A New Year Begins Warmly

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope 2012 is good to us all :)

I bred Icy and Ridgett three weeks ago. In the hopes of having a more simplified, streamlined work flow around here in 2012, we wanted to breed them together so that they will both farrow at the same time,andwe will be able to consolidate the movements, pens, feeds, hauling, etc. of both litters at once. Last year we found that having too many groups of pigs to move around, plus their furniture that goes with them, and keeping dates and records straight got to be a pretty exhausting order while we both work full time at other jobs as well. Actually, we did try to synchronize both big girls last year, but only Icy settled on the first try. It took me two more cycles to settle Ridgett. I've heard that's not a bad record for a rank amateur, but I've improved my ability and knwoledge of swine AI since then. And it looks like I got them both 'in pig' on the first try this time, so we will be having baby pigs in April! Lots and lots of them! Here's the big girls today, telling me they wished I would shower them with cakes and candies every day. And don't forget the pumpkins.


Our brown cow hasn't shown any signs of being any closer to calving. It's just wait and see. She had me a bit worried there the other day. She had tears just streaming from her eyes. Not goopy, just wet,watery tears. She'd been 'crying' so much, it had actually formed an icicle on one side of her face! We finally figured out that because we'd had a big wind storm the night before,the tears were simply from her eyes being irritated and dry. The other two cows have much thicker coats and more furry protection around their eyes, so weren't affected.

The big pig feeder is working out pretty well. But there is one problem now with my supplier. They have been putting me off for delivery now for over a week. I checked everything out with them to make sure my plan would work before I even finished the pig feeder. Oh, sure, they can deliver a custom grain mix in bulk in the auger truck, drive up and fill my bin for me. Just call a day ahead. Great. Worked on that feeder for hours getting it finished. Risked life and limb getting it hoisted in place inside the hog pen.
Called them up for delivery, and I been getting nothing but excuses since then, from a guy who is sick, to a truck went into the ditch, etc. I don't doubt all these issues, and I understand that stuff happens... but man, I'm now stuck with a huge empty feeder in my pen, and I am filling it with a few 50 lb. bags at a time. That is no fun at all, since the opening of the feeder is 6 feet off the ground, and hoisting 50 lbs that high is no picnic. But it does work great for feeding. If the mill doesn't get here soon with that load of feed, my pigs will be too big to finish it all before they go to freezer camp.

I've had the last few days off of work, and it's been nice to have time to focus on farm stuff. When I asked for this time off long ago, I anticipated the weather being the usual harsh January stuff, snow, cold, wind. Perfect for sitting inside and working on books, records, taxes, catching up on reading, organizing, etc. BUT, the weather has been way too nice outside! It feels like October or March, not January.
We don't have a lick of snow on the ground. The grass is still even a bit green in most places. Temps have frequently topped out in the mid 40's. Today, it is 48 degrees outside!! Insanity! To paraphrase Dorothy, "I have a feeling we're not in Wisconsin anymore, Toto" I haven't had to plow my driveway or shovel my walk even one time yet! I took this picture to the right just today. When I hear people doubting the truth in global warming/climate change, I just say "Look outside" And that's where you'll find me these last few days -outside! It's too nice to sit inside behind a computer! I've put up new shelves in the new barn, put up electric fencing for the cows, fixed a door on the stone barn the big pigs busted, scoped out places for trees to be planted next year, deep cleaned the big girls' pen, moved big bales around, turned compost, spread gravel, put the chains on the tractor (wishful thinking), gone to the mill, the cold storage warehouse, the filling station, the hardware store, Menards, etc. Now honestly I have spent at least 4 hours or more doing some book work, and I know I have to do more before I go back to work Monday. But dang. Mother Nature has been making me an offer I won't refuse.

Happy Holidays to everyone!
There's been a whole lot going on around Prairie Fire Farm.

A few weeks ago we finally got some bred beef cows, yay! They're not all the same color but they are pretty just the same. Our neighbor Ahren was buying half a herd from a guy, and brought these three home for us. We were told they are bred to a red angus bull, due for Spring calving. But the other day, I noticed one of the cows looks like she's 'bagging up', or her udder is getting bigger. A sign that birth is getting close. Hm. Maybe I was just imagining things. Then Ahren called me and said one of the heifers he bought from the same guy had just calved! And she had a beautiful little White Parks calf! They look like this:
So... I'm wondering if my cow is close to calving, she might have been bred by the same White Park bull...and that wouldn't make me sad!

A while back, Karen and I picked up a big old round outdoor hog feeder at an auction. These feeders are common in the more traditional hog production area, but scarce as hens' teeth here in dairy country. They are great in that they can be filled with feed and hold up to the weather and whatever pigs can do to them. I have been looking forward to being free from having to carry bags every day, and once the pigs get over 100 lbs., it can be a real fun experience being swarmed by them while re-filling our smaller feeders. Karen hates how my pants get coated with whatever thepigs had in their mouth and ontheir lips. They just gotta mess with ya.
These big feeders go for over a thousand dollars new! That's nuts! So we picked upthis old one, but likealla these big old feeders, the bottom had rusted out. I'm notmuch of ametal worker. Better make that not. A metal worker. But, I have a friend who is . She offered to make new panels and help me put them on. In fact,though she had just had shoulder surgery, she came over twice and brought help along, too! Can't beat that with a stick.
I learned how to use a grinder and a pop riveter, handy things. got thebottom pieces all on now, got it caulked up and just need to put a couple skid boards on the bottom to make it easier to move, and I'll be in business!
All those pumpkins are gone, been fed to the pigs. They were fun to feed, and they lasted agood while, but once the night time temps got below about 25, they started to freeze and then get mushy. The ratio of pumpkins to weather worked out pretty well.

Bred Ridgett and Icy two weeks ago, we'll find out if it worked this New Years' weekend.
Sold some of the finisher pigs from litter 3.
The weather is really weird. It's nearly New Years, and I haven't needed to plow the driveway once yet this year. There is NO snow on the ground. I remember years when we'd have a warm spell around Christmas, or of course the January thaw, but I don't remember many years, if any when we haven't had any apppreciable snowfall at all before January. It's great for working outside or driving, but not so great for plants who need the blanket of snow to protect them from the deep cold.

Butcher Shop 101

does that look like white meat to you?

Ever wonder how they do it? How they actually cut up a hog/beef/sheep? What exactly does it look like back there? How do I know it's my meat? How do they track that?


I recently had the opportunity to come to our butcher's on the day they cut up our hogs, and I really learned a lot. I thought I'd share.
First, after the humane slaughter, the pig is bled out and then gutted. The carcass is placed into a large drum containing very hot water to be scalded, and large paddles rotate around the carcass to remove the hair. Any extra hair is singed off when it comes out of the drum. The carcass is then hung and each carcass has the customer's cutting order card pinned to it.
You can see the cards associated with each side as they rest on a cart (right) waiting to be cut up. This card stays with the carcass all the way through. The meat cutter takes the primals off the cart, looks at the card, and makes the cuts according to instructions. Here is a shot of a ham shank on the cutting table. We had a customer ask for the shank, and we worked with our butcher to get their meat cut exactly as desired. Reminds me of the iconic pictures of hams hanging in the windows of old world butcher shops... by the way, there are two 5 lb. ham roasts sitting behind it, just for reference.
Then the meat is packaged (either vacuum sealed or paper wrapped; customers' preference), labeled, and placed
into a box with the customers' name on it. Then it is rolled back into the freezer until pick up day.

I'd like to thank all the nice folks at Lake Geneva Country Meats for giving me that opportunity! I learned a lot more than what I've posted here, mostly about where each cut of meat comes from, and many of the various ways each section can be cut to produce different products. Those folks are true professionals who are skilled at what they do and take pride in their work. We take great care and pride in the way we raise our animals, and it feels good to entrust them to Lake Geneva to turn them into beautiful end products for our family and our customers.

I've been enjoying the weather and light this Fall. Then I remembered that last Fall, we were consumed with the stress and pressure of dealing with different contractors for getting our hoop barn put up. Sometimes it was a real battle, not fun at all, but when we finally got things sorted out and got the right team on board, things finally went much better. Those obstacles and hitches meant my barn wasn't completed until until January when I had originally anticipated October. So no wonder it seems like this is the first Fall I've been able to look out and notice things like the colors and the light. It really is beautiful.
Having our own field of corn has really added to my sense of time and seasons and color, and made me appreciate Fall even more I think. Like canning tomatoes in late Summer or stacking wood in Fall, it just feels right to see the golden grains get harvested, to participate inthe big annual event going on all around us. In many real ways, it is a community-based enterprise. We are all in this boat together, and our collective fortunes rise and fall together.
In addition to a part of our pigs' feed, a years' supply of bedding was also produced.
Couple weeks ago the neighbor Dave chopped some of our corn stalks and baled them into large round bales. He is a real blessing to us. He's got all the equipment to get the field work done, lots of knowledge,and a really nice guy to boot.

Then I go out on the field with my tractor and bring each bale, weighing around 8-900 lbs. back into the barnyard area. We got 27 bales, which I felt was adequate for our needs, and left the remainder of the chopped stalks on the field to build organic matter in the soil.


Next episode: Something Not So Good

Hey Punkin

Last Spring we decided it would be a great idea to plant a large field with pumpkins to supply the pigs with something fresh and yummy during the winter months. I spent quite a few hours manually hoeing, planting, and hoeing. And hoeing. But the weeds got the best of my punkin patch and after they disappeared under a jungle of grass and weeds, we just let the stocker cows in and they finished them off. We did manage to harvest a couple dozen from other spots like the garden and other random spots they sprouted up as volunteers.
Still wanting to get a pile of pumpkins, I put out the word to local farmers who had raised fields of them for halloween. I got a call back, and a few days later we had a truck load of huge pumpkins!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween to everyone! We've been doing the traditional Halloween things- carving pumpkins, preparing costumes, the candy bowl, etc. One of my favorite traditions is to roast the seeds and lots of the 'guts' of the punkins. Just put some butter and salt on them, roast low and slow till crispy. mmmmm.
Tomorrow night is trick-or-treating. I'm glad our little town does it right, in the evening. The town where I grew up seemed to think we needed to do it in the middle of the afternoon. SO lame. Since we live out in farm land, we go into town and go trick-or-treating with friends. We always have a fun time, something I really look forward to.
It's also time in our neighborhood for the artists' tour. This is an annual event where many of our local artists put on an open house, and people drive from all over to see their wares. One of our closest friends and neighbor is on the tour. She is a renowned felt artist, raising her own sheep and making her own yarn and felt. We like to support her during her open house, when she has little time to cook or even eat. This year Karen made her a lunch out of some fresh home grown ingredients from our farm.


Fresh squash soup garnished with apple bits sauteed in bacon, shaved fresh ham, apple slices, and flaky biscuits topped with rosemary from the garden. Yum.

It's mid Fall here on our part of the planet. The weather has been quite pleasant, with highs in the 50's to 60's and lows in the 30's. We're starting to get frost at night pretty consistently now. The trees are still putting on a show, at least the later ones which still have their leaves. So that makes it Get Busy Like A Squirrel time on the farm. The above picture is our summer crop of alfalfa hay put up in the hay mow (actually, that is about 1/3 of the total. The rest is on the other side of the barn, and rolled up into large round bales which are stored outside.) Been doing lots of other Fall chores, putting away hoses, water tanks, planting more daffodils, trimming branches, pecking away at the garden, weather-proofing barns and windows, cleaning out gutters, checking tank heaters, etc. ec.
It feels a lot less rushed and crunched than last year, when we had our big barn building project- replete with it's many problems and stumbling blocks. Even so, I am sure the night before the first real snow forecast, we'll be rushing to do last minute things. Like put away the hammock ;) Always kinda sad to say goodbye to hammock days.