We raise cattle, pigs, laying hens, chickens, and turkeys on certified organic pastures.
|
|
We "finish" cattle -- select weaned animals from a breeder and raise them to harvest weight -- on certified organic pasture. 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 breeder – 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. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
 We raise pigs on certified organic pasture, purchasing them as 7-week-old piglets in the spring and harvesting them in the fall.
Our pigs root, forage, and wallow in a fenced section of pasture with their skid-mounted pig house (we call it the Pasture Pig Palace), which provides shelter for the pigs and allows us to move them easily to a new section every other day. We supplement the pigs’ foraging and rooting with organic pig feed, produce from our organic garden, and organic cow’s milk from a local dairy. The Okanogan farmer who provided our piglets in prior years retired, so this year we’ll purchase piglets from a farm in Wilbur. Our kids love this since Charlotte’s Web is of course a favorite. |
|
Read more...
|
| |
|
|
 Free-range laying hens provide our organic eggs.
We receive the hens as day-old chicks, and as soon as they are ready to transition from their brooders, we move them onto our certified organic pasture. They are entirely free to run, with no fences constraining them. Their mobile hen house protects them from predators at night and houses their supplemental feeder. We rotate the house onto pasture where cattle have recently grazed to encourage the hens to feed where grubs are plentiful, and we move their house when the hens’ reliance on supplemental feed indicates that there is not enough food for them on the pasture.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
We start our broiler chickens in a brooding house and then move them onto pasture in a Chicken Train – a large floorless mesh enclosure that moves slowly over the pasture. This year we hope to implement Louis’ new design for the Chicken Train, which incorporates the brooder as a loft. The Chicken Train moves three times a day, covering twenty feet of certified organic pasture in a twenty minute period. This frequent movement keeps the chickens supplied with pasture and the pasture supplied with chicken manure. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
Our Animals 
