Spring Hill Farms

I was just talking to my wife about supper.She said I've got to get something planned for dinner. 

I replied as I always do..."something quick." I logged on to Andrews site and the post for today...

Something quick and pretty good for ya.

See his blog here.

BTW farmers here's something might be of interest to you.

 Selling your farm goods

Our new building is framed up and ready for metal. We'll use this to farrow pigs in the winter and brood chicks when pigs are out on pasture.

I try to plan buildings for multiple use. For the first several years the only building we had was a yard barn. As we have grown we have put up some barns for storage and shelter. The pigs are normally in huts that we keep straw in for warmth.

 Tamworth pigs are known for there ability to with stand cold temps but they still need something to protect then from the wind and wetness of Winter and Spring.

I'll put the sows in this about a week or so before they pig so they can get used to it and prepare for the little ones.

 Here's a shot of the pole building we put up last year. I hope to use it for farm tours etc.

Well just a peek at what we're doing.

Until next time....

I find a large part of my work as a small farmer is educating folks as to why they should buy local off the farm whenever possible.

 Sure, there is a segment of soceity that is already convinced of that and some of them shop here at local harvest or the local farmers market.

 I find a much larger portion of Americans have only had some form of exposure to these thoughts. They aren't always convinced yet. I'm always on the look out for evidence supporting my belief in local food and/or sustainable farming.

 One of the most prevalent stories right now is one of food safety. Almost daily we see something on the news or Interent about food safety issues. All these things help our cause. Americans are starting to pull all the bits and pieces togther of the whole local farm freash thing thanks to the media.

 I checked my mail today and viola it seemed as though Consumer Reports is seeing that it is a hot topic now too!

 I got a mailer from them trying to sell me the 2010 buying guide. On the front cover in large letters:

 "How safe is that chicken? We'll tell you..." see page 4

On page 4 they inform you that they compared 525 chickens from 27 brands and found only 17% were free from salmonella and campylobacter.

Thanks Consumer Reports for doing such a study! I'll use it to sell my pastured poultry!

Until next time...

Here I am in this dang bed and who's gonna feed them hogs? So goes the old Tom T Hall song...After surgery on Monday I'm glad I'm not wondering that! 

 I would say "minor" surgery but the only time it's minor is when someone else has it!

 Seriously though I am so thankful for friends and family. The farm has perked along just fine even though I've hardly left the couch since Monday.

Thanks to all!

till next time!

Well the snow melted and now we have mud everywhere. I'm glad we're down to just breeding stock on pigs. A whole bunch of grower pigs in this mess tires you out. 

 It's time to think about ordering chicks. We have made the decision to use a bird from the Label Rouge  program instead of the standard Cornish Cross birds most folks use.

 Updated our website some this week also. You can see it by clicking here

I've had some time to actually get caught up on office work and marketing this week.