Stoddart Family Farm

Fox News 7 Story on Pastured Eggs

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:56:56 +0000

Fox News 7 did a feature on eggs produced very similarily to ours. The health benefits claimed in the article should be consistent with the benefits you receive from our eggs.

Harry’s been busy – Cow Pickles

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:54:58 +0000

Thought that headline might spark your curiosity. After I posted those shots of Silvia’s canning results, I couldn’t resist posting something about my own preserving exploits. We finished second-cut hay yesterday by making 270 big “wet” bales or baleage. Essentially, you bale the hay at between 25% and 50% moisture (dry hay is 14.5%) and put it in an oxygen limited environment so that it naturally undergoes lacto-fermentation to preserve the hay. Exactly the same process as true pickles. The baleage is more palatable for the cattle and we can keep better condition on the animals through the winter using a combination of dry hay and wet bales. The wet bales are a key component of our winter feeding regimen since we don’t feed any grain. The wet bales are less weather sensitive since you don’t need 3 or 4 consecutive dry sunny days to get the hay dry enough to bale. However, you have to wrap the bales within 12-24 hours of baling to ensure proper fermentation without overheating. Harrison and I had a long day getting all these bales gathered up on time. I had cut the hay over two days intending to bale and gather half and then bale and gather the other half but the weather forecast changed so we changed plans and baled and gathered it all in one day.

The picture below is all the bales stacked up ready to be wrapped. The colours look a little off because it was taken during twilight after the sun went down.

'Cow Pickles\

Fixing a water line

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:40:07 +0000

Here’s where I spent this morning – cross your fingers that the line won’t suck air when I start the pump.

Posted from in the well.

Toronto Life – Best Eggs in the City

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:19:58 +0000

Our eggs got the nod from Toronto Life in their August 4th Issue. Here’s the link to the article. You’ll have to scroll down to find the “Farm Fresh Eggs” category.

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/from-the-print-edition-daily-dish/2010/08/04/best-of-the-city-2010-14-picks-for-the-top-food-toronto/

Silvia’s not so busy

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:44:13 +0000

Just in case you think Sil never gets any R&R. (I’m writing these posts while sitting beside her.)

Silvia’s Been Busy

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:30:46 +0000

It’s August and Silvia’s been busy preserving the harvest. I’ve attached a couple of photos of the results.

Storm Aftermath

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:54:32 +0000

We had a nasty storm blow through on Sunday night. Connor was out on the porch and came in declaring that a tornado had just gone through. It wasn’t – but it was some of the strongest winds I’ve experienced (and I still remember the night the tornado went through 2.5 miles from our farm in ‘85). The pictures give you an idea of the wind. The picture of the small tree shows some of the hail damage. Believe it or not we didn’t lose a single hen when the hen wagon blew over and the roof came off. The hens just carried on the next day and were laying eggs in their upturned nest box.

Farm Vista

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:48:49 +0000

We hit a spot in the grazing rotation where you could see the cattle, sheep, hen wagon and broiler pens all in the same picture. That’s our house and main farm yard in the background.

Happy Cows and Calves

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:43:54 +0000

Some shots of our cattle grazing on pasture.

Heritage pullets on pasture

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:18:34 +0000

A few shots of the young birds we’re raising to be part of the hen flock. We’re raising some Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps, Speckled Sussex, and Blue Cochins.