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!
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| Clear spring morning. Everything is starting to turn green! |
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| 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 |
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| One of our buying club drop points where customers come to pick-up their order. |
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| Pigs up on the mountain in early spring. |
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| 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! |
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| The "big herd", about 400 head. |
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| Mom and baby enjoying the sunshine |
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| 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! |
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| First lunatic tour of the year. Daniel talking about the mob grazing and the importance of grass quality. |
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| 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 |
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| The eggmobles and about nine hundred chickens. |
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| 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! |
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| 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 |
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| Butchering chickens in the new shed, gutting and QC.(Quality control) tables. I think this was our first processing for the season. |
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| THE TEAM!...well, OK, two of us. |
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| 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. |
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| The "pig buggy". |
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| 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. |
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| Pig Paradise! |
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| Installing a new perimeter fence at a rental farm. |
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| 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. |
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| Party time! A birthday cook-out for Daniel and Missy(Teresa) |
