Have you noticed that local agriculture is booming!?!?

I've noticed several new people taking on the challenges of farming this year. More vendors are available at the Farmers Markets and privately owned local grocery stores. Maybe you've noticed it as well!?!? I encourage people to buy as local as possible to help them (us) succeed. Every dollar we spend is a vote as to the products we want and it's the loudest voice we have.

I want to give thanks to our Creator for the rain we received over the past few days. It's a little odd that our culture trains us to think that we are dependent upon man and his provisions more than our Creator's. When I am walking out on the pasture and it sounds like I'm stepping on uncooked spaghetti, what can man's provisions do for me?

I could use water that is supplied by the local water works company, but at what cost? Not monetary costs, but the costs to our pastures. Watering with water that is treated with fluoride and chlorine is the cost I'm referring to. I'm not saying that the convenience of faucets and spigots isn't wonderful, but the rain that comes from above is far superior in quality. We are on a well system and I've grown to enjoy the non "treated" water so much, I really don't enjoy drinking any other water as much our own. I desire to get to a place where we can collect more of the rain water and use far less well water. I read some staggering information that Joel Salatin shared some time ago. That 1 sqft. of roof per 1 inch of rain, produces 8 gallons of water!! That's amazing!! Why this isn't taught in our public school curriculum is confusing... or is it? Joel also shared that increasing the organic matter in your soil, per acre, by just 1% enables your soil to increase its water retention capacity by 20,000 gallons. Again I find this information staggering when the popular belief is that we just need more 10/10/10.

While I'm not trying to lead you down a rabbit hole of descension, I am trying to inform you that there may be better ways to steward the God given resources we've become comfortable with handing over to the man made conveniences of our culture. We are in efforts to increase our ability to do this.

We try to marry the innovation of man and the superior ways of nature. Identifying what nature does and trying to work with it to help it do it's thing, or rather just provide more of the resources that nature uses to more areas. What I mean is that when we look at the way nature works, it uses carbon to create soil. Leaves, fallen branches, manure, etc...all decay over time and creates this amazing rich soil that many of us have seen in the mulch bed of the forests. We want to have this type of soil all over our property. The way we are trying to do this is by way of creating compost and spreading it over our property. Why should we settle for just having a 20' x 80' area of nice rich soil? How can we expand this model?

We recently purchased a manure spreader that we will begin using to spread the compost that is created by using the resources that nature provides. Utilizing man's innovation, (through management) we can speed up the decomposition and then spread this organic matter to more areas. Increasing the organic matter in our soil to hold more water during the abundant periods that will help reduce the amount of soil run off. It's a lofty idea, but when I view it through the lens of stewardship, I'm motivated to at least try and give back to the land that I've taken so much from.

Our version of 10/10/10... our manure (compost) spreader

Part of the reason I've neglected sending out farm updates through this blog is that I've directed my efforts toward obtaining resources for this endeavor. I appreciate you understanding my delay. This will eventually provide our poultry (and hopefully other livestock) a better pasture plate to eat from by making it appealing for more plant species and other critters to enjoy.

Farm News (Poultry)

Commercial chicks out on pasture

I've mentioned in previous blogs that acquiring commercial chickens has been difficult. To mitigate this we have invested in a heritage meat breed. They take a little longer to grow, but I think it will pay off and will be a more dependable source for meat by reducing our dependence on industrialized hatcheries. We have been able to secure a small batch of commercial chickens (pictured above) that are unvaccinated and they will be processed late August/ early September. A pre-order form link is below.

The pre-order form is there to provide us the ability to give our members what they prefer. It will be used as a guide in the future to gage how many cuts and how many whole chickens we keep available. The form works much like the electronic agreement that many members have used. Fill out the form, submit it and we will receive your order. You will be emailed a copy of your completed order form as well.

Pre-Order Form link (If you have trouble, contact me)

https://na2.documents.adobe.com/public/esignWidget?wid=CBFCIBAA3AAABLblqZhCH-UtHgb9JPmCmtjdyNNs5DjhUWk_e_i4t40LDvdYk42qdQlTjtq1uOXmxnMDt1SI*

New heritage breed in brooder. Going out to pasture soon!!!

We set up on the 1st and 3rd weekends at both of these markets until mid September, then every weekend. Stop by and say hello or to chat!!

We appreciate all of our members (new and seasoned) and those who have taken an interest. We hope that this finds each of you well and healthy.

May God bless you and those in your circle.

Your local stewards,

Gordon & Elizabeth