Great Farm Post

I say AMEN to this post by Vaughnshire Farm.



Chicken Butchering Time

I'm taking a break while waiting for more chicken to be brought in. 

David and I are quality control, which involves doing the final cleaning and inspection, bagging, weighing and getting into the freezer. 

Jim, Jonathan, Peter and Andrew are outside in a small alcove in the woods, doing the actual butchering. 

Jonathan tried some new things this year, and our days seem to be going much smoother than other years. 

New this year is a modified Whizbang chicken scalder, which is made out of an old water heater the guys picked up at the landfill.  Andrew also made a holder for chickens, so after they are cleaned up the chickens sit on PVC pipe pegs and allowed to drip dry.  Makes my work so much easier.

Photos will follow after  we are finished.  Yesterday we managed to butcher close to 80 chickens, and today so far we've done 50.  I think the guys said we have 40 to go before we call it a day.  That means we'll be butchering again on Monday.

The Joke's on Us

Remember all those times during the winter when I've blogged about how cold it is, or how much snow we've had during a blizzard? 

Well, the National Weather Service just sent the following warning out to us.  What a switch!


AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF


CENTRAL & SOUTHEASTERN NO. DAKOTA THROUGH TUES EVENING.

A HEAT ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR FAR WESTERN & NORTHERN

ND THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING.



TEMPS IN THE 90S TO AROUND 100, COMBINED WITH VERY HIGH

HUMIDITIES, WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES REACHING 105 TO AS

HIGH AS 120 DEGREES IN THE AFTERNOON & EARLY EVENING HOURS

THROUGH TUESDAY.



LOCATIONS OUTSIDE OF THIS CURRENT WARNING  OVER FAR WEST & FAR

NORTH CNTL NORTH DAKOTA WILL SEE EXCESSIVE HEAT OF 100 TO

105.



AVOID OUTDOOR ACTIVITY IF POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON & EARLY


EVENING.   IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE, DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS & STAY OUT

OF THE SUN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.



And, this is specific for our area:
 
 
HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ TUESDAY.




THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A HEAT

ADVISORY, WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ TUESDAY.



* HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES SUCH AS HEAT STROKE & HEAT EXHAUSTION

CAN OCCUR IF THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.


A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPS IS

EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPS & HIGH HUMIDITY

WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE

POSSIBLE.

---------------------------

This is serious business for our animals, and we'll be doing all we can to keep them comfortable and out of the sun. 

Strawberry Season

It's strawberry time again ...

 Jim decided to try a new method for our plants this year instead of having the traditional strawberry patch that is very hard to weed and maintain. 

 Our farm has been keeping Pepsi in business by purchasing quite a few of their white 55-gallon barrels.  We order them from the local Pepsi plant, at a cost of $5.00 each.  The barrels have a pop (soda for some of you) residue in them, so we scrub them clean and have used them for pig feeders, Whizbang chicken plucker barrel, holders for water, and now strawberry plants.

Jim placed the barrels on some old carpeting to keep the weeds from coming up around the barrels.  The barrels are sitting on their tops that were cut off  so they can be rotated and keep the plants evenly exposed to the sun.

Andrew and Jim used an acetylene torch to melt the plastic, then a knife to cut the side and a wedge to pull out the softened plastic and create a cup to hold soil and the strawberry plant.

Jim placed rocks on the bottom of the barrel, then filled it up with garden soil mixed with compost.  The tube in the middle extends all the way to the bottom and is filled with sand.   The tube is what's used for drain tile, so the holes allow water to reach all the way through the barrel.

The strawberries are easier to pick, and much cleaner.

We are enjoying our bounty!  And our raspberries will hopefully be ready in a week or so.

Minot is Still Having Struggles

I spent the weekend helping out in the kitchen at a family camp near our farm.  There were quite a few families there that had stories to tell about the flooding in Minot.  I heard of some that will have to have their home razed, due to being flooded by the Souris River.  One man said the water actually was up to the rafters of his house.  Apparently the structure of the house is then compromised, so it will have to be destroyed.  I think the weekend's festivities were a welcome distraction for the families that attended.

Below is an article from Fargo's InForum about the State Fair.  We don't usually attend, but for rural North Dakota families, this has been a big event. 

Published July 11, 2011, 12:00 AM


North Dakota State Fair canceled due to flooding


First time event not held since Minot became fair’s home in 1965


MINOT, N.D. – Saturday night was a tough one for Ranae Korslien. The manager of the North Dakota State Fair said she was “worn out from the tears” after the state fair board decided this year’s event would have to be canceled.


By: Tammy Swift, INFORUM



MINOT, N.D. – Saturday night was a tough one for Ranae Korslien.


The manager of the North Dakota State Fair said she was “worn out from the tears” after the state fair board decided this year’s event would have to be canceled. This is the first time a state fair has been canceled since Minot began hosting it in 1965.


“It’s tough on the heart and tough on the checkbook,” Korslien told The Forum on Sunday. “We did everything we could to make this year’s fair a reality. Sadly, the circumstances have changed. We are left with no choice.”


Officials made their decision based on a revised hydrograph from the National Weather Service, which showed waters from the flooding Souris (Mouse) River weren’t receding as quickly as anticipated.


The latest culprit was a Friday night downpour, which dumped about an inch of rain in Minot and 5 inches of rain north of town. “And of course, all that rain dumps into the Mouse River,” Korslien said.


Water remains on the fairgrounds; in fact, when Korslien and another employee drove toward the Midway area this weekend, water leaked into the doors and ran over the floorboards of the pickup.


Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman said the cancellation was a sad but necessary step.


“I feel disappointment in that we’re not going to have a fair but also a little relief for the pressure it would have put on the community,” Zimbelman said.


The mayor said the city would have struggled to host the fair this year because of problems like lack of housing.


“It’s very disappointing, but I think the people of North Dakota will understand,” he said.


The cancellation will also place another financial strain on the flood-ravaged community. Although Korslien didn’t have exact numbers, she said fairgoers typically pump “millions” annually into the Magic City. The grandstand shows alone generate “a couple of million,” she added.


Officials will have to refund any tickets already purchased for fair shows, and Korslien says she’s glad her staff had just installed a new system, which should expedite that process. People who paid with credit cards should see credits on their statements by July 31, she added.


In spite of this latest disappointment, Korslien was already searching for silver linings. She told of fair employees who worked days on end monitoring dikes and pumps to successfully keep the $75 million State Fair Center and just-built, $15 million Fair Grandstand dry.


She also raved about the dedication of her 30 employees – 13 of whom were flooded out of their own homes.


And she spoke optimistically of next year’s fair being the best yet. “We just have to pull our bootstraps back up and figure out what we’re going to do, and we’ll be OK,” she said. “So come out next year and see how nice it’ll be.”

Summer

 It's been hard to accept the fact that it's already July.  We've had some very busy days, as well as having not so nice weather.  

Our muddy areas are drying out, and there have been fewer rainy days.  We've also had some temperatures in the 80's -- a first for this season. 

I am still concerned and continue to pray for the families in Minot, ND, who have lost their homes due to flooding.  Minot is our closest larger city, which is 100 miles away from us.  The river crested but there's a lot of clean up to do after it completely goes back within its banks.

I have lots to catch up when it comes to this blog, but for now will tell you a bit about recent happenings.

 Rick is one of our weed eaters ... No need for a gas powered one when you have goats around!  Rick is our Boer goat, and so far has fathered 2 kids that are half dairy/half Boer.  He has a very even temperament, but tends to be more than a bit whiny when he isn't happy with his surroundings. 

The guys have been staking him in areas that needs the brush taken out.  I walked down to the barn this afternoon and was amazed at how completely he cleans out everything!  Not a leaf was left in where he resided yesterday.

Yesterday was also this season's maiden voyage of Andrew's raft.  Earlier in the week Jonathan and David walked over to our neighbor's house to retrieve the raft; last fall the tether had broken and it floated out into the lake.  Since we don't have a canoe or boat we had to let it float around until it touched shore.  The raft spent the winter stuck in the ice, but after it melted the raft ended up close to our neighbor's shore.  They poled it back to our bay and did a better job of tying it up.

David talked Andrew and Jim into taking the raft out for a swim.  Due to the immense amount of rainfall this spring the shoreline is closer to the barn and more stumps, etc. are submerged, so navigation is quite difficult.  The guys worked and worked, but never did get the raft out of the area where it was docked.   

This afternoon David managed to talk all the guys into trying once again -- and they successfully got the raft poled out into the bay.  A good time was had by all.   

 While waiting for the raft to take off  I noticed a little procession out in the field.  We've kept the 2 Jersey calves in the same area as the goats, and where one goes -- so goes the rest.  I guess the calves think the are goats!  This time it looks like Milcah was leading the pack.

If you look up the hill you will see a white tent looking thing.  Peter decided to invest in a portable car port to use for milking the cows in the field.  He hasn't figured out all the details yet, but it should work quite well.  This will save a lot of time, and can be moved closer to the cows as they are moved in paddocks in the big field. 

Darla and Calliope are enjoying being out in the field as well.  Darla isn't all that keen on cows, and they are kept separate from them.  Every evening when I'm upstairs washing and sterilizing milk bottles I look out the window and see Darla trotting up and around the side of the hill.  She gets her exercise, and I'm sure it helps to keep the flies and mosquitoes at bay.  Calliope is almost 30 years old, and is content to stand under a tree and relax.

We actually have a herd of cows!  To the right are Della and Sandy, Peter's Jerseys, and to the left are our beef cows.  I had never seen Red Angus before we acquired these 2 yearling steers.  We've had Cal for a year now, and he's enjoying his new friends.

Jonathan also has his chickens up in the big field.  The broilers are in the chicken tractors, and Jonathan's laying hens and future layers (hatched last March) have shelters inside of electrified poultry netting.  Moving pens keeps Jonathan very busy.  The tractors are moved twice daily and the hens moved every other day. 

The broilers will be ready for butchering in a couple of weeks. 

This is a photo of Jonathan's laying hens.  Last fall he purchased some layers from a lady that didn't want to winter them (those are the white ones), but most of his layers are Rhode Island Reds.

Jonathan has been smiling a lot lately -- he had his braces removed last week!

Last week our second sow delivered 13 piglets.  They are all doing fine!  It was so much easier to have this bunch than the ones born the end of March (for us, but maybe the sow would say differently).  Pigs have a gestation of 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, and she was right on target.

The first bunch of piglets currently numbers 11, since we ended up losing 2.  They are 3-1/2 months old and growing larger every day.

Maybe you remember Wilbur, the piglet we had in the house for a couple of weeks.  Well, he didn't make it.  We got him to the point where he could rejoin his siblings in the barn, but he never really fit back in with them because he had a leg that didn't work quite like it should and was easily jostled around.  He took to feed like a pro, but ended up having a prolapse and the guys worked unsuccessfully to keep his intestines in.  He was the little pig that wasn't afraid but always greeted us when we went into the barn.