2010 Farm Goals

1. Have fun, enjoy family and seasons. Spend as much time possible with Jay and Cayla. We bought a camper last year and intend to use it more this year. Maybe get down to one job?

2. Firewood. Without this we would have no heat. A major priority; spread out makes it easy. The shed was completed last year, which makes storing it easy. Now just for cutting and splitting, we went 1/3's on a log splitter with both neighbors. This works great.

3. Build Barn. The current plan is for a 30 ft x 48 ft x 12 ft high. Starting when weather breaks.

4. Finish Spare Bedroom. This was actually at one point a bedroom, turned bathroom in the '70s. Its is completely gutted with some wiring issues that need attention. Then dry wall and put down new sub floor, padding and carpet.

5. Garden and Canning. We want to be more efficient with the garden. Grow a few more things. We have decided against sweet corn. This is because it takes up so much room, we will continue to buy as in previous years; plus this helps support another local farm. Last year we got a pressure canner. This expediates the process and allows for more products to be canned.

6. Kitchen Floor- Fix and Finish. Some repairs are needed to be done on kitchen floor. It is sinking in one section. (Our house is very, very old!) We also want to pull up ugly kitchen carpet and refinish the original hardwood floor.

7. Garage Door. We need a new one, it has been in disrepair since we bought the house. Opening only by hand, and difficult at that.

8. Expand Cow herd. We want some registered Dexters in the mix. Also want to buy some small frame Angus cows to breed to our Dexter bull.

9. Fence. More fence row clearing to finish up. And fence to build.

10. 220 Volt Electricity in Garage. Wiring is in place, jus needs connected. When we had the backhoe last year for pasture water lines we also put in the underground electric wire to the garage. We currently have 110 volt overhead line out to garage.

Compare to 2009 Goals:
http://concordmeadowsfarm.blogspot.com/2009/09/farm-goals-2009-update.html

Farm Goals 2009 Update

This is a 2009 Farm Goals Update. In January we made a farm goals list, link is at bottom of page for review purposes, if needed. Below is the list with marks beside.
KEY:
U- Undone- May no get done...
I-In Progress
X- Done

I 1. Have fun, enjoy family and seasons more- In progress, we have had quality family time. We purchased a pop-up camper, and hope to spend more time together and enjoy this fall season!

I 2. Firewood Shed & Firewood & Firewood Wagon- Shed done, Roughly 1/2 winters firewood in, Wagon in progress but delayed.

I 3. Cow Shed on Barn- New roof for old section first, then maybe new cow shed?

U 4. Expand Cow Herd- Maybe not this year. We had 2 heifer calves born and hope to buy a couple of beef steers to raise and sell.

X 5. Fence- Mostly complete. See past posts.

I 6. Pig House & Pens- Pen done- though will be expanding very soon. Pig house in progress. Pig herd= 10 to feed out this fall. That's a lot of mouths to feed.

U 7. Chickens- Completed, then dissolved. Due to Raccoons and other farm projects chickens are on hold.

X 8. Flooring for sun room- Hardwood complete.

U 9. Garage Door- Probably not getting done, unless I find a good deal on a door.

X 10. Garden & Canning- Complete, I think. Garden fared well. Lots of canned goods: green beans, tomato juice and beets. Frozen corn, tomato juice, bell peppers. Potatoes in storage.

X 11. Water lines- waterer- Complete. Water line in. Frost-Free Spigot-- works great.

I 12. 220 electric to garage- Electric line in, not connected on either end yet.

Unlisted are the daily chores that go along with raising a family and expanding a farm. Two big events not planned on were the purchase of a Haybine and Tractor. There will be a year end review in a few more months. For now that hay season is mostly over- Firewood is the name of my game!

http://concordmeadowsfarm.blogspot.com/2009/01/goals-for-2009.html

Tractor

Our son, covered in a dust of corn and soybean meal that he was supposed to feed to the pigs (not throw, LOL!) But he had fun, as you can see above. Below is a photo of our tractor. Concord Mommy took this picture or she would be in it too. It has worked well so far, and will be a great asset to the farm.

This week we almost finished up hay season. The picture below is Concord Son and I traveling home from raking hay. He came over to the fields to bring Dad some water and begged to ride back with me. We have also been working on putting more firewood inside the wood shed and cleaning out the other half of teh shed for the tractor (to be parked out of weather). Monday morning was first of many firewood cutting parties to be had through the winter. The parties usal consist of myself, Matt and Andrew. We cut, split and load all 3 of our trucks with wood; many hands make the work go fast.

The pigs are growing. I am hoping to expand there pen this week to enclose our entire garden which is almost done producing for this year.

Another Tractor

Today we will be signing papers on the "new to us" tractor. It is a Massey Ferguson 255, a newer year model than the last and froma different dealership. Matt, my neighbor will be pulling home with his big truck and trailer. So tomorrow we will a new tractor to put up hay with. We have about 15-20 acres down still, that need baled. My barn is almost full, about 15-20 bales and it is there ready for winter.

Trouble With Tractor!!!

All was well, we were so excited... then a tractor was delivered.... and broke down before the delivery driver even left our driveway! Yes, needless to say, the delivery driver, un-delivered the tractor, right back to the dealership, LOL. The tractors motor will need a complete overhaul, adding $3000 + to the price... So, we decided this tractor and dealership wasn't for us. We have been on the prowl for a tractor, nothing is for sure yet.

New Tractor

Above is the newest addition to CMF. Recently we have been in the market for a 50-70 HP tractor. On Wedsnesday we test drove and made a deal on this tractor. It is a 1966 Massey Ferguson 175 Diesel, 63 HP with 3 point and remote hydraulics ( It will do everything I currently and in the future will need). This is big enough to pull my haybine (mower), and disk and plow. It is going to be delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday. We are very excited.
PS- Pigs are doing well, will post on them soon.

August Photo Review

In July we took a great trip to Lake Erie to see Jay's Great Grandparents. What a great trip!

Family photo.

The camp set up, our camper.

Cayla Cooking on the fire
Family Campfire photo
Fresh Beets anybody? What a worker

Chris and the backhoe. Who said video games teach you nothing? He said, "I like this, its like a big video game." And hes pretty good at it too! Thanks to Chris for his hard work on the farm this week.

Work in progress, digging hole for water line. No more hooking the hose up inside the basement to water animals!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Andrew for his plumbing expertise and time spent. We now have a water spigot in the field.

Jay loved the rides at the Athens County Fair.

Ok, were tired now. LOL. Jay and I catching quality zzzzzz's.

PS: Feeder pigs in progress, they will be ready in February! More on them later. Thanks again, to Chris for all his help this week, we got lots of work done.

Summer Update

Times are busy as always! Since we are both working off them farm jobs and around the farm, days are long. Good news: all puppies have new homes; the garden is filling with fresh veggies (above picture) and we are late yet again splitting firewood but we have some done. There has been massive amounts of hay baled, stored and sold this season- possibly one for the record books. Everyone is doing well. Jay is growing by the day, its unbelievable; he got a pet Ki-Cat (kitten) for the garage/ barn/ outdoors... Mouse catcher... would be great for the feed storage area. Both calves are doing well putting on weight. adapting the pasture life.

Organic To Be

While searching for other books by Gene Logsdon, I found a blog that he regularly writes on. After reading The Contrary Farmer, then, Animal Vegetable Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver), I am currently reading Chasing Rainbows, my grandfathers book of memoirs. I am in search of the next books to read. Being such a great fan on Gene, an Ohio homestead type farmer, who has authored many books on such subjects as: small scale farming, organic gardening, homesteading and much more. Anyway back to topic the blog is Organic to be. Link to the blog: http://organictobe.org/ . Gene has his own section, using the tabs at the top click "Gene". Mr Logsdon is a true inspiration, his writing will draw you in and boggle your mind about the ways you do things and ways that they could be done differently. Check out some of his writing in these links (Click to view):
Books on Google (excerpts you can read) http://books.google.com/books?q=gene+logsdon&btnG=Search+Books ,
Books on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gene-Logsdon/e/B000APL8F6/ref=ep_sprkl_at_B000APL8F6?pf_rd_p=479564851&pf_rd_s=auto-sparkle&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_i=gene%20logsdon&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=10MGSCP1NH2EEV82TKM0

Make Hay While The Sun Shines

The old sang "Make hay while the sun shines" is hold true this week. Wow how the seasons have changed, the hot sun is out and its hay season again. Andrew (neighbor) and I have been mowing hay this week preparing to bale. Above is Matt's tractor (neighbor and Andrews brother), that we have been using to mow the hay. Below is a close up picture of raked hay rows in the above pictured field. Make sense? Anyway, we have had frost 2 days this week so far, lost a few seedlings to it, but thankfully nothing else. We're gonna shoot for firewood hauling and fence building after all the fields have had the first cut of hay mowed off of them.We did get a chance to plant our new apple trees. They are doing well. No calf or calves yet! Is the Vet right? are we crazy? Both? We'll keep you updated. I was recently looking at Mother Earth News online and read an article about Athens, and it made me think Isnt Athens County such a beautiful place to live? Link to the article: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/2006-08-01/Great-Places-Athens-Ohio.aspx

Sunny days

Jay is absolutely loving this weather! Easter was a big hit also with the egg decorating and throwing ( hahaha- lol- Jay). He also loves to feed his Chi-Chi s (Chickens). He got a sand box for Easter and plays in it alot. Below is his Easter picture, sorry its late.

We have planted our seeds, they are growing fast and will be put into the ground soon.

The haybine project is coming right along a little at a time. I bought some parts a week ago and will replace them soon, hopefully. Yesterday I painted it, pictures below. We sold the heifer calf tat we bought in January so that we can re-roof the barn (the roof leaks- alot!). We also hauled in 2 beef steers to the butcher on Wedsnesday- All beef (1/2's & 1/4's) are sold. To purchase pigs to raise for pork this week?? I havent decided yet.

We hope that everyone is enjoying spring as much as we are!

Spring Tease

This week I was lucky to have great weather on both of my days off. We got alot accomplished in the past week. We layed the new floating wood floor in our sun room, Goal # for 2009, this happened out of necissity not indulgence as the dogs ruined our carpet in one night, its a long story. We also got some storm clean up done, nothing like cleaning up after winters fury. We also had a very commical time loading cows (that he sold) at the Sanders Farm, it took us approx 2 hours to load 4 cows, LOL. Jay got to enjoy time outside, he accompanied me during chores both days, and other misc play time, he loves the outdoors. Summer with Jay with be so much fun. Not to rush the seasons, but the above picture of last spring get me excited warmer weather.

Goals for 2009

Goals in 2008: Cows, Barn, Clear fence rows, Wood Stove, Larger garden, More canning. As you may know from my posts some of these were completed and others went by the way side. Farm Goals for 2009 Include:

1. Have fun, enjoy family and seasons more!- I want to spend more time with Cayla and Jay enjoying our farm the outdoors (camping, fishing, bon fires, hiking) and mother natures seasons. I will hopefully be back down to one job; one or the other, 2 is too much, as working two at between 64 and 90 hours per week is alot to be gone: 3 out of 6 nights; even if some of those hours are night time with a chance at sleep; I'm still away from home.

2. Firewood Shed & Firewood- Tarps over firewood suck, they leak, they're a hassle, not to mention the wood shed will be multi-purpose, used for storing misc. including our lawn mower which will make more room in the garage. The shed will be 20 feet wide and 12 feet deep, a lean to off the back of our current garage. We have the lumber and metal to complete the shed when the weather breaks. We had to buy some firewood this year, we learned our lesson and will be more prepared for next winter, HAHAHA!

3. Cow Shed on Barn- The shed we currently use, was not intended for cows but instead hay. Our "Barn"- originally a 24ft x 6ft corn crib, now with a 12 ft deep x 24 ft long lean-to off the North West side making it 24 ft x 18 ft, and soon to be a South East facing- south sloping shed- intended for cows, size to be figured out still.

4. Expand Cow Herd- We want to buy at least a single registered Dexter cow to breed to our bull so we can possibly sell registered calves.

5. Fence- We have cleared most of the pasture and fence rows of brush and old debris, we have also started our permanent fencing. This fencing needs to be completed, some is barbed wire- 4 strand at perimeter and 3 strand in the woods, rest is woven wire. Hopefully electric fence wont have to be moved as much to rotational graze our cows this year with some permanent fence in place.

6. Pig House & Pens- I want to set up a movable pig pen, with a permanent shelter on skids that can be moved with a tractor.

7. Chickens- Keep a small flock for eggs, hopefully the raccoons wont get this flock we are better guarded now, with a closing and locking coop. We just got a dozen or so Rhode Island Red laying hens last month, they lay great brown eggs. Picture of one above.

8. Flooring for sun room- As my wife would tell you we need a solution, some type of easy clean flooring for our sun room, which for now has carpet. It is constantly dirty, being our main entrance into the house, this is where we hang our coats and take boots off. The dogs also stay in here when were gone, so dog hair is also a problem but only secondary to mud.

9. Garage Door- Our garage door was damaged prior to our ownership then fixed, a horrible wind storm then re damaged it beyond fixing. It is functional but only by hand, and its a timely process. I would like for Cayla to be able to park inside during in climate weather.

10. Garden & Canning- Larger than last year and hopefully better tended, as last year we had a moderate production garden due to ground conditions, mainly ground not prepared we enough, this ground had not been garden before and our tiller was no match, it will be bottom plowed then tilled this year. We want to can alot more off this garden, to store for winter, as we canned very little last year.

Have fun. Please leave comments or ideas, thanks.