Maker's Long Acres

A bit dizzy still this morning from the whirlwind of yesterday! It seemed a blur and we had no sooner opened our eyes and the sun was setting. And somewhere between life unfolded beautifully around us.  The day started with the finding our favorite mama duck with fluffy yellow ducklings waddling along behind her. It was a joy filled moment because she was one we never dreamed would live let alone give us ducklings! And wonderfully enough it we a year and one day to the day that she was hatched.  Not long after we hear the "beep, beep, beep" and rumbling groans of heavy equipment and see the neighbors coming down the hill. They were here to fix a road that has been a bane and caused us much frustration and lost time as we almost always got stuck, hung up or any number of things as we tried to get in. It's the main access to where our feed is and the road to the barn. But work on the main road has changed the slope and all the water had eroded the entryway to ne...

Let's talk about lard for a minute! Most folks have no idea how amazing this stuff is, or how easy it is to render. But what many also don't realize is just how versatile and delicious it is! Lard is simply pork fat. There's basically two types of lard on a pig. The back fat, which runs obviously along the back and then the "leaf" lard. It is around the kidneys. It's the leaf lard that is the most pure and makes the finest finished product. After leaf lard is rendered it is basically tasteless and odorless and should be bright white.  The back fat can still be rendered and used but it will have a bit of a porky taste and smell. The lard found in stores is nothing like home rendered lard and typically contains a lot of this back fat that gives it some of that "funk" it is often associated with  which tends to get folks noses wrinkling.  Good, pure lard however will take the flavor of whatever you are cooking and elevate it. Not sure how, b...

Another glorious morning on the farm? Well, the view out the window this morning might be, but it's not the peaceful wake-up we would like to be having.  It looks downright picturesque if you didn't know not a one of those critters belong here in the yard! Pigs, horses and out of frame some goats, more pigs and who knows. And it was reverberation of a large boar grunting outside the window and not the alarm that woke us.  We haven't made it all the way out. We decided to at least get a few gulps of coffee into us before we go chasing  and coaxing them back where they belong. We know how it goes here. Once we step out it could be hours before we get critters and chaos back under control. Literal hours.  Sunday before last, three mid size pigs got out and in turn spooked a cow, which broke a fence and on and on and on- and what started at 3 in the afternoon wrapped up just after 9:30 pm -oh and did I mention it was the Sunday we had that mega thunderstorm a...

A couple things to note on this beautiful Monday morning as I (ole ma) sit with Ruby here in the sunshine.  We are doing a HUGE HUGE super huge pork restock this week! We are bringing home lots of bratwurst and chops galore! So we need to make room in the freezers! That has us extending the $2 off all roast sale AND we marked the bellies to half off! They are only $6 this week!!!  If you come to the farm stand, there's a good chance we will be throwing in extras because we REALLY need to make some room for all the pork we have coming back! Or if you order one of our bundles we will be loading you up with all kinds of porky goodness! (Oh, we marked those down also!) If you're after bulk pork, we are doing the the yeehaw25 sale for a few more days. That means you can get our whole or half hogs for $25 off! Yes, it INCLUDES the butcher fees-even smoking the bacon!  You get to choose your sausage flavor, package size and more too! We only have a limited number of ...

Wondering what to do with pork bellies? We were!  We are at the mercy of the butcher's when it comes to the flavor of bacon and the one we are required to use by the USDA  for our "pork by the pound" doesn't have quite the right flavor we are looking for with our pork. We prefer a more traditional, slow smoke artisan bacon. They also don't do salt pork, another of our favorites. So we have been getting the bellies back "fresh". Fresh referring more to them being uncured and unsalted, basically freshly taken right from the side and underbelly of the hog. But what do you do with it? Here's what you do with it! BURNT ENDS!!!! You'll need: 2-3 pounds pork belly Cayenne Chili powder Garlic powder Onion powder Cumin Salt Brown sugar Jam (we suggest our rhubarb) Barbeque sauce A foil pan Grill First things first we cut the bellies into little 1 inch or so squares. We mixed 2 teaspoons salt with 1 heaping teaspoon each...

How serendipitous is this?!? A day or two before the Thanksgiving holiday we were at the store buying a few last minute ingredients so we could get our pies and some cookies made.  Standing by the meat aisle I couldn't help but feel discouraged. All those people picking up packages, poking at them, turning them over, sorting through. I wanted to scream "Hey we have really really yummy pork!!!" But I kept quiet. And my dismal thoughts rolled forward as did the shopping cart.  Finding the baking aisle and looking at cookie sprinkles I couldn't shake it. Did "knowing your farmer" even matter? Does our work even count? Is it worth it to keep sacrificing everything we have to keep trying to change the way our community eats? Lord, please show us the way, because this path is getting pretty dim. My melancholy pondering was suddenly interrupted by my phone buzzing that a message from a friend had arrived.  "Hi! I’m tasked with finding a ham for Thu...

Scenes like these are dissipating. Disappearing from America's landscape.  There are a few of us still out here eeking out a living though. It's rugged. It's hard. There's not much in the way of convenience making it easy on us.  It's convenience though that's killing us. Folks want that tidy meat, in easy foam trays. They want to go to the mega store and buy the week's meat, a hinge for the squeaky door, and a gift for a birthday party on Saturday. One stop shop. They don't want to make room for a freezer, and unwrap white paper packages.  The industry too is to blame. Why buy from hundreds of little guys when you can McBeef it? Huge cattle filled feedlots and semi trucks are chosen over long lines of mom and pop trailers waiting to offload the seasons cattle. Why take in mud and hair covered hogs fresh from a wallow when they can be grown by the thousands on grate-floored steel buildings? The price goes down and automation just goes up and ...

We used to have a bumper sticker that read "life is better with goats". It's true. Life IS better with goats. Especially baby goats!  Our son Harv made sure this cutie got all the vital colostrum from its mama and made sure it was strong enough to go out to the "goat nursery".  The milking shed has been commandeered and is being used to house mom and baby goat pairs. It means ole Pa is milking the cow in the elements, but at least the baby goats are snugly safe.  The pastures and pens we'd normally use for a nursery are just far too snow covered and without a tractor or snow blower they are going to have to stay snow covered.  The day yesterday was spent entirely on snow mitigation. Occasional breaks to switch into dry clothing, grab a snack and get some baby goat cuddles before heading back out.  Farming is tough. Farming in winter even tougher! It's unexpected joys like the arrival of baby goats that make it worth it. And life really is bet...

Today sixteen families will be putting our pork into their freezers.  And we are overwhelmed with gratitude.  These people have chosen to know their farmers. And we have chosen to know as many of those families as we can!  Because for us, it's so much more than just pork. It's building community. It's connections. Connections that don't happen at packing houses and grocery stores.  We have prayed with wives whose husbands were in the hospital. We've visited with couples who've brought their grandkids to the farm to see the animals. We have cried with some as they had to put their old dog down. We have stood in parking lots long after other customers left while their kiddos played with our littlest farmer. We have hugged many. (So many)...  Why? Because we care. Because we know that it is community that counts. Because as the world outside gets ugly, life inside this circle grows more beautiful.  As we wrote out cards for each of the families cho...

That's the look of a cowgirl who's daddy just bought her a little bottle calf at auction.  She's not the only one grinning though, because we can't resist those cute squishy noses and wobbly legs either! What about you? Anyone else here just adore calves? Especially bottle calves?!

It was all we could hope for and more. A bottle calf is fun, but it isn't ideal. They don't always learn how to be cattle and can grow up with bad habits or worse like health issues and delayed growth.  We were of course willing to try if need be, but our first aim was to try and graft him to one of the mamas we have here that have milk by the literal gallons. They are good mamas and share three calves between the two of them, so we figured we had a good shot.  SweetieBelle, the mature, matriarch, and trusty gal was the first to start bellowing when she spotted him. We don't speak cow so we couldn't be sure of what she was saying but his arrival was clearly announced. It wasn't long and a crowd had gathered at the pasture gate. Cows, heifers, calves, horses galore, a curious pig or two, and even some garrulous goats made up the welcoming party.  We let Sweetie into the yard for the initial introductions, but not without saying a few silent and a couple o...