Farmer Jake's Take: February

Hay all!

Grazing and farmers markets can’t come soon enough! February is a bit of a bipolar time. It's a time of excitement and anxiousness, but can also be a time of lethargy and grumpiness. After getting excessive Vitamin D for most of the year, we really start to feel the lack of it about now, or at least that's what I tell myself. We probably all need to make time for hygge-the Danes way of coping with long, drab winters. We are mostly seasonal at the farm, so summers are really busy and winter time should (in theory) reflect the natural hibernation and energy of our frigid area. We intend to have plenty of time to focus on some nice R&R and self-care, but this winter has been pretty stressful and restless, unfortunately. And so, we look forward! The natural freshness and warmth of the spring reinvigorates myself and the farm. There’s nothing better than the sight of jovial and exuberant animals munching on and playing in lush forage, noticeably grateful after a relatively dull winter of eating stored feed...I can't wait! 

Still, excitement and anxiousness is starting to creep into my emotions as we start to get closer to spring and its highly anticipated grazing. The days are starting to get noticeably longer, and you can sense the season’s change in the air. It also means that the chickens are gradually laying more and more eggs, and I enjoy collecting eggs every day and seeing how they rate compared to yesterday and the past week or two. We are up to 150-ish a day, now.

My nephew, Emmett, helped me collect eggs the other day. The chickens were a bit too quick for him to catch though!

Looking forward to the coming season, I’m excited to see how things shake out for the farm. We aren’t booked to have any massive projects-a staple of the past 3 seasons (...yet), so it is a bit of a change up from previous years. As a result, we are focusing on refining and improving what we do on the farm rather than expanding or growing like we have. This includes improving animal shelters, bettering feed and water systems, planning more frequent rotations of our hogs and poultry, and improving our communications with all who are interested in learning more about our farm and our mission. 

As of now, we're unsure of what farmers markets we will be vending at this coming season, but will keep you updated as we find out (in this newsletter, on our Facebook, and on our website).

I hope that our fourth season continues to build upon the hard work and success that we've experienced in the past! Thank you to all who have been a part of our continued growth and development!