Spring Newsletter: March 2021
Hello farm fam! This is the first farm newsletter of 2021 and as usual, I am behind schedule and can’t believe what day/month/year it is. When I started farming I envisioned writing monthly newsletters and endless blog posts where I would share the farm happenings and my observations of nature and the circle of life. Well…that obviously didn’t happen. It turns out the farm keeps me super busy and I do not live the glamorous life of a blogger or writer. Most days I can’t find matching socks. BUT! I am setting the goal of at least quarterly newsletters to help you keep up with the changing seasons at New Roots Farm and regular reminders about new inventory, store hours, and any other special opportunities during the year. No spam, just ham and seasonal musings.
The grass is coming out of dormancy and starting to grow. I hear the chorus of spring peepers at night and get to work a little later each day before the sun goes down. Seeds are just germinating and the fields are fading from brown to green. We are still feeding hay and haven’t started our intensive grazing rotation. The lambs are all born, but still in the lamb barn and most of the feeder pigs have gone to the butcher. The piglets aren’t much work yet because the sows are tending to them (shout out to my porcine ladies). Spring is about to get real, but we are in a bit of a lull that I am determined to maximize. You know how in thriller films things get eerily quiet and serene before $hit hits the fan and it gets messy? If you don’t watch scary movies this might be more akin to when the house is unsettlingly quiet because the kids and/or the dogs aren’t making any noise because they are into something they shouldn’t be. This is how this moment in spring feels at the farm. It is quiet now, but something is coming, and that something is the busy time of year at the farm: Summer! Before we know it the fields will be ready to graze and we will focus on transitioning the cows and sheep onto grass.
Right now the sheep and cows are adjusted to their winter hay diets so we will have to graduate them onto spring’s lush pastures while keeping an out for any side effects of a rich spring grass diet like bloating and upset stomachs. We make sure that the animals don’t go out in the mornings with empty bellies—having hay in their stomachs and rumens helps them digest the rich spring grasses. We also offer them sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda or bicarb), which they eat when they need. It is like making sure the critters have Tums on hand if they need it, but it comes in 50 lb bags we put in their mineral feeders instead of those antacid shakers. We were very lucky to have had a good grazing year last year—we had lots of rain, were able to stockpile grass and grazed the cattle into February before switching to hay. I hope this year we get plenty of good rain and don’t have a drought so we can maximize grazing again.
It also feels surreal to be heading into another grazing season where we will be moving the cows, chickens and sheep every 24 hours and managing pigs on pasture. The world and life has changed so much, but the farm less so. We will be doing what we always do and are always looking ahead to prepare for the next season. Last year was a wild ride—and I don’t think I can quite describe the chaos, but I am sure you’re just as tired as I am and have endured plenty of heartache and hardship. This spring feels particularly hopeful after the challenges of 2020.
There were shortages of everything, from the latex gloves we use to deliver lambs, to the plastic bags we package our chickens in and materials for fabricating farm equipment. When grocery stores ran out of groceries lots of people turned to their local farms and started buying locally grown meat and produce. It was great, but also overwhelming. The CSA filled up early during the pandemic and we sold through the inventory we planned to bring to the farmers market throughout spring in a month. I didn’t know how to handle it and turned off online ordering for our website to give myself a break. My vegetable farming friends were able to adapt and grow more food quickly. Pasture based meat farming is not something that can pivot as nimbly. We processed additional chickens and got additional lambs to graze, but our hogs take 8 months to raise on pasture and our beef cows are around 24 months old when they are finished. Our local processors were also overwhelmed and simultaneously every butcher in America booked up through 2021 in April of 2020.
I am hoping to do a better job of meeting our community’s need by having more meat available this year. We have transitioned to year round farrowing so we will be restocking on pork year round instead of just in the fall and spring. We’ve also got more cows and more sheep, but most importantly we are still standing, still offering amazing pasture based meats and still making poop jokes. I was inspired by the surge in consumers buying from their local farms and the number of people who tried New Roots Farm meats for the first time. It has been wonderful to help people navigate buying local meat for the first time and to hear how much they love it. People telling me they only want to eat our bacon now or that store bought chicken doesn’t compare to pasture raised and that they can taste the difference got me through last year.
This brings me to some really good news—we are opening up the farm store this spring for anyone to shop. No appointments, CSA membership or secret handshake needed. Just follow the farm on social media or check your email to keep up with the hours. We will be opening this Saturday March 27th from 1-5pm for all your farm fresh meat needs. The store is stocked! We have lots of meats to select from including our prime 21-day dry aged steaks and our life changing pork chops. I am not exaggerating when I tell you my pork chops will change your life. I stand by this statement. We’ve got meats for grilling, meats for roasting, meats for braising, sheet pan dinner stars, and the funky stuff like bones and smoked hocks for the hardcore carnivores. Please come by!