I just found a really neat website I thought I'd share. I also added it to the "Inspirational and Helpful" links on the side. It's the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website. Check it out! They just received federal funding to continue this great resource of information.
Another blog I read regularly that has truly been an inspiration is Sugar Creek Farm blog. They really are doing pretty much what I want to be doing. They started out in 2001 and he works full-time off the farm, but hopes to retire to the farm early. They started out just wanting to raise food for themselves and have really grown. They are being interview this week, a couple of questions a day, at The Beginning Farmer. I'm really enjoying the interview.
I just need to figure out how I can do what they are doing (beef, pigs, chickens) on my little 2.5 acres (they have 12).
On our farm, the news is that Butter (the overweight, 8 month old goat) was bred on Sunday, January 6th. At least it appears as if she was. We won't know for positive for awhile. This puts her kidding date at approximately June 4th. Firefly appears to have "settled", the term used in the goat world for a successful breeding or being pregnant. She did not come back into heat which is the first sign of settling. I'm not sure if Butter will come back into heat even if she didn't have a successful breeding, so it will be harder to tell with her. But I will watch. The reason for that is because goats are seasonal breeders. They only come into heat between August and January. So we are at the end of that cycle. It is possible she'd come into heat again one or even 2 more times, but who knows.
My list of egg buyers (waitlist) seems to be growing continually. I've had neighbors now ask for eggs. I can't wait for the new flock to start laying. I'll really be able to sell eggs then. I'll probably be getting a minimum of 3 dozen a day for awhile and if I don't butcher the others right away it will be up to 4 dozen a day for awhile. I just might wait until late summer to butcher. We'll see. Speaking of the new flock. Their new coop walls are up. I will be going to purchase the roof materials today and hopefully that will be on by the weekend. It really depends on the weather, which hasn't COOPerated much.
We woke to an inch or 2 of very wet snow this morning. It is really beautiful....I really wish it could stay, but it will probably be gone by lunch.
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