Nights are getting cooler, even days! This is a sure sign autumn is in the air. Working at the farm, (mostly outside) seems much easier with the cooler weather.
The grass isn’t growing as fast and so we need to give the cows more hay.
Each cow needs to eat at least 40 lbs of hay per cow per day! With 21 cows milking that equals at least 840 lbs of hay per day!
This summer’s hot dry weather has meant many farmers have to adjust their farms to adapt. Many farmers are selling cows because they won’t have enough feed for them through the winter. Other farmers have been given permission to harvest hay from conservation land, so they will have food for their cows in February.
We have been blessed with a moderate amount of rain this summer. Though things have been dryer than usual, we have been able to keep our cows on our irrigated pasture. Our spring fed pond has supplied enough water to keep the grass watered this summer.
Many farmers, organic and conventional, will have a difficult, stressful winter. Growing food (farming) is one of the only businesses where business owners usually are not able to base the price of their product on cost of production.
Thank you for buying milk, cheese, beef, veal and eggs from our farm. Because of you, we can base our prices on cost of production.
