Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Fresh Meat!


We just had a steer and 3 pigs butchered. This was our first attempt at raising piglets, but we hope to raise more in the Spring and potentially get a breeding sow. Contact us for a list of available meat and pricing.

We have been milking in the new parlor for nearly a year and the improvement in our cows' health and our health is immense! The cows get to lie on the soft a cushy bedded pack out of the snow, sleet and wind, they have a nice feeding alley so they don't have to fight to compete for food and they aren't stuck in the poorly ventilated tie stall barn for several hours every milking. Similarly we can milk 80 cows in just about an hour, prep time is about a 1/2 hour and clean-up is less than an hour, which allows Ben to get caught up on all the extra daily chores. We also don't miss all the bending and crouching that we used to do in the old barn or the awful smell of the ammonia filled air in that barn when you pack 60+ cows and calves into a poorly ventilated space. We are extremely grateful for the lifestyle we can now lead!
There may be debt, a 24/7 job and daily struggles, but life is good!

Thursday, February 25, 2010


The new parlor and bedded pack barn are almost complete! We can't wait to be milking in the new parlor and the cows can't wait either. Baby Will is excited to use his new swing in the parlor.
New calves are still being born weekly and our old barn is well above capacity during milkings. Right now Ben is milking 63 cows in a 50 stall barn. Feels like a circus and the barn is experiencing some pretty rough usage. My parents are wrestling 20+ calves every night for feeding and cleaning. Will has barely enough room to use his jumperoo and he frequently gets licked by passing calves.
Check back later for pictures of the new barn and new calves!