|
Spring is Finally Here – May 13, 2008 Our irrigation systems are up, and the grass is growing! We could really use some rain and warm nights to give the grass an extra boost. Our first run of broilers came last week and are thriving. Our heritage turkey chicks are growing and will soon be big enough to go in our poultry train on the lush pastures. Our piglets are now trained to the electric fence, so they are having great fun running up and down their pasture. Our laying hens started their pasture rotation a couple weeks ago, and their eggs really show the change in forage - yummy! Hope you all can make it to our Farm Tour and Potluck Sunday, May 25. Join us for farm tours at 10:30am and 1:30pm with the potluck at noon. Bring a side dish and join the fun! ***
prior news items: Roaming Hens and Piglets on Pasture With the last of the snow melting and the pasture grasses bursting forth, all of our farming systems are ramping up for the season. The hens are roaming outside of their winter greenhouse during the day, and their mobile hen house will start its pasture rotation behind the cattle next week. The hens did a lovely job fertilizing our new greenhouse through the winter. This week Louis will build the planting beds and add ventilation fans to the greenhouse then the planting can proceed. Early sowing of our organic seeds in the warmth of the greenhouse will allow our fresh organic veggies to be harvested and available at the Farmers Markets sooner than last year. Our cute, healthy little piglets arrived last week from Quincy. So far, we have 26 with another 17 on their way next week. The piglets are 7 weeks old and very happy to run around their pasture enclosure supplemented with an ample supply of organic feed. This week Louis will setup the electric training fence, and once they are trained to stay in the electric fence, they will start strip grazing their 1-2 acre paddock. This paddock was selected as part of Louis’s pasture management plan. Their pig palace, a specially designed mobile building attached to their paddock, is lined with fresh hay, a heat lamp for our cool Methow nights, and fresh water. So, whenever our piglets want a little rest from romping about the pasture they can relax in their cozy pig palace. Snow-bound Pasture Management This is the first year we’ve had cattle in the winter. A change of suppliers meant a shift from receiving cattle in the spring to receiving them several months earlier, in the fall. Louis is rotating the cattle over pasture, with the added challenge that the pasture lies under several feet of snow. Using a snowplow attached to his new tractor, Louis clears areas for the cattle and their portable hay feeder. The cattle munch the hay and distribute cowpats and the straw left in the feeder mulches the cowpats. This winter pasture will rest a month or so in the spriing before Louis brings it into the rotation. The need to over-winter the cattle created challenges, but we’re glad that having them on the farm longer means we’ll be able to add fertility to a greater area of pasture. We select weaned cattle from a breeder and raise them to harvest weight (“finish” them). Last fall we learned that our former breeder changed his farming practices. He previously fed his cattle on pasture and hay raised naturally. When he planted Round-up Ready seeds for this winter’s hay, we sought a new source – fast. We felt lucky to get first pick of Methow Valley farmer Deed Fink’s beautiful Angus Cross cattle. Deed’s well-bred animals were born spring 2007 and spent the summer on the backcountry grasses of the Methow Valley with their mothers. Since Deed delivers animals in the fall, as is the typical practice in the valley, we needed enough hay to see our calves through until spring. We were pleased to obtain enough local hay to last until our lush spring pasture grasses are ready. *** Our First CSA Delivery of the 2007-2008 Season is Sunday, October 14 at Eat Local on Queen Anne Ave in Seattle. Crown S Ranch is contributing to the Harvest Dinner, held on Sunday, September 30, 5.30p at The Winthrop Barn. This annual event hosted by Sustainable Methow showcases the talents and energy of farmers, ranchers, growers; and the generosity of local businesses. This event includes an amazing dinner for anyone at no cost. All the food is grown locally or donated from community minded businesses, and put together entirely by volunteers. Free tickets for this event will be available mid September at locations throughout the Valley. For more information, contact Sustainable Methow at 509-997-1050 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Also see www.sustainablemethow.net for updates. Come see us at the Queen Anne Farmers' Market in Seattle on Thursday, September 13, from 3-7p. If you are considering joining our CSA, this is a great chance to try a few cuts before committing to a whole share. We'd love to talk with you about our CSA. We look forward to seeing you! *** Meet the Farmer at Eat Local in Seattle
 Our own Jennifer Argraves will be speaking at Eat Local at 2400 Queen Anne Ave N on Sunday June 10 at 1 and 4 pm, and talking informally with customers throughout the day. She will address the benefits of eating locally-raised, humanely-reared, hormone-free, grass-fed animals. Eat Local provides chef-prepared meals from local, organic products. On June 10, the store will be giving away limited edition, reusable canvas shopping bags with each purchase. Note: this event coincides with the final Crown S Ranch CSA delivery of the 2006-2007 season. CSA shareholders can pick up their shares at Eat Local between 1 and 5p. *** Farm Party
Join us for Crown "S" Ranch LLC's first annual farm open house and community potluck, Sunday, May 27th from 11-3. Bring the kids and a side dish. Farm tours at 11:15am and 1:45pm. We will be grilling our grass-fed, chemical free beef and pork. Please RSVP. We are located at #1 Twin Lakes Road, Winthrop. Call 509-996-3849 for more information and to RSVP (no dogs please). *** Crown S Ranch featured at Eat Local Now
 Sustainable Ballard's April 17 2007 celebration of good food close to home included a Crown S Ranch rump roast ragout prepared with Pioneer Organics onions and garlic by Brasa chef Tamara Murphy. Visit sustainableballard.org for more about this neighborhood effort to find local solutions to emerging economic, societal, and environmental challenges. |
