When he needed to go grab a spare part for his hay equipment, my neighbor borrowed our small farm utility vehicle to blast down the gravel road and back to his shop to grab what was needed. When he returned, his face was red. It wasn't a redness in his cheeks, like he was blushing, … Continue reading The character of disrepair
Category: Farm Infrastructure
Today was a day that revolved around chickens. The sun rose to chickens and the sun set to chickens. And in between? You guessed it: Chickens. Similar to a rare eclipse, the three main events in the life of a pasture-raised meat chicken all occured today, even though we typically try to avoid such a … Continue reading Playing chicken
As April takes its time to arrive on the farm, outdoor projects become delayed. As a reference point, our vast Mille Lacs Lake was declared "ice free" last year on April 10. Today - April 5 - the lake is still 100% covered in ice, and in many locations, very thick. While sitting in … Continue reading Planning
In laying out our pasture sub-divisions, we decided that a central alley down the length of the property would provide the best access and animal movement ease. Doing this requires a large amount of gate openings, and pre-fabricated gates are expensive. I have seen random drawings or pictures of homemade electric gates, most specifically a … Continue reading DIY Electrified Gate