Crude, but effective.

This year we went from growing food for ourselves with a bit left over to growing food largely for others.

After honing our skills for several years we made the jump and upped production of hogs, chickens and turkeys. It was not without its challenges but we pulled it off. Twelve pigs, 17 turkeys, 100 chickens and 10 lambs kept us busy for much of the spring, summer and fall.

Now that it’s almost over, looking back on the year gives us much to be thankful for. In no particular order, here are the highlights from our year of farming.

1. We had 10 lambs born in February, 8 of them premature. I spent days living in the barn but managed to save all the lambs and ewes. It felt harsh then but feels good now.
2. We were given a Maremma guardian dog that proved to be a handful. She ate 2 chickens in her first 2 weeks and wanted to play with the sheep instead of guard them. A firm hand and consistent treatment has brought her around.
3. We learned a lot growing 12 hogs to market weight. The most important thing we learned is that we can do it.
4. Meeting other farmers and exchanging help, information and supplies has helped us feel like we don’t have to learn everything by making mistakes, but still make them. A phone call to the right person can save hours of frustration and anguish.
5. Deciding to make the jump and apply for farm status and a farm slaughter license so we can legally sell our meat and not have to worry about a knock at the door. We’ll be able to openly sell our products instead of doing it on the down low.
6. 

   Blackie with Dave Good inspecting our work, post surgery.

   Random acts of kindness; the gal who showed up with a bag full of sutures, scalpels, freezing and syringes when we really needed them and came to the barn to give advice like a seasoned professional; the guy who picked up our pigs from Alberta and would only accept gas money for his troubles; the vet who answers his phone while on his sail boat and dispenses timely advice; friends and neighbours like Bob Crutch and Dave Good who arrive to help at a moment’s notice when all hell breaks loose.

7. Our ewe, Blackie, who was attacked by two dogs, is a week from being let out of the barn which is truly amazing. We figured she was dead but never gave up on her.
8. My veterinary skills have improved. When Blackie got attacked, I learned how to suture. I may not meet the standards of the Veterinary College but made it work.
9. Our new chicken coop is finally completed and our layers are in. It has been a long haul but our gals are out of their cold, dark, disease infested coop and into the lap of luxury.
10. Coming to the realization that we need help and can’t be all things to all animals, fruits and vegetables. Next year will see the construction of a small residence on the farm for farm help. I missed Taj Mahal this year when I had tickets because we couldn’t find farm help. When everyone left me home to go see the show, I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to be a farmer.

It hasn’t been an easy year but with what we’ve learned, we’re looking forward to an even more productive year in 2012.

I wish a Happy New Year to all the inthekoots members, staffers, bloggers, lurkers and anyone who calls themselves a farmer. May your New Year bring new challenges and help you learn things you never thought you needed to know.

After laying out the footings, I promptly buried my bobcat to within an inch of its life trying to dig them. Apparently, it was too wet.

It was a source of some aggravation and a sore spot until it was pulled out. Looking at it made me grumpy. Really grumpy.

It took a month before I lined up a large excavator parked down the road to come do the deed and finish the digging properly. Others with smaller machines offered to help but I envisioned something like the old woman who swallowed a fly with a line of successively bigger equipment buried in the mud.

Once the holes were dug, it was still too wet to pour footings so things sat for another month.

In July, the footings got poured and the framing began.

Automatic Chicken Door

In early summer, I wore gum boots and a rain slicker. In late summer and early fall it was jeans, t-shirt and straw hat. In winter, fleece tights, multiple layers, down coat and warm woolly hat.

It was supposed to be done by the end of September and then October and I couldn’t stand to see it run into the New Year. I hit the ground running in late November and blew out my back picking up a coffee cup. Three weeks passed before I could move like a normal human.

On December 19^th , my birthday, Dave Good came and helped me celebrate by priming the inside of the coop. Us farmers know how to party.

Over Christmas, my brother-in-law Duncan became an unwitting accomplice. On Christmas Eve Day, we painted. On Christmas day, we finished the wiring. On Boxing Day, we put down the lino and the following day, the entrance ramp, roosting stand and automatic door. We moved feed, water, laying boxes and finally, chickens.

Rebar roosts

I fear I may have overdone it but my tendency as the builder is to look towards its deficiencies, things I might improve. It still lacks a sound system, high speed internet, motion and light activated sensors, and live video feed.

Next I need to remove the steel roofing from the old coop and burn it down. Beyond being deeply satisfying on a personal level, we can’t have our hens running back to their slummy roots at first chance. Old habits die hard.

I get a 3 month reprieve from coop matters until next spring when I get to finish the other half. Granted, the foundation and floor assembly are in and it will be un-insulated with minimal wiring but still.

The remaining section will be used for meat chicken and turkey production in the summer and fall and needs to be done by late spring. The structure also needs permanent water and power which will go in next summer or fall along with cedar shingles for siding that have been taking up space in the hay loft for far too long.

It needs some tweaking but the birds are in and I can do something else with my spare time.

It’s time for some winter projects. Things like applications for slaughter licenses, farm status, farm identity card and farm plates for our farm vehicles.

At the top of the list of projects is rewarding the farmer and for this farmer, it means loading my sled, tying on my skis and heading for the hills.

Not all dog attacks or dog owners are created equal and it is important that people understand the difference.

The first attacks happened shortly after I bought my farm. My neighbours, Bob and Ramona Carpenter, had an airedale that had killed 3 geese and both my peacocks. It also attacked a ewe and lamb, leaving me with bills for medication, etc. and two weeks of work in the barn. Upon hearing that her dog had killed my geese and peacocks, Ramona responded, “That is what happens to birds, they die.” As she shooed me out of her house amidst profanities, I told her I’d heard the same thing about airedales.

The Carpenter’s never did take any responsibility for their dog’s actions. Two years later when it attacked Bob, he shot it and went and bought another airedale that runs around the neighbourhood just like the one he shot. Enough said.

Deep gashes through to muscle tissue. An ear almost torn off.

On Saturday as I worked on our new chicken coop, Louise came running up the road screaming. She and her kids had just been making candles with our family and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. As I ran to the road she told me her dogs had attacked Blackie. We ran into the swamp but couldn’t find her. Louise went back to the road to console her two hysterical children. I searched the swamp and found Blackie stuck in the mud with the back of her head ripped up bad. When she got stuck, a log was fortuitously under her neck or she would have been dead with her throat torn out.

I hollered to my neighbour, Bob Crutch, and he came down to help get Blackie out of the mud and swamp, no small feat. Thank god he was home. Once on dry land, she walked back to the barn on her own.

Fifteen plus stitches and two hours later. A hope, a wing and a prayer.

When I contacted Louise later, she expressed sincere sorrow and anguish and offered to pay for a vet or any costs. I told her that a sheep is worth $250 and a Saturday night Vet visit likely $1000-2000. We would deal with it ourselves. She insisted on paying for any costs. Louise told me that when the dogs attacked, she grabbed Blackie to try and get her away but the dogs kept attacking Blackie’s legs and she bolted. When Louise caught up to Blackie, stuck in the mud, she could do little but sit on Blackie and fight off her two full grown huskies with her bare hands. She’s not a big woman. She came to the barn this morning to help me inject Blackie as I was alone. We discussed her dogs and I told her my concerns regarding livestock, wildlife and people, children in particular.

I have 4 dogs. Two are cupcakes but two can be ferocious and have caused issues. One is a livestock guardian dog and the other a blue heeler. Both consider the livestock and farm their personal property and while the maremma looks ferocious, it’s the heeler that will defend our farm until she’s dead. The heeler once defended our girls from an attack by Carpenter’s airedale, thrice her size. As I ran towards the girls, a blue streak came from the right and tore into that dog something fierce and chased it all the way to its front door. I work hard to maintain control of my dogs. They’re here for a reason and it’s not to attack people, livestock or wildlife. If left with no other choice, I will shoot my own dog or any of my neighbour’s. To date, I’ve never shot a neighbour’s dog, though I have been tempted.

The Champ. Her right ear will likely never rise due to muscle and ligament damage, if she survives.

I do not support the Dog Bylaw in Area H and likely won’t.

It is light on dealing with big issues and heavy on barking dogs. Penalties for attacks and barking are similar. It is poorly crafted, and I use that term lightly, but did meet my expectations of the RDCK.

You can’t introduce a bylaw that will create personal responsibility amongst bad dog owners and I’d far rather deal with my neighbour than any bylaw enforcement officer, police officer or legal process.

What kind of dog owner are you? Are you a Carpenter, or are you a Louise? The RCMP say I can shoot your dog on my property. Will you leave me to make that decision and carry that responsibility?

A farmer visited every two hours to make sure this lamb and her mother were healthy and cared for.

When I go to the supermarket and look at meat prices, I damn near shit myself. Good local meat is much cheaper, raised in a natural environment and free of antibiotics, steroids and other drugs. You get to meet the person who raised your animal, crusty as they may be.

As a meat farmer, I still buy meat from others. We haven’t raised cattle for 2 years so I usually buy a whole cow and sell off the half or quarters I don’t need. This year I bought and sold 3 cows from a local farmer. I didn’t make money on it, as it was shared with friends, but my relationship with that farmer is bombproof. He had several people back out after the animals were slaughtered and needed to sell them quickly. Amongst farmers, it’s often not about the money. It’s about sharing and helping out.

If you’re buying local meat, sharing is a great way to buy without purchasing a whole animal. Sharing 3 cows (2400 pounds) between 9 families cost us $2.65 plus a $0.60 cut and wrap fee per pound.

Our animals eat right and you can too.

We had a beautiful 4 pound prime rib roast last Sunday night that cost us $13. We have a bunch of ground meat we paid the same amount for. When you understand how an animal carcass is cut, you learn what you like and don’t like. Anything we don’t like, we have turned into ground or sausage. Sausage costs an extra $1.75 per pound but is worth every cent.

Melissa McEwan produced a great slide show called Meatshare that covers the nitty gritty of buying local meat in a pragmatic and down to earth way. While she is from the USA, her presentation is just as relevant in Canada.

If you are interested in purchasing local meat but have no idea what is involved, I encourage you to view her piece.

http://www.slideshare.net/mgmcewen/meatshare

Thanks, Don.

I won’t reveal his/her IP address unless tortured with something like tequila or a really nice prime rib steak. Combine the two and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.

I think part of what I wanted to point out in my original post is that we do the best we can with what we have. We encourage both local and global thinking in terms of how we can have the most positive impact on our planet and the people who live on it. We’re open to new ideas and perspectives and seek them. We try and put things in perspective.

The TED talk below is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The clarity the presenter brings to our biggest problems is both pragmatic and brilliant. It might offend or surprise you. Either way, you should watch it.

Draw your own conclusions but I think a debate about whether meat is causing global warming really misses the target.

He refers to Al Gore, David Suzuki and the Environmental Working Group to support his beliefs. He alludes to some of the points I raise below but gives them short shrift and his message is clear. Eat less meat, period. His numbers and stats seem skewed to support his post.

When I read posts like Rod’s, I think the problem is really us humans. We each produce roughly 1 kg of C02 a day which combined is more than all fossil fuels. Perhaps Rod is targeting the wrong species. I’m waiting to hear that exercise causes global warming due to increased expulsion of CO2 by inconsiderate miscreants. Being lazy produces less CO2.

Of course, the causes and solutions to global warming are not so simple. It’s easy to take a narrow view of the issue which does not take into account the larger picture.

Reducing this issue to whether vegetables are preferable to meat in terms of global warming completely misses the point. The issue is industrial farming techniques that have been supported by oil, fertilizer and chemical lobbies to further their interests and increase the value of their stock with no regard for the good of consumers or the planet.

Most food we eat as a populace is produced on factory farms, including vegetable farms. These farms burn fuel, use fertilizer and chemicals and are certainly responsible, in part, for global warming. Because growing, harvesting, processing, packaging and transportation are all heavily mechanized, what they produce becomes irrelevant.

The grass fed lambs in my pasture are carbon neutral. They are recycling CO2 in a short term carbon cycle as animals and humans have done for eons. It’s the release of new carbon into the atmosphere from oil, gas and coal in long term carbon stores that is warming our planet, not flatulence.

Excess flatulence in ruminants is the result of an unnatural diet. The grains, corn and soybeans used as feed on industrial farms are not a natural diet and not what I feed my ruminants. Mine thrive on grass as ruminants have since 70 million buffalo and swarms of other large wildlife roamed our continent. Soil is a short cycle carbon store these animals and humans depend on.

These sorts of diversions, in terms of the conversation on global warming, help obscure the fact we aren’t doing enough about the real causes of global warming.

The issue of factory farms will not go away until there is pressure from the buying public. As long as we put the cost and ease of our food above all else, we support distant factory farms. When we support more responsible farms, we send a strong message and demonstrate that we value responsible food and farmers.

As a consumer, what message do you send?

Do you shop at Safeway and buy your meat shrink wrapped on a foam tray or do you develop a relationship with a farmer and fill your freezer once a year? Do you care how your food is grown or are price and convenience the deciding factors? Do you buy baby bunny carrots because they’re all the same shape and size and don’t need cleaning? Rod failed to ask any of these questions.

If we turn the prairies back into pasture and eliminate growing corn, grains and soybeans to feed cattle in feedlots, we could put cows back on pasture and not deforest Brazil to serve our needs. Addressing these issues will do far more to solve global warming.

Beyond alienating meat farmers, eating one less burger a week won’t save the planet and won’t solve the issue of factory farming or global warming.

Eating a local, grass-feed steak a week might and I challenge Rod on his assertion that it will cost you more.

Buy a full, half or quarter cow and it’s $3.25 a pound this fall with a $0.60\pound cut and wrap fee included. Buy a lamb and it’s $6\pound. Chicken is $4.75, turkey $3 and pork $3.75. Hardly expensive considering the quality.

It will take more effort though,  just as writing a fair, balanced and engaging piece on global warming will.

Four market weight pigs are worth between 3200 and 3600 dollars.

I recently applied for farm status with BC Assessment in Nelson.

Had I known it only took $2500 in gross sales to qualify, I may have applied sooner. Farmer friends tell me there are other benefits beyond the break in taxes you receive. I hadn’t considered the benefits they’ve mentioned but it made me think.

If you farm anything and can up your production to sell $2500 worth of product, it’s something worth considering.

Let’s say you already raise meat birds for yourself. If you raise 100 for sale, you would qualify for farm status. If you only need one pig, raise 5 to market weight and you qualify. Raise 40 turkeys, sell 35 and you qualify.

You get the idea.

The form can seem complicated if you don’t have Government as a second language. My first attempt was a failure as was my second. Who knows what goes where? Do they want my mailing address or my physical address? Which numbers are my role numbers?

I decide to print a clean application and head to BC Assessment in Nelson. They are beside the remains of the Kerr Apartments (RIP) and easy to find.

When I arrive, I show Arwen my second failed attempt and get some guidance. She is very helpful, gives me the goods, and shows me a desk where I can fill out my application. If I need any help, I’m instructed to ask. This beats the hell out of submitting a flawed application. It seems easy and I’m glad I asked for advice.

Other farmers tell me their taxes dropped to a few hundred dollars but I won’t get that number until January of next year if we qualify. It seems too good to be true. I paid 3 grand this year with my home owners grant so I’m skeptical.

Click on the image to open a PDF version of the application.

They do come by and check so bullshit applications are discouraged. You don’t have to wear suspenders, gumboots and a straw hat, you just have to show that you are raising or growing what you sell.

It’s not rocket science. It’s bureaucracy.

If we happen to lose money, we can write it off against our incomes from other sources; a little tip from my friend Brian. He also raises livestock for sale.

I have many questions for a good accountant.

Farming isn’t for everyone but is worth considering for many rural residents. You don’t need 50 acres to farm. Two or three will do.

If you’re looking for property or struggle with one you already own, think of farming as sweat equity and use any savings or profit to pay down your mortgage, add farm buildings or fix up your shack. If you have no skills or affinity, you likely know that. If it tempts you and you don’t mind working hard, you know you can acquire the skills.

The deadline for applications is October 31 of each year to receive status the following year so don’t drag your heals if it’s something that might work for you.

Click here to download your own form.

BC Assessment Fact Sheet, “Classifying Farm Land” 

BC Ministry of Agriculture FAQ

I always like visitors at the farm but now, I’m likely to hand them a shovel, bucket or knife and show them the finer points of feeding, caring for or humanely killing a mixed herd of animals. If they have carpentry skills, I lock the gate behind them.

The new poultry coop is our biggest priority at the moment.

The tired old coop.

The old one is too cold or hot, lice and mice infested and an eyesore while being impossible to clean. Birds roost overhead and crap on you when you have to feed and water them after dark. Our layers stop laying for a month largely because they’re freezing their asses off and live in a shithole.  It’s built on treated posts that are all going into the clay at different rates. I have fantasies about blowing it up.

As well, we now raise 3 different types of birds in 3 different areas and the idea is to consolidate all poultry to one location with feed and equipment storage included. Each type of bird will have their own coop and run. So far it has consumed about 3 grand, 6 weekends and a bunch of midweek days. It also occupies my mind as I try to sleep. How will I build the ultimate, easy-clean coop? Once you’ve spent 3 grand, you might as well make it nice. I may have to move in one day. The chickens won’t likely appreciate it but Rachel and I will. We hate getting shit on.

As well, we have 7 pigs, 8 lambs and 14 turkeys to slaughter in the next month. The barn still needs cleaning after the 100 meat birds we raised in half of it and slaughtered 3 weeks ago. I need to move 6 cords of firewood into the wood shed and this summer’s compost/manure to the garden and till it in.

I need to do some fall clean up and seeding of new areas to bring them into pasture. Most of the new areas are hillside. It takes time and must be done by hand but we need extra pasture and the area is already fenced in. We spent 2 grand and many hours on those 3 acres 2 years ago.

The new "Mega-Coop"

When the new layer coop is done, I have to burn down the old one and clean up the mess. Then I get to replace and repair fencing in the coop area. The electric fencing in the coop area needs fixing but that will have to wait for spring. It doesn’t work well in winter anyhow.

We also need a nice fire pit to huddle around on beautiful fall evenings and I’ll likely pour the concrete slab for that when I do the slab for the chicken coop stairs. My knees hate the 2 foot climb onto the deck so that will happen soon.

The meat bird and turkey portions of the coop will wait until next year. The footings and floor assembly are in and I may get the framing up this fall, but that’s all.

I have an office space to tape, mud, paint and finish but that will likely wait until after snow is on the ground.

It’s an inside job.

The Master

The plans are set, the tickets purchased and the farm sitter organized. We’re set to go to Roots and Blues in Salmon Arm. It is to be my first trip away with my family in years. I usually get left at home to tend the farm so I’m pretty excited. Tah Mahal is playing and he’s always been a favourite of mine.

My longest and only extended stint away from the farm is to go to Royal Jubilee in Victoria for 3 weeks to have my heart rewired. My roommates and I make the best of it. First they close our door, then they add an RCMP officer who is as fun as a bowl full of thumbtacks (he has a bad heart) and then they split us up. We were having too much fun which is disruptive on a cardiac ward, apparently. They even send an undercover psych nurse to assess us but she stands out like a fawn in a pen full of pigs and we play her like a deck of cards. We’re trying hard but she’s not laughing. We never see her again.

But you can’t keep a good man down, for long anyhow.

The message comes via Facebook. Our farm sitter and friend, Nick, has fallen ill with coxsackie virus and feeling ridden hard and put up wet, but still optimistic he can come. I google this nasty virus and find that it has a similar effect to getting measles or chicken pox as an adult. It kicks your ass, even if you’re bullet proof like handsome Nick. I’m not feeling so optimistic.

I put the word out and get offers from many folks to come and feed animals twice a day.

I hold out for a farm sitter as I’m not comfortable leaving the whole scene to two visits a day. With 4 dogs, 2 puppies, 7 pigs, 20 or so sheep, 17 turkeys, 100 layers and various other critters, anything can happen and does. Sheep get caught in fences or lambs end up miles away. Pigs escape and if you know what you’re doing, getting them back is easy. If you don’t, it’s a big job and something I can’t describe over a cell phone from a music festival after a few drinks.

It’s not like we’re growing vegetables or hay. Our crops have legs and know how to use them. Some have wings. We’re also selling animals at the moment and most of our calls and sales come on weekends.

I digress. I doubt I’ll see any of my sheep in a hot-rod but do have some gorgeous ewes.

When Nick sends me a message saying he is looking for cheap plane tickets into Castlegar because he is too wasted to make the drive from the coast, I put the brakes on him. Originally he was coming for a 2 week visit anyhow but this is out of control. He is planning to go back to university in the fall and as much as we’ll miss seeing him, I tell him not to come. I give him orders to chill out and get better but know he feels bad. He’s the best farm help we’ve ever had and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

Dohhh!

I spend two hours on the phone with a friend I haven’t talked to in decades. Time flies as we talk about our lives and afterwards, I feel blessed.

While I feel like selling the farm Saturday, I know I need to find a way to make it work. What we have is too good to abandon but I know I can’t hold this pace forever, let alone the next 12 months.

My family comes home tonight.

Nothing notable happens on the farm.

A couple of calls about animals don’t turn into anything.  They expect WALMART pricing. Nobody abandons trash or unwanted animals at our front gate. (It happens.)

With hindsight…

To prepare, I need to find a professional slaughter/butcher master and a group of 3 helpers. I run through several possible scenarios in my head and come up with a plan that will ensure the animals are contained and easy to deal with. I can use the infrastructure I have without building pens or extra temporary fencing.

I call my friend Glenn and ask him if he will come out and make things go smoothly. He is a seasoned butcher and slaughter master but at about 70 years of age, I know he may not be able to come as his back has been bothering him. Glenn loves what he does and even with a tender back he jumps at the opportunity to come and do the important bits as long as I have lots of help. I assure him it will be so and wonder where the other 3 helpers will come from.

My neighbour Bob who is taking two of the pigs offers to come with his buddy and our own Chris Shepherd offers his help as soon as he gets a whiff of it. Of all involved, only Glenn is being paid. For everyone else it is sport, curiosity or necessity. I am the latter.

The night before slaughter, I go to the barn with a can of lime green spray paint and mark the 5 biggest pigs on the back of the neck. Then I split out those pigs. Nobody is watching which is good as I am constantly outsmarted by pigs. At 10:45 pm, some 2 hours later, all little piggies are happy in their pens. Those that won’t be slaughtered are penned in on the opposite side of the barn where they will not see what will occur and the green pigs are in the barn and will be lead out one at a time.

If all goes to plan.

Glenn shows up a half hour early as usual. Fifteen minutes later, Bob arrives without his buddy and as we are getting ready to take the first pig, Chris arrives. We’re on time, on schedule and one helper short. We are scrapping pigs instead of skinning or torching them and this is more work and benefits from many of hands on deck.

The lucky ones.

I lead the first pig out and away we go. Once the pig is shot, it is bleed and cuts are made in its legs. We attach ropes through the cuts and lift the pig with the loader and dunk it in a bathtub of 170 F water. After a minute or so, we pick it up with loader and place it on the scrapping table. My neighbour Paul arrives unannounced, a welcome addition. We work feverishly to get the hair off the pig. I accidentally cut the hide in several spots and have to take a deep breath. Glenn tells me my knife sucks so I grab another.

Pigs 2 and 3 go like clockwork and Bob takes off to the cooler as the temps are rising. I picked the hottest day so far to slaughter so the meat needs to move quickly and that is Bob’s job, which he does impeccably. He even knows our butcher Jake, who can be a bit crusty, an added bonus.

In a slow moment, Chris is gathering guts with a shovel which is a bit like eating jello with a knife. I grab the guts with my hands and put them in the bin. Chris comments on what a city boy he is.

Pigs 4 and 5 go well and Bob disappears to the cooler as we go looking for two lambs born in November of last year. The ram lamb is my buddy and taking him is tough. He lets me scratch his head and seeks me out when I enter his pasture. The ewe lamb is loud and generally a pain in the ass so it doesn’t bother me so much.

Suddenly, the lambs are off to the cooler. I help Chris put his lamb heart and liver in plastic bag and he disappears to play ultimate Frisbee. Paul goes home to pick Saskatoon berries. I go to get cash for Glenn and refreshments. When I return to the farm, all is quiet, like nothing happened.

It is a bit smelly though and when Bob returns, we dump the guts before settling down in the shade for a well deserved beverage.