Oh my goodness, what a winter we are having! We are often asked about our winter activities. People driving by might surmise the hay is in, calving is done, bush-hogging is over for the year, etc..,etc. Farmers must be sitting around with their feet up enjoying the winter off! This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Winter activities include many daily chores. For example, the cattle are more dependent on us in the winter than in the summer months. With the pastures in their dormant state, we are putting hay out almost daily to meet their needs. Assuring there is adequate water supply in sub-zero temperatures is always a concern. When our streams and ponds are frozen, we need to provide water in other ways!
Natalie and I had the opportunity to attend a bull auction two weeks ago and purchase a new bull . As we are managing our herd and bringing on new heifers for breeding, we occasionally have a need to replace the herd bull. In doing so we assure we are improving the herd quality for the long-haul, and evaluating the genetics of the stock is required to meet this need. We continue to look for a bull who provides excellent offspring to meet our customer base needs. As we enjoy our time out in the field with the herd, the bulls genetics associated with docility (tameness of the bull and off-spring) is paramount for us! We were successful with obtaining our latest addition from Oesterling Angus in Batesville, IN. This will be our 4th consecutive bull from Oersterling Angus and our herd improvement shows!
Before signing off, I would like to announce the additional offering of New Country Organics feed as a product available from our farm! We have been using New Country Organics for the past 3 years raising our meat chickens and I can say we are extremely happy with the results! With our pasture chickens on this supplemental feed, we are finishing our chickens in just over 7 weeks from day-old! Our processed chickens dress out from 4 1/2 to 6 pounds! We are very excited to offer this to our customers! If you are planning your up coming season for chickens or any of your farm animal feed needs and looking for an organic option, give us a call! In the meantime, take a look at their website at www.newcountryorganics.com .
Until next time, remember, the growing season is just around the corner! Make this the year you make a healthy choice for your family food needs! Get out and grow a garden!
Tom and Natalie Work