castironphoto – Cast Iron Farm

Milk!

It has been a very busy past couple of weeks. I am a very happy farmer with babies of all types running around. Though we have been busy, the craziness has been cut with moments of watching the goat kids jumping around full of new life. And so, I EXPECTED to start milking again on March 1, come hell or high water. Of course, we experienced both hell and high water. This crazy early spring has reinforced my belief that the only constant in this farming gig is that things never happen as you expect them to. I apologize deeply for the lack of communication, but I’ve got some good news.

I have decided to reorganize our milking stock to more exactly meet our dairy goals. After careful examination, it was decided that our cow Daisee does not fit into our program. This was a tough decision. Hand milking the cows means that I spend a lot of time with them, and I like to think that I have a special relationship with them. Deciding to sell a cow feels a little bit like deciding to sell one of my children. However, we are limited to three cows in our dairy, and no matter how I look at it, Daisee just can’t stay. She is going to make someone a very nice milk cow, and in fact, it looks like she’ll be going to California to do just that. She will be missed.

With that decision made, we have moved on and have purchased two more cows for our dairy program. I am over the moon with excitement about this decision for many reasons. We are committed to working with the heritage breeds of livestock. This is why the Milking Shorthorns have been so appealing to me. I raised beef Shorthorns as a kid, and I had always wanted a Milking Shorthorn. It made sense to use this breed to start out our milking program, as there are only 3000 cows left in the American Registry. Due to the wonders of AI, I have been breeding and raising registered, Native Bred Milking Shorthorns. What does this mean? Well over the past several years, the Milking Shorthorn registry decided to open it’s herd books to cross breeding with Holsteins. This was done to up the milk production of the Milking Shorthorns so that they would again start to look appealing to commercial dairies so that the breed would not completely disappear. While I have nothing against Holsteins, they are not Milking Shorthorns. Luckily, the registry decided to track those lines that were not mixed with outside blood. My cows are of the pure line, which means that they go back to the first dairy cows brought over from England used by small farmers as triple purpose breeds. I love working with this breed and plan to continue to. Our Milking Shorthorn cow, Fancee, is staying in our program.

Enter, our new cows. These cows are both heritage breeds, but the kicker is that they are not the same breed! We are getting a beautiful golden Guernsey named Tillie and a beautiful Brown Swiss named Clover. I am over the moon with excitement about these girls because we are now not only working with one heritage breed, but three! These are the three breeds of cows that are slowly dying and falling out of favor with commercial dairies because they often can’t compete with the high production rates of the Holesteins or the butterfat content of the Jerseys. I was lucky enough to find two cows with good production level and decent butterfat. My first milk cow years and years ago was a Guernsey named Bridget. Bridget and I did well in the show ring, and she has always been in the back of my mind. Guernseys have become rare and hard to find. The people that own them know how valuable they are and are not selling them. It has taken me 3 years to find a Guernsey and convince it’s owner to let her go! Brown Swiss are graceful cows with high production. Clover will be my first Brown Swiss cows, but I cannot wait to get to know this cow.

Purchasing these cows does two important things for our dairy. Firstly, we will now be milking a high quantity of quality milk. This will allows us to raise our calves on real milk without outside supplementation. It also allows us to take on enough milk customers to make this endeavour financially viable. Secondly, we are transitioning our herd over into an A2 herd. Haven’t heard of A2 milk? Here is a small bit of info to get you caught up. http://www.a2milk.com/ Basically, milk used to all be A2 milk, after a genetic mutation, cows started producing A1 milk, and these cows happened to also be high producers. Dairymen caught on and started selecting out those cows/bulls for breeding, and the milk with the A1 mutation became overwhelmingly the norm. Luckily, our decision to work with heritage breeds also leads us down the path of getting good, quality A2 milk. Keeping our ancient genetic lines true means that we are headed down the path of having unique and healthy A2 milk. While some call the A2 milk a marketing trend, none refute the benefits of having milk that is more nutritionally available to those who consume it.

And so, this is all a very long winded method of apologizing for the delay in milk but that the wait is going to be worth it!

We will have milk available starting on Sunday morning. Plan to pick up on your regular day starting this Sunday. You might want to plan a few extra moments to see all the new babies around (we will be expecting Fancee’s calf mid April, so there is that to look forward to as well. Oh.. and since we have a lot of milk available now, tell your friends. You get two free gallons of milk for everyone you bring into our CSA. Feel free to email or call with any questions!

Twin Lambs

My daughter and I went out to see the ballet, “Giselle” on Friday night to celebrate her 5th birthday. I came home and walked into the barn, and had just missed Lexie giving birth to twin lambs about 30 minutes previously. There’s one ram and one ewe! Hooray, we’ve got a ewe to keep! Of course, the kids are all over making her welcome into the family. Black seems to be the color of this spring!

First Kid of 2012

It seems like everyone is birthing late this spring. I’ve got several ladies overdue. I went out to the barn this morning for another “check” eager to get back into the warm house. I was sure there wasn’t going to be any baby activity. I looked into the goat stall to see a little black spot. I shined my flashlight onto this sweet thing born probably about 15 minutes before my arrival.

It’s a boy! Our first baby of the year, and my first EVER angora kid. The other kids in the house were excited too.

He’s been named “Snow” by the kids (apt name for a black goat eh?). He’s snuggled in the barn with his mama this morning.

The Farmer

Chris asked me to write a regular post here about farming from my perspective. And since I’m usually involved in some of the crazier aspects of this whole endeavor, it will probably turn out to be quite fun to cover them all again. Before I start off on my wild rehashing of farming a .1 acre plot in the middle of a city or rescuing llamas from a rising river, I thought I’d start a little more domestically.

The root of this whole farming adventure can be traced back to my wife. If it weren’t for her, I’m sure I’d be living in a major city doing who knows what. I should have known when the wedding vows were changed to include a donkey. But it’s been an amazing ride. She’s an amazing organizer, world traveler, fully professional photographer and now farmer, mother and whatever else she decides to take up.

She’s a “stay at home mom”. Which means I’m a “working dad”. Luckily my commute is about 6 feet out the back door to my office so I still get to keep tabs on what happens looking out the windows of my office, but I must say that she takes all doubt out of the idea that “stay at home moms” might be busy. She’s usually up at the unholy hour of four in the morning (you better be missing a limb if you try to wake me up before seven). She’s getting things done before the kids wake up. And then she’s cooking and cleaning and milking cows and feeding the horse and and and. And that’s usually before I head off to work.

Then she hangs out with the kids. I think this is one of the best things about how we have things structured. And don’t take this as any kind of anti-feminism, as I admire women who are accomplished in the business field also, but I love that we don’t hand our kids off to someone else to care for and raise and educate. I’m sure it pushes her tolerances to rarely have a break, but our kids learn an immense amount. Not only are they learning regular school stuff like reading and math at an early age, they are also experiencing “crazy” things like how to drive a pony and cart, how to milk a cow, where food comes from. I love that my two year old son asks in all earnestness on the way to his grandpa’s house if he has cows. And then asks about goats, sheep, alpacas and on down the list of all the animals he knows that people can have. And that my kids came up with the conclusion that since he did have a barn that his dogs stay in, that it is possible he might have other animals.

The types of things that you usually read about kids doing long ago in books; my kids do many of them with their mom. There’s virtually no TV and the only video game is occasionally played on a phone when we are out. It’s hard to beat the amount of attention they get.

And lest you think she just spends time with kids, let’s not forget that she’s back doing animal chores again in the afternoon rain or shine, shearing rabbits, spinning the whole, knitting all sorts of clothing and gifts, remodeling parts of our 100 year old farm house, teaching the minature horse how to pull a cart, off bartering with one of her many connections to bring new animals here or get rid of some more. Nothing surprises me much any more.

And then it’s off to ballet or knitting get togethers or spinning groups after the kids go to bed. She’s amazing and though we only see each other in passing (I just can’t get over that four in the morning thing and she doesn’t last much past seven at night), I must say that I love and admire her more and more as we wend our way through this crazy adventure of farming, raising kids, running a computer company and just generally trying to get by.

So with that proper foundation of respect and admiration, I can now proceed with my series of posts about the wild adventures and incredulous activities that take place at and around Cast Iron Farm. I’m sure I’ll emphasize all the wrong things, but it should be a fun trip down memory lane and for those of you who don’t keep close track, you’ll probably never look at us the same!

Help With Kids

With kidding season upon us, THIS is what goes on in our house.

Daphne’s Holes

Miss Daphne dug these holes last spring. She couldn’t tell me why she did it at the time. These holes are still there. We ended up sinking a fence post in to one of them for our new permanent poultry pen. The other two holes she proudly points out to me whenever we are near them. They were her decision on her farm, and though I don’t understand the practical use of them, she’s got it all worked out–and she’s proud of them.

Cyprus Helps with Bunnies

We sell a litter or two of angora rabbits every year. This improves our bloodlines and our fiber production. I like to sell rabbits to new rabbit owners that are looking at getting a fiber animal that will double as a pet. I know people are going to want to hold their bunnies. Whenever we have a litter of bunnies, the kids are on rabbit duty. They are in charge of playing with them frequently so that they are used to being held and handled. That way, when the rabbits are weaned and go to their new homes, they don’t have to be “tamed” or “calmed.”

Here is Cyprus working on his rabbit duty. He had just had an upset with his sister, and you can see how comforting the bunny is to him.

The Dark of Winter

Not much from me on the blog front lately. I’ve been at home, playing with my kids, cooking and knitting in front of the fire. These dark days of winter seemed to be designed for just this kind of activity. Leaving the house turns out to be really hard, because abandoning the warmth of the fire proves difficult indeed. Even the kids are drawn to it, and most days they bring their toys out of their perfectly warm playroom to sit on the floor by the fire and play trains or build Lego towers.

I spend just enough time outside in the barn to make sure that everyone is fed, warm and cozy. None of the livestock venture from their shelters these days. Except of course the geese and the ducks. The more rain and mud we have, the happier they are. They love to paddle around outside in the muck. Those of us without oil glands sit and watch the winter weather go by from the comfort of our cover. New life is just around the corner. The night temperature are creeping up into the 40’s, which is a sign that the grass is ready to get busy on the important business of growing. New lambs and kids are in the bellies of their mamas getting a last few weeks of growth in before they are to be evicted into the cold February. Daisee is enjoying her 60 days off from the milk shed. She’s preparing to give us a calf (hopefully a bull calf) in the cold February as well. All the new life is exciting, and I enjoy giving out extra handfuls of grain to these mamas and unborn babes.

Speaking of babies, the rabbits LOVE this time of year for breeding, so we’ve got one litter of rabbits just weaned and two more on the way. We are picking up our new double color dominant angora buck this weekend, so we will have angora babies just in time for spring and Easter!

My big horse Pearl is really enjoying her new place. We rescued her, so she spent the first month being worried about if she was going to be fed a next meal. A hundred pounds later and a constantly full hay feeder has convinced her that she really would like to stay. That, and I think we own the only horse that really enjoys a good roll in the mud. She must be part pig because she waits until just after a REALLY good rain before going out for a nice roll in the mud. She has started to feel like I’m her person. We even managed to get her saddled up yesterday. Just a test, I didn’t manage to ride her, but getting the saddle on her was one step closer to that exciting goal.

And so, I continue to clean and bed and clean and feed out in the barn. I enjoy the greetings of everyone as I close the door and make the trek out to them in the cold and wet.

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Happy Holidays!
What a year we have had! For sure, 2011, was full of twists and turns and adventures! We have so many things we are thankful for this year.

Miss Daphne is growing up so quickly! She celebrated her 4th birthday in March. She is very proud to be 4, and she proves how grown up she is every day. She has taken on many different chores around the house. She especially loves to be involved in the growing and preparing of food. She spent countless hours helping plant, weed, water and harvest the garden. She’s even got a very big garlic patch growing that promises some delicious 2012 eating.
Daphne started her study of ballet this year. This is something she has always expressed interest in. She takes her study very seriously, and decided to perform in the Nutcracker! We are grateful for the patience of Miss Emma and the willingness to include such small children in this production. Daphne was a trooper. She practiced hard and did a great job when it came time to shine on stage.
This September, Daphne started school. She is home schooling with mom, and is doing a great job. She is working hard on her writing and math skills, and Jared has been working hard with her on her reading. She can now read many chapters from Dick and Jane. We are really excited to see her grow through her education.

Master Cyprus is also growing up. He turned two this year, and we celebrated with a pie picnic in our orchard. Somehow, our baby turned into a cowboy! She has a miniature horse that he rides and rides and rides. He even went through a period when if you asked him his name he would say, “I’m not Cyprus, I’m a cowboy.” Our little cowboy loves the farm, and he can be seen outside helping with chores even in the rain and the freezing temperatures. He is very helpful to his mama, and he helped pick hundreds of pounds of strawberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries, peaches, pears, figs and apples.
Jared has been working hard, and he expanded his company and hired two new employees. We are grateful for the work and dedication of the Expansion Computers staff. Jared got to fulfill a long standing dream this year. After 5 years of working out of tiny corners in our house, he has renovated and moved in to his own office space! The farm’s old dairy make room now houses the world headquarters of Expansion Computers! Jared revels in the peace and quiet at having his own space. He has plenty of windows to watch out over the farm. Perhaps the best feature of his office is the heated floor. Jared has finally beat the cold!
Christine has been working and farming away. The kids and her managed to raise enough food that we now have 5 freezers full of our own delicious bounty! She is enjoying being a farmer, a mother, a teacher, a chef, a textile designer, a bookkeeper or whatever other job she needs to be on any given day.
We completed the total renovation of the play room this year. It took over 400 hours of careful work. Christine made the paint herself, and the room now rings of its 100 year old past.
This was our first full year on our farm. We finalized the sale of our property, and it is now ours for good! Even though there were some tough moments this year, we have had a lot of fun and joy as well. Spring time brought Easter egg hunts in the orchard and plenty of green grass for the cows. Summer was passed with many lazy days in the hammock and plenty of bouncing and goofing around on the trampoline. Fall brought us many, many, many bushels of apples and pears. We watched the leaves on OUR trees turn colors and fall as the cool breeze chased off the heat of summer. This winter has been passed with lots of cooking (and eating!) hearty meals and some knitting in front of the fire.
So many momentous things happened in 2011. We made some wonderful new friends and celebrated, births and weddings with old friends. We wish you a warm and joyous holiday season. We hope that this dark season bring you light . May your pantries be full, your food be delicious and your fires be warm.
Warmly,
Jared, Christine, Daphne and Cyprus
We are thankful for:
kisses from my boy | brussels sprouts | home grown chicken dinners | high speed internet | childrens peaceful sleeping faces | strawberries freshly picked still warm from the sun | baby bunnies | cozy warm beds | a barn full of hay | a large home garden | shelves full of canned goods |a husband who is always willing to wear his farmers hat | 3 family meals each day | Jared’s new office with a heated floor | 5 freezers full of nourishing food | owning property free and clear | owning our farm officially! | new fencing | soft, slippery mohair | baby animals | our cozy wood stove | sheepskins | calla lilies | ratatouille | a remodeled playroom | our trusty little car | huckleberries | the Carlton house sale | fresh cheese curds | Community Plate | raw milk | 2 happy cows | grits | Jerry Ripp | reclaimed wood floors | knitting | farm tours | potlucks | feeding Corey and Armen | food from other farmers | bead board | new babies | buckets full of blueberries | our trusty tractor | Thanksgiving dinner | Miss Emma | ballet shoes | family and friends

Farm Help

My son, Mr. Cyprus is reporting for duty to clean the wet, sloppy barn this morning!