August 2025 vol. 1 It took me longer than expected, but I finally completed the new (and improved) egg mobile. I first hinted at this project in the newsletter (link) announcing the purchase of 500 laying pullets toward the end of May. I’ve been pecking away at it as time permitted, but I’m happy
July 2025 vol. 1 We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Independence Day! As the old saying goes, “Variety is the spice of life,” and this past week certainly reminded us of that truth. We took a short break from the ranch to visit family, and the change of scenery brought a refreshing dose
June 2025 vol. 2 For several years we’ve been raising Red Wattle pigs. A few years back I started crossing them with a more conventional breed trying to get a better fat to meat ratio, but I just wasn’t able to achieve the results I was looking for. The Red Wattle is a great
June 2025 vol. 1 When the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus made its first appearance at an Indiana poultry farm in February 2022, roughly 30,000 turkeys were euthanized in an attempt to avert a larger outbreak. It didn’t work! Three years and nearly 200 million dead birds later, they (the experts) still don’t have a
May 2025 vol. 1 It has been an exhausting yet incredibly rewarding month for us. On April 26th, we hosted our daughter Katelyn’s wedding reception at the ranch, followed by our annual farm tour the very next weekend. This was a deliberate decision to capitalize on some overlapping resources, such as the tent and
March 2025 vol. 1 If you’ve been a long-time reader, you probably know that we’ve been using a repurposed Bluebell freezer truck body to store our pasture raised meats. It’s been a reliable workhorse for the past five years, but last year, the repair bills started piling up—culminating in a $7,000 compressor replacement. When the
February 2025 vol. 1 Every so often, we get a call from someone wanting to help. Most of the time, it’s someone trying to sell us something—website optimization, a better payment system, or assistance with distribution and shipping. But just last week, I got a call from someone wanting to give me something—for free. I’ll
January 2024 vol. 1 It’s been a while since we’ve published a newsletter, but it’s not for lack of content. We’ve been quite busy – taking advantage of the unseasonably warm winter we’ve had to complete a few projects and repairs. But now the temperatures have fallen, and with that, we’ve gotten a good bit
DECEMBER 2024 vol. 1 I’ve always struggled with asking for help, but there are a lot of chores on the farm that go a lot easier with a helping hand. We’ve been fortunate to have numerous individuals offer their help, but the reality is, untrained labor requires a significant amount of supervision. Unfortunately I just
November 2024 vol. 2 I started feeding hay this week! All of the summer grass has been consumed, and I’m having to dip into my hay stockpiles to keep the animals satisfied. Though it’s technically not winter yet, the feeding of hay is a clear indicator that we’re into the dormant season. Ideally, we wouldn’t
November 2024 vol. 1 Molly reminds me that it’s been several weeks since I’ve written a newsletter. My apologies! Just a quick reminder, our previous newsletters are archived on our website, and a select few are available on Substack. If you’re a fan of visual content, we have a YouTube channel where I share snippets
October 2024 vol. 1 We’re very excited about the forthcoming fall weather. The little taste we’ve had so far is quite refreshing. However, the cool winds are stirring up a significant amount of dust, serving as a stark reminder of the prolonged dry spell we’ve been enduring. It’s been several months since the last rainfall,
