Baby Pigs!

Quick Post: "Momma Pig" finnaly had her babies! She decided not to have them in the "Port-a-Hut" which I had set up for her, but instead she decided to go "All-Natural" and built her own nest out of sticks and grass, in a shady spot underneath a small tree. Out of 11 born, all 11 survived, which as any pig-farmer will tell you is quite an accomplishment, especially for a first time mother. As Jerry, my old boss, and pig-farmer said: "She's a keeper!" In the picture of her here the babies are only a couple days old, but they were born on July 12th, so are quite a bit bigger now. "Momma pig" got recognition for her mothering skills in the Stanwood/Camano "fair magazine" including a wonderful picture of Mom with her piglets, and praise for her decision to raise the pigs naturally. I will post more about the subject of the baby pigs, the lavender harvest, the upcoming Aronia Berry harvest among other goings-on at Hidden Island Farms. Until then, Happy Farming! My help just arrived to go pick up those last bales of hay!

Making Hay!!

To the left is a picture of me cutting ridiculously tall and dense grass in the pastures next door on my Dad's farm. I'm using my new Kubota tractor and Frontier disc-mower, which worked extremely well. you can see how the mower cuts the grass at the base and then lays it in a mat to dry. This field was one of the hay fields that was renovated over the last two years by my dad, including plowing, tilling, fertilizing, liming, and replanting a new mixture of Timothy and Festolium srasses as well as clover. The hay that came out of that field was the "Primo", best of the best hay that I've made so far. Though looking back now, it could have been made better, as it was my first year baling hay, and this was only my second field, after the initial "test field". The weather was breezy, sunny, and warm, and the hay dried very fast. Add to that I was having some issues with my baler (I had one setting set wrong, and that slowed down the whole process considerably) and this hay kept getting drier and drier. Hay is not supposed to be baled with too much moisture, but it also shouldn't be bone-dry or "crispy". It should have a small percentage of moisture left in it, and should not be completely bleached brown by the sun. It wasn't until my final hay field, some 2,000 bales AFTER this picture was taken, that I really figured out the correct amount of time the hay should dry, and when exactly to bale so that the hay has the right moisture content and proper "green-ness". Well, as I write this I just received a phone call from my Dad confirming it is going to rain later tonight and so I've got to get the last remaining bales out of the field and under cover. I'll have to do a final check on my bale-counter when I'm done later today, but I know I made over 2,500 hay bales this year! I have to admit I am quite proud of myself. I was skeptical at first about taking on any fields other than my Dad's 20+ acres of hay for fear something might go wrong or I might be too overwhelmed, but everything worked out well in the end, and I hayed for 3 other people, one field of 15 acres, one 8 acres, and one about 2 acres. And everyone said I did a great job and hoped I would be able to hay their fields next year. So I'd say over all, making hay has been a success. I've really enjoyed creating the raw "product" (hay bales), but I also really like interacting with people who want to buy my bales, and it is very satisfying when someone says: "OK, I'll take 230 bales" and then to get a call later and hear how satisfied their animals are, eating "my hay", and how they will be telling their farmer friends that I have good hay, and that they hope to come back to me next year. I will be more outgoing in lining up some new fields for next year. If your interested in my services feel free to contact me for baling your fields in 2011. Right now I have hay for sale, for a LIMITED TIME ONLY $4.00 PER BALE. There is still a slight possibility that I could make a "second cutting" of hay from my Dad's fields. It has rained a few times, the grass is growing, and the clover continues growing even in drought conditions. Bales of "clover hay" would be quite high in protein and really desirable for all you horse owners out there! I'm hoping we have a big dry stretch again and the grass/clover keeps growing. HAPPY FARMING!

The Pork is in! Pictured Below: 500 pounds of pork from my two pigs: Bacon, Pork Chops, Breakfast Sausage, Links, Kielbasa, Pepperoni Sticks, Hams, Spare Ribs, and more! Contact me if your interested in trying some! Pasture-raised and grain finished, these pigs taste amazing!

So it's finnaly arrived: 500 pounds of Pastured/Naturally raised pork in every possible cut you can imagine. Pork Chops, Pork Steak, Hams, Ribs, Bacon, Sausages. And I also used some of my Dad's goat meat to create some 60% Pork 40% Goat Kielbasas (Eastern European style sausages). If you like that kind of thing, you will love these! Plus I bought 10 extra pounds of ground beef to add with my pork and had some spicy pepperoni sticks made! Forget "Oh Boy O'Berto"! These are way better! And healthier too! No added chemicals, just spices! I had just bought a 21 cubic ft. freezer the day before I picked up all the meat, and I'm glad I didn't go with something smaller, because it's pretty well packed in there! It's definently better to have a little extra room than to not have enough room. Besides, I am going to have a bunch of chicken here in not too long. My plan is to have at least half of the pork sold in the next 2 months though, so there should be plenty of room when the time comes. I just got the pork on Friday and I'm still calculating my cost of production, including feed and processing costs, but as soon as I have that figured, I will have a price list for all the different cuts of meat and sausages available. I can tell you one thing though, it's not going to be cheap! But you probably knew that. It costs a little extra for quality, natural, tasty food these days! I know that for many people, pork isn't one of their favorite meats, but I think the reason for that, is most people eat the cheap store-bought industrial JUNK pork, and that leaves them with a bad impression. My pork is the opposite, full of color, with perfect marbling, humanely raised on pasture, and it tastes incredible! I am planning on making a BIG batch of pulled pork soon and I will have that available soon for instant sandwiches etc. It will be pre-cooked and ready to eat, plain or on a sandwich or on mashed potatoes, however you like it. But then you can be lazy and still enjoy wonderful food! Contact me if your interested in pork: MBAMBER (@) AOL.COM (I do that (@) so I don't get a bunch of spam email.







Pictured on left - Cornish Cross Meat Chickens.

My Neighbor Tammi and I decided to make the minimum order of 25 chicks and ordered them from a hatchery in the midwest. They were shipped in a box with holes cut out for air and with some bedding straw, and all survived! I have my twelve now living in my garage in a kiddie-pool. They have a bed of straw and the kiddie pool is just a convenient way of containing them (and easy to clean), with a couple feet of chicken wire wrapped around it so they can't jump out. In this picture the chicks are 3 days old. Right now they are about 2 1/2 weeks old and they are NOT CUTE! These are the fastest growing breed of chicken, and they should reach finishing size in a total of only 8 weeks! Tammi and I both wan't to learn how to process these birds ourselves, so if it's bearable AND profitable, you might be able to acquire some "NATURALLY RAISED, PASTURED CHICKEN"! They finish at about 5 pounds, so I actually will have quite alot of Chicken, and I would love to see how much better you think it tastes than store-bought, so I will let you know when the chicken becomes available. Until next time: HAPPY FARMING! -Marshall

Baby goats, New Cow, New Chicken Coop & Livestock Shelter

One of my Dad's Boer goats had triplets a few daysy ago. Heres a picture of two of them. They are adorable. Another of the goats is due any day now, so possibly one or two more babies coming soon. Luckily we fenced another area for livestock last summer, so have plenty of room for all the new additions! If you don't know about Boer goats, they are meat goats, and if you have never tried goat meat, then you are missing out! My Dad's goat/pork sausage is THE BEST sausage you have ever tasted, and I hope to have some for sale soon. I'll let you know when we have it available. FACT: Goat is the most eaten meat in the world! I bought my first Cow! He's a year-old Hereford-Angus cross. He is presently living with the goats, as my pasture had no livestock shelter several weeks ago when he was delivered. But now that I have my livestock shelter finished, he can be moved over to my pasture to eat all the grass which is abundant. Only problem is now the cow thinks he is a goat, and travels around with the goat herd. So I'm going to have to bring over a goat or two to my pasture with the cow so that he doesnt get lonely. A lonely cow is an unhappy, loud, annoying cow, and I don't want that. I want all the animals on my farm to live a happy life, and so far I think I'm doing a good a pretty good job at that.
Here is the new Chicken Coop & connected Livestock Shelter built by my friends Rob and Brenden at Redwood Contracting. I have yet to paint it, and I'm open to suggestions. I am considering "barn red", though I'm not sure yet. It's still much too wet to paint anyway. Right now I have my ten chickens in the coop (but it was designed for future expansion of the flock!), which has a "chicken door" that opens up to the entire fenced pasture. These chickens will truly be "free range", as they will have a huge area to roam, and unlimited amounts of green forage, bugs, and worms to eat. Eggs will be available in about 3 months. I guaruntee those eggs will be AMAZING! It's hard to see in the picture, but Brenden, one of my friends who built the coop/livestock shelter devised an ingenious pulley system to open the chicken door. So I don't need to go into the pasture or into the chicken coop, I need only to pull a handle to open or close the door. This was a surprise, as I was concerned about this point, and I made it clear that I wanted something like this, but I was BLOWN AWAY by this simple yet amazing design. It makes closing the chickens in at night so quick and easy, which reminds me! It's almost dark, and I havent closed the chicken door! So until next time, happy farming! Special 'Thank you' to Rob and Brenden at Redwood Contracting for such an awesome chicken coop/livestock shelter. The chickens already love it, and i'm sure the cow and goats will love the livestock shelter section as well.

I just noticed in the in the middle left of the picture you can see the pigs in their seperate pig pen, with the port-a-hut behind them.

P.S. I know it's been more than awhile since I've posted to the blog. My only excuse is that I've been so busy, that I don't really feel like travelling down the road to sit in the library parking lot to get on the internet. Supposedly WAVE will be installing "broadband" internet at my house in 3-5 weeks, though I've been told that now for over 6 months! When I have internet at my house I'll be more inclined to post more info and pictures of the goings-on at Hidden Island Farms!

Pigs love mowed grass

Pigs munching mowed grass!

Pigs love mowed grass. Who would of thought? Anyways... Short post because I am soooo tired. I Spent all day removing hundreds of FULL-SIZE dormant Lavender plants from my dads property. "Camano Island Lavender Farm" is being downsized, and I've never been more relieved! The annual Lavender bouquet harvest was something I always dreaded, but this summer it will be MUCH more manageable. Thank you Anthony and Dallan for being good workers! Mexican worker who RAN AWAY after working for 30 minutes: you are lame, and your orange hair made you look stupid. Anyways, I won't be using "that form" of labor anymore, too unpredictable. I'll stick with the good ol' local boys. Saturday is a workday here at Hidden Island Farms and I need to rest! Just a picture of the pigs showing "how they see things". So much has been going on the farm, I am so behind in posting, but I'll get around to it soon, and definently once I actually HAVE INTERNET ACCESS at my house, right now I'm in my car sitting outside the libary at Terry's Corner. My Dog-Livvie is taking a nap in the back seat. The chicks are not little fuzzballs anymore, theyre growing up fast. Ok, clothes in the dryer back home. Take care friends and family and everyone have a wonderful weekend. Plant a tree! Happy Farming!

Hardy Eucalyptus Trees Planted

The two Hardy Eucalyptus trees I planted the other day, before I mowed. These are just for looks, nice smell, shade, and landscaping. I hope they survive through the colder winters as I absolutely love sitting beneath a Eucalytpus tree during the summer (and eating a fresh tree-ripened Nectarine from my own tree!). Huckleberry Hedge is getting planted tommorow! Happy Planting!

Chicks, Chicks, Chicks!

So it's Saturday night, and I'm sitting in my car at Terry's Corner blogging about Chicks. Chicks as in baby Chickens, not the type I should be pursuing RIGHT NOW. Thursday the first order of chicks came in to the Country Store and I came in prepared to buy 10 so I would get the discount on a feeder,waterer, and starter food. I decided on 7 Rhode Island Reds and 3 Buff Orphingtons (Golden). They are egg-laying chickens, only to be eaten after several years, and then probably only in a stew. These little chicks are just a few days old now. They are living in newspaper-lined and staw-strewn cardboard box with a heat lamp to keep them warm. It will take quite a while before they begin laying eggs, but until then I have my neighbor Tammi, who has been providing me with fresh free-range eggs from her chickens. Talk about local, she lives just across the street! Tammi and I both want to build our own chicken tractors, and move our chickens around the property, eating bugs, and fertilizing as they go, but I might just opt for a traditional coop with access to the main fenced pasture area. If I do end up getting a cow or two, that would be great, as the chickens could help spread the cow pies and eat the flies. On another note, today I mowed my "lawn". When you have an area about 30 times the size of the average american lawn, then I don't know if it's really called lawn-mowing anymore, its just mowing. And I did alot of mowing today. The grass is growing so fast, I was surprised at how fast the basket filled up with grass. Instead of "wasting" all those grass clippings on the compost pile, I gave every bagful to the pigs, and they LOVED THE GRASS. Watching a pig eat huge mouthfuls of grass clippings puts a smile on my face. Is that normal? I wouldn't care. It was a funny site to behold. Speaking of the pigs: "Spot" the black and white one is one happy hog! And her brother "Pig", is growing like crazy! Until next time: Happy Farming!

WA State Bill Passed to establish Farm Internship Program

(Marshall's Note: More proof Western Washington is leading the nation in supporting small farming, and now specifically YOUNG FARMERS, which is incredibly important. WASHINGTON DC = BOOO!!!! WASHINGTON STATE = YAAAA!!)

By a vote of 95 to 2, the Washington State House passed a bill Wednesday afternoon to create a pilot program for small farm internships. Sen Kevin Ranker of San Juan Island, the bill’s sponsor, said “With significant help from farmers and labor we were able to create a pilot that will help us ensure we preserve family farms in to the future.”

Sen Ranker proposed the farm internship program to involve more young people in farming. “The average age of a farmer in Washington is 57 years old,” he said. “If we’re serious about promoting agriculture in Washington, we’re going to have to encourage younger people to get into the farms and get their hands dirty.”

As amended by the House, Senate Bill 6346 requires the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to establish a farm internship pilot program in San Juan and Skagit Counties through the end of next year.

In order to qualify for the program, farmers with gross annual sales of less than $250,000 must submit a written application to L&I for certification, and include the nature of work and how it will provide the intern with vocational knowledge and skills.

The bill now returns to the Senate for concurrence prior to being sent to the Governor for signing. Below are links for additional information:

Senate Bill Report: SSB 6349
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/Senate/6349-S%20SBR%20HA%2010.pdf

SB 6349: Establishing a farm internship program
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6349&year=2009

Hidden Island's first two pigs!

So last week I bought two "grower" pigs. "Grower" meaning that they are just going to grow until they are "market" size, and then be made into meat. They will be ready for butcher in several months. They arent typical "wiener pig" size, they are about 100 pounds, so they are causing some MAJOR rooting damage. I'm thinking of starting a side businesss of "Eco-friendly rotilling" or "Eco-Friendly Land Clearing" because thats really what these pigs seem to be experts at, ripping up sod, tilling about 8 inches deep! If you want to be able to experience these delicious pigs when they become pork, let me know your interested, and also what cuts of meat and how much you might be interested in buying. For example: 2 pork chops, 2 pounds of bacon. Hopefully I will be using the Island Grown Farmers Co-Op to butcher and process my meats, which will allow me to sell retail cuts of meat, rather than the typical "Quarter, Half, or Whole" animal which doesn't work well for most people, especially those with limited freezer space. Also if I use the Island Grown Co-Op it means I can put my own "Hidden Island Farms" label on the package, which would be awesome! I already have several people interested in pork, so be sure to let me know if you want to be on "the list". The picture shown above is the pigs after only 5 days, showing how much "destruction" they cause (to wet soil anyways). The dog in the picture is my Brittany (Brittany spaniel) puppy (8 months old) named Olivia aka "Livvie" hanging out with her new best friends. The pigs don't have names, I just call them: "pig" and "pig", and occasionally "pigs" (they always come when called! LOL) . The black and white spotted pig is actually a really nice girl, who apparently had no human contact before I bought her. She seems really happy to be living in a nice environment (her previous home was borderline inhumane) and if you pet her, she immediately rolls on her side to get her belly rubbed (if you have never rubbed a pigs belly, and heard the snorts of happiness, then you are missing out on one of lifes minor pleasures!). If she keeps that up I might try to keep her and see if she might be able to raise some babies. The pigs are eating a "grower" ration from Wolfkill Feed in Stanwood, WA.

I'm looking for Berkshire pigs. If anyone knows anyone who has Berkshire's, let me know please. If you don't know about Berkshire pigs, they are like the "Angus of pork" with good meat-marbling.

I also planted three trees yesterday, but that deserves its own post! So until next time, HAPPY HOEING! - Farmer Marshall

Hidden Island Farms has an official blog!

Well, the time has come. That is, the time for me to start writing my "farm blog" for all you curious people out there on "the internets". So, wether you are family, friends, a customer, or just interested in the goings-on at Hidden Island Farms, then this is the place to be. I'll try to post at LEAST once a week. Really I'd like to post every day, and post pictures and video also, but at the moment I don't have internet at my house, so for now I might be a little more sporadic. But if something interesting happens at the farm, such as getting a new animal, or planting some new fruit trees etc. I will try and post about it right away (with pictures!). For everyone with high-speed internet connections, you'll be able to enjoy watching video from the farm in HD (yes, Hi-Def). I can upload videos I took with my Canon HV20 HD Video Camera and post it to Vimeo where it can be viewed in full 720p or even 1080p Hi-Definition! Even YouTube has HD video now, so I might give that a try also, but I've had good luck with Vimeo so far.