Julio's father, Sammy, is our current herd-sire, so we had to send Julio to greener pastures to avoid in-breeding in the herd. But he is a beauty. The buyers were two wonderful women - Jill and Mary, long experienced in the production and marketing of artisinal foods, who run Cranedancefarm.com.

Butterflies on the butterfly flower and day lilies lining the roadside

Universities have not caught wind of this phenomenon yet, but anecdotal evidence keeps surfacing in the country that grassfed ribyes enhance love-making, in the same vein as fish and oysters. So, we no longer need to feel disadvantaged we don't live near oceans, as midwestern pastures can supply all the amour we need.

It typically takes three sunny days to make "dry" hay - one for mowing and two for drying, raking, and baling. The challenge is it often rains during one of those three days, greatly diminishing nutrient value of hay. As a result, a method of growing use is to make "wet" hay. This involves mowing, raking, baling, and wrapping the bales in plastic all within 24 hours. The wet hay then ensiles or ferments in an anaerobic environment, becoming more digestible. Livestock much prefer it over dry hay, and waste less. Reducing the haymaking window by two days reduces production risk many fold, so there are few drawbacks to this method, except one, which is why I have resisted it over the years. That is the waste of plastic wrap that ends up in the landfill. Last year, we made half our hay dry and half wet. The dry was rained on and was of greatly inferior quality thereafter, while the wet was excellent. So economics drove the decision this year, and we have made all wet hay. There is a movement afoot by OEFFA and others to find ways to recycle the plastic, which would be of great benefit.

These young ladies just arrived to bring new dimension to our farm and the food we offer you. While we complete their egg-mobile, they find comfort and security in this magnificent old corn-crib.

We just moved the herd in this picture, and these cows and calves will be on half-an-acre of ground for several hours, mimicking a herd of wild ruminants moving across a landscape. The forage is tall, creating lots of quantity, quality, and diversity of nutrition. At the same time, the cows can't wander around looking for the best, so they eat a cross-section of what is before them and trample the rest. This benefits both animal and soil. The herd is moved forward every 2 - 3 hours during daylight.

When they become deployed, they are burdened with expectation. So, as they sit here, in meditation, we recognize them for their dignity.

Bob Gehres began working with us several weeks ago, and we are honored by his addition to our motley team. He showed the astute judgement many years back to marry a smart and capable woman in Beth Gehres. Bob and Beth are passionate about gardening, good food, and sustainable living. In their spare time, they tend to an acre of raised vegetable beds, a small herd of goats, and and a prolific flock of laying hens on their beautiful homestead near Hillsboro, Ohio. Bob brings wisdom, judgement, a full heart, a strong back, and an agile mind to our team. We are fortunate he has crossed our threshold. He is a good man through and through.

It took four years to recognize the best place to expand our cattle-handling facility was on the driveway leading to it. Most driveways handle vehicles not livestock, but why couldn't ours? After prolonged deliberation, it became clear our driveway was meant for greater purpose than just vehicles.

Note lambs in the picture below. They are being born daily, and we probably have 80 on the ground so far. One ewe is raising quadruplets!

Farmer's Market. In doing so, we met many great people, made new friends, and began developing a cadre of loyal customers, all of which was most rewarding.

And delivered over Easter weekend to his abode in Manhattan, has led me to ponder the meaning of a table. What happens around and upon a table?