If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that we once owned a farm where we raised pastured, soy-free, corn-free chickens, hens for eggs, a few dairy cows, pigs, geese, ducks, turkeys & a pretty big garden. We worked really hard, and made some stupid, newbie mistakes along the way. Jumping…
Animals
The Cost of Raising Broilers without Soy, Corn or GMO’s.
We just sent out our first e-mail, offering to raise chickens with soy and corn and even GMO’s, only because we are not finding many customers who are willing to pay the price point for our chicken. It feels like we’re going against our own standards–buying a conventional type of feed, with soy and corn, and whatever…
The Cost of Producing Raw Milk
I recently asked y’all on Facebook how much you spend on raw milk. The prices ranged from $3 per gallon up to $20. The break down is like this: 43% pay $7 or less per gallon 45% pay between $8 and $13 per gallon 12% pay over $14 per gallon We have 2 dairy cows,…
Homemade Chicken Feed without Soy or Corn
When we first bought our property, I wanted to create a chicken feed that would not include soy or corn. I was not able to find a ready-made feed that worked for us, so I researched (a lot!) and came up with this ration. It works great for layers, but it does not have enough…
Meet Buttercup!
In lieu of sharing Farm Photos this week, I want to introduce our newest Jersey, who we have chosen to name BUTTERCUP! 🙂 I showed her photo on Facebook and she went VIRAL! You guys loved her! I got more comments than I have ever had on any post-1,255!!! So let me introduce you to…
What to ask when you’re buying a dairy cow
Buying a dairy cow for the first time is a big deal! We bought 2 cows from trusted friends (thankfully!). Had we purchased from any stranger off of Craigslist, we might have purchased a dud cow. There are so many things to know about a dairy cow and keep the milk safe! Keeping a dairy…
Want Crohn’s? Buy milk and beef from the grocery store.
We just purchased a second Jersey. My husband met the previous owner at the vet, where he had testing done, and where he was able to ask a lot of questions. One particularly big concern in buying a dairy cow is Johne’s Disease (pronounced Yo-nees). It’s a disease that is identical to the human…
Choosing a Dairy Cow: Breeds
So, you want to get a dairy cow, but you have no clue what kind to get. There are some things you need to think about when choosing a cow: do you plan to sell the milk? (Is it legal in your state?) If not, you probably don’t need a cow that produces large quantities…
5 Reasons I Don’t Buy Meat at the Grocery Store
I am picky about where I buy my meat. Honestly, I do buy some meat at the grocery store, but only grass fed stuff from the local stores that I can trust. I never buy meat from the large chain stores. My ideal is to buy it from farms only. Or, even more ideally, someday, we’ll produce it…
Michigan: Hog Farmers to Lose their Property & Right to Raise Diverse Animals
As a hog farmer (who appreciates heritage breeds and pigs who forage), I am concerned about this Michigan ruling. Here are some of the pigs we raised last summer. They are part-hertitage breed. We plan to eventually raise all heritage breed pigs (for natural foraging abilities, better quality meat, better bacon, better lard, etc.), and…
