I Got One!!

I finally was able to get my first deer on Saturday evening.  In keeping with the Salatin family tradition we went hunting on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We had done two deer drives during the day but I wasn't able to take a shot. So Daniel and I drove to one of the rental farms to hunt for the evening. I shot the deer a little after four o'clock so I had some time to find it before dark.  Daniel also got two deer so he was pretty pleased as well.  It turned out to be a successful day.  Fun was had by all.

Here are a couple of pictures taken with my phone.

My first deer!

Processing the harvest.

Everyone getting "geared up" for the deer drives.

A Change of Seasons

First snow!

        My, time has sure gone by quickly these last couple of weeks!  It seems like just yesterday that the leaves were starting to turn colors and now most have fallen.  Why, we've even had our first snow!

        On the farm I have been staying very busy getting things ready for winter.  Here are some of the highlights.  All the laying hens have been put into hoop houses to protect them from the cold and the rabbits have joined the chickens (in their own cages of course.) We have begun to consolidate the herds of cattle from various locations and move them to their winter pasture.  A 5th hoop house is in the process of being constructed and will be used to house pigs this winter. Due to freezing water lines the pigs can't be kept on the mountain and are brought down to the barns till spring.
     
        One of the new fall activities for me since coming to Virgina has been deer hunting!  Last year was my first time trying the age-old sport of matching your cleverness with that of a wild animal. Unfortunately, I didn't get anything but a coyote last season. No, I didn't eat it, but it was fun to keep the pelt. This year I'm hoping to secure my first deer.  I'll let you know when I do.


        Most of all, the fall season wouldn't be complete without a time to pause and give thanks for all the blessings God has given us. There are so many things that run through my mind when I consider how I have been blessed this year ...  healthy food and good friends to share it with, my family, safety on the farm this summer, a loving church family of which I am now a new member, fresh air, beautiful land, and the privelege to learn some of life's most important skills alongside an amazing family........the list could go on. But most importantly I am thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ, who calls me His son and has made me a member of His family!  

May you all have a very thankful Thanksgiving weekend!

Bringing pigs down from the mountain.

Another sunrise.

Going once, Going twice,......Sold!

Earlier in the fall I had the chance to go along with others from the farm to see the local cattle stockyard. We have been buying some of our feeder calves from the stockyard this fall so it was neat to actually see Daniel do the bidding/buying stuff

I was amazed at how the stockyard is able to keep track of the different groups of cattle throughout the sale process.  A farmer might bring in a group of 20 calves that could be graded into 20 separate categories and be bought by 20 different people and the farmer is able to get the money each calve brought. It is pretty wild if you ask me.

Buying cattle from an auction is quite an art. It was fun to watch Daniel and the other guys "go at it". Each one had their own unique way of letting the auctioneer know they would take the bid. I was able to sit with Daniel for awhile and learn about some of the things he was looking for in the animals.

beautiful sunrise on the mountain, Just thought I would throw this photo in the post

My Forty Friends

Recently Joel and Daniel decided it was time for me to put into practice some of the things I have been learning.  So they have given me the responsibility of 40 head of cattle.  I am really excited about this new job! 

We are grazing the herd on a two-day rotation pattern on some rental property down the road.  Every two days I go over and move the herd into their new section of pasture. Then I take up the portable fence that is no longer in use from their old section and I set it up for the next move, ahead of the herd.  I also move their water tank when necessary and make sure the mineral box stays full.  

It has been a learning experience to calculate the new sections of pasture.  I am giving the herd about an acre for two days.  One day I made their section a little too small,  oops!  They were hungry and ready to move when I pulled up at chore time.  It is kind of like having your dinner two hours late.....not a happy camper!  Thankfully they forgave me and started chomping on the fresh "salad bar" as soon as they got to it.

Enjoy life, and don't let the weeds get in your way!

Staying On!

I find it hard to believe that it has been one year since I came to Polyface. Everything has gone so fast! It seems like just yesterday that I rolled into a farm full of animals and new faces. Now, everyone here feels like family and I am attentive to the creatures that have been put under my care. I have learned a lot and have been very thankful to have the opportunity to work at Polyface.

As the year progressed I had a growing desire to stay involved after my apprenticeship was over, but I wasn't sure how it would work out. I knew that the Lord would direct me as I put my trust in Him and I was excited to see how he would open doors.

About two months ago Daniel Salatin shared his desire to have me stay on as full time staff, functioning as  apprentice manager. To say the least, I was pretty excited as we continued to discuss the possibilities. After some time thinking and praying about it and talking with family, I had peace this was an open door God wanted me to walk through. So I will be staying in Swoope for another year!

My responsibilities will fluctuate as the seasons change, but I will mainly be assisting Daniel with the day to day logistics of the farm and the other rental properties. I will also work closely with next year's summer interns.

I look forward to what I will be learning with this new opportunity. I am very thankful for the  family and friends that pray for and support me. A special thanks to my Polyface family for your encouragement, support and patience over this past year.  It means a lot to me! 

Hope everyone has had a great summer and are looking forward to a bountiful and beautiful fall!

     

It was just a small hole....

I noticed it while I was up on the mountain checking the pigs.  What caught my attention was the damp ground along the road. There it was a little hole in the water line no bigger than the head of a sewing pin. It was so small!

Here at Polyface we have a gravity fed water system that comes from ponds built up on the mountain to collect run-off water.  There is a one inch diameter pipe that runs down the mountain from these ponds.  This pipe is positioned on the uphill side of the road so that if there are any leaks the water will run down onto the road and can be easily detected. Pretty clever!

Most leaks can be easily fixed, but this morning I had a problem. The little hole had drained the system faster than it could be filled up at the ponds and had broken the vacuum in the water line. As a result, the pigs did not have any water to drink.  Okay, I'll stop there and not bore you with “water system details.”

The cool thing about this whole event was that Joel Salatin was able to take the time walk me through the process of restarting the system.  He was very patient to answer my questions and describe how the water flow worked. We shut off some valves and started the system refilling again. By the time Joel had to leave that morning to catch a flight to his next speaking tour he had taught me enough about the system that I was able the finish the process by myself.  

Looking back on that morning, it made me think about the many parallels I could see in my own life. How many times have I noticed "little things" in my life that I didn't fix right away, only to later have them effect a bigger part of my life in a negative way.

I find that these "little things" or "signals" can take the form of procrastination, lack of attention to details, a strain in a relationship, etc. These issues, though sometimes seemingly insignificant, can be a "drain" on my life and effect my interactions with those around me. Why does it seem so easy for us to ignore these little warning lights?

It has been said, "indecision IS a decision."  I am challenged by this phrase to make the RIGHT decision and take care of the little problems that come up in my life before they became big ones. With God's help I want my life to stay as full and "flowing" as possible so that I am able to be a blessing to others.

Below are some pictures I took the morning I fixed this water problem.

A pig drinker that is hooked up the water system. One of the many valves along the water line You can barely see the small hole in the center of this pipe. One of the five ponds on the mountain. A 300 gallon water tank that is part of the system Another pond!

Field Day

July 9th was the big Polyface event of the year. About seventeen hundred people came to the farm for an all-day opportunity to hear Joel, Daniel, and a few others talk about the farm, get a tour and enjoy an incredible lunch.

We started chores at five in the morning in order to be done and ready before the guest came in full force. Cars started rolling in at 5:30am and kept coming till around ten.

Many former Polyface interns and apprentices came to help out with this big event. It was fun to meet them and hear about their time on the farm and what they are doing now. My former roommate from Florida, Ethan, was able to come in to help. Since leaving Polyface, he has been working on a ranch in Idaho and is enjoying the cowboy lifestyle.

All in all it was a fun day and I enjoyed talking to many people who have the same farming desire as myself.

Below are a few pictures from the day.  Enjoy!

Stephen, getting the truck ready for the "big day".

The book tent for Acres magazine. Acres handles all the registration and payment for Field Day.

Hungry? we cooked 800 halves of chicken, two hogs, and one whole beef (cow) for the big lunch that was served. There where over sixteen hundred attendees for the event.

This kind of grilling takes a lot of charcoal !

My first roommate, Ethan and I.

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"Forget the pastry brush and bring out the floor mop, we've got a lot of chicken to cover !"
Don't worry, it was a new mop. But that IS what we used to put on the marinade.

Sarah Joy and mom getting ready to serve lunch to the multitude. Serving with a smile!

We enjoyed a fun Sunday morning breakfast and fellowship after chores were done. Eggs, pancakes, and sausage...YUM!

Sunday evening some of us got together and did some music and hymn singing.

Hay time!

One of the highlights of the summer for me so far, was making hay on one of the rental farms that is managed by Polyface. The farm is about twenty five minutes away and has about 400 acres of pasture.

I got to do a lot of tractor work because we were dealing with bales with an average wight of 600lbs!  All the loading and hauling had to be done with tractors and trucks.  FUN STUFF!!

We did just over eighteen hundred bales in one week. It will be on experience that I will look back on with a smile of satisfaction for a long time.



Hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Polyface hired out all the cutting and baling,  but did the fluffing of the hay and raking it into rows.

We had two "truck n' trailer" teams running  all over the field hauling bales to where they would be put into stacks.

Some of the crew.

The equipment is ready to roll just as soon as the baler can get a head start on the field.   I loaded the trailers out in the field and Daniel Salatin unloaded them and stacked them into big piles.

 The guys putting a heavy duty tarp over one of the stack. The stacks are fifteen feet high and about twenty five feet wide and about.......well,......very long!  There are a couple hundred bales in that pile.

This is one of my favorite photos. It was fun to enjoy the beautiful sunsets as we finished up the day's work

Seeing is Believing

Hey everyone!

Yes, I just set up a blog!, all by my self.  :) For those of you who know me well enough this is quite an accomplishment for Eric Barth. 

The main reason for setting this blog up was to be able to share pictures of what I've been doing on the farm. I have thoroughly been enjoying my time here at Polyface and am thankful for the opportunities God has given me.  The other desire that I had for the blog was to send out up-dates of what has been happen at the farm. For those who have not heard what I am doing, I have been working at Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Vally of Virgina since October 2010 learning about sustainable agriculture.

The pictures I have posted here are from the last couple months on the farm. It has been fun to see winter turn into spring and then full blown summer.

A special thanks to Sheri Salatin who used her artistic talent and computer skills to make this blog more visually appealing. Thank you Sheri!    

Clear spring morning. Everything is starting to turn green!

The first batch of broiler pens out in the field. We will be raising eight batches this year and each group start with 1350  chicks

One of our buying club drop points where customers come to pick-up their order.

Pigs up on the mountain in early spring.

Construction of the new processing shed. All the framing lumber is solid oak cut from the mountain and milled right on the farm. Talk about self sustaining, this is it!

The "big herd", about 400 head.

Mom and baby enjoying the sunshine 

Sunrise over a broiler pen. I love to get out and start chores and enjoy the quiet, early morning hours. Who could pass up an office setting like this!

First lunatic tour of the year. Daniel talking about the mob grazing and the importance of grass quality.

Pigs doing their pigorating and turning up the deep bedding looking for corn. They are in the hay shed that the cows were in while we feed them hay during the winter

The eggmobles and about nine hundred chickens.

Breakfast!!......for two guys. It has been a blessing to have such good food to eat.  And I know where it came from and how it got to my plate!

I enjoyed a wonderful Easter Sunday lunch with friends from the farm at Wendy's house. Wendy works at Polyface and manages our on- farm sales

Butchering chickens in the new shed, gutting and QC.(Quality control) tables. I think this was our first processing for the season.

THE TEAM!...well, OK, two of us.

We're headed up the mountain to put pigs on pasture. We get pigs from local farmers, which could mean an hour or two away but it is still close for us. The pigs are usually between 30-60lbs. when we buy them. After they are trained to electric fencing in the barn we bring the pigs out to "pig pastures" that are split up into sections.  

The "pig buggy".

Filling the feeder that will supplement the grass that the pigs eat. Once the feeder is empty it is time to move to the next section.

Pig Paradise!

Installing a new perimeter fence at a rental farm.

Guys work day, helping a family from the church I attend. They had a tornado come through their property this spring. There were a lot of trees down and some damage to the house. Daniel and I, and one of the summer interns brought the big chipper from the farm. We did a lot with about twenty-five guys working.

Party time! A birthday cook-out for Daniel and Missy(Teresa)