Farm
It’s May! The grass is green and growing! In fact, it’s growing so fast that we have to figure out the right pace to move the cows through the fields. We do this by setting up break wires (easily portable fences that attach to movable plastic posts) to break up each pasture into small sections. When the grass is growing slower, we split each pasture into three or four sections and can move the cows through a full rotation of the pastures in around two weeks, which is how much time each pasture needs to grow back. Now that the grass is taller, we are splitting each pasture into 6-8 sections, and we have to be careful not to let too much time between each rotation or the pastures can get overgrown. It’s a balancing act, but we love the fresh air and sunshine, and so do the cows!
Cows
We have only two cows left to calve for this year! That means we’ve had over 50 calves born on our farm in the last 2 months. We have noticed a trend in 2 -3 cows calving on Sunday mornings.
The most exciting was April 19. Two calves were born in the far pasture at the top of the ridge behind our farm. Both mothers and babies walked down to the barn for the morning milking. The one little bull calf decided to leave his mother and return to the far pasture and never stop. Anthony followed him up over the tree-covered ridge and down the other side. He kept running through the woods and eventually headed down the hill toward our neighbor’s farm. He finally slowed down after running 2 miles. Dave and Anthony then dressed the calf in Anthony’s sweatshirt as a leash to lead him back home to join his mother and the other calves.
We are starting to wean the oldest calves off milk and take some of them outside. They can start eating the green grass and learn about the electric fence. We will keep the heifer calves to add to our milking herd once they are old enough to milk. The bull calves we are selling as feeder beef calves.
Cheese
Every spring, we have the same problem and this year is no exception: we keep selling out of our Pirate Blue cheese! So far we have been making it as fast as we can sell it, and right now we are almost out until June.
We are trying to work more affinage into the cheese schedule this year, which is French for “cheese-babysitting” (That’s a rough translation. We need to work on our French). Anthony is trying to scrub every wheel once a week for the first month of its life to help encourage the right yeasts and molds growing on the natural rinds. It’s a lot of work, but we think it will turn into better tasting cheese.
We are diving into summer farmer’s markets. Boalsburg Farmers Market will move into the parking lot of the military museum on May 26. Ligonier Country Market started this past Saturday on May 23. We are planning on attending every other Saturday. We are still attending Huntingdon and Altoona but primarily through online pre-orders and pickups. During the time of COVID, this is the best way to keep our customers and ourselves safe. Please make pre-orders the day before pick-up so we have time to get the order together. You can order online here, and choose your delivery method of pick-up at the market or you can have it shipped to you. We ship Monday through Wednesday. Unfortunately the online order system is only set up for retail sales, so if you want to place a wholesale order, you have to contact us the old fashioned way.
Family
We are doing well but busy and tired. Austin, Vannika, and Jesse have finished their spring college semesters. Jesse and Vannika started summer classes already, while Austin is taking a well-deserved break over summer. Vannika has been promoting the dairy industry via Instagram and Youtube. You can watch the National Milk Toast that she helped to organize with Dairy Princesses from across the US. Jesse graduates with his Master’s in English in August and is currently applying for jobs while planning a wedding with his fiance, Mikaela. Yolanda is finishing out her school year teaching on-line and homeschooling her landlord’s children.
Events
Summer is always a slower time for events, but especially so now that there are necessary health restrictions on large gatherings. We are grateful to our customers who have increased their orders and those who have continued buying: it helps replace some of the revenue we’ve lost due to restaurants being closed.
One exciting thing this summer is we are close to hiring a Dairy Grazing Apprentice through the National Program and PASA. It’s a chance for us to teach a new generation of farmers about grazing, herd health, farm management, and soil management: some of our biggest passions here on the farm. Once all is confirmed, our apprentice will work and train for 4,000 hours over the next two years involving hands-on farmwork and 250 hours online coursework as he develops the skills he’ll need to start a farm of his own. It’s an exciting time for us to train the next generation while also getting a little extra help on the farm.
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