Farm Update

Hey folks!

Today, as promised, I am going to do a short and sweet farm update. It has been awhile since I posted anything farm related so I thought I'd show you what's been going on at Brovale Farms!

In all honesty, not a whole lot has been going on. This is probably our calmest time of year because the cows are out to pasture and all of our cropping is done. Scott just did some second cut (meaning took a second cut of grass off our fields) and made it into round bale silage (those big white marshmallow-looking things you sometimes see at farms) so we are pretty much done. Most of our feed is made into chopped silage (basically pickled grass) and kept in our silo and whatever is left over we make into square bale hay and keep in our haymow.

Scott at the top of our silo!

We have moved our cows from the pastures they have been in all summer into a large section of aftergrass. Aftergrass is referring to a field that we have cut for hay or silage and has grown back in which we turn the cows onto for pasture. Their main pasture was getting pretty ate down so we needed to move them to ensure they have enough to eat. It also serves as a cheap way of fertilizing the field - cow poop is a great fertilizer! All of our cows and calves are doing great! The calves are getting so big, it's almost time to wean them. Weaning time is our least favorite time of year (and probably our neighbors as well). The calves are so loud because in order to wean them, we have to separate them from their mothers. The mothers also don't like it but they get over it a lot quicker. It's super stressful on us because there is always the risk that they will get loose, trying to get back to mom or baby. We will likely wean them mid September so I will let you know how that goes!

The cows as they were just turned out onto the aftergrass

This year we bought 40 meat chickens, 10 turkeys and I just got 10 laying hens. We bought the meat chickens and turkeys to sell in the fall and I have been advertising them on Facebook and by word of mouth. The turkeys sold out super fast - I mean, we only had 10 but still, I didn't think they would go as fast as they did. So far I only have 18 chickens sold but I'm sure they will sell eventually and if they don't - more for me!

I picked up my laying hens on Tuesday and Scott had made a coop for them the night before. They won't be staying in this coop all winter as it is actually a calving pen but it will do for now. Now, I must say, I love laying hens! I don't know why, but I do. I am so pumped to have my own eggs again, there really is such a difference between farm fresh and store bought. There was a little drama with the hens however. I picked them up on Tuesday morning and had them all settled in before I went to work that night. Scott checked on them when he got home and added a little perch for them at my request. When I got home Wednesday evening (I worked a turn-around) I immediately went to see how they were making out. What did I find? We were missing a chicken! I counted and recounted over and over but sure enough we were missing one! I went searching, thinking it couldn't have gotten far. When Scott got home, he helped me look too. We literally looked everywhere and I even checked the neighbors to see if they had seen a random chicken running around but no luck. The chicken was gone. I was actually super bummed so we reinforced our coop to make sure no others went missing (we figure the chicken got up on the perch and then flew out over the side of the coop - our mistake).

Tonight, when Scott got home, he was in the barn getting the lawn mower and there, right in front of the barn door, walks the missing chicken! How unlikely is that - it actually came back! Scott immediately caught it and put in back in with the others. Missing chicken found!

Not necessarily farm related but the Kings County Fair was this week. It's an agricultural fair when local breeders show their cows. There is also a horse pull and a few other events. I didn't get to make it to any of the shows or events because of work, and neither did Scott but he was able to make it to the pee-wee class. The pee-wee class is for young kids, new to showing and 4-H, to have the opportunity to show a calf in a class. It is super cute, as most kids are under 5 and they dress up in all white (what you have to wear when you show dairy cows). My niece and nephew both had a calf in it, so Scott went to help his sister Rachel. They both got a trophy and a ribbon (all the kids do) and they were so proud!

My sister-in-law, Rachel, and her 2 kids, Jack and Hannah!

Scott with Jack and Hannah - they were so proud!

So that is about the extent of the excitement at Brovale Farms right now. I wish I had more to share but like I said, this is one of our slower times of year!

See you next time!