FARMING PRACTICES

We believe healthy animals come from a healthy environment.

In farming these days there are a lot of buzz words that are thrown around and not all of these terms have clear definitions.

We would like to share with you what our vision is for our homestead and farm.

Regenerative Agriculture

This is by far the hardest term to define and means many different things to many different people. In 2020 our property was a mix of a 1.5 acres of abandoned farm fields and orchard, over 1 acre of lawn, and an otherwise neglected human impacted landscape.

We are working to:

Remove the refuse from 120 years of prior owners
Restore soil health through rotational grazing
Remove invasive plants
Plant over 100 trees and shrubs to establish hedgerows for wildlife and windbreaks
Plant pollinator plots for bees, butterflies, moths, ants, birds, and all other pollinator species
Raise our animals on pasture to reduce their need for grain compared to conventional agriculture.
Minimize our use of plastics as much as possible to help remove micro plastics from our food chain

(Left - Laying out trees and shrubs for planting a new hedgerow along the field edge)

Pasture Raised Berkshire Pork

Our heritage breed Berkshire pigs are raised outside in the fresh air and sunlight. In the winter they are on a sacrifice paddock to minimize damage to the rest of the farm while the ground is wet and plants are not growing. As soon as warm spring temperatures arrive and the grass begins to grow they move out onto lush pasture to munch and root as nature intended. Moving paddocks every week gives them new ground to root and plants to eat. Moving frequently also helps naturally spread out their manure and to break the cycle of parasites and diseases often problemsome in confined barn operations. They have the shade of trees and a shelter to protect them from the wind and rain.

(Right - Pigs on fresh pasture)

Pasture Raised Chicken

Our broiler/meat chickens begin the first few weeks of their lives inside under a heat lamp until they grow out their feathers and can handle the temperature fluctuations found outside. At about 3-4 weeks they move outside to the chicken tractor. The chicken tractor provides shelter from the wind and rain and protection from hawks, eagles, foxes, coyotes, racoons, cats, dogs, and any other critter that might be roaming the neighborhood for a snack. They are moved onto a fresh patch of grass 1-2 times a day depending on age.

(Left - Broiler chicks on fresh pasture)

Free Range Eggs

The free range flock of barred rock hens that we have are kept in a coop at night to protect them from things that lurk in the dark but in the morning are let out to roam 2.5 acres at will. They return to the chicken yard for water and a GMO-free grain ration that provides them with vitamins and minerals but the bulk of their diet consists of plants and bugs that they forage from the fields.

(Right - Hens visit the pigs and peck at the freshly turned dirt)

GMO-Free

All of our animals are fed a mixture of grains and minerals formulated for their specific needs as a supplement to what they find out on pasture. This ration is made with locally grown certified GMO-free grains.

Depending on the time of year we supplement this with treats from our orchard and gardens.

(Left - The oldest apple tree in the orchard)

Are We Organic?

The simple answer is no. Although we do not use any pesticides, organic or otherwise, on our pastures, gardens, or orchard we are still not technically USDA certified "organic". There are three main reasons for this; feed, fencing, and medication.

While our feed is certified GMO free it is not necessarily certified organic. The main reason we feed this instead of certified organic feed is simply to reduce the cost of feed which has the single biggest impact on the sale price of our meat and eggs.

By USDA organic standards pressure treated wood is not allowed to be used in farm infrastructure such as fence posts. Not pressure treating the posts increases the cost per post and decreases the lifespan of the fence.

(Right - Strawberries in our garden)

Hormones, Antibiotics, and Medications

We do not give our chickens or pigs any hormones as it is illegal to do so under USDA regulations for these species.

We do not give our animals unnecessary antibiotics as a preventative measure. All antibiotics and medications that our animals may receive are used as a life saving last resort under the direction of a veterinarian. Any animal that does receive medication is removed from the butcher schedule until after the withdraw period for that specific medication. This is not a common occurrence on our farm but occasionally is required. We keep medical records for every animal and can provide you with any requested information prior to purchase.

(Left - Harriet receives medical treatment from the vet for a badly cracked hoof)