Vaughnshire Farm

One of the questions we were asked recently was about our pigs…. So here is a brief overview of what we have learned with pig 1 and pig 2…

We recently took pig 2 to the butcher shop and we are absolutely thrilled with the difference in taste and quality of meat between pig 1 and pig 2. 

With pig 1, we didn’t know what we were doing…like all new farmers–trial and error are sometimes the greatest learning experiences.  We built him a square pen out of hog panels and fed him all the scraps we had.  We also gave him cracked corn.  When we had extra milk or sour milk, the boys would soak the corn or a some hog finisher in the milk before feeding it to him.  While the meat was far superior to what you find in the store, we did learn a few things to improve the meat quality. 

With pig 2, the guys ringed her nose (she eventually lost her rings though)  and released her into the pasture.  She wallowed around in the mud in the pond and ran around with the cows, sheep and goats.  She ate nuts she dug up, ate grass, a bit of stolen sweet feed from the milk cow, occasionally some corn (she didn’t like much) and soured milk and also a plenteous supply of fresh scraps from our kitchen.  Pig 2 was leaner.  The meat off of pig 2 is much better and in the future we will be pasturing our pigs as opposed to a pen.  The boys hope to set up an area for raising pigs in a wooded area on our property where there are lots of nuts to root up. 

If you are thinking about raising a pig or two, from our experience, we can tell you that pigs are fun and relatively easy to raise.  They grow quick and you can have delicious farm raised pork in your freezer in about 6 months. 

Today we were quite busy.  We took a trip to the butcher shop to pick up our meat.  We took all the coolers and freezer bags we had and still needed more…so the children ended up packing some of the meat in plastic bags and putting it inside boxes.  We froze on the way home with the air conditioner on high!

Here the boys are unloading the roller rack and packing our hamburger patties.  We are very glad we opted to have 1/3 of our beef put into patties.  They came out very nice…and are sure to be a convenience for me cooking. 

They loaded the coolers on to a roller cart to take out to the trailer. 

Almost ready to go…It took quite a while to pack over 600 lbs of meat. 

A very proud 11 year old stands by the lamb meat he raised. 

 A very busy 2 year old pushing carts. 

After a big day, we finally get the last of the meat into the freezer.  We still have a lot of rearranging to do, but at least we have our own beef, pork and lamb stocked at home in our freezers!  And Wow..that is an amazing feeling to raise your own food!  Anyone wanna buy some meat?!!

Since moving to the farm, we have had a crash course with the concept of food going from the field to table…family style.  I will be the first to admit that at first it was at first very strange concept.  We, like the majority of Americans, were completely disconnected from knowing where our food came from.  However, lately we have had plenty of opportunities to get use to the age old idea of family food production. 

Yesterday, we took our steer to the butcher.  He weighed in at 1,080 lbs!  I was surprised he weighed so much!  We also loaded up a pig weighing in at 205 and two lambs that each weighed 50 lbs.  Had we of known the lambs were only 50 lbs, we probably would have waited a little while before processing them.  

We were concerned about loading up the animals on the trailer.  Our last experience with loading up an animal to take to the butcher was traumatic.  Traumatic only because the pig would not hop up in the trailer like we were expecting him to. Only after lots of dragging, pushing and ear deafening pig squealing, was the 300 lb pig finally in the trailer. That day we found out that they don’t just hop up in the trailer when you want them too. 

However, we learned a few things from last time.  First, don’t feed them before you load them up.  You will want them hungry so they come to the feed you lure them in with.  Second, park the trailer in the field the night before and put a feeding trough in it.  They will want to check it out. 

The guys put a feeding trough and feed in the trailer the day before.  They left the trailer open and in the field over night.  The next morning our 12 year old went out to the trailer and put some more feed in the trough.  He then ran up the hill to go find the cows and bring them down.  When he arrived back at the trailer, to our great astonishment, the pig was waiting for him.  He was lounging in the feed trough inside the trailer.  WOW, that was easy!  Our steer wasn’t as easy, but compared to what we were expecting… 

Now we were ready to head off to the butcher.  We had about an hour and a half truck ride with 8 children and a trailer full of animals.  We arrived at the Yoder’s butcher shop and went inside to fill out our order.  They hand you a sheet of paper for each animal you bring in and ask you how you would like him.  Roasts or Steaks, thick or thin, tenderized or not, medium or hot sausage etc. etc. etc.  After we filled out our orders, it was time to drive around back and unload.

The boys help unload. 

Here they try to coax the cow off the trailer and into the weighing station. 

Little ones look on with great interest. 

Still trying to coax the cow…only this time out of the weighing station.  I became a bit concerned when the executioner began to yell at the cow, “HOOO, YHAWW, I don’t have all day cow!” 

Maybe I should get the children back in the truck??

The Yoder’s butcher shop is quite large.  The children look on at the work taking place.  Our 3 year old asked, “Is this the place where they take the cows apart?” 

It was a great field trip…that is…for those who enjoy loading and unloading messy animals and watching people cut up meat.   We will return in about 3 weeks to pick up our meat. 

The children harvested some of their corn today. 

 It was a very exciting site to watch.  The older ones picked and the younger ones shucked. 

I explained the art of shucking.  The 3 year old was the most intent.  She kept saying, “..but his corn hairs keep touching me…”

Corn shucking proved to be an excellent attention keeper for those 5 years old and under.

Never mind cooking…she ate a cob before we got it in the house…and took a few bites out of some other cobs. 

Contrary to popular belief around here at our house, CSA does not always stand for Confederate States of America!  It stands for Community Supported Agriculture in this instance!  We have so enjoyed our CSA groceries from our friends, the Lingo family, over at Beaverdam Creek Farm.

For the past few weeks, we have been enjoying a bountiful basket of fresh fruits grown off their farm — which has been a huge blessing this year being that we have been occupied with having a newborn.  This week we received corn, peas, tomatoes, green beans, okra, squash, peppers, herbs and flowers!  When Wednesday rolls around, we always look forward to our trip out to their farm to pick up our basket of CSA groceries!

If you are in the area, you should check them out.  They have wonderful pastured-raised chicken for sale as well.

We enjoyed a meal last week with fresh broccoli and cauliflower from the garden along with some of our farm raised pork.  Not any great quantities of broccoli or cauliflower yet…but a simple start.

I am still learning the art of how to put bulk foods to use, store them and how to calculate how much I need.  As I get into buying bulk quantities of staple foods, I wonder why I didn’t figure this out earlier.  Though the prices of things like grain, oats and rice are skyrocketing, it is still much cheaper to buy a bulk 50 lb bag of oats than buy little canisters at the store. 

I am have been reading about the proper way to store different foods.  Currently, I am separating out the bags into 1 gallon ziploc type baggies and storing them on shelves in the pantry, which is not ideal for long term storage.  If I have room in the freezer, I will put grain and oat in there. 

There are a couple of downsides of bulk buying that I can think of to one who is not use to this type of shopping.  One would be the fact that it does take up space.  Another reason would be the fact of cost.  You would need to reorganize your budget to be able to spend a large amount of money at one time, in order to avoid spending more money over time with smaller packages and containers.  Another reason might be the fact that if you do not store your food properly, you could loose it to bugs or moisture.  It takes a bit more research and knowledge “how to” when stocking your kitchen with bulk foods. 

But…there are so many more positives, especially for those who have larger families.  In the long run, bulk food purchases are much cheaper.  You are not having to run to the store every couple of days because you are out of some basic ingredient.  You also have security and peace of mind that you at least have some type of food in the house in the case of an emergency.  You can buy organic or natural foods much cheaper in larger packages and you are not limited to just grain.  You can get dried fruit, cocoa powder or carob powder, flax seed and other non-grain type foods in bulk bags as well.  Over all, bulk food purchases save you time and money.   

We have been busily working around here on the farm trying to plant our garden.  With me being 9 months pregnant, I am not gardening….I am trying my hand at managing.  It has given us a wonderful opportunity to delegate tasks to the children and stretch them beyond what they were doing last year.  And for me?  It has been good practice for me to let things go and not micro manage every little detail to my liking. 

My country gentlemen prepared and planted a garden spot for the heirloom variety of corn called Country Gentleman.  A while back they all planted potatoes, onions, cauliflower and broccoli that are thriving and growing beautifully.  This week they worked on planting warmer vegetables like green beans, okra, cucumbers, squash etc. 

Considering the season of life we are in currently, I am pleased with our progress, but I can’t help but be awed by the amazing gardens of history.  Gardening has lost much flair and importance to modern man.  Not too many years ago, gardening was an essential part of life.  Even those who lived in “neighborhood” type areas had garden plants or fruit trees planted in their back yard.  Historically, famous families such as George Washington,  John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James Madison had extensive gardens on their land.  In the past, the White House was home to incredible gardens.  As President, Andrew Jackson built an orangery to accommodate indoor, year-round gardening.  That has since been demolished.

I love to visit gardens at The Hermitage and The Carnton Plantation.  Of course they have full time gardeners working in them, but they are beautiful and inspiring to say the least. 

Our garden here is absolutely nothing even comparable and may indeed turn into a jungle, but this year and this season in our life, a jungle that produces food, amidst the crooked rows and weeds, would at least be something. 

Maybe I should start a gardening apprenticeship here?

“This is a sustainable economy being born, and the government is trying to squash it. That’s what’s at stake here,”  wnd.com

It seems to me, that a government who prints extra money for it’s citizens to “stimulate” its economy is afraid of any competition. 

The idea of a sustainable economy is appealing when folks are looking at the financial and health impact of our industrial food supply.  The benefits of eating healthier for less money while supporting a local farmer is a fantastic alternative to pumping money into a failing economy for substandard chemically saturated food substitutes.

“The way America produces meat, milk and eggs is unsustainable, creates significant risks to public health from antibiotic resistance and disease, damages the environment and unnecessarily harms animals, a report released Tuesday says.”  The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production; reported by USA Today on   5/6/2008

The full updated story on the milk Nazis can be found here at WND.

Several weeks ago, we ordered our garden seeds from Seed Savers Exchange.  You can check out their website and order a free catalog which contains beautiful pictures of all kinds of beautiful fruits and vegetables and herbs. 

Our seeds arrived, and several children prepared the seed trays.  Once everything was ready, we started planting some seeds to hopefully get a bit of a head start this year.  Next year, we will start earlier!  We were thrilled to wake up one morning, a few days later, and see our little seeds sprouting already!

With the ever increasing amount of food we go through and the cost of feeding a large family with health in mind–having a large productive garden is really going to be a huge blessing if we can pull it off!    We will see how it works out, being that mom will not be able to be head gardener this year due to her being very great with child.