wintertime learning

In the winter we still produce, but its slower. The low light and the cold temperatures slow things down. The number of cattle and pigs on farm are reduced dramatically. Vegetables grow but at a much slower pace. We have some eggs and chicken but no where near as much as in spring, summer and fall.

Time is taken in planning, scheduling, budgeting. Orders are placed with suppliers for chicks, seeds, polts, tubers, ground cover, backup irrigation parts and stocker calves. We plan the rotation of where vegetables will go. Annual business meetings with the accountant and board members happen.

And we attend conferences and meetings for agricultural policies and practices. One thing we saw recently was this display on the feed mix that goes to livestock.

The two in front surprised us. Pasta. Why go thru the process of making grains something else? Why not just feed the cattle the grain itself?

And candy meal. Not certain what that is. 

Prompted a conversation with our feed supplier. Reassurances about what is in our poultry feed and why it is so expensive. Lots of whole grains, gmo free, cracked and a few trace minerals. 

We hear from people that our eggs, chicken, turkey, pork and beef don't taste like any other. This might be a part of it.