Makin' Hay

Tractor, bailer and wagon harvest the hay,
with Jim driving all the equipment. 

 We have roughly 4 acres of land in alfalfa/grass hay that we cut, dry, bale and store in the barn. This is fed to the goats in the months when pastures are not growing. We just finished our second crop, which means this is the second cutting from the field this season. If the weather cooperates, there should be a third crop harvest. Baling can take about a week to complete. Jim cut the hay on Wednesday, then raked it on Friday,  A "rake" is a farm implement that moves the cut hay into rows. Jim raked it again on Saturday to turn the hay over so the underside is brought to the top so it can dry. If the hay is baled before it is dry, it can mold which can make the animals sick; it could also spontaneously combust in the barn and cause a fire. Once the hay is dry enough, the baler is hooked up to the tractor, followed by a wagon. The baler picks up the rows and compresses them into a square, ties them with twine and throughs the bale into the wagon. When the wagon is full it is driven to the barn, each bale is taken off the wagon, loaded onto a small elevator that takes it into the barn, then grabbed and stacked neatly. Baling hay takes a good amount of labor, with the help of Jim, Diana, Alicia and Rosalyn, we got all the hay put up in the mow. Now we are hoping for that next crop in late August.

Rosalyn takes hay from the wagon and loads it
 onto the elevator that takes the hay into the barn.

Alicia and Jim stack the hay into the barn mow.

On a sad note, our dog Oliver passed on Wednesday. He had been slowing down over the last year, but were not expecting him to die so soon. He was a true farm dog, and a true family dog, and most of all he loved all people. He would join many hikers on the Ice Age Trail that borders our farm and assist them on their journey.

For our Dreamfarm CSA Share members that are receiving the Variety Pack, you received an aged cow milk cheese in your last delivery. This cheese was made last fall from Jen, our Jersey cow. It was then aged through the winter and weekly was washed with salt water and turned. Our goats and cow are continuing to provide the milk for your cheeses. It has been a good summer for animals as they do not like it so hot.

Dreamfarm continues to work with the goods days along with the challenges a farm can bring. We have had multiple raccoon attacks in our chicken houses, along with owls who come at dusk and get in the small chicken doors if we do not get them closed in time. Without our dog Oliver, there is not the guarding of the area. We also put up some portable fencing so we can move our goats, sheep and steers through a managed pasture system. A goat got herself tangled in the fence and hurt her foot/hoof. She was limping for days but is looking better. Last week a sheep got her entire head caught in the fence and wrapped around tight. Sheep are much harder to control than goats. But we did get her to hold still and got the fence cut. Off she ran!! I took down the fencing after that.
Here it is August 1, I am sure there is more fun to come.

Seven Little Piggies

Dreamfarm welcomes seven new members to the menagerie.  Jim picked up the piglets on Saturday morning and settled them into their new pasture.  With the nation-wide pig virus epidemic going around, Jim was asked to back the trailer up to the beginning of the driveway and remain in the truck.  The farmer met Jim at the end of his driveway and had the little piglets ready to move into our trailer.  He is being very cautious about protecting his livestock from this virus.  Our seven little piglets have arrived healthy and despite this spontaneous snowfall they are enjoying and exploring their new haven.

Their new home includes 1.5 acres of wooded pasture, which gives them lots of space to root around. And with cheese making in progress, these 7 little pigs will have lots of organic whey to consume. We will raise these pigs until late October, then they will be available for sale as a half or whole pork, cut to individual specifications. Let us know if you are interested in purchasing our pork. Orders fill up fast with the limited quantity.

Just a reminder, we still have cheese shares available for the 2014 season. Check out our website for more information and the online sign up form -- www.dreamfarm.biz

 

2014 CSA shares still available!!

The Dreamfarm milking goats are producing very well despite this slow spring we've had.  They have proven that a long, harsh winter isn't going to stop them.  However, as humans, we are waking up a bit slower.  As it gradually warms up outside, it is a challenge for our minds to warm up and begin to think about where our food will come from this season.  Soon it will be time to plant our gardens and have fresh, local food for our tables.  Dreamfarm has proudly delivered CSA cheese shares for ten years. We are looking forward to this eleventh season, hoping many of you will join us.  We still have shares left and our ladies are eager to produce the milk for your cheese.  We are partnered with Vermont Valley Community Farm which allows us to have the same drop-sites and schedule delivery.  However, you do not need to be a member of Vermont Valley to receive a Dreamfarm cheese share.  Goat cheese is always a great addition to fresh vegetables!  You can find easy access to our sign up form on our website at www.dreamfarm.biz.

H A P P Y  E A T I N G ! ! 

 

Kids are here, Milk is flowing.....

February 23 marked the start of the official "kidding season". We had 2 goats kid in late January, that is because we bred those 2 mothers early. We have 15 babies and many more to come. On Sunday, March 2 we had 2 sets of twins and today a set of twins and a set of triplets have been born. 

I had a bit of a scare this morning. I walked into the barn at 4:45 a.m. I turned on the main light, then walked into the back barn to check on the babies. There was no electricity, so the heat lamps were off. I could hear no sounds coming from the babies and it was too dark to see them. I thought they all froze in the very cold night. I ran to the house to get a flashlight, ran back to the barn and shined the flashlight into the baby pens. All the babies were fine, whew! Then I needed to scramble to get all the kids together and warmed up. I have a temporary heat lamp set up, and am still waiting for the electrician. There was electricity to use my milking machine, but no light in the milkroom. The goats were milked in the dark, "a little mood lighting."

With milk now available, cheese making will soon start. We have shares available if you would like a Dreamfarm Cheese Share. Check out our website at www.dreamfarm.biz  We hope you will join us.

February 2014

Written by our youngest daughter, Clarissa

Here we find ourselves. February is already looming large on the horizon, but we are still settling into the new year’s routine with undeniable hope and a sense of bewilderment at the inevitable passing of time. This is my second winter off of Dreamfarm, but my first winter in the city. Last Sunday my sister, Alicia, and I made the trek from our Madison flat back home to the farm. As we left the metropolis behind and rural Wisconsin came into view, I found the expanse of winter in front of us had settled with a kind of grace not evident within city limits. Fields, flourishing with corn, alfalfa, and soybeans mere months ago, now seas of white shimmering in the late afternoon light. As we pull into our driveway, we are greeted by our faithful, old farm dog, Oliver. My parents, Diana and Jim, emerge from the barn, bundled against the cold and wave hello. The first words out of my father’s mouth are, “Come check out Little Jimmy!” He is referring to the newborn lamb born just a week before, on my father’s birthday, thus his namesake. We do so, check out Little Jimmy, that is. A mere fraction the size of his mother, Alicia and I take turns holding him, this little bit of sheep, and nestle into his tiny warmth and familiar lanolin scent. The first of many newborns that will grace Dreamfarm’s pastures in the coming months and a sure sign that spring, somewhere through all this cold and snow, will eventually emerge. Little Jimmy’s mother on the other side of the fence grows impatient, reluctantly we return her son to her, he runs beneath her round winter belly and begins to nurse. We make our way through the barn; the milking does lay in their bedded pens, their silky summer coats replaced with thick, fluffy winter ones. They rest for the season, allowing their energy to be put into the babies growing inside of them, ensuring the furtherance of the tiny circle of life my family has created on Dreamfarm. My parents finish up the afternoon chores hours earlier than they would on any given summer day. Operating a seasonal dairy not only allows our animals to rest, it gives our family the chance to slow down as well. And slow down we do, but never too much. This time of year my mother does much of Dreamfarm’s desk-work; ordering labels, applying for grants, organizing the CSA, renewing our farmers’ market membership, and has recently completed a new and improved Dreamfarm website (up now!). She also sends our Jacob sheep’s wool to be spun at Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill. It returns in long scanes in which she winds and labels to be sold at the farmers’ market. In addition, she finds enough free time to embark on a few knitting projects of her own, a hobby that is simply impossible to cultivate during the farming season. My father, who balances a full-time job along with doing his part on Dreamfarm, has been splitting wood since early fall to feed our wood burner. He finally takes some time to enjoy the warmth he has labored to create, finding time to read or paint another beautiful barn quilt. This year, he is creating our first official farm sign using a traditional barn quilt design. Upon completion it will hang on the building that houses our cheeserie. And of course, they finally get off the farm on occasion as well, if only to snowshoe the nearby portion of the Ice Age Trail or to catch a local folk show. This winter season of rest is vital to the way that we farm, allowing us to begin each new farming season with a feeling of replenishment. It allows us to find joy in all that arises as the days grow longer, and subsequently busier. To many, the conditions of winter are less than favorable, but for the seasonal farmer, it can be a saving grace. Living in the city, my loathing for winter it much greater than it ever was on the farm. It is when I return that I find my place, once more, among the outbuildings and the fields, within the seasons, and beneath that endless stretch of Midwestern sky. It all plays such a significant part and serves such an important purpose within the beautiful connectedness of all living things. Although my teenage angst only allows me to admit it on rare occasion, the farm is my solace, it is home.