This fall marks 20 years on our farm. We have learned a lot about raising livestock over those two decades and have profited from it all, but the one species that is most misunderstood is the goat. Usually, about this time of year, we start getting calls from people wanting to learn about raising goats. […] Read more
Goats are special, and also profitable
Don’t take water hemlock for granted
Water hemlock is popping up all over this summer. The fact that this weed is spreading on high ground had us hopeful any new growth we saw might be the harmless cow parsnips. However, the weed specialist confirmed the new growth as water hemlock on all our hayfields, now there is more than a little cause for concern. Control is now […] Read more
Organic farming strategies useful for controlling parasites
Parasite control in our livestock is an evolving process. When we started farming, we had clean land and a handful of animals — we couldn’t understand what all the excitement was about. Now, we’ve come to realize that parasite control is an economic reality and one that has many facets. Just pouring chemicals repeatedly on […] Read more
Minerals help correct many animal health issues
Pasture season is an opportunity to relax a little due to a lessening of feeding chores, but it is not time to relax about our livestock’s nutrition. For most beef cattle this is a time to replenish their vitamin and mineral stores after a long winter on dry feed. It is also a time when […] Read more
”Repurposed” materials can be practical and fun
The current theme in urban life seems to be repurposing. To rural folks this isn’t at all new. In fact, looking back at my childhood, recycling has always been alive and well down on the farm. In this theme our family would like to share a few of the livestock supplies that we built out of what […] Read more
What we do with whey
Make your own yogurt, mayonnaise and more!
Our family likes to research new uses for what we produce on our farm. Over the years we have become very proficient at utilizing all the milk from our cows/goats (depending on the time of year) and we love experimenting with recipes. The one drawback to all this is that we can produce an incredible […] Read more
Prevention is best tool against foot rot
Anyone can start farming
Foot rot in sheep and goats is caused by a synergistic infection of two bacteria; Fusobacterium necrophorum and Dichelobacter nodosus. It causes much economic hardship, and is one of the reasons many people caution against buying animals from unknown sources, such as through an auction house. Once established on the farm, the disease is it […] Read more
The great pigs-on-pasture experiment
Pigs were the first farm animal species we tried raising. We had pigs around 1995 when the price of hogs was up. Then the price of grain went up and the price of pigs went down. I’m sure you get the picture. Since then we have discussed it many times. Partly because we have never […] Read more
Our first run-in with water hemlock
This summer during haying my son noticed a questionable weed in the field he and his father were haying. We have been reading our Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada book a lot this summer trying to identify many wild flowers growing in our area we have never seen before. This turned out to be […] Read more
Our first run-in with water hemlock
This summer during haying my son noticed a questionable weed in the field he and his father were haying. We have been reading our Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada book a lot this summer trying to identify many wild flowers growing in our area we have never seen before. This turned out to be […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
