insider information

Somehow we end up on email lists that provide information on the work we do. Conservation, farm implements, land issues, right to farm, raw milk, safe food handling, grain production, farm legacies, legal issues.

We filed to become an LLC, and *poof, just like that we are. Amazing how these things work.

Our greatest annual expense is poultry feed. Each bird does not consume very much on any given day: each receives about half of a 5 gallon bucket daily, and the feed is gone in 10-15 minutes. The rest of the day the poultry: laying hens, broilers and turkeys are busy scratching the ground, eating the green stuff growing and drinking tons of water, swallowing oyster shells for the calcium and food grinding properties.

When we see notifications that all indicators point to the price of corn going down it gives us a little spark of hope that our GMO free blend might not increase this year. The amount of corn we need yearly never really fluctuates: our 500 or so laying hens need the same amount every day (with a slight increase in winter for those extra keep warm calories) and the several thousand broilers and couple hundred turkeys does not change. Over the years the price per ton of poultry feed has only increased and has never increased. When we see a headline like this, it helps us plan our year, with the business plan standing on our feed costs remaining at the same level as last year.

Then we cross our fingers and hope it remains true!