Essex on Lake Champlain
\"Essex
  • About
    • Essex, New York (Town)
      • Essex Maps
      • Essex, New York Weather
      • Town of Essex Government
      • Close
    • Essex on Lake Champlain (Blog)
      • Contributors
      • Sponsors
      • Testimonials
      • Get Involved
      • Close
    • Close
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Calendar
    • Add an Event
    • Upcoming Events
    • Close
  • Essex on Lake Champlain
  • Connect
    • Social Media
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Google +
      • Pinterest
      • YouTube
      • Flickr
    • Newsletters
    • GET INVOLVED
    • CONTACT
        • Your Name (required)

          Your Email (required)

          Subject (required)

          Your Message

      • Close
    • Shop
    • Search
        • Search
          • Close
        • Categories
            • Agriculture (516)
            • Architecture (76)
            • Arts (348)
            • Business (122)
            • Daily Doodle (62)
            • Dining (151)
            • Doodle Quotes (5)
            • Doodlebomb (3)
            • Education (295)
            • Entertainment (361)
            • Environment (28)
            • Essex Doodles (62)
            • Events (1665)
            • Exercise (54)
            • Government (247)
            • Health & Wellness (133)
            • Heritage (395)
            • History (181)
            • Hyperlocal (29)
            • Landscape (35)
            • Lifestyle (197)
            • Lodging (16)
            • Music (271)
            • Nature (255)
            • News (1186)
            • Nightlife (18)
            • Obituary (9)
            • Opinion (44)
            • Outdoors (176)
            • People (113)
            • Philanthropy (79)
            • Real Estate (3)
            • Recreation (211)
            • Resources (7)
            • Services (7)
            • Shopping (95)
            • Sports (22)
            • Transportation (71)
            • Worship (17)
          • Close
        • Archives
            • June 2018 (21)
            • May 2018 (30)
            • April 2018 (28)
            • March 2018 (30)
            • February 2018 (31)
            • January 2018 (26)
            • December 2017 (23)
            • November 2017 (25)
            • October 2017 (22)
            • September 2017 (32)
            • August 2017 (35)
            • July 2017 (30)
            • June 2017 (30)
            • May 2017 (35)
            • April 2017 (31)
            • March 2017 (33)
            • February 2017 (30)
            • January 2017 (35)
            • December 2016 (30)
            • November 2016 (37)
            • October 2016 (43)
            • September 2016 (53)
            • August 2016 (49)
            • July 2016 (59)
            • June 2016 (70)
            • May 2016 (57)
            • April 2016 (64)
            • March 2016 (69)
            • February 2016 (56)
            • January 2016 (46)
            • December 2015 (39)
            • November 2015 (43)
            • October 2015 (61)
            • September 2015 (57)
            • August 2015 (61)
            • July 2015 (54)
            • June 2015 (41)
            • May 2015 (67)
            • April 2015 (66)
            • March 2015 (72)
          • Load More
          • Close
        • Contact us
          • CONTACT US

              Your Name (required)

              Your Email (required)

              Subject (required)

              Your Message

            • Close
        • Close
      • Log In
        • Log Into Calendar
        • Log Into Blog
        • Close
      • Skip to primary navigation
      • Skip to main content
      • Skip to primary sidebar
      • Skip to footer

      Essex on Lake Champlain

      Essex, New York Community Blog Since 2011

      • Lifestyle
        • Agriculture
          • CSAs in Essex, NY
            • Essex Farm
            • Full and By Farm
          • Farmstead Catering
          • The Hub on the Hill
          • Reber Rock Farm
        • Outdoors
          • Champlain Area Trails (CATS)
          • Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center
        • Entertainment
          • Champlain Valley Film Series
          • Whallonsburg Grange Hall
        • Arts
          • Adirondack Art Association
          • Essex Community Concerts
          • Champlain Valley Film Series
          • Essex Poetry Open Mic
        • Music
          • Essex Community Concerts
        • Shopping
        • Recreation
          • Champlain Area Trails (CATS)
        • Health & Wellness
          • Lake Champlain Yoga & Wellness
          • NEW Health
        • Nature
          • Champlain Area Trails (CATS)
        • Education
          • CFES Brilliant Pathways
          • Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center
        • Nightlife
        • Worship
      • Events
        • Christmas in Essex
        • Downtown Essex Day
        • Fourth of July in Essex, NY
      • Dining
        • Chez Lin & Rays
        • Essex Ice Cream Cafe
        • Essex Inn on the Adirondack Coast
        • Farmstead Catering
        • Old Dock Restaurant
        • The Pink Pig Cafe
      • Lodging
        • Essex Inn on the Adirondack Coast
        • The Cupola House and Cottage
      • Transportation
        • Essex-Charlotte Ferry
      • Heritage
        • Architecture
          • Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler’s Field Guide
        • Historic Essex
        • History
        • People
        • Government
          • Essex Post Office
          • Town of Essex Government
        • Vintage Essex Trivia
        • Vintage Essex Artifacts
      • Directory
        • Adirondack Art Association
        • Champlain Area Trails (CATS)
        • CFES Brilliant Pathways
        • The Cupola House and Cottage
        • Essex-Charlotte Ferry
        • Essex Farm
        • Essex Ice Cream Cafe
        • Essex Initiatives
        • Essex Post Office
        • Farmstead Catering
        • Full and By Farm
        • Historic Essex
        • Lake Champlain Yoga & Wellness
        • NEW Health
        • Pedal Power
        • Reber Rock Farm
        • The Hub on the Hill
        • Town of Essex Government
        • Whallonsburg Grange Hall
      • Show Search
      Hide Search
      You are here: Home / Agriculture / Reber Rock Farm Fotofeed #6: Tis the Season for Change and Growth

      Reber Rock Farm Fotofeed #6: Tis the Season for Change and Growth

      June 7, 2014 By Reber Rock Farm Leave a Comment

      As we grow into this second season, we are committing to a draft powered, diversified future.  This doesn’t mean we don’t use diesel and gas to get fields plowed and cultivated when we have to. On the contrary, we rely heavily on the good will of our farming community to allow us to borrow those diesel machines when we need them.  We even buy the ones we know we’ll need over and over again.

      What it means is that we look ahead, one, two, three years to a time when spring is full of Suffolk Punch foals, little beef calves, our own sows and their litters, and a farm store that is busy with customers.  To take us a step closer we’ve applied for a Kiva Zip loan; a crowd-funded 0% interest, unsecured loan, funded by you and secured by our desire to live up to the faith our lenders put in us.  We pay back in three years, and you can withdraw your money then, or relend it to another entrepreneur.  Take a look at the photos below to see what’s going on at RRF, and what we plan for the future.  Then consider lending us $25 to help us meet our goals for a healthy, happy, diversified future:  https://zip.kiva.org/loans/4209/i/u2ri.

      Feels like we skipped spring and went straight to summer. I was travelling for the first two weeks of May and came home to a green lush world. Our crew is solid this season, and the farm looks beautiful.
      Reber Rock Farm draft horses pulling
      We’ve got almost 10 acres plowed, and planting is the name of the game for the next few weeks. Field corn and sweet corn are in the ground, sunflowers, dry beans and buckwheat to follow.
      Reber Rock Farm pig close up
      Weaners (technical term for piglets) have arrived from a farmer friend in Willsboro, and are rooting up a storm.
      Reber Rock Farm pigs
      They are an orderly, curious bunch, and we’re working on socializing them, so when you come to visit, you can give them a belly scratch.
      Reber Rock Farm starts from Full and By Farm
      Sara Kurak at Full and By Farm is growing us some beautiful starts this year, and our own Sarah King is rallying the team to coordinate transplanting.
      Reber Rock Farm, Glory Field
      Last fall we opened up a new field, which, given the way the transplants are taking off in its soil, we are calling Glory Field.
      They are loving the sandy soil, and the alternating sunny and rainy days.
      Reber Rock Farm at the market
      Our 2nd season also sees us at a second market – the Elizabethtown Market, Fridays 9-1. Traffic is picking up with each week, and we’re learning from all the seasoned vendors there.
      Our delicious sunflower oil is doing its part to keep us in business by showing off its clarity and color on shelves around the valley (Green Point Foods & Essex Farm’s farmstore)
      Reber Rock Farm splitting logs
      We’re tackling projects that put us a step ahead for the fall: buck and split logs and start our firewood drying. Place your draftwood firewood orders now with Chad at 518 573 4499.
      Gwen’s shittake mushroom logs are inoculated and waiting in their Hemlock grove for next spring’s harvest.
      Reber Rock Farm draft horses in field
      Thinking ahead meant selling our seasoned draft teams, training The Kids and buying in breeding stock to start the Reber Rock Farm Draft Horse breeding program! Fern and Arch and Moose and Killian have gone to great homes in Vermont and Massachusetts, and two of “The Kids”, Polly and Faust, are doing all the farm work.
      Chad’s new fillies, Trixie and Read, are also harnessing up to do some work for the first time this week.
      RRF horses
      Meanwhile, in the Nursery, we have 3 fillies hanging out with our 14 month-old stud colt, Donn. He’ll start trying to breed the older fillies in 2015.
      Reber Rock Farm cattle herd
      Our herd is also growing, with new breeding stock and steers raised at Full and By Farm and Sunset Farm. Calves are due any day now.
      RRF chickens
      As many of you may have herd, our laying hens were all killed by a weasel two weeks ago. It was a sad day, but we’ve luckily been able to replace the flock with some ready-to-lay pullets. However, let us know if you have a rooster that you’d like to get rid of – we’re still looking one..
      RRF Farm Store
      And don’t forget: the Farm store is open daily, year round, 8-8. We carry products from a number of local business owners: Full and By Farm, Essex Farm, Boquet River Jelly Mill and Little Hills Farm. There is still time to place your beef, pork, chicken or turkey order for 2014, too.
      RRF Nathan and salad
      Days are longer than 12 hours by far, farmers and horses are sweaty and covered in dirt at the end of the day, but we’re beginning to harvest from the garden and the fields. Here’s Nathan, enjoying the first salad of the season.

      RRF Photo Captions

      Click an image to see it full size and to read the captions. For those with a slow connection, captions are also listed below (in the order the photos appear in).

      The four of us

      Feels like we skipped spring and went straight to summer. I was traveling for the first two weeks of May and came home to a green lush world. Our crew is solid this season, and the farm looks beautiful.

      Open acres

      We’ve got almost 10 acres plowed, and planting is the name of the game for the next few weeks. Field corn and sweet corn are in the ground, sunflowers, dry beans and buckwheat to follow.

      Weaners

      Weaners (technical term for piglets) have arrived from a farmer friend in Willsboro, and are rooting up a storm.

      Trough time

      They are an orderly, curious bunch, and we’re working on socializing them, so when you come to visit, you can give them a belly scratch.

      Seedlings

      Sara Kurak at Full and By Farm is growing us some beautiful starts this year, and our own Sarah King is rallying the team to coordinate transplanting.

      Glory Field

      Last fall we opened up a new field, which, given the way the transplants are taking off in its soil, we are calling Glory Field.

      Happy Plants

      They are loving the sandy soil, and the alternating sunny and rainy days.

      Etown Market

      Our 2nd season also sees us at a second market – the Elizabethtown Market, Fridays 9-1. Traffic is picking up with each week, and we’re learning from all the seasoned vendors there.

      Green Point Foods

      Our delicious sunflower oil is doing its part to keep us in business by showing off its clarity and color on shelves around the valley (Green Point Foods & Essex Farm‘s farm store)

      Planning for the future

      We’re tackling projects that put us a step ahead for the fall: buck and split logs and start our firewood drying. Place your draftwood firewood orders now with Chad at 518 573 4499.

      Shiitake!

      Gwen’s shittake mushroom logs are inoculated and waiting in their Hemlock grove for next spring’s harvest.

      In with the new

      Thinking ahead meant selling our seasoned draft teams, training The Kids and buying in breeding stock to start the Reber Rock Farm Draft Horse breeding program! Fern and Arch and Moose and Killian have gone to great homes in Vermont and Massachusetts, and two of “The Kids,” Polly and Faust, are doing all the farm work. Chad’s new fillies, Trixie and Read, are also harnessing up to do some work for the first time this week.

      The nursery

      Meanwhile, in the Nursery, we have 3 fillies hanging out with our 14 month-old stud colt, Donn. He’ll start trying to breed the older fillies in 2015.

      Grassfed Beef

      Our beef herd is also growing, with new breeding stock and steers raised at Full and By Farm and Sunset Farm. Calves are due any day now.

      Ready-to-lay

      As many of you may have heard, our laying hens were all killed by a weasel two weeks ago. It was a sad day, but we’ve luckily been able to replace the flock with some ready-to-lay pullets. However, let us know if you have a rooster that you’d like to get rid of — we’re still looking one.

      The Farm Store

      And don’t forget: the Farm store is open daily, year round, 8am-8pm. We carry products from a number of local business owners: Full and By Farm, Essex Farm, Boquet River Jelly Mill and Little Hills Farm. There is still time to place your beef, pork, chicken or turkey order for 2014, too.

      Long days – hungry farmers

      Days are longer than 12 hours by far, farmers and horses are sweaty and covered in dirt at the end of the day, but we’re beginning to harvest from the garden and the fields. Here’s Nathan, enjoying the first salad of the season.

      Related articles
      • Reber Rock Farm Fotofeeds #1 (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
      • Reber Rock Farm’s Nathan Henderson’s “Drafting a Future” Radiostory (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
      • Got Dinner Plans in 2015? Meet Reber Meat (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
      • Reber Rock Farm Fotofeeds #3 (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
      • Reber Rock Farm Fotofeed #4: Year in Review (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
      • Reber Rock Farm Fotofeed #5: Getting Ready for Sugar (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)

      Share this:

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Pinterest
      • Email
      • More
      • Print
      • LinkedIn
      • Pocket
      • Reddit
      • Tumblr

      Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Philanthropy Tagged With: Boquet River Jelly Mill, breeding stock, draft horses, draft power, Essex Farm, farm store, farming, Kiva, Little Hills Farm, Philanthropy, Reber Rock Farm, Spring greens, Sunset Farm

      About Reber Rock Farm

      Reber Rock Farm is an 88-acre draft powered farm on the southern edge of the Reber Valley in Essex, NY. Using our draft horses for the majority of the field preparation, cultivation and harvesting we produce maple syrup, grassfed beef, pasture raised pork, chicken and turkey, herbs, Thanksgiving vegetables, and a variety of value added products including sunflower oil, popcorn and cornmeal, tomato sauce, dilly scapes and soap. Learn more at www.reberrockfarm.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

      Reader Interactions

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

      Primary Sidebar

      Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler’s Field Guide 

      Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler's Field Guide

      View all Essex Editions books...

      Follow Essex, NY on FacebookFollow Essex, NY on TwitterFollow Essex, NY on PinterestFollow Essex, NY on YouTubeFollow Essex, NY on FlickrFollow Essex, NY on RSS

      Search

      Top 10 Contributors

      • Katie Shepard (595)
      • Geo Davis (394)
      • Whallonsburg Grange Hall (257)
      • Champlain Area Trails (CATS) (207)
      • Essex Farm (205)
      • Olive Alexander (190)
      • Sara Kurak (165)
      • Fort Ticonderoga (142)
      • Tom Mangano (142)
      • Lakeside School (116)

      Footer

      Resources & Policies

      • About Essex on Lake Champlain
      • About Essex, New York
      • Essex, NY Weather
      • Disclosure Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Submit a Story
      • Contact Us

      Popular Essex, NY Searches

      • Essex, NY
      • Essex, New York
      • Essex on Lake Champlain
      • Essex Charlotte ferry
      • Essex ferry schedule
      • Essex Charlotte ferry schedule
      • Full and By Farm
      • Essex Farm
      • timber rattlesnake
      • Essex NY fireworks
      • Christmas in Essex, NY
      • Champlain Area Trails

      Local Links

      • Adirondack Art Association
      • Belden Noble Memorial Library
      • Champlain Area Trails
      • Champlain Valley Film Series
      • Essex Community Concerts
      • Essex Theatre Company
      • Historic Essex
      • Rosslyn Redux
      • The Crater Club
      • Town of Essex Information
      • Whallonsburg Grange Hall

      Copyright © 2022 Essex Editions

       

      Loading Comments...