Farm Deliveries coming this saturday

This saturday (1/28) is the next Little Sprouts Farm deliveries bringing farm fresh  eggs to the door of our customers.  I will be sending emails out mid week as a reminder to those on the regular list and to see if there are any order changes.

 A note to everyone currently on our delivery route: If you know of someone within your neighborhood who might be interested in being added to the delivery list for fresh eggs as well as other farm produce around the year, please let them or us know. Collecting customers clustered in certain areas has obvious advantages to the farm to home delivery program.

thanks! Be looking for your delivery update email!

wet weekend INDEED

 this was certainly a very wet weekend. we have had more than a couple inches of rain. the pasture is now mostly a pond. fortunately the new KUBOTA RTV can still pull through just fine. this sure makes is easier to care for the laying hens and collecT the eggs.

 today we manged to process a few roosters finally. the weather was nice enough when we started but.... by four or so the rain came with a VEGENCE! I end up finishing two roosters in the pouring rain.we ended up with "air chilled" chicken but ice soaked farmer! Oh well the new kill cones worked perfectly! (the new cones are up side traffic cones)

'more rain on its way, and more outside chores to do!   farming is all about getting up close and personal with nature.

Wisdom in little things

I find myself questioning a recent small decision , and really wishing I had thought ahead more.  I am referring to the post about moving the chicken trailer away from the suxxox eggmobile to prevent fighting. A good move at the time (aside from the time of day resulting in several hours of chicken catching) but where I left it.. . Questionable at best.

Winter rain has hit.  A bit late thus year,  which perhaps gave me a false sense of mobility in winter.  Rain is forecast.. . Pretty much forever. :) and at this moment the chicken trailer sits on the far side of the little seasonal Creek through our pasture.  So.. .. very soon driving to it will be impossible.

Seems I have two choices: carry bags of food out,  in the rain,  through the mud  Or build a bridge.  Neither option is appealing.

If I had only thought to park it on this side of the creek. .. my life would be so much simplier for the winter.  But no. .. I choose to save maybe $50 in fencing and an hour in labor by parking it where it is.  Now that seems a poor choice.

Sigh,  oh well,  good thing I have excellent  mud boots this year!

So.. What DOES the USDA do anyway?

Ran across this blog post about the release of GM alfalfa (the genetically modified version of this very important feed crop).  And in short, it is just upsetting.

To summarize....

A collection of farmers brought action to the court asking for protection from the loss of their organic crops due to natural spread of GMO genes through natural pollination, and protection against Monsanto then suing them for violating the Monsanto patents in having GMO crops they didn't pay for.  Sound reasonable right? Well, the judge rules that in fact the USDA does NOT need to take any steps to protect natural crops from the spread of GMO crops.  In essence he is saying that the USDA has no obligation to protect organic (natural) life from lab produced  life. The farmers have therefore NO recourse to protect their organic crops, and the public has no right to non-GMO food.   What IS protected is Monsanto's right to sue any farm that has pollination spread GMO genes to a organic crop.  Monsanto is protected, but the organic farmer is not. In fact, it appears to be the responsibility of the farmer to somehow magically prevent unwanted GMO pollen from entering his land.

So... what does the USDA do again?

Here is the link

Suxxox find the hog pen.

The teenage suxxox chicks discovered the hog  pen during feeding time today.  A wealth of spilled feed for the taking. (Not to mention a wide assortment of bugs! )

It is amazing that the hogs don't seem to mind at all.  They are peacefully eating right along side the little birds and the occasional Turkey.  I even witnessed one chicken walking down the back of a feasting hog  and the hog never missed a beat.

On a side note.. . Penny is in heat :) baby pigs should be coming in a few months!

For the curious,  the hog consume an average of 80 LBS per day of feed while the pasture is off limits for growth.