PA FACA Goes to Washington, D.C.

This week the Pennsylvania Farmstead & Artisan Cheese Alliance took a marketing trip to Washington, D.C. Our first stop was Agraria, which is a restaurant that uses locally grown products. They received quite a compliment from the Fishers, an Amish family making sheep & cow cheeses, who said that was the first time they've ever gone out to eat and had food as good as what they make at home.

Our next stop was at the Cowgirl Creamery where owners Sue Conley & Peggy Smith treated our group to a tasting of their cheeses and spoke about their dedication to providing a showcase for artisan cheesemakers.

After a short walk over a few blocks, we arrived at the Penn Quarter Farmers Market, one of the FreshFarm Markets. Market co-director Bernie Prince introduced us to the cheesemakers selling at the market and spoke about the demographic who regularly shops there.

Then we were off to the Big Bear Cafe where we were welcomed by Robin Shuster who has started a number of smaller farmers markets in several D.C. neighborhoods.

Our final stop of the day (after our driver was lost in D.C. for nearly 45 minutes) was the Whole Foods store in Georgetown. What a cheese counter!

Overall, the Pennsylvania Farmstead & Artisan Cheese Alliance was well-received and from this trip I'm sure more Pennsylvania cheeses will be showing up in D.C restaurants, specialty shops, cheese counters and farmers markets.

Attention All Foodies!

For anyone who loves good food, I mean really, really good local, wholesome awesome food, this is the must-attend event of the year.

Last year's dinner served up an all-star menu (on which goat meat from Painted Hand Farm was served!) along with refreshing libations from Pennsylvania wineries and breweries.

There were over two dozen artisan cheeses provided by members of the Pennsylvania Farmstead & Artisan Cheese Alliance. And who can turn down a chance to try delicacies such as Slow Roasted Suckling Ping with Mustard & Molasses Slop and Rosemary Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint & Walnut Pesto...just to name a few of the many delicious items all prepared with locally produced foods.

Additionally, the evening includes wonderful music and a bag auction for marvelous donated items.

Hope to see you there!

The Latest Additions

This is how your Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners first arrive at the farm. Yes, that box hold 50 day-old turkey poults (that's what they call babies) hatched and shipped yesterday. Birds can survive without food and water up to three days after hatching because they are still drawing nutrition from their yolk so many birds are shipped through the regular old US Postal Service.


When the poults arrive, we take them out of the box one by one and dip their beaks in the water so they know where to drink. They will be kept in a brooder for a few weeks until they are big enough to go outside into a portable pen on pasture.

Veal Calves

A pair of Jersey bull calves arrived this week, too. They will be raised in an open, non-confined area prior to being turned out on pasture. Some people won't eat veal because they are opposed to modern commercial veal-raising practices. However, our calves are allowed to run free in the barnyard together and are not pumped full of any antibiotics & hormones.

The Flitshinger

Ralph shows off his latest completed project here at the farm as the goats look on.

A couple weeks ago our elderly Amish neighbors had an auction to get rid of most of their worldly possessions. There was the $3,000 wedding quilt and lots of other pricey antiques, but we were after one thing---the ground-driven manure spreader. I remember when Mr. Fisher first bought the contraption not long after we first moved here. He enjoyed tinkering with it and would tow it behind his equally old 1952 Farmall tractor (yes, some Amish use tractors) spreading manure over his pastures.

As the animal population on the farm grows, so does the poop pile. Last year we had another neighbor spread our compost pile using his tractor & spreader, but we wanted one of our own.

As the auctioneer jabbered away with his numbers, I kept nodding my head. "SOLD for a hundred dollars," he barked. The spreader was ours. Later in the day, Ralph putted down the hill on the 8N and hooked up the spreader. Once parked in front of our barn, we began cleaning all the old plastic and baling twine that was wound around the bars with fingers that flings the shit into the air. Some of the bars were loose and broken. The back bar that gives the final oomff to the spreader was missing a few wings.

After several days of dismantling, cleaning, oiling, greasing, tightening and a few trips to the welder, Ralph had replaced the broken parts and had the spreader put back together ready to go to work.

We don't know what kind of spreader it is, but while at the tire shop (it needed a new wheel and tire) which is also an old farm implements bone yard I saw a similar model rotting in the weeds. "How much do you want for that old spreader?" I asked the owner.
"I'll take a thousand bucks for it. It's an antique, you know," he replied.

I knew we had done good.

Birth of a New Venture?

BEFORE

Long before I ever bought the farm, moved back to Pennsylvania and started raising meat goats, I was fascinated by the premise of using goats for brush reduction after I first read about a company called Goats R Us. Not being prone to fires, I did not believe the need for kinder & gentler brush reduction methods were necessary here in the east.

But I forgot about poison ivy and began learning more about grass-based farming and certified organic methods. As I became more educated on the caprine dietary preferences for forbs and woody shrubs, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I could give this a try.

During

Last year on the farm we experimented with spot grazing & browsing and from our success decided to build a rotational paddock system. But a series of events have taking place this spring that has led me to begin working with what I initially termed the "B-Herd" (those destined to become sausage) for brush reduction. With my freezers full and the farmers market at which I plan to sell my meat products not opening until this fall, I somehow had to hold over my culls a few extra months. For the non-farming folk, hay prices have nearly doubled so feeding them purchased forage would only result in a higher price for the consumer. Enter brush reduction.

Pressed for time with the upcoming PASA field day here at the farm, I wanted to get my woefully overgrown gardens weeded and planted. But with days of back-breaking weeding ahead of me, I shuddered at the thought of weeding to exhaustion for days on end. So I got lazy, spent 15 minutes installing my portable electric netting from Premier One Supplies and began my experimentation.

Now I understand that part of taking goats on the road for brush reduction is training them not to scatter. Most large herds use dogs such as Border Collies to help keep the strays in check. I decided on a bell. So on Saturday morning with my fencing all set up, I opened the main paddock gate and began walking down our road with a ringing copper bell aided with a feed bucket with a few cups of corn. They followed effortlessly. I repeated the ritual that evening back to their paddock approximately 100 yards away and twice on Sunday. My weeding was complete. Ironically, this is my perennial herb garden and I was prepared to sacrifice my well-established herbs and flowers to get this garden under control, but the goats only mowed off the chives....all others (oreganos, sages, lavenders, lambs tails and bee balm) were spared. Off into the woods will be the next test. Say tuned.....

AFTER

Another One Bites the Dust

Ah, the joys of owning an old Christmas tree farm. Unfortunately, these farmed conifers are gradually falling victim to old age (40+ years) and borer beetle infestations. Fortunately, their roots are extremely shallow and they can be pulled out with the tractor. Plus, they make awesome bonfires throwing sparks high into the night sky and crackling when lit off. I think Ralph is getting ready for the Summer Solstice. Let's just hope the weather isn't too dry for a big burn.

Teeth Time

Yes, horses go to the dentist, too. Or should I say the dentist comes to the farm? Miss Bango turned twenty this year and part of keeping a senior horse healthy is preventative dental care. Horses develop sharp edges on their molars causing them to eat less and become poor in health. Since I want my red mare around for the next twenty years, she gets a checkup, vaccinated and dental work done each spring. She had some really sharp points on her molars this year so Dr. Lartz used something that looked like a big Dremel tool. As laid-back & bomb-proof as Ms. Bang is, she'd never stand for that contraption buzzing around inside her mouth so he gave her a little something to take the edge off. Her lower lip is still droopy.

We gave the vet quite a workout this morning. In addition to the equine care, he also had to de-horn three goats, castrate two bulls, preg-check a heifer (bred!) and give the dogs their rabies vaccinations. I'll spare you those images.

Another Step in the Right Direction

With the first new paddock for our rotational grazing/browzing plan in this spring, we were able to take advantage of some of the lush forage from the pasture seeding last spring. Looking ahead, you can see the cross-brace where the next paddock will begin about the middle of the image on the right. The center lane is also visible, although, that too, will get finished with the next fencing phase.

During this process I've learned some important things. First, don't skimp on the wire spools. I bought the cheap models without the tensioner and guide. Spring for the better models. I know I will next time. Measure the electro-braid before putting it on the spool...don't just estimate. I've got one spool with much more on than the other.

Two strands of hot wire will keep in adult goats, but I'm going to have to add that third wire for the kids.

And never, ever try to roll up temporary fencing with animals, especially bottle kids, spoiled rotten attention grubbing heifers or overly lovable LGDs with you in the pasture!

Topless!

Expecting to hit the 80's today and have a few thunder showers, I wanted every drop possible to hit the soil for the greens garden so I removed the row cover today. There is spinach in the front, then a stand of heirloom red & green Deer Tongue lettuces, followed by broccoli raab and then some mustard greens & pak choi. The bed to the right has onions and potatoes and the one to the left has tatsoi, celtuce, mizuna and a mesculun mix. Today, I planted some peas and tomorrow the carrots, beets and turnips go in. There's also 20 pounds of seed potatoes on the porch, but I haven't even turned the area for which they are destined.

It's also time to start browsing the goats. This is the Open Herd, meaning they are not pregnant or nursing. Mr. Buck will soon be visiting them and breeding for the fall kid crop.

Emma is a ham and wanted her picture taken, too.

And while everyone else is outside gardening & grazing, Megs is taking the afternoon off for a nap.

Ralph Recycles More

Anyone who knows us or follows this blog are always on the lookout for the latest recycled gadget from Ralph. Well, here it is. That's just not any old bucket. That's one of those $35 jobs with the heater coil in the bottom to make those whole live in locales that stay below freezing from having to constantly break ice out of their animals' water buckets.

We got five years out of this one until it quit working in the latter part of winter. Try as he did, Ralph could not fix it and in the process put a hole in the bottom of the bucket rendering it useless for holding water.

But did he send it to the local landfill. No! He screwed it to the back of the barn next to the water hydrant as a place to hang the hose.

He didn't just stop there. He attached an old rake head to the front of the bucket to help keep all hose attachments and brushes we use for cleaning water buckets on the inside as well as provide a place to hang the end of the hose. Wait! There's more. As you can see, instead of removing the bucket handle, he left it on for an instant towel rack. What a guy!

A Colorful Explosion of Spring

Winter stretched out far too long this year leaving a drab, muted (and white) Easter--no tulips, no hyacinths, no fruit tree blossoms. But the last few days of 70 & 80 degree weather has everything popping at once in a brilliant display of spring.

Future peaches and pears.

Spring onions & greens.

Mission Accomplished

For the last twenty years I've been a regular at farmers markets, both for personal consumption and during my many years in food service. Actually, it was my patronage of local farmers that originally set me apart from my competitors with the catering business and restaurant. So when I purchased my farm in 2000, my goal was to one day sell my products at the local farmers market.

Although I did go as a drop-in farmer to the Pomfret Street Market in Carlisle a few years ago, I really don't count that as reaching my goal because at the time I was only trying to make an extra buck on a bumper crop of greens that were soon to be tilled under to make way for the peppers. It seemed like such a waste so I procured a space for the day, spent hours in the rain picking and packing produce the night before and the next morning trying to sell my organically grown chards, kales, lettuces (washed & bagged, no less) and spinaches at a market where people were more interested in the Amish guy next to me selling baked goods.

One man complained that, at $1.50, my free-range brown, green and white eggs were too expensive. He could get a dozen at Wal Mart for .79 cents. The only thing I sold out of were the flower bouquets I had also brought to liven up the table.

After paying for my fuel and the space rental, my net gain was $10.19. I had estimated if I would have sold half of what I took, I would have made around a hundred bucks. That told me two things about this area--the farmers market location stunk and the consumers were uneducated about nutritional local foods.

I hung up the idea of farmers market until I began helping out friends who do two markets in the Washington DC area. I've also witnessed an increase of support for locally-produced foods in the wake of killer produce and toxic meats.

Still unwilling to hock veggies for a living, and happy with raising meat animals I held with the direct marketing approach. Having customers come to the farm and pick of their products is not only convenient for me, but also more profitable.

But I still had this nagging lust to be the farmer on the other side of the table.

In order to sell meat products at a farmers market, there are a number of hurdle to clear. First, it's a trip to the insurance man. In our litigenous society, selling at market requires a minimum of a million dollars liability coverage. Then, all meat sold has to be slaughtered and packaged by a USDA-certified butcher with a USDA-approved label.

My label design was fairly innocuous, but Mr. USDAman told me it had to be changed. I wasn't allowed to call my meats "Naturally-Raised". That constitutes a qualifying statement and if I want to use it, I have to be certified natural by an accredited oversight organization to verify that my meat is, indeed, natural and not cardboard or plastic. I knew the government had the word 'organic' locked down, but natural? Give me a break! So I took out the offending words and Mr. USDAman gave my label his stamp of approval.

Two veal calves (I also couldn't say they were humanely raised--that's another certification) and two goats went to the USDA butcher and came back all neatly cryo-pack vacuum sealed and flash frozen just days prior to Dickinson College's third annual local foods dinner which this year featured a farmers market three hours prior to the dinner.

So this was my big day. While getting ready it hit me that it has taken just a little over six years to reach my goal. Dreams (and farms) don't happen overnight, but if you persevere, you do get there. Six years of building pastures to feed multiple generations of goats where I finally feel that I have the quality and inventory to sell individual cuts at a farmers market.

My goat was to sell $100 in meat at the market and I far surpassed it as well as made several contact with people from out of town who were there visiting their children who would like to have goat shipped to their home.

Was it stressful? Yes. A lot of work? Absolutely. Exhausting? Definitely. Satisfying? Well, let's just say that's it's going to be a long time before anything will be able to wipe the smile off my face.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

At the rate the rain is coming down this morning, all our flowers will be washed downstream! I'm so glad we didn't spread our pasture seed earlier this week as planned. Equally as fortunate, the rain held off until last night so we had a gorgeous day for our PA WAgN Grazing & Fencing Workshop held here at the farm yesterday. Two dozen people came from all over the state to learn more about rotational grazing and fencing. We had representatives from the Cumberland County Conservation District and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture who spoke about various programs. The best part of the day was Ralph's presentation of tools, fencing techniques, equipment and most importantly--what NOT to do and use on a fencing project.

Not Your Normal Easter Eggs

Ok, so they weren't eggs. Instead, the Easter Bunny decided to goad our last pregnant doe into delivering a healthy set of twins. Trucking out to the barn first thing in the bitter cold wind, I found Marylin with a buck and doe cleaned and dry nestled in a deep nest of straw resting comfortably.
Later in the afternoon, Ralph and I went over to my parents' house for Easter dinner and to pick up Jess who was having a sewing weekend with her grandma. I hem with packing tape and staples, so when Jess wants to tackle a sewing project, I send her to Mom's house. Needless to say, that's one talent I didn't inherit.

Population Reduction

While the herd has been expanding with all the new babies, there have also been some departures this week. My primary market is the ethnic community and three goats were purchased by my Moroccan customers this week. They just tie the goat's legs and put them in the back of the car! I'd hate to have one get loose going down the road though, so I think I'll stick with the stock trailer when it comes to transporting live animals.

Also this week, we sent our first batch to the abattoir to be butchered and packaged under our first USDA-approved label. That means we'll be able to sell meat by the cut to the public. Coming up later this month is the local foods farmers market & dinner at Dickinson College. It will be my third year attending, but the first time I will ever have cuts of meat for sale. Progress!

Seeing in Black & White

We're getting down to the home stretch of kidding season. It was between Lucky and Marilyn as to who would come straggling in last place. Not wanting the honor, Lucky blessed us with a set of twins around lunch time--a buck and a doe. There really hasn't been much color variation in this batch of kids, so we were excited when a solid black buck with a small white spot on his stomach and one white foot was born. He's jet black and had the thickest crew-cut like coat I've ever seen on a goat kid. Not only is he thick coated, but well-muscled, too. His sister is smaller, traditionally colored with a white body and a black head.

The Neonatal Ward

Without fail, every year we end up with at least one bottle baby. They are usually the runt of a set of triplets such as Taco Belle, who has now graduated to the outdoor nursery so she can play and learn to be a goat with all her other caprine brethren. Plus, she has been spotted on a number of occasions gorging herself on our "power udder" doe, Breeze, who even with her own twins produces more than enough milk for everyone and is more than welcome to let kids other than her own help relieve the pressure.

While Jessica and I were at the Pennsylvania Meat Goat Producers Association seminar & sale yesterday, one of the younger does whom we didn't think was bred left a surprise package in the field.

When Ralph first found the kid, it was so tiny and appeared to be dead. But as soon as he touched it, it let out a wail. He took the little doe into the house to get her cleaned and warmed before putting her in the maternity ward in the barn with her mother. Unfortunately, the doe had very little milk and rejected the kid.

So into the neonatal ward in the living room she went. Made up of a high-sided Rubbermaid tub, a heating pad and clean towels, the bottle babies have a safe, warm place to stay. The little doe, who we named April Fool (she's April's granddaughter) has been eating well, peeing, pooping and can stand on her own.

Taco wasn't quite this small when she was born, but now she's bigger than her siblings so let's just hope the little Fool grows just as well.

Double Doubles

Yesterday morning I went out to find Tinkerbell with a set of twins all dried off and nursing. These are her first kids and we were a little worried because her mother died at birth and we weren't sure how her mothering instincts would be.

This morning we had a repeat performance from one of the matriarch does, Breeze. She graced us with a pair of does--one with traditional Boer coloring and the other with what I'm guessing is very similar to the buck--Guinness Stout--who sired Breeze.

Spring Time Soil Testing

No, that is not a pogo stick for little people, it's a soil probe and I'm taking soil samples from the fields to be tested as I do every year. We knew the soil was poor the first year we were here and Ralph planted sweet corn out in the fields. It grew about two feet tall and produced puff-balls instead of ears. When the lab ran the first samples we sent, they ran them twice just to be sure they were really that bad. I don't care how much money you have, building soil fertility takes time and patience. So every year, we spread lime and compost bringing the pH up gradually. Last year, we had it high enough we could even plant some seed. The clovers came in but the orchard and brome grasses didn't...still too low. So we plug away and hope that our soil continues to improve so that some day our animals will be able to dine on lush green pastures.

Ode to April

She was a big ugly doe with flat, stubby horns protruding from her head instead of the sweeping curved ones indicative of the Boer breed. Her udder was a pendulous spotted bag with an extra nub of a useless teat pointing out of one side. But her pedigree had plenty of heavyweights in the goat world and she was a long tank of doe with good feet and a history for producing triplets.

But today, we had to do the unspeakable, except among those of us who raise livestock, who understand, that sometimes there's just nothing you can do except humanely send a member of the flock to the other side of the rainbow.

Yes, everyone loves to look at all the cute pictures of the goats and their babies, but there's a price we pay for domestication that no one wants to think about.

I breed and raise animals for meat. I know that one day many of my animals will end up on the dinner plate...that's a fact of farming. But when it comes to the death of a working doe, well, that's like losing an old friend.

April will live on in our herd as most of the babies born this season are out of her buck kid from two years ago, HandyMan, who spent a season as our herdsire before going to Clan Stewart Farm in Huntingdon. During her time here at Painted Hand Farm, I longed for a doe kid from April, but she only ever gave me bucks.