The weather is clear and chilly, the days are gorgeous and sunny, and a bit brisk if the breeze picks up.
Saint John’s Organic Farm
We started feeding hay last week; Aaron and Claire load up 5 of our 750lb bales on the trailer and take it out to the field where they spread it out down the paddock. Right now we have two groups of cows who are each eating about 1000 lbs of hay per day. So Aaron and Claire take out about 4 loads in a morning and then there is enough hay out for the next week. Aaron will set up a movable electric fence to give the cows an appropriate section each day, along the same theory we use when grazing the paddocks in the summer. We have found that it is really good to keep cows in the field all year long, they do just fine in the cold. We adjust their feed rations so they get more if the temperatures plummet, and try to feed a little extra so there are leftovers for them to sleep on, but they seem to adapt quiet well to the low temps. It’s great to have them out on the grass turf even though the grass is pretty well grazed down, they stay healthy in the fresh air and sunshine, and the manure is distributed straight back to the field; it’s a lot less work than cleaning corrals, managing compost windrows, and hauling compost out to spread in the fields.
Aaron Dill - with Ragnar, hauling hay out to the field
The steers are still grazing, and doing well on the stockpiled grass. At this rate we’ll graze them all winter long on grass that grew this fall. We’ve managed to do this every year for the last 10 years, except for the snowpocalyse in 2016. Then we had to feed hay to the steers too, though the grass was still viable to graze after the snow melted down.
Our frost-free waterlines are working well to all groups of cows. What a gorgeous system! Aaron turns them on when he goes out on his daily rounds to move fences to feed cows, and then several of us split up in the evenings to go drain the short supply hoses for the night. So much better than the years when we had to haul all their water out in a 500 gallon tank! Especially with 125 head, many of which are eating hay, we were hauling water almost every day.
Beef harvest is all wrapped up for the year, but we have about 7 pallets full of beef in Boise Cold Storage, so we’re well supplied to meet anyone’s beef needs throughout the winter and spring!
We are already looking at which rib roast we want for Christmas dinner.
Cold plunge! November 2020. Click on the picture to see a video of the whole experience!
Aaron recently began a new practice of ice water plunges, exploring the Wim Hof practice for health. He set up an old water tub in his backyard, and goes out every couple days to immerse in the ice water. There is some interesting research on the effect of cold exposure, to strengthen your circulation and thermo-regulation, and how it causes a reaction in your core to superheat your blood, like a microfever which cooks out impurities and kills viruses. This takes training however, so it’s best to start with cold showers. Aaron is putting together a progression of cold exposure training ideas that he’ll post on his Share the Gift instagram and facebook pages in the near future. Enjoy!
May your holidays be bright in the midst of a crazy year, may you enjoy the warmth of your family, and may God grant us all peace.