Here's our new farm market set-up.

It's working out pretty well and I am especially pleased not to have to hoist that freezer into and out of the back of the pick-up truck several times each weekend.

We're using the trailer as our summer sales room. This way we can keep stocking the freezer when we come home from the processor which cuts down on the number of times we have to handle product and saves us quite a lot of time.

The tile floor Aaron and I laid is easy to wipe up, the chalkboard painted walls are great for drawing attention to specials, there are numerous, conveniently placed outlets (thanks Stateline Electric) and we have space for 2 freezers so we can put package deals in one freezer and have a very generous selection in the other freezer.

We're adding a new farm market to our already busy schedule. The city of McDonald is starting a farm market on Tuesday evenings. If the Saturday market in Howland doesn't work for you, stop in and see us in McDonald on Tuesday evenings from 4PM until 7PM.

Howland Farmer's Market

It's market time again!

We're getting ready for the Howland Farmer's Market this week. Actually, we've been getting ready all year and stepped up preparations recently.

Since it takes about 16 months to raise a beef for slaughter, having the right quantities on hand to meet our regular customer's demands and have product for sale at the farmer's market takes careful planning. Add to that the fact that our local processor is busy with animals from the Trumbull County Fair for the next few weeks and the scheduling demands become even more complicated.

For some time we’ve been trying to come up with a more workable set-up for the market; one that requires a little less physical effort, is more appealing and meets the requirements for a mobile food license in our home county which dictates the rules that you have to follow no matter what county you’re selling your products in.

The advisory board has also been planning for months to make improvements to the market, planning and scheduling educational and informational booths, children’s activities and entertainment. And, while personally I don't like to have photos taken, I stood in for the "real" farmer last week when he was busy and promoted the market and our farm in this article.

We’re still working on our arrangements but think our stand for the market this year will be great. We’re looking forward to seeing our farm market friends again and getting caught up on a winter's worth of news.

Stop by to say hello this weekend at the Howland Farmer’s Market.

The busiest time of the year

Spring is such a busy time of the year on the farm and this one has been no exception.

Since we're a grass-based farm, we have to stockpile feed for winter. In order to do this, the first grass that grows so quickly and lushly in the spring is mowed, raked, baled and wrapped to preserve it for late fall and winter when there's no grass available.

We've learned that the hay really needs to be made before Memorial Day in order to have the amount of protein that will be required to keep the cattle thriving during the cold winter months. This is a different routine than the more common (in northeast Ohio) way of storing hay as dried grass that is used as a supplement to a corn-based diet for cattle.

The hay in the wrapped bales is fermenting. The bales "puff up" a bit as they cure inside the wrapper; if the wrapper is punctured, the hay will spoil. Aaron lines the bales up along the edge of the fields where the cattle will be kept over the winter and then feeds a combination of the fermented feed and dry hay from mid-December until the grass starts to grow again in the spring.

These bales are unwrapped or drier hay that will help balance the high protein content of the wrapped hay. Too much protein isn't good for cattle, any more than it is for people. The balance is both an art and a science that takes careful management year-round.

The early warm weather gave way to a more rainy late spring and our hay-making was a challenge but the biggest push is done for now. We'll continue to bale some hay throughout the summer; it will take more than 250 bales of hay to get our livestock through the winter.

This undertaking, added in to the regular routine of farm work and keeping up with yard work, makes for a very busy time of year!

Chickens

So this is the new set-up for the chickens. This photo shows them outside their tent. We move the tent often so they have clean grass. The feeders are outside so they have to go out to get food. The waterer is that green PVC pipe, cut in half and suspended from what looks like a sawhorse; there's a float that causes the water to turn on when the level is below a certain point. This keeps the water clean, fresh, and cool for the chickens to drink.

What looks like netting around them is actually a movable, flexible fence. It does resemble snow fence but has a few metal filaments in it so it can be electrified. This keeps the chickens safe from predators.

And the last photo is a full-grown chicken. They should weigh about 4-5 lbs. after 7 weeks. Our sales are "farm-gate" only, whole chickens only, and the cost is $3.25/lb. Give us a call if you're interested.

Chickens

Remember how cute they were here. Hard to believe that was 6 short weeks ago.


Within a few weeks they looked like this. See the little feathers on this chick's wingtips. Those pop out only a few days after the chicks arrive.


Several weekends ago, on a (hot!) Sunday afternoon, Daniel, Aaron and I transferred the chickens from the upstairs of barn, where you saw their nice warm set-up, outside to the pasture where the chickens could live on pasture.


Aaron caught the chicks and put them in crates, Daniel hoisted the full crates onto the 4-wheeler and hauled them out into the field and put them on the ground inside the fence then I unloaded each crate while he went back to repeat this process. Thirteen more times. Three hundred chickens.


After they were all moved and shooed into their tent--it really was a hot afternoon--we organized their feeders and waterer. Aaron had already moved the tent, which looks like a carport on skis, mowed around the tent so he could set up the fence which will keep predators out; the grass must be short in order to get the fence low enough so nothing can get under it and also so that the taller grass doesn't cause the electric fence to short.


Watch for photos of the chicks in their new home.

Pastured pork

This is the view the pigs have from their new home.

Aaron walks out to check on them every day or rides the 4-wheeler, if he’s in a hurry. You can bet they hear him coming and are waiting to be fed or have their backs scratched.

The big red building in the center is the barn; it’s an old bank barn, not really conducive to what we do now but it’s sturdy and in good condition so we make it work.

The smaller building is a toolshed. The sheep live in the white canvas building that looks like a carport; it’s on big metal “skis” to make it easy to move. The little red building is a garden shed. The chicken tractors are out of sight of this picture, just off to the left.

We use the pond to water livestock. There are water lines running all over the pastures that are gravity fed. We occasionally have geese or ducks on it but the dogs keep them from staying too long.

That’s the life the pigs are living at our farm. Pastured pork really does work.

More in the life of pastured pigs

The pigs were so happy to get moved outside. They had been in the barn; they were so small when we got them, they had to have a heat lamp hung over them in a box made of boards so they could stay warm enough.

The spotted pigs are Berkshire/Duroc crossbreds. Berkshires are an old breed, prized for their flavor.

Aaron loaded them on the trailer on a sunny, dry day and drove the trailer out to the back of the pasture where he had set up these paddocks to keep pigs. When he let them out, they ran, rolled in the grass and had a great time.