Another Year Begins

Happy New Year! Last year was a very busy year for us.  It was a year of getting ourselves established, building shelters for our animals, improving our pasture, making our woods pig-friendly, installing new livestock fencing, building garden beds, and so much more. I like to reflect on successes and failures in the winter months, when farming slows down with the snow and cold.

Young White Rock chickens on pasture.

2014 was our first year raising White Rock meat chickens; all of our birds have been heritage breeds in the past. While we were able to stock our freezer and provide chicken to our customers, raising White Rocks provided a real challenge. They are a product of the factory farming system, a bird bred to grow very fast but with little else going for them. The chicks die so easily, and we had several birds whose legs broke under their own weight as they gained so rapidly. White Rocks also don’t forage very well, making them a less-than-ideal choice for free-ranging. At the end of the season, we decided not to raise White Rocks again, and to stick with heritage breeds for the future. Looking forward to the coming spring, we have begun collecting eggs from our Orpington chickens to incubate and hatch. They won’t be as excessively meaty as a White Rock, but their foraging skills are superb and the resulting flavour can’t be beat.

Our mama piggie, Betsy, on the right and a few of our Tamworths on the left.

Last year was also our first year raising pigs. We brought home six piglets in the early spring, and while our runt didn’t make it, the other five thrived on rotational grazing through our pasture and woods. Raising pigs was one of my favourite farm experiences, and they have become my preferred livestock. They’re fun, they’re cute, they keep us on our toes, and the taste of our homegrown pork is amazing. We’ve kept a breeding pair (a Large Black mama and a Tamworth papa), and will be raising pigs on pasture and woods again this year.

We reduced our flock of sheep in 2014, and will be increasing our numbers again in the spring. Our goal is to raise stock that grow very well on pasture only, without grain.

Raised beds, early in the season.

Our gardens did very well, though we did not get as many raised beds built as we had hoped, and I was unable to give the veggies as much attention as I have in previous years. We’ve got lots of great plans for the gardens in 2015, and I’m chomping at the bit to get started! Since it’s too early to start seeds, I’m satisfying my gardening itch by poring over seed catalogues and making a master plan for the raised beds. This spring is going to be glorious!

Corbin, our newest addition.

Nearing the end of the 2014 season, we welcomed our fifth child to the world, a baby boy named Corbin. This was, by far, our greatest accomplishment and joy for the year. He will be three months old soon, and is absolutely amazing.

We are so grateful to all of the local folks who supported us in 2014, who came by the farm, who purchased our chicken & pork, and who encouraged us to continue providing sustainable food to the community. It is an honour to be able to serve you all and contribute to our local food economy, and we can’t wait for the year ahead!