News from the Ranch

What goes on at the ranch between our bi-weekly market rounds? A lot!  There are the regular chores that always keep us busy: moving the cows onto fresh pasture, feeding grain to the meat chickens and layers, delivering greens to the baby turkeys in the brooder, collecting and washing eggs, towing the egg mobile to new paddocks, and of course keeping you all updated with our newsletter, and packing the trailer with delicious meats for market!  But we also make time for new projects, facility improvements, educational adventures, and sometimes even invite new animals onto the farm…

Hens on the Move!
We usually move the hens once a week as part of our regular schedule, but last week we moved them much farther than usual – The ladies were enjoying the lush pasture out on the Big Flat, but they were getting pretty hot out there without any trees around. Last week we decided to move them back to our old homestead orchard where they could enjoy the shade of the hundred-year-old cherry and apple trees. The hens sure appreciated the change, and we’ll benefit too, not only from their increased egg production (happy hens lay best!), but also from their expert pest control in the orchard and the protection their electric netting gives the fruit trees against the bears. Thanks ladies!

Hungry for Beef?
We know you all have been jonesin’ for steak to grill up at your summer BBQs, and we have been sorry to disappoint you week after week. The truth is, it takes two years to finish a beef animal on grass, and we just didn’t anticipate the demand we would have two years ago! We are slowly growing our herd, but of course it matters a lot to us where our animals come from. We are happy to announce that we will be purchasing cattle from another pasture-based and certified organic farm to add to our herd and help us meet demand sooner. The owners of the farm have spent a lifetime building good grass-finishing genetics in their herd, and we are excited to bring these animals onto our farm and share the results with you!

I know beautiful, marbled, grass-finished steaks can’t get onto your plates fast enough, but rest assured we are working on it! And I think the customers that got their hands on our steak or oven beef pasture packs last year know it’s worth waiting for 🙂

Farm School Visitors
It was our pleasure to host Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Tsawwassen Farm School and Richmond Farm School for a farm tour and camp-out last week. A group of 25 students and teachers spent the weekend on the ranch learning all the details of our business and operations. We toured them around the farm, and discussed the practical aspects of raising animals organically on pasture as well as the philosophical question of what it means to raise a animals for meat. One of the highlights of the trip was the farm-to-table meal we shared together, which included vegetables they grew at their student plots and chicken they had helped slaughter at our farm that very same day.