Farm News and Mary Ann's Blog
Recently, I had a fun opportunity to talk to the
Virginia Arena Historical Society. They are an active bunch who take the preservation of the history of Virginia, MN very seriously.
This group has a lovely museum on the edge of Olcott (aka Northside Park)
in Virginia, Mn. It’s really an overlooked treasure.
I was invited to share my family’s story…
The Wycoff’s – Unexpected Farmers.
I’d like to thank them for that chance.
I was so nervous and had not done anything like that before, but their smiling, encouraging faces got me warmed up and I spoke for about 45 minutes!
Can you believe it?
They were generous and asked a few questions
and some even asked for business cards!
Some folks stopped to share farming stories from their youth. I just love hearing people tell me about what their farm or their grandparents farm was like.
It was a great time, and
I was honored to have been asked.
Fall is perfect time to reflect on what worked last year
and what didn’t.
Lesson learned….cheap feed is not cheap for long. We were penny wise-and pound foolish.
The price of soy beans had skyrocketed in the spring sending feed through the roof…this after we didn’t think it could possibly go any higher.
We shopped around for a better feed price than our normal supplier offered. We had always paid top dollar for that very best quality feed, but a very reputable feed supplier was trying to ease financial problems for farmers by selling an all natural feed with different ingredients. It didn’t contain any of the nasty stuff we won’t put into our animals. It was still the same protein content we needed, and the feed man said that the animal nutritionists said that this was an acceptable feed recipe. So, we ordered a bunch of it. Sadly, what looks like a great idea on paper oftentimes is not.
At first we blamed our troubles on the cool wet spring. Then, perhaps, we thought it was some of our new genetics. But by the end of July we eliminated everything else and narrowed it down to the new feed. The animals just didn’t like it, weren’t eating much of it and as a result weren’t growing anywhere near as quickly and vigorously.
We switched back to our regular feed man and who had always said that no matter the cost he wouldn’t compromise his recipe. He told us over and over again that he had simultaneously raised pens of hogs on three different recipes of feed. Though his recipe was more expensive, it paid for itself in yield and health.
That’s actually one of the reasons we initially started using his feed: his no-compromise attitude.
In a few days after the new (old) feed went out, we saw much better appetites and brighter, shinier eyes in our animals.
Interestingly, having a good relationship with our chicken processor helped to confirm our suspicions. They told us the last time we brought them birds that they weren’t digesting the feed properly.
Another good thing was that I had an opportunity to talk with the man who sold me the less expensive feed. I was able to tell him why, though the experts said the animals would do well on this mix, it really didn’t work well. I was able to give him impressions of the appearance of the animals as well as measurable results as far as consumption and growth. He seemed to appreciate our honesty and probably learned something, too.
Like my dad always said, “Buy cheap, get cheap.”
Funny…..The older I get, the smarter he seems.
Another important part of fall is moving animals around to their winter quarters.
Our watering systems, for the most part are just hoses strung across the ground all over the place.They already are freezing at night and not thawing until mid afternoon. So we need to make sure that everything is either close enough to the barn to make watering easier, or somewhere we can haul water to with the tractor.
We also need to fence new spots or mend fence that’s in disrepair. Fencing seems to never end around here.
We also have to separate our beef cattle. The bred cows (which should give us calves in the spring) are separated from the animals that need to get a lot more feed. Those are animals that are growing or being fattened to be butchered. Their feed is all natural with no antibiotics, hormones, animal by-products, or synthetic proteins - just corn and soybeans and some vitamins and minerals. They are in a pasture with grass and they are also eating good hay.
We have finished our late summer farrowing -that’s when mama hogs (sows) have their babies (pigs). We will keep some to feed out to butcher weight, sell a few to a neighbor who wants to raise his own pigs, and bring any extras to the sale barn. We have to plan where all the pigs (sows, boar, and hogs) are going to spend the winter. That means we need to move shelters, feeders, and fences around.
This all needs to get done before Deer Season starts.
I don’t know about your family, but my family has 3 hunters and between deer hunting and making firewood, weekends in November are spoken for.
It's Fall.
Night comes earlier every day, and the mornings are nippier and come more slowly. It's time to button things up around here.
We are wrapping up chicken season. I have made a date with the Nelson family so the birds will get processed right on schedule. After a few days, I go back to Brainerd and collect the lovely frozen chickens. All of them were pre-ordered, so shortly I’ll call these folks and make arrangements for pick ups or delivery.
This will mark the end of chickens until April when we’ll start again with chicks. Those chickens will be ready for purchase the end of June or beginning of July. (Last year, I had a waiting list for the first batch. So interested customers probably should call or email us anytime to get on the list. I have already started it!)
Frankly, I am glad to see chicken season come to an end, but I know I’ll be really excited to see it start again next spring.
I am also putting together the cutting instructions and delivery schedule for our customers who ordered half and whole hogs for fall. I always enjoy this chance to talk with our customers. Fraboni’s in Hibbing will be doing nearly everyone’s smoking this year. They always do such a nice job, and they have been a pleasure to work with.
So much of the time we are working away here on the farm alone, and sometimes the work or the weather is unpleasant. But when we deliver the meat to our customers, and visit with them for a few moments, it sort of recharges us.
You know what I mean?
It especially is great for Shannon, because generally I am the one who talks to folks on the phone and at the Farmers’ Markets. I get to hear the enthusiastic feedback from customers. Delivery days are when Shannon gets to shake customers’ hands and hear, first hand, the nice things our customers say.
Frankly, it’ll also be nice to ease up the work load for a little while and really nice to cut down the feed bill –as these animals get closer to butcher weights, they eat and drink….alot!!
There are lots of other fall tasks. I'll write about that in a couple days in Part 2.
I have been so bad about updating my blog. I know that I need to set time aside a couple days a week to keep readers in touch with Bear Creek Acres. I am really trying to turn over a new leaf!
Really!
Ages ago, I said I would explain chicken tractors.
Better late than never my Mom always said!
We raise our meat chickens out in the fresh air and sunshine. They are able to forage for fresh grass sprouts and other tasty items. They also are fed an all natural (no antibiotics, no hormones, and no animal by-products) chicken feed and lots of fresh water.
Raising a bunch of chickens produces a bunch of manure, and in conventional (supermarket) chicken houses the chickens live in an enclosed building with no access ( or nearly impossible access ) to the outdoors. I’m told they never feel a breeze nor see the sun nor eat a blade of grass.
It is certainly easier to raise chickens in confinement. There is no danger of a huge rainstorm drowning the chickens, the producer can control the heat, and there is no danger of a predator killing all their birds.
But that’s not how we want to raise animals,
and that’s not what we want to eat.
So, we raise our chickens out on pasture and have small portable huts called chicken tractors for their shelter.
We start the little chicks in our tiny brooder house. Once they get too big for it and the weather is accommodating they get moved into the tractor.
There are lots of designs for chicken tractors. We read about them in books and online - and then Shannon, my husband, decided what would work for us. Shannon and our son, Jack, have built 3 - with slight modifications each time. There is always room for improvements. Some farmers have an enclosed outdoor run connected to their huts that the chickens have access to, and they move it to clean grass regularly.
For now, since we have had no trouble with predators, we allow the birds to free range. Until recently we had no predator problems. Right now we are leaving the dogs outside to work the midnight shift and keep the fox or whatever it is scared off. We’ll see if this works out.
The birds still free range all day, but they have guardians at night. It seems to be helping.
Each morning we go out and open the door to the hut and out pour the chickens! They love being outside. When they have all run out, we (it only takes one person since our tractors are nice and light) drag it ahead 12 feet to clean ground, move their feeders and waters up as well and prop open the door to the hut. During the day we make sure that the feed is flowing properly in the feeder and refill their water as necessary. In the evening we herd any chickens that haven’t already tucked themselves into bed and shut their door. Depending on the weather and the forecast we adjust the tarp that covers their hut to either keep them warm, or cool, or dry.
Since this is such a healthy way for the chickens to live - no competition for food or space and they are living in such clean surroundings - they don’t need to eat medicated food like conventional chickens.
When planned properly, the chicken tractor system can eliminate the need to spread petroleum-based fertilizer on hay fields along with cost and effort to spread fertilizer or manure with a tractor! The chickens can fertilize a farmer’s hay field for them by naturally spreading their own manure as they move across the field with their chicken shelters.
Bear Creek Acres’ 15 minutes of fame has now increased to 25 minutes since The Timberjay, our local newspaper - which has editions for Ely, Tower-Soudan, and Cook-Orr, did a wonderful feature article on us. ( I checked their site, and it doesn’t look like you can read the article online.) You can read it here. One of the editors, Marshall Helmberger, came out to the farm and interviewed Shannon and me about a week ago. We weren’t quite sure what he had in mind, and Saturday we were thrilled to see a long article with several color photographs about The Wycoffs, Unexpected Farmers.
Unexpected Farmers relates to our story of never planning to farm. We had only intended to raise food for ourselves - but selling one pig turned into selling 3, then 6, then 12…and so on. Marshall and his family personally support our commitment to helping protect our local food supply as well as shopping locally. He is a gifted writer and really captured us in a nutshell. One of our customers, Mickey, was quoted in the article saying nice stuff about our meat.
This sort of thing – the newspaper and radio interview - just doesn’t happen to us.
I know that next week we’ll fade back into obscurity,
but for now we’re sure enjoying it.
What fun!
Thanks to The Timberjay for inviting me to "reprint" Marshall's colomn and photos on my website!
For a Kugler Township family, a surprising demand for wholesome,
locally-raised meat has produced a growing business and an
opportunity to rejuvenate a once-thriving rural farmstead.
Shannon and Mary Ann Wycoff weren't planning to become farmers when they bought the old Saranpaa farm, located south of Tower, four years ago. The 167-acre plot had last been tilled in the 1980s and many of the old fields were growing back to brush.
The land offered the family a home in the country, a place Shannon
says he was eager to return to after nine years living in Silver Bay,
where he worked at Northshore Mining. While the family had thoughts
of raising a few animals for their own needs, they quickly found that
friends and neighbors had other ideas.
They started with four pigs, figuring they'd eat two themselves and
sell a couple to help cover their expenses. The two extra pigs sold
right away. "Then people started asking for chickens, too," recalls
Mary Ann.
The family, which includes 16 year-old Taylor, 14 year-old Jack and
12-year old Maggie, took small steps at a time as they entered the
business, but each time they'd buy a new batch of livestock, the
animals would sell almost immediately. So 100 chickens became 200
chickens, and this year will become 900 chickens. Four pigs became 60
pigs. "And then people started asking for beef," said Mary Ann.
So was created Bear Creek Acres, the Wycoffs' burgeoning home-based business that has tapped a powerful desire by a growing number of area residents for safer foods that are locally-grown. "The whole
shop-local movement is really taking off," said Mary Ann. "And
concerns about E. coli, growth hormones and antibiotics in
industrially-raised meat is another big issue for people."
While the Wycoffs' animals don't meet the definition of "organic,"
because the Wycoffs use conventionally-raised feed, they only
purchase feed that is free of antibiotics and animal byproducts. And
unlike conventionally-raised meat animals, the Wycoffs' animals rely
heavily on their own natural instincts for much of their food, and
that fact is doing wonders to improve the farm's overall productivity.
The chickens, for example, spend most of their day outside, where
they feed in a small, grassy pasture. The chickens' pens, known as
"chicken tractors" are easily portable and the Wycoffs move them each
day to keep the birds in fresh grass and to help spread their
valuable manure evenly around the pasture.
It's an approach that was popularized by Joel Salatin, a Virginia
state meat grower who has become a leading critic of the
industrialization of agriculture in the U.S. In permanent,
highly-concentrated animal feeding operations, animal waste has
become a major disposal problem for meat growers around the country.
By returning to sustainable practices, Salatin has argued, animal
waste again becomes a valuable commodity that is crucial to
maintaining farm productivity.
The Wycoffs say they've already seen the improvement in their own
pasture and they're using their animals to restore pastures that had
filled in with brush as well. Their pigs are especially good at
clearing brush, said Shannon, who points to areas of recovering
pasture that were once choked with alder and willow, but have since
returned to grass after the relentless rooting of the pigs killed off
the brush. "They do a heck of a job for us," he said.
For the farm's dozen or so head of cattle, grain is usually just an
occasional treat. For most of their lives, they feed as cows have
done for centuries- on grass. The Wycoffs do supplement the grass
with grain for a few months before slaughter to improve the flavor.
While the couple is considering experimenting with grass-finished
beef, they said most Americans haven't yet acquired the taste for it
and probably wouldn't like it.
But local residents are clearly clamoring for the taste of the meat
the Wycoffs are producing. "It's fabulous," said Mickey White, of
Embarrass, who has been buying pork and chickens from the Wycoffs for two years. "I like that it doesn't have any hormones or antibiotics.
It's also very tasty," she said.
"People who've eaten it say it's fantastic," said Ann Carter, with
the Natural Harvest Food Co-op in Virginia, which began carrying the
Wycoffs' meat this past winter. "The main thing for us is we know how
they're raising their meat and how the animals are being treated. And
with all the meat scares in the past year, just knowing where your
meat is coming from helps," she said.
The Wycoffs' meat has also been a hit at the weekly farmer's market
in Ely, where Mary Ann said she's been regularly selling out each
time. "It's just worked out great," she said.
And the couple's plans continue to be geared towards growth.
According to Shannon, they plan to increase their production of pork
and chickens next year, and will be able to offer individual cuts of
beef by then as well.
So far, the couple says that they've poured their profits back into
the farm. Shannon continues to work at Northshore, which means
farming is his second job, at least for now.
But he said the farm has the potential to raise far more livestock in
the future and they're hoping that the time and money invested
rejuvenating the land will pay off in the long run.
It's hard not to be optimistic, considering the response they've
received so far. "People tell us our meat reminds them of what
chicken and pork used to taste like," she said, noting that
industrially-raised meat often lacks the flavor and texture that
older people, or people who grew up on farms, still remember.
While their small scale production means their meat costs a bit more,
Mary Ann said price is often not as important as people think. "I
think it gives people a sense of well-being, and that's worth a lot."
There are lots of reasons that people eat local meat. They are all valid.
Some folks don’t want to eat meat that’s been raised on a CAFO. These are not traditional farms. CAFO stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. This is not your picture-book-Old-MacDonald-type of place. It’s lots of livestock on a relatively small piece of land. Often these are entirely indoors. No fresh air and sunshine. No green grass.
Many people are concerned about what the animals are eating. They might be bothered by the antibiotics that are in animal feed. Scientists have found that farm animals that are fed a constant low level of antibiotic in their feed will grow more quickly and efficiently. So, big operators feed antibiotics to animals whether they are sick or not. Folks are also concerned about the use of hormones in animals and what that does to our children’s growth. There is also an issue surrounding feeding livestock animal by-products.
Maybe it’s the processing plant stories we read in the newspapers. The issue of E. Coli and the massive recalls of millions of pounds of meat from single processors.
Around the early1900s our meat was butchered in filthy, unregulated plants by huge Beef Trust operators. The workers were poor immigrants who had no choice to work difficult and horribly dangerous jobs to feed their families on tiny paychecks. Then came clean food regulations, trust-buster legislation and labor unions all of which made packinghouse work a good job. Not an easy job by any means – but one which brought home a good wage to raise a family. Sadly, this is no longer the case in corporate meat.
Or maybe you want to stick it to The Man and strike out at a food system in which 4 companies control 83% our nation’s beef supply.
Maybe you like the idea of knowing where your food came from and take comfort in knowing that out of every load of animals we bring to be processed - some of that meat will go directly into our personal freezer. And it’s the meat I’ll be cooking and feeding to my husband, Shannon and kids – Taylor (age 16), Jack (age 14) and Maggie (age 12).
Maybe you like the idea of knowing that you shopped locally and so do we. Our family makes a big effort to patronize local establishments and avoid big box and chain stores. We’re not perfect, but we do try.
Maybe you don’t care about any of that stuff and you just want to eat tasty clean meat that tastes like the food Grandma cooked on the farm. Most customers say it’s just like they remember meat used to taste.
Lots of people like the idea of buying a 1/2 a pig, and a ¼ of beef and a bunch of chickens and filling a nice big chest freezer. There’s a really special feeling that goes with having many months worth of a meat paid for, stacked, and neatly labeled in a full freezer.
All of these are fine reasons for eating locally. Most people will point to one of two of them as their main reasons for finding a farmer and buying directly from them. Maybe you have reasons I haven’t listed. I’d sure be interested in hearing your thoughts and comments. You can either comment publicly below or click Contact Us and send me a private email with your feedback.
There are lots of fun things about living on farm, but one of the best things is baby animals.
On the 3rd of July, our house/barn cat Tootsie had a litter of kittens. What an adorable bunch they are! When Tootsie has babies, we always pick up and hold the kittens at least twice a day from the day they are born so they will make good pets for someone.
Is that someone you? They turned 7 weeks old today and are officially ready to go to good homes.
They were born outside in one of our outbuildings and have been outside the whole time - but we work hard to socialize each one equally so that whichever one is the shy one in the litter comes out of her shell.
Toots is a wonderful mother and teacher. She makes sure that each kitten is prepared to make its way in the world so she begins with hunting lessons and tree climbing lessons.
It’s fun to watch her climb 3 feet up a tree and then look down and her assembled kittens as if to say, “See? Do it just like this” Then down she comes to show them again.
There are two of the longhaired cream ones (the other was playing in tall grass, and I didn't have time to goof around trying to get her picture). They are identical sisters.
The fluffy grey one and the shorthair strippy grey one are males.
They are eating solid food and really well socialized.
If you are interested in a kitten, give us a call at 218-984-3235.
Last week I was contacted by Scott Hall at KAXE ....91.7 FM on your radio dial . He was wondering if I'd be interested in being interviewed on the Morning Show that he does with Maggie Montgomery for their Local Food segment every Wednesday morning. I would be a fool to pass up a great opportunity like this, but I got butterflies just thinking about it. Scott had such a nice, calm, reassuring voice when he asked me to do it, and I had been listening, when I could, to some of their interviews because I sure found them interesting.
I decided to suck it up and say, "Yes, thank you."
All week I was on pins and needles. Last night it seemed like every time I fell asleep, I woke up from a dream in which I was saying something absolutely stupid on live radio. Then I started to worry that now that that stupid thing was stuck in my head.....I'd actually say it.
Well, I had nothing to worry about. Maggie didn't ask me any hard questions. I don't think I embarrassed myself. It's just like Scott said...just a nice conversation about something I'm familiar with and enjoy.
Actually, it was fun and I wouldn't lose sleep over it ever again.
Silly me.
Well, I had my 15 minutes of fame. I went to the KAXE archive (where it's available for a week ) and downloaded the interview to my computer. So now I have it forever. Or until my computer crashes because I don't back stuff up very often.
By the way, KAXE (91.7FM) radio is a very cool station out of Grand Rapids. It's a community station which means that lots and lots of the stuff on it is done by volunteers who are regular people like you and me. It also means that they ask for public support sometimes. On occasion, they also are a bit wacky - which is fun as well.
Check 'em out. They're good people.