Vermont Plowing

We do things a bit different here in Vermont. We plow backwards!

Our good neighbor, man of few words, local tractor and farm implement guru - Arnold, came over to plow up some new vegetable ground for us. He hit a wet spot in the field and had to pull the plow out backwards.

We had last years hogs on this section of ground, providing a source of nutrients and doing a bit of plowing on their own! We had hoped to have the ground plowed up last fall, but the weather did not cooperate. Just before Arnold showed up, Christa and I just spread 1 ton of lime on the new plots with a hand spreader. Heavy, messy work but we are used to that.

Since we don't own a tractor we rely on our good old neighbor. So far the arrangement works pretty well. Our neighbor gets some spending cash, we get the heavy work done in a timely fashion, and we don't have to make payments on a tractor or fix the damn thing all the time. Though I do find myself lingering over the farm classifieds for a nice old tractor....

Shoulder to Shoulder

We are raising a heritage breed of pig this year. We were fortunate to find Tamworth piglets from a Vermont pig farmer who raises excellent piglets! The Tamworth is a rare breed that was once numerous in the states on small family farms. The era of big factory pig farms that raise pigs in confinement led to the decline of this breed - they do not tolerate confinement. They are known for their good mothering skills, mellow nature, flavorful meat, and most of all their ability to thrive on pasture eating grass, grubs and worms! They take a little longer to grow out to market weight, but the taste of their meat is worth it. We are excited to raise and offer this rare breed of pork!

WELL, Well, well

Christa and Chuck are standing in front of the old well site on the neighbors farm where we will be rotationally grazing beef and lamb. We are planning on pumping water from here to a storage tank that will then gravity feed to water tanks on the pasture. We and the landowners are excited to be grazing animals on this beautiful farm. Last fall we had a fence contractor put up a 6 strand Hi-tensile fence surrounding 25 acres of level pasture. We should have 25 head of beef and 20 lambs grazing here within a month.

Get to Work!

Our little boy Asa exhorts his parents on while lending a hand in building greenhouse benches. At 10 months he has the work ethic of a frugal old time Vermonter - right down to the afternoon nap!

Its never too early to teach your young'ns the value of a speed square.