"Marco came over [to Essex Farm] this week to teach Ashlee and me how to artificially inseminate dairy cows. I learned several things. 1. A cow’s rectum is a good place to warm your hand. I was in the house when Marco arrived, so threw my big barn parka over the cashmere … [Read more...] about Surprisingly Warm
CSA
Going Back to Horse Power
For Essex Farm, "[w]inter is the time we consider what comes next, as a family and as a farm. Mark and I go on a retreat every February, to talk about what we’ve done and what we want to do. But this year we’re starting early. We’re already calling 2012 The Year of the Horse. We … [Read more...] about Going Back to Horse Power
End of the Year at Essex Farm
"It’s been a week of tidying up for the end of the year, both physically and financially. The team put a big effort into moving all the equipment to winter storage, to get ready for the snow and the plowing that comes with it. The popcorn is in, shucked, and drying. The laying … [Read more...] about End of the Year at Essex Farm
Full and By Farm: Butchering the Bull
We tackled Hal this week, at least the front quarters of him, and he's proven to be quite formidable. Beef is generally hung to age in four quarters, then each quarter is carried up to the butcher shop to be further broken down into the various cuts. In Hal's case we cut the … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: Butchering the Bull
Full and By Farm: “Boy, that’s one good potato.”
"Boy, that's one good potato" is a sentiment expressed around our house a lot lately. It's been a few weeks since we dug into the bags of russet potatoes and I haven't wanted to look back since. Moist, firm, waxy, dry and mealy are the terms bandied about in seed catalogues to … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: “Boy, that’s one good potato.”