice their waterers is another story.

Over the winter, we focused our energy on creating a plan for soil fertility and forage productivity. I have to hand it to my husband: he really comes up with good ideas. He's great at constructing creative road maps to our goals. He is such an engineer, in so many ways, and so far, that seems like a good thing for the farm (Joel Salatin disagrees -- he's famous for saying that software engineers make terrible farmers because they're usually too hell-bent for perfection, which is required in software, but often stymies progress in a farming situations). One of our major goals is to be as close to a "closed system" as possible with all the meat we raise here. We'll probably never be able to do it without diesel fuel and certain vital minerals, but we want to get as close as we can to being completely and truly sustainable. Soil fertility is one, small-but-vital step in the process to being able to raise the chickens' food. Currently, we buy organic feed, which is expensive, and who knows if the grain in it is being sustainably raised? Most likely, it's not, and that matters to us.

We also expect to erect a hay and winter-storage/feeding barn this summer to enable us to offer organic, pasture-raised beef. We have plenty of spring, summer and fall organic pasture, and even enough pasture to cut enough hay to feed about 20 head through late fall, winter and early spring. We just don't have anywhere to store the hay and somewhere for the animals to get out of the weather. Look for that changing this summer (very exciting!).

I also must say a great big, "Thank You!" to all our 2010 customers, friends and workers that gave us a great start last year. We couldn't have done it without all your support. We hope many of you will be back this year for both chickens and apple cider (also, stay tuned - maybe your Thanksgiving turkeys, too!).

More to come soon. In the meantime, enjoy the waning days of winter and the hints of Spring the days are taking on.  A new sojourn is beginning!

Love, the Youngs