Excessive Cow Selfies

I do take lots of cow selfies. I can't help it, really.

One of the benefits of having milk cows free range all over the property is that we get to know them very well. They have personalities and they know their names.

                                                       *Lucy is doing quite well!!!*

It feels very natural to snap a picture with my favorite farm animals.
They follow us around everywhere and we are able to notice more quickly when something is *off* or they don't feel themselves.

This morning we woke up to a very slight covering of snow on the ground combined with some ice. The wind is gusty and brutal, especially for a Georgia farmer.

                                                *Annabelle is due to calve in 2 months!!!!*

The chores today included extra food for everyone and knocking the ice off the water troughs and dishes. We milked the cows and made sure everyone was present and receiving a good scratch under the chin.

The calves spent each night locked up in a barn stall and the youngest, Red, still has a heat light in his stall. The babies did fine overnight but were happy to see us this morning.

                                         *Annie has grown a ton! She will be a great Angus mama one day!*

The big cows decided to cram themselves under the back deck and next to the basement door. I suppose that was a nice wind break for them, but it did mean we had to shovel cow patties off the concrete and around the door.

Now that most of the chores are done, we can spend the day inside and warm. I have chili cooking and brownies are baking. The dogs are sleeping on any soft rug or bed they can and I am hoping to sew today.

                 * I decided to burn feed bags and now the cows are thinking of making S'mores*


Everyone stay warm!
Happy Weekend Ya'll!!

The Color Green

It's not that life has been uncontrollable, but it was time to sit and decided what I want this upcoming year to encompass.
Farming has taken a new level, with 15 cows, and I have found myself to be consumed with ways to make it all function more smoothly and with more self sustaining qualities.

My beef cow operation is starting to grow, albeit slowly, but that is not a bad thing. I have 3 heifers now that will one day make great beef cow mamas. Slow can be good, especially since grass based farming requires lots of grass. I hope to start leasing nearby land for my cattle this year.

Egg production was very low last year, so I am raising 80 pullets in anticipation of being overwhelmed with eggs come spring. If I need to sell off some of the hens I will, but I am hoping to cover my feed costs with egg sales.

I have yet to decide how many pastured chickens to run this year. I am still feeling the exhaustion from raising 3 batches last year, and it might take a longer break for me to feel the enthusiasm of raising more birds. If you have raised pastured poultry, you know what I am feeling.

I will never be without a few pigs in the forest. They are extremely easy, profitable, and nice for my own freezer. Expanding the fence line through the woods will happen as soon as the weather plays nicely.

As my milking cow numbers increase I am finding ways to manage the lactation and pregnancy schedules a little better. It would be, of course, more simple if I could AI the cows myself, so that could be a potential skill to learn this year. I am hoping to get a few farmers together and have a class taught. Details, details.

Cheese, cheese, cheese! My cave was nearly wiped clean through the holidays, so I am currently crafting cheeses to fill it back up full. Looking for new flavors, I have been inspired by some of the larger creameries and hope to have a few fabulous wheels ready this spring. I have also come to rely on a couple of simple, yet delicious wheels to always stock my personal refrigerator. Ricotta Silata and Queso Fresco have quickly become staples in my kitchen, as they are delicious, versatile and simple to make.

School never really stops. Sure we have days where we sit down with books more than other days, but in reality it never does stop. My goal and hope for this year is to find what they are most passionate to learn and focus heavily in those areas.

I have a fiber studio full of unfinished projects that I am determined to finish this year. That sentence almost made me laugh out loud. :-)

The break from the web was a much deserved and needed rest so that I could spend some time analyzing what I hope for 2016. Farming and family top my list, as they should.  Now I only need get through the cold, dull and lifeless days of winter. I much prefer the days of spring, when trees bud out and the landscape turns green. Green is my favorite color. It always has been.

Happy 2016 Ya'll!

How Does Your Meat Grow?

Oh beef! Do you know what's in your beef? Unless you buy locally from a farmer, there is a good chance your beef has more in it than you want.

There is a new Consumer Report hitting the stands next month, and it contains results from samples of ground beef from all over the US. The findings are not all that shocking to those of us who raise grass fed beef, but there are some surprising elements to the article.
You can read the article online HERE!

This has brought back to the surface many questions and debates regarding grass based farming, organic beef and vegetarian diets. I have joined in some of the discussions and have been answering some emails regarding all of these topics.

I think there is a HUGE disconnect in this country between ourselves and the foods we eat. As long as the food is packaged pretty and readily available at the store, we don't give much thought to the actual process required to supply the food.

If someone discusses home butchering or processing of an animal, many people get squeamish and grossed out.  In general, folks just don't want to know how their food was raised or how it is slaughtered.

How is this picture even legal? If you buy pork from a store, there is a very good chance that this is the farming model you support through your dollars. This is NOT humane.
We are accustomed to not thinking about the life of the animals we consume.

Imagine that we all decide not to support this farming model and decide we want to buy from local farmers. This would require that more people farm, that more people get back to the land. There is plenty of land for more farmers too if we only utilize it.

American Meat is a documentary worth watching regarding the American farming system and how we can change it for the good of the consumer, the animals and the land.

I realize that not everyone can farm or even wants to farm, and that's okay. I am not insisting that everyone move out to the land and start raising their own food, however, I do think we all need to step back and consider the implications of supporting a commodity farming model. Take some time to find a local, grass based farmer and support a sustainable farming method.

It's time we take responsibility for our health, the health of our children, the well being of farm animals, and it's time to take care of the land.

Here is a video soapbox regarding the topic!


Happy Tuesday Ya'll!

Buy Local and Grass Fed

You can read the Consumer Report article HERE.

Excessively Cheesey Post

When you are farming, well actually this applies to anyone who is alive and breathing, you will have your share of ups and downs. Life will hand you some pretty crappy cards and sometimes some pretty sweet ones too.
Always, always, ALWAYS try and soak up those sweet ones.

Despite the frigid cold wind that is screaming in my face "IT IS WINTER!!!!!!", I am happy for the nice warm day yesterday and also for the fabulous cheese we pulled from the cave this week.

My first cheddar since I took a class at Nature's Harmony was a cheese success!

This really made my week too because clothbound cheddar is quite labor intensive to craft, and then you must consider the affinage. This cheese was a young 3 month old. It really should age 6 months, and the next wheel will do just that.

Rose helped me flip cheeses yesterday evening and so I took some low quality cell phone pictures to share of some cheeses I am excited to try!

Of course my helper just had her bath and put on her winter gown, but she was excited to help me.
Here she is holding my Christmas Parmesan. This wheel is rubbed in olive oil every week and will need to age 12 months, hence the name. I made it in mid December and it has  a long time left for aging.

This huge wheel is a Fontina that I am rubbing with a special brine solution. I have no idea how it will taste when it is done aging 3 months, but it look great from the outside!

This is a cloth bound cheddar I just made about a week ago. It is wrapped in cheesecloth and rubbed down with lard, rendered from forested pork we raised.

This cheddar has aged just a tad longer, a mere 6 weeks so far. It has quite a bit more mold growth.

This is a smaller wheel of cheddar, but it is also clothbound. This wheel was made in November and is now just over 2 months old.

I occasionally brush them well to get some of the excess mold off.

 

I am going to remember this yummy cheese from now on and whenever I have a wheel that flops! I actually have an Alpine Tomme that is almost ready and I have high hopes that it is also delicious.

 

I have been incredibly busy working on homeschooling, de-cluttering the house, making cheese, and trying to get some sewing done.

I have been hand dying embroidery yarns and plan to get some in my Etsy shop soon!

 

Here is a sample of what I have made with these beautiful yarns. If you like to hand embroider, stay tuned! I am also sewing up a couple of bags for the shop. I also have a couple of other goodies I sewed up for my Etsy debut.

 

Everyone stay warm today! It is REALLY cold and windy here today, which will make hlding Athena for the farrier today a brutal task! Thankfully she is not my horse but Indiana's. I will remind Indy to dress warm! :-)

 

Happy Friday Ya'll!!!!

 

We are off to milk the cows!

 

 

 



The Chicken and the Cow

Chickens and cows go together.
They are best of friends. They live a symbiotic life together. They are like PB&J. You really need both!

When you have cows, you have cow patties. Lots of cow patties. Just come over here to my place for a visit and you will see for yourself how much poo exists on a farm.

Cow patties tend to attract flies. Lots of flies.

Chickens like to scratch through cow patties. They eat undigested grain and bugs, including fly larvae.
Scratched up piles fade quickly into the ground.

 

Of course this entire process fertilizes the grass. The grass grows thicker and healthier, which feeds the cows, which feeds chickens, which fertilizes the grass...etc  This is a perfect example of sustainable farming.

 

I only thought I was a dairy and chicken farmer. I am also a grass farmer.

 

 

 

If you ever needed another excuse to get more chickens or cows, well here you go! :-)

You're welcome.

 

It's gonna be a busy week here! The Quilt Show is in Chattanooga and I am lined up to volunteer and to take a class. I will update when I am able.

 

If you do not follow me on FB, go ahead and give me a like. I plan to post pictures of the week as they happen.  I am even bringing Devin along to an after quilt show party at a local bar! It should be a fun week!

 

Happy Monday Ya'll!

 



My Ultimate Omnivore Dilemma

"If you want government food, go to the supermarket and buy government food. But for those who want to have a relationship with their food, and the accountability that inherently comes with voluntarily and informatively opting out of the supermarket to go ask around, smell around, sniff around, look around and opt out of the government food system, they ought to have that right."

-Joel Salatin

I can say with certainty that I have a relationship with my food.

It began when I got honeybees. It developed more when I got my dairy cow Lucy.

When we started raising pasture chickens it became more "real." I am more respectful of my chicken when I pull it from the freezer to cook. We raised the chicken, we killed the chicken, we processed the chicken, and now we understand the food relationship. We understand the accountability. We respect the cycle of life. My children know from where their food comes.

Then last week we had to kill and process our two pigs. The farmer/processor/friend called and told us he was on his way to get them. It was a cold and early morning, a "perfect day" for pig slaughter, according to Farmer Joe.

                         ***35 pounds of pork fat waiting to be rendered into lard.***


I was not ready. It was the ultimate omnivore's dilemma. I am not willing to give up my smoked bacon or pork tenderloin and yet I cannot support the horrid and broken commercial system that supplies the local grocery store. I gave that up when I bought my "pigerators." I made a solemn promise to them that I would raise them in their natural environment, allowing them to be pigs. I promised that they would be treated humanely and that they would be "put down" in a humane manner.

It was all handled as I promised. It was difficult to watch at times, but it could not have gone any better. I have replayed it all in my head many, many times. It was the perfect cycle of farm life.

It was a difficult part of farm life. It was the part that makes many "want to be" farmers take a second look at their future farm goals. People often say "That's the part of farming I cannot handle."

                          ***Fletcher helping me in the kitchen as I pack and sort the pork***

Two days later we came home with 375 pounds of pork. I had to clean out my freezer and get it all organized. I have never seen so much pork in my life. We took the hams and bacon to a local artisan butcher so they could be smoked and cured. I am excited too because Link 41 doesn't use those nasty nitrates.

It would be easier to buy my bacon at a grocery store, all wrapped up with no clue as to the life cycle of the sacrificed pig or it's demise. I am , however, a better farmer for not seeking that route, for supporting sustainable farming and the humane, healthy life cycle of my pigs.

I feel like a big hurdle was cleared and my family will eat healthier as a result.

Two years ago I would have never imagined that we would be to this point in farming, to be raising a large amount of our food. I hope that by sharing my journey to sustainable family farming it will encourage others and offer encouragement. This is not always the easiest of jobs but, just as in having a large family...the rewards are tremendous!

We have cooked some sausage and I have to say that it is very good. The meat all looks fantastic and I owe that fact to the natural foods the pigs consumed while tilling my garden plus the large quantities of raw milk and whey the had daily. Later this week I plan to cook a tenderloin.

Have a great week and support your local farmers!