News

August 25, 2007 - It has been a very weird summer. Since my last posting in March, we stopped getting normal rains around May, the grass stopped growing sometime in early June and although we were able to get our hay in, we immediately had to start feeding it again. Hay and corn quantities are way down on our farm and surrounding farms so we are scrambling to figure out alternative ways to keep our livestock in feed for the winter. We will  probably chop what corn we do have and feed it to our market animals and we have planted more feed crops to graze until fall. And of course the search is on for hay to purchase at reasonable cost.

We did finally get over 2.6 inches of rain in the last 2 weeks so the fields have greened up and started growing again. Yay!  We are still on full hay tho, as we need to give the fields enough time for re-growth so the cattle don't mow it all down in a few days.

I was trying to beat the storm clouds last evening (and hoping to get some rain) when I was putting hay out but I got caught in the storm. As I was just finishing up cutting the last string I noticed what appeared to be a piece of white plastic. I bent to pick it up and realized it was a half inch size piece of ice. I am getting soaking wet standing there trying to figure out this piece of ice when it dawns on me I better get a move on - just as I started getting pelted with ice chunks. Quite a sight watching all that hail pour down!

Market is going well this year. It is great to see so many people becoming more aware of where their food comes from and amusing to see our customer's reactions to the diverse selection of produce to be had. All those different colors, shapes and tastes that makes eating local foods so much fun! I think the most asked question at the market is "what in the world do you do with quail eggs?"

It looks as though we won't have any heritage turkeys to offer this year. I hatched out over 100 poults and due to air predator attacks I am down to about 22 turkeys. Since most of them appear to be hens, I will have to keep them for next years breeding program. I will also have an overhead net installed in the poult pen by next year to prevent those owls and hawks from having such expensive dinners on my ticket.

Where ever you are in the world reading this, remember to support your local farming community as much as possible. You can't beat flavorful, healthy, in season and safe food for you and your family.

March 27, 2007 - Well finally! Spring is here!!!! The grass is greening up and the sun is shining although we have had a lot of rain lately.  Pretty soon I can stop putting out over 1.5  tons of hay every day. And best of all, we have hooked up the auto waterers for everyone. No more dragging hoses around and draining them before they freeze.

Since my last post we have moved the broilers out to the hi tunnel and soon to the adjoining pasture. We have one litter of pigs so far, and many more to go. There are 120 standard broiler chicks and 50 dark egg layer pullets in the brooder room. We also just hatched out 44 quail 5 days ago - they sure are tiny! My incubators are full of American Buff geese eggs, assorted heritage turkey eggs and over 100 more Coturnix quail eggs. We have just started Spring calving with 4 new ones on the ground so far. Up in the plant room we have started vegetable plants waiting to go outside and this year we will be trying our hand at hydroponic tomato production.

Finally, we are still getting plenty of duck eggs for those who like to bake!!

January 20, 2007 - After that cold snap in November we had an unseasonably warm December and early January. It appears that winter is  finally here though. We have 4 unexpected new calves on the ground (I guess Eric was busy in the few hours he was able to free himself from his pasture last year) but the herd is surrounding them each night providing warmth from the temps in the low teens. Our broilers and capons have been moved to the high tunnel and there are 150 month old broiler chicks in the brooder room which we will be moving to the outside brooder room as soon as this cold snap lets up a little during the day.

After attending the Future Harvest conference this past weekend and coming away with some new ideas, Sam has already planted several varieties of vegetable seeds in his nursery bed.

Oh, and our Welsh Harlequin ducks have been cranking out eggs like crazy and the turkeys are in full mating display. Must be the wild weather!

November 5, 2006 - Since we are getting into freezing nights and chilly days, we have had to retire our automatic waterers and will start to water everyone at least twice daily draining hoses quickly after each use. The cattle and pigs are scrounging around for the last of the cool season grasses and weeds before they are gone for the winter. Chickens and turkeys are still running around fertilizing the ground and getting the last tidbits they can find. Soon they will be moved to a high tunnel with access to outside areas where they will stay until processing day.

October 17, 2006 - Our first grandchild was born. Landon Steven Hutzell. Erinn wanted to labor and deliver as naturally as possible, but things didn't work out that way. After hard laboring over 10 hours, she ended up with an emergency C-section as Landon started to have problems getting enough oxygen. Everyone is doing fine now though, but there were some tense moments.

Easter Day, 2006 - We had a full day of hatching resulting in 1 lonely goose who already has a home, over 80 poults, and some 40 chicks. We had a capon for our Easter dinner. Yum, the gravy was excellent and enjoyed by all.

April 11, 2006 - Finally, after a lot of hard work I have consolidated the beef products into a single PDF file for download.  It lists all of the current beef products we offer here at Legacy Manor Farm.  It is located at the bottom of the Beef page.  But for quick reference, here is a link.

March 18, 2006 - After waiting several hours for our Fullblood Wagyu heifer Chi to calve as she walked around with hooves hanging out, I put her in the chute and checked things out. Well, the calf was not in position as her head was twisted backwards and down deep inside the uterus. Took well over an hour to reposition the calf and deliver it. What a beautiful little girl. See her picture on the photo page.

We are still getting lots of duck and chicken eggs, and now the turkeys are starting to lay.

March 12, 2006 - We have 8 new little Large Black/Berkshire piglets. Everyone is doing fine and growing like, well piggies.

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