New Pigs!

Yesterday was just plain crazy. I headed to church early in the morning to get a start on a pile of work because I know that the next couple of days will be focused on putting up red steel. I stayed in town until after lunch so I could get a couple big extension ladders for the shed work, and then we finally made it out to work on the shed around 3:30 PM. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it was what happened. Before we got in too deep though I decided I should go check on the pigs just in case...

Of course they had farrowed while I was gone in the morning! And by they I mean both gilts had farrowed ... in the same A-Frame hut. What ensued next was a little bit of craziness as I decided (after consultation with some experienced pig folk) that the little hut might not be the best place for two first time moms and the 18 babies between them. So, we had to separate the gilts and the pigs somehow (with an emphasis on somehow).

Let me condense a hour-and-a-half into just a few sentences. Basically the two gilts had no desire to leave the hut, even though I was taking pigs out and putting them in another hut. Finally after poking and prodding enough I got one and then both out, but one pig was especially angry with the whole situation and she tired to let me know every chance she got. After much gilt wrangling and quick fence construction I now have one gilt in each hut. One gilt has 10 pigs with her and the other has 8. Even after all of the confusion they seem to have settled down a bit and all the pigs were nursing when I checked late last night.

Now we are just going to see how these first time moms do.

The Shed Siding Starts

In spite of the cold, rainy day today, we are starting the siding on our shed. My father-in-law has come to help get the ball rolling for the the project. I don't have much time to write today, but I have added a link on the sidebar that you might enjoy. Under my blog archives there is now a search option which will allow you to do a search within my blog. Hopefully it will make the information that I have found and that has been shared more accessible now. Enjoy!

She's Back . . .

Just in case you didn't notice, my wife, Becca, is back from blogging vacation. You can click here to head over to her blog or click on the link to the right.

A Shed Party?

Nothing says "party" like a nice October day and some quality time spent doing manual labor, at least that is what I'm hoping! This coming Friday and Saturday we are going to try and get a good start on siding our shed and we are offering up an open invitation for anyone that would like to come a work for a while. If anyone would like to come on out and help on either day you are welcome to come out around 10:00 AM or so each day and work as little or as long as you would like. Of course we will be offering plenty of food and drinks and as many thank yous as we can get out in a day! If you are interested in coming out for some work (and some fun I'm sure) just shoot me an e-mail.

The shed is a very important piece of the puzzle, but it is just one of the first pieces to get everything squared away for winter. Once the siding gets up there are a few other "shed related" projects that we need to tackle. In no particular order: 1.) Trench water and electricity out to the shed (both are coming from roughly the same spot so only one trench); 2.) Install frost-free water and hydrant in shed; 3.) Install electrical panel and some outlets in the shed; 4.) Finish the high-tensile fence around the shed and yard; 5.) Construct cattle working area with chute.

Of course there are plenty of other projects to do related to the cattle, the pigs, and the house to get ready for winter, but I think I'll just focus on those right now! It sure seems like Laura Ingalls Wilder's family got their farm set up more quickly than us ... but I guess they didn't have a town job either. Plus, they were smart and usually built a smaller house ... out of dirt!

Farm Crawl 2009

Yesterday was the third year that I have been able to take a tour on the Farm Crawl (I can't remember exactly how many years this event has been going on). It is really great to get out and see so many farms close by that are working in so many diverse farming pursuits. But, it was especially great to see how many people there were out there crawling from farm to farm and supporting local agriculture. I don't know how many people there were, but there was a crowd at each farm we stopped at.

This year we stopped at Blue Gate Farm, Schneider's Orchard, Coyote Run Farm, and Reichert's Dairy Air. It was nice to get out and see these farms and the farmers (especially since I have had a chance to chat with them from time to time as we have started the farm). Each farm has a little different niche, although they do overlap in some areas. But, what is really neat is to see the farms operating in their own unique way ... and outside of the "conventional box".

We took quite a few mental notes this year and hope to have a chance to be on the Farm Crawl ourselves in the future. Luckily we right about on their loop and very close to Reichert's so it wouldn't be too difficult to join in if there is room for one more. This kind of thing is right up my alley ... people coming to the farm and checking out what we have going on!

Some New Gilts...

I'm beginning to wonder if I can do anything right when it comes to farming. Thursday I purchased three bred gilts. These were pasture farrowed outdoor raised gilts from a herd that has been going strong from 20 years. Needless to say I was very excited about these additions to the farm. But, now I only have two of them. That afternoon one of them escaped and is long gone. I have spent about four hours combing the pasture and the woods looking for this lost gilt ... and she is gone.

Needless to say I'm a little less than pleased with myself and the way things have worked out. I am spreading the word around the neighborhood and keeping my eyes peeled (along with driving different roads to town each time), but so far I haven't found anything.

The other two gilts are settling in just fine and are probably getting close to farrowing. I big thing now is to get them into separate huts. Right now the two girls have both decided to take up residence in the same hut even though there are two others available ... that is today's chore!

Want to Learn How to Side a Shed?

Well, so do I ... Today the steel (and all the other stuff to put it up) is set to show up at the farm finally. We placed our order just a few days before a price increase that was coming and it seems that everyone else did as well, so we have had to wait awhile. But, now that our steel is arriving on the farm we need to get it up on the shed so that we can move on to other shed related projects (winter lot fencing, hay manger construction, water in the shed, electricity in the shed, etc.). So, I guess we (with the help of family) are going to learn how to side the shed.

The project shouldn't be too complex, just a bit time consuming as we get everything figured out and put up. One big portion of the work that needs to be done is the sliding door on the west end of the lean-to. The east side of the lean-to will be open to allow the cows to come in to feed, but the west end will have a sliding door in order to block the cold winter winds yet still allow a tractor to drive through when the deep bedding needs to be cleaned out in the summer.

Other than that project it should be fairly straight forward as we do the sides and the back side (it will be open along the entire front). The easiest part will be the back side because those pieces of steel will already be cut to length, but I have faith that we can get the rest done. Now, we just need to pray for some light winds so we don't have to fight a breeze putting up thirteen foot pieces of steel!

If you are in the area and would like to learn (ha ha) how to put steel on a shed drop me an e-mail and I'll see if I can help you out ;)

Pasture Seeding Questions...

I'm not even going to look down and see how long it has been since I last posted ... I'm sorry to those of you that read regularly and those of you that have been wondering where I have been. I'm especially sorry because I thought I was going to get going again after that last break. Nonetheless, here I am writing a blog post again. I haven't stopped farming, but I have been plenty busy on the farm and at the church and trying to figure out all the puzzle pieces that need to get put together before the ground freezes and the snow flies. To get the "blog ball" rolling again I think I'll just start out with an easy post...

As you may or may not remember I have been using a springtooth harrow and a drag harrow to bust up the anthills on the farm. Doing this has brought into sharp focus the need (or my desire) to reseed a few areas of the pasture. There are some areas that are so over grown with brush and prickly elms that once all that is removed I'll pretty much have bare ground (or weeds only). So, I would like to do some pasture seeding on maybe a third of our pastures. And, maybe broadcast some seed on a few other areas.

My question, and I realize this is a very location specific question, is what type of pasture mixes would you recommend if you were going to be drilling in some seed? And, when you would you suggest doing it (this fall or in the spring)? I would love to hear any thoughts people have on this subject and I'll be doing a bit of research myself, so I'll report back.

As always, thanks for reading and I'm sorry for such incredibly sporadic posts ;)

A "Bale" of a Good Time

Earlier this week I was able to get the haybine up and running and cut about 4 acres (more or less) of grass. It was nice to know that the haybine we purchased last year was in good working condition. I knew the rake would work fine because I used it last year, so the last piece of the puzzle that needed to be put together was whether or not I had a working baler. I knew that there was a spring underneath that was broken, but since I do not have a manual (or a lot of baler knowledge) we didn't get the correct part ordered.

Good thing there was a plan B, or C, or D ... I don't really remember which plan it was, but I do know that we were able to borrow the families New Holland baler. With a working baler in hand we were able to finally put up the hay that I cut. Needless to say, it was plenty dry and ready to be baled.

The grass in that area of the farm is mostly a mixture of warm season grasses. As Rich mentioned in an earlier comment we have some Bluesteam, Indian Grass, and Switchgrass which actually covers most of our farm. It is a nice stand in some parts and a bit thin in most of the farm. I would say our bales averaged about 40 or 50 each and we have right around 130. Not a real good cutting, but at least it is a start.

It is very nice to look into the shed and see hay piling up!

Grinder Chicks?

I'm sure this video and story is making the rounds now, but I've been waiting to put it up because of the guest post. Also, it gave me some time to think about my thoughts on the subject ... and after much reflection I realized I'm not sure where I land on this subject. Actually I guess I have an idea of where I land, but the answer is fairly complicated. I'll get to that, but first the video in case you haven't seen it yet (and an article from Fox News).



Here is where it gets complicated. I think there would be a fairly large segment of Americans (maybe even a majority?) outraged at the idea of the chicks being ground up alive because they aren't needed. On the other hand I am completely convinced that a large portion of those that were outraged woudn't not be very excited about the prospect of paying substantially more for eggs or or poultry products (because one of the reason of getting rid of these chicks is because they will be slow growing for the meat market).

So really, I believe it is a catch-22. I do not believe it is very good stewardship to waste so much potential and that is why I think more dual-purpose (both meat and egg layers) chickens are the way to go. But, the average consumer in American wants eggs cheap and on demand and to get that high capacity output our large commercial farms need super birds. And I guess the super egg laying breed boys aren't quite as super as the girls.

What are your thoughts on the subject ... no big deal ... over zealous hidden camera guy ... or something to think about?

Have Haybine ... Will Cut Hay

Last year we bought a line of hay equipment, all from the same farmer. But, as of yesterday morning the only piece of equipment that I had used was the rake. Last night that all changed after I finally got the gumption to get the haybine ready to go and cut some hay. I spent some time in the morning crawling around underneath and on top of the haybine looking for all of the grease zerks and then I oiled all the moving parts that didn't have zerks. After all that I began working on the big problem ... getting the hydraulic cylinder to lower. I don't know exactly what the deal is (it's a fairly involved story, so I won't get into it), but lets just say I am able to lower and raise the haybine ... just not as easily as I should be able to!

Once all of that was done I was ready to go. The area I cut wasn't very big (probably 5-7 acres), but I really enjoyed the process. Partially because it was a beautiful night and partially because I was doing some productive work on the farm and things were mostly working out. As you can see from the picture the sunset was pretty amazing and it was only made more amazing by the fact that I saw it from the tractor seat as I was making rounds cutting hay.

Now, I just have to see how long it takes to dry, rake it up, and then figure out a baling plan. I may have gotten a little ahead of myself, but I have at least four different plans to get it baled. I'm not too worried about it ... yet!

Calling the Cows...

One thing that I have really appreciated about the new perimeter fence is the ease of moving the cows to new grass. We are not yet to once a day rotations yet, but we are getting there as I figure out how much grass they need each day and how to handle them with the tall warm season grasses that we have right now. I'm trying to use the cows as part of my pasture renovation by getting them to eat down as much as I can before I come back in with the anthill buster and the brush hog (to get rid of all the bushes).

All that being said, one of my favorite things to do is call the cows to some new grass ... it always amazes me that they will come (even from the other side of the farm) and it surprises people when the see it. I can't say that I've done anything special to train my cows, so I just think it is in their genes (kind of joking there).

But, Saturday evening a they were in a far corner of a large open area and I wanted to get them into some fresh grass. I walked out into the field and started calling out, "Come on now cows!" Slowly but surely they started bawling out and starting to move towards me. I kept calling and walking towards the opening in the electric fence I wanted them to go to. Once the lead cows came over the hill and saw what was going on they took off running!

In a matter of minutes they were all in the new area and grazing away. I stood there for quite a while (with some friends) watching them fill their mouths with fresh grass and see the calves bound around and upset their mothers by walking under the fence to the good stuff (there is clover in the areas where I have mowed). I'm not saying that I know why it works to call them like I do ... I'm just saying it works and it is enjoyable!

(I'll try and get a picture up this afternoon or evening)

1 in 6 Iowans...

I realize that from time to time it may seem like I'm a little hard on conventional agriculture here in Iowa and around the country. Really, I just am passionate about what we are trying to do and what others are already doing that is outside of the "2009 agricultural box" that it can come across like that (and sometimes I'm just plain hard on something). But, the other day I came across this report from the Iowa Farm Bureau that says 1 in 6 Iowans have jobs either directly or indirectly related to agriculture. I thought that was a good thing for my state...

I'm not sure what the percentage was 50 years ago, but 1 in 6 isn't too bad in an age where the number of farmers is shrinking, but the size of farms is rising. Our state has found ways to capitalize not only on our great soil and climate from growing corn, but also on our ability to come up with different ways to keep the economy rolling within the agricultural world we have here. There are some very smart people coming up with some pretty crazy things here in Iowa that effect farming all around the world.

Just think how many more jobs agricultural could provide in Iowa if we support for locally raised food continued to grow at the rapid pace that it is growing now ... We'd have to add more farmers! Just a little food for thought...

Where Have I Been...

For about a month I have been mostly gone when it comes to the blogging world, in fact I'm not sure if there will be anyone left out there to read this. But, I am back ... well, at least I think I'm back and I'm going to try to be back. I guess after 600 plus posts here and over 100 posts on the Epi-Log I kind of caught a bit of the writers block bug and slowly fizzled out. First I started posting later in the day, then I started missing a few days, and then I just quit posting altogether. But, today ... maybe ... I'm back. At least I'm going to try to be back because I miss the interaction and the exchange of knowledge!

So, what has been going on? I don't really know where to begin because I'm not exactly sure where I left off, but I will share a few updates today and over the next few days.

• As you know from previous posts (at least I think this has been covered), the perimeter fence is completely up now and working wonderfully. I still have to put up four 12 foot gates (two openings) on the outside by the woods, but other than that we are just using it and it is working great. Out on the line we get about 9.6 kV, which I think is pretty good (and I can say from first hand experience it provides quite a shock!). The next chore is to put up the fence around the house, it will run at half voltage and have a cut-off switch.
• Last week five pigs took a trip to the locker. Loading was quite a chore, but I feel like I was a little more prepared this time even though it still took a while. One of these days I will build the perfect system, for now less than perfect will have to do. In other pork related news we now have two state certified freezers that we can sell meat out of. This allows us to sell by the package or by bundles of cuts. I'm looking forward to this because I know we have quite a few customers interested in 10-20 pounds instead of a half or a whole. The inspection process was pretty easy. We just had to pay the money, have them come out, show a label from the locker (we can put a "raised by" label on it), and put up a "No Smoking" sign by the freezer. If you are insterested in pork send us an e-mail and we will let you know what is available when it is available.
• The shed ... ahh ... the shed. It needs steel on the sides, I haven't gotten that done yet...
• Our new bull Sundance is adjusting well to the farm and being kind of loud! He is doing great, but we have him seperated from the herd still so he likes to call out and make his presence known to the ladies and the other boys in the herd. I find that he likes to talk the loudest at the times when I like to sleep the most. But, other than that we are still super glad that he is here and I absolutely love his temperment ... and he loves his treats!
• Winter hay is still and ongoing issue for me, but I think we are starting to get this squared away. In fact I didn't mean that to be a play on words, but I think will will actually be feeding mostly small square bales this year (from our farm and my dad's). I think this will work out the best, because it will make it much easier to feed inside the shed with deep bedding for the animals. Now, I just need to line up some corn stalk bales for bedding (I have no idea how many I will need).

So, I'm back ... and ... that is just a taste of what has been going on while I have been away from the blog. As some of you may have figured out I haven't been getting back to all my e-mails either with all that has been going on, but I'm slowly making my way through those as well. Thanks again for all the insight and discussion all you readers have added! All that help has really come in handy as we begin to make some visible progress on the farm.

Follow Stoneyfield on Facebook

Becca has recently set up a Facebook page for our farm, Stoneyfield. You can check it out here or from the Facebook button on the right of the page. It contains links to things like our websites and features done on our farm. There will also be some photo galleries. If you become a fan of it (a Facebook term for the non-Facebookers) you will recieve updates about products for sale, any new features done about the farm (hopefully there will be another one or two sometime), and whatever else gets added to the page.

The Vegetables of Our Labor

There are many things that I enjoy about farming and living on the farm, but one thing that is really fun are the times when we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Or in the case of the supper I had the other night it is the pork and vegetables of our labor! As you can see from the picture above we are starting to harvest some of our sweet corn and while we have it at meals there is also plenty to freeze for the winter. Along with the sweet corn my wife has also been canning green beans and we should have a good supply of each until next years garden is producing.

One thing that we have noticed though is that the sweet corn in the ground where the pigs lived is doing amazing. But, the tomatoes and other things in the area where they weren't isn't doing as well. It is obvious why this is happening, but I'm always amazed at how much some good nutrients can add to the garden. We will put the pigs in there for a little while in the fall again and hopefully begin building some good soil.

In the mean time we can eat plenty of corn and beans (and a few tomatoes) and of course enjoy some great pork along with the meal. Now, if only I could plant some grains on a small scale then we could have home grown bread as well...

Busting Anthills

A Ford 5000 ... a spring toothed harrow with sweeps ... and a drag harrow ... now we are in business busting anthills! Thanks to the help of (and shopping) of my uncle I am now able to bust up some anthills and try to get this pasture smoothed out a bit. And, I must say that this little rig is working great. Because of the size of some of the hills it will probably take a pass from each direction, but once it is all said and done I think we are going to do quite a number on the anthills on the farm.

The next step will be getting rid of all the brush and then over course deciding what to send into the grasses that are already there. On one hand I could just let it come back on it's own over time, but I think with a little investment we can get the pasture in shape a little more quickly and add in some cool season grasses to go along with the relatively thin stand of warm season grasses that are left in the fields.

I will admit that it is the brush clearing that will take the most amount of time though. For much of it I can attack it with my brush mower on the back of the tractor, but there are a few stands of locust trees that will need to be taken out with the chain saw because they are pretty thick and pretty plentiful. On top of that they are very thorny! Once we get that accomplished then we may drill in some seed.

I plan on talking with some farmers in the area for a good seed mixture to use, but I know for sure that I will be talking with the local grassfed beef farm that has hosted a couple PFI field days the past two years. It is nice to see things start to come together around the farm!

Pork For Sale!

Once again, we have “Old Fashioned Pork” available, just like Grandpa and Grandma used to have. Our pigs are kept outside free of confinement houses and have been allowed to live the way pigs were designed to live - rooting up the ground, wallowing in the mud, and relaxing in the sun. This summer the hogs we have available are a Berkshire/Hereford cross, for sale by the whole and half.

Pricing is as follows:

• Purchase of hog = $1.85 / pound hanging weight to be paid to Stoneyfield Farm
• Processing of hog = $0.60 - $0.65 / pound hanging weight (their average for a typical order) to be paid to Milo Locker - an award winning, state inspected locker

The hanging weight of the hogs we have this summer should be somewhere around 175 lbs, give or take depending on the individual animal. The amount of meat you receive will reflect on the specific cuts you choose. The average order usually takes home around 70% of the hanging weight. For example, 70% of 175 lbs is 123 lbs.

We have a processing date reserved at the Milo locker, and the meat should be ready to be picked up the first week of September. Feel free to e-mail with questions or for more specific information on cut choices.

Meet Tama Sundance

Well, about 1,100 miles later we finally have our new bull, Tama Sundance, home safe and sound. Except for some storms on Tuesday morning our trip was fairly uneventful as far as things go when you are hauling a bull half way across the country. Sundance was a good passenger who didn't make any noise and drank plenty of water along the way. It was also a relief to see him walk right out of the trailer and have some grass, drink some clean water, and eat a little all within the first five minutes on the farm.

As you can see from the picture above he truly does look like a bull, which is something that we were really looking for. But, beyond looking like a bull we think he will add a lot to our herd. He has great feet and seems to pass that on to his progeny (good feet are an issue in the Dexter breed). Also, the folks we bought him from feel like he improved the udders of his offspring as well.

Another plus for him is that he is red and homozygous from the dun color. That was a nice addition for us because we have a growing number of dun cows and heifers in our herd and I just plain like that color. Also, the red is nice to have becasue we do have a red heifer now and I wouldn't mind adding more so that we can have a representation of all the colors (black, dun, red).

All in all I'm glad to have him here on Stoneyfield Farm. He seems like he is a gentle guy and I think will be a great fit for the farm. Right now he is haning out by himself and getting acclamated to the farm, but we can't wait to get him out with some of the herd.

"Why Don't He Write..."

Okay, today's title is a great line from a movie ... anyone know what movie it is from? But, the bigger question is where have I been. For quite awhile now I have been blogging six days a week. In fact I have even come up with posts to put up while I was gone on mission trips and other youth related things. But, for the past month or so blogging has been pretty tough because of all of our projects and farm work. I guess it finally caught up with me and now it has been almost a week since I have posted. But, I have a reason...

We have been on the road for the past few days taking in a wedding and heading all the way to Virginia to go bull shopping. I figured that since we were in the area (well, it was 9 hours from where the wedding was) we might as well go and pick up a nice Dexter bull. Our travels took us to Olde Towne Farm in Virginia and to Tama Sundance (the picture above is from the Olde Towne Farm website because I forgot my camera cord).

Sundance is a great looking bull that we think will add a lot to our herd in years to come and we are excited to see some calves! Hopefully now I can pick-up the blogging again, because there sure is a lot that I need to catch up on.