I am a little late getting the ball rolling for an apprentice, but honestly I really didn't know how to gauge whether or not I needed help until the season started. I NEED HELP! SOS! I'll try to formally put in a listing on Mofga's website but here's a preview.
We are a small family farm with a fledgling creamery. We have 5 kids, 9 months to 10 years old. While it would not be the apprentice's job to care for the kids, it needs to be known that we do EVERYTHING with our kids, so sometimes- okay most of the time it is noisy, controlled chaos but the kids bring a sense of humor to every situation, and we are happy they are with us fully, living and breathing this farming lifestyle. This also means that we need an apprentice to cover for us when the kids have appointments, and I need to be able to drop everything and take them swimming on a hot day too.
We live in Lubec, Maine. The easternmost town in the USA. The sun rises first here, and we expect you to rise with it! Just joking! We milk the cows at 10:15 am and 7:15pm. Mainly because I am busy making cheese and setting up for the day, getting the kids fed, etc. but I like to be able to move that morning milking up to 9:15 or even 8:15am. You will learn all aspects of dairy husbandry from calving, milking, setting up rotational fences, CLEAN UP-- which there is a lot of.
We have an 8x15ft addition to our log cabin which is our licensed creamery. We process ALL our milk and sell directly to consumers, primarily through the four farmers markets we attend. An apprentice would probably need their own car, it would be nice if you could sell at one market yourself a week. Work inside the creamery is varied and consisits of straining and cooling fresh milk, skimming cream, making butter, cheeses, yogurt, and more. Packaging and packing coolers for markets, and LOTS of dishwashing. Please, I have dishpan hands and could use some help!
Our farm is 150 acres, 20-25 acres is pasture with a year round brook, and the balance is in forest. Our cabin and the milk barn with our licensed milk parlor are nestled a 1/2 mile up our wooded lane in a clearing in the trees. We literally " bring the cows home " twice a day to be milked and/or feed calves. It's actually fun, and reminds me of the good old days where the family's cow was just let out to forage all day and usually the children were sent out to fetch her home for milking.
Speaking of the cows, we have 10 purebred Jersey cows and one Jersey/Angus milker. These break down further into 4 milkers, 1 old cow I'd like to get bred one more time, the Jer/Angus who is due in August, and 3 purebred Jersey heifers that are bred. We also own 2 young Jersey bulls which you need to be vigilant of. They are seperated from the milkers so daily contact with them isn't necessary anyway.
We also have heritage pigs. They have already had their litters for the year, but there is fence building for them too, plus daily feeding of skim milk and whey, and occasional loading and delivering to the butcher. They are big and magnificent, but do not herd well when loose, which happens.
Additional skills that would be very helpful------ basic carpentry. We always need something built. There also will be construction of a large high tensile fence this year, fine tuning of the watering system, painting barns, mowing fields, spreading manure. We have 6 acres of overgrown wild blueberries, we need to start clearing the brush and saplings off of. Construction of an apprentice cabin.
Speaking of housing, we have several " rustic accomodations" available. These include your choice of a tent site or the empty loft of our barn, with its lofty views. The barn is virtually empty in the summer anyway, and I wouldn't hesitate to sleep in there myself. Or pitch a tent in the loft.
We think this poasition would be best suited for 2 people that can live together such as a couple or good friends. We will consider an individual too. June through Septemeber if possible.
Email us with interest or questions.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Butter
Look at that YELLOW butter! I stayed up to an obscene hour making butter and I'll tell you, I've been making butter from our cows on pasture for the last 4 -5 years and it has never been quite that bright yellow. Gorgeous, isn't it? Very limited supplies for this weekend's markets and of course some for us in the house.
Raw butter from cows grazing on rapidly growing green grass is indeed a healthfood. Rich in vit A and E, vit D, antioxidents, essential fatty acids, and cancer fighting CLA. And its pretty. How can you beat that?
Teeny's calf is finally contained in the barn. She went out to graze with the cows, all is semi calm.
Last night's milking with Teeny was brutal. She was absolutely stuffed with milk, I could tell she wanted some relief but was just sooooooooo sore. I got it done but there were cloven hoof prints all over my pants and forearms. Boy, can she kick! This morning was much better, just a lot of foot waving and threatening, on both our parts but we got it done. In a couple days she should be completely her joyous self again. Cows REALLY like routine and I try to oblige, but my life is anything but routine. With 5 kids, one an infant, and one type 1 diabetic prone to life threatening seizures from low blood sugar, my mind is in a million places at all times it seems.
Anyway I've got some great new things from the creamery for this weekend, and the first hard cheeses are aging so look for those starting in 60 days give or take a day. Off to return the kids overdue library books and then back to make some green goddess salad dressing, and plant some Amish Paste tomatoes.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Bar Harbor Greenmarket Menu
Heritage Pork
Osso Bucco
Stew Meat
Pork Kebabs
Nitrate Free Ham Steaks, Bacon Ends, Bone-In Ham, and Petit Jambon
Boneless Boston Butt
Thick-Cut Rib Chops
Countrystyle Ribs, Baby Back ribs, St. Louis Style Ribs- Slab
Tenderloin
Sirloin Cutlets
Artisan Sausage Links
Dante's Hot Italian
Sweet Italian
Chorizo
Maine Maple Breakfast
Andouille
Classic Bratwurst
Garlic
NEW !!! From the Creamery at Olde Sow Farm.......
Raw Creamline Milk
Raw Jersey Cream
Cream Top Yogurt
-Mission Fig
-Nantucket Beach Plum
-Meyer Lemon
-Hubbard Brook Blackberry Peach
-Half Moon Elderberry
-Strawberry Pomegranate
Cheese Spreads and Dips
-Garlic Thyme
-Feta and Pine Nut
-Herbed Blue Cheese
-Garlic and Chive
Salad Dressings
-Creme Fraiche Vinaigrette
Farm update:
Good news! Teeny calved on Memorial Day Evening out in the field. Bad news is she is a little crazed with hormones and thinks she is a wild Aurochs and needs to hide away her calf in the alders by the brook. I crossed the brook and tried unsuccessfully to fetch her home, of course like all " feral " grazing species, she put her calf in the bushes, hiding in plain site I'm sure, and told him to stay put and he did. She got half way up the lane, about a 1/4 mile and then doubled back at a run and evaded us. When a cow is moving purposefully like that you would be surprised how impossible it is to slow that force down. Sigh, she is behaving badly but naturally. When Dante and Zoie return from market this afternoon we are planning a calf abduction. Dante, ( I volunteeered him for this part ) will grab the calf, put him on the back of the truck where I'll be waiting, and then we'll head for the barn and the lovely well bedded stall I had prepared for the birth. Teeny " should " in theory, trot along behind the calf and then we will accomodate them in the maternity ward for a few days while those hormones calm down.
As if I wasn't flustered enough last night, apparently just thinking of all that milk Teeny has to give, the vacuum pump threw its arms up in the air and waved a white flag of surrender. Uh-oh. I can't use my antique surge milker without vaccuum,thank goodness I had already finished milking Berretta, Happy, and Gale.
I couldn't convince Teeny to come in anyway.
Sad News- One of our beloved barn cats has gone the way of so many of our cats and just disappeared without a trace. Some predator no doubt got him. We routinely, as in almost on a daily basis see and hear owls, eagles,fox, coyote and who knows what else. Our guard dog does well, but he fiercely guards his territory by the barn and house and the cats will wander out on hunting forays beyond that point. That is when they are taken. We are all sad and miss Kevin. I still can't believe he is gone.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Seasonal Dairying
This is what I believe in and usually strive for. It has worked for me the last 3 years until last August of 08. We borrowed my Dad's Highland bull, Prince, who absolutely would NOT stay in our fences. We had only had him a week when we got an early morning phone call from a neighbor. Our bull was over there and had uprooted some decorative trees and shrubs they had.
Big oops. So we loaded him up and took him right back. Consequently, we only got 2 of our girls bred. Berretta and Teeny. Then the only choice I had was to wait for my young NZ sired Jersey bull to mature and take calves whenever they came, just to asure that the girls get bred. I actually really don't have any solid dates for calving, it will be a whole string of surprises probably born between August and next spring. Oh, well. I'll deal with that this winter and get back on track next year.
Why dairy seasonally? It follows the natural cycles of Nature for one thing. Cows give birth in the spring, just as the weather is warming but the flies haven't hit yet. In June, calves can be weaned and their mothers' are hitting peak production at the same time there is lush abundant pasture. Milking cows that are on grass full time is a joy. They are sparkling clean, and sleek and shiny. For us there is little to no barn cleanup, so ample time for milking and cheesemaking.
And the milk is nutritionally packed, golden yellow, and ripe with subtle variations and nuance depending on what field they are grazing, what stage the vegetation is at.
Come late October and early November, the grass is dying back and the cows are transitioning over to cut hay, as their lactation is waning a bit, the change in feed helps to lessen the flow of milk and prepare them for December dry off. I like to shoot for Christmas Eve for the final milking of the season. It is nice to be able to enjoy Christmas morning with the kids and not need to fit in the milking.
The composition of milk changes too, with the forage and also stage of lactation. Milk also varies from breed to breed and some cheeses are better made from specific milk based on the fat and protein content.
Here's what I can tell you about the milk of our Jersey cows:
Jersey cows have the highest fat level relative to protein and overall higher total solids.
For example Gale tested at 7.5% fat and 8.44 solids other than fat. Happy tested at 4.5% fat ( she was holding the cream for Brody, her calf) and 9.14 solids other than fat.
Milk from jersey cows is best suited perhaps for semi hard and soft cheeses due to the high fat content and the size of the fat globules. Jerseys have large fat globules which makes that cream rise so nice and thick, but can also make it hard to fully incorporate into hard cheeses. The quantity of milk being given usually but not always is related to fat content, as in in the beginning of lactation the cow produces, more but lower fat and toward the end of lactation fat increases as quantity decreases. Teeny at dry off time in March was giving 75% of each jar in cream! We were loving it!
Speaking of Teeny, she should calve today. Her ligaments are completely gone, and she was streaming milk from all 4 quarters this morning. Famous last words!
Big oops. So we loaded him up and took him right back. Consequently, we only got 2 of our girls bred. Berretta and Teeny. Then the only choice I had was to wait for my young NZ sired Jersey bull to mature and take calves whenever they came, just to asure that the girls get bred. I actually really don't have any solid dates for calving, it will be a whole string of surprises probably born between August and next spring. Oh, well. I'll deal with that this winter and get back on track next year.
Why dairy seasonally? It follows the natural cycles of Nature for one thing. Cows give birth in the spring, just as the weather is warming but the flies haven't hit yet. In June, calves can be weaned and their mothers' are hitting peak production at the same time there is lush abundant pasture. Milking cows that are on grass full time is a joy. They are sparkling clean, and sleek and shiny. For us there is little to no barn cleanup, so ample time for milking and cheesemaking.
And the milk is nutritionally packed, golden yellow, and ripe with subtle variations and nuance depending on what field they are grazing, what stage the vegetation is at.
Come late October and early November, the grass is dying back and the cows are transitioning over to cut hay, as their lactation is waning a bit, the change in feed helps to lessen the flow of milk and prepare them for December dry off. I like to shoot for Christmas Eve for the final milking of the season. It is nice to be able to enjoy Christmas morning with the kids and not need to fit in the milking.
The composition of milk changes too, with the forage and also stage of lactation. Milk also varies from breed to breed and some cheeses are better made from specific milk based on the fat and protein content.
Here's what I can tell you about the milk of our Jersey cows:
Jersey cows have the highest fat level relative to protein and overall higher total solids.
For example Gale tested at 7.5% fat and 8.44 solids other than fat. Happy tested at 4.5% fat ( she was holding the cream for Brody, her calf) and 9.14 solids other than fat.
Milk from jersey cows is best suited perhaps for semi hard and soft cheeses due to the high fat content and the size of the fat globules. Jerseys have large fat globules which makes that cream rise so nice and thick, but can also make it hard to fully incorporate into hard cheeses. The quantity of milk being given usually but not always is related to fat content, as in in the beginning of lactation the cow produces, more but lower fat and toward the end of lactation fat increases as quantity decreases. Teeny at dry off time in March was giving 75% of each jar in cream! We were loving it!
Speaking of Teeny, she should calve today. Her ligaments are completely gone, and she was streaming milk from all 4 quarters this morning. Famous last words!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Market Basket
Here's some of what Dante and Zoie brought home from the Belfast/Camden Farmer's Markets.
2 bags of fresh greens from Peacemeal Farm
Jam from Hubbard Brook and Half Moon
fresh pasta from Ensemble Farm
goat cheese from Appleton Creamery
hard cow cheese from Hahn's End
some kind of decadent dessert form the belfast baker lady
Seedlings:
Chives, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, basil
amish paste tomatoes, white petunias, lavender phlox
The creamery received an enthusiastic reception. I am delighted! I've been busy increasing production though as it wasn't nearly enough, but we didn't want to go fully stocked until we got a feel for what the demand would be. We pretty much sold out.
Our first Bar Harbor market is this Wednesday and we found out a few days ago we got voted in to the Winter Harbor Market. We are grateful and excited. It will also be our closest market which is nice.
2 bags of fresh greens from Peacemeal Farm
Jam from Hubbard Brook and Half Moon
fresh pasta from Ensemble Farm
goat cheese from Appleton Creamery
hard cow cheese from Hahn's End
some kind of decadent dessert form the belfast baker lady
Seedlings:
Chives, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, basil
amish paste tomatoes, white petunias, lavender phlox
The creamery received an enthusiastic reception. I am delighted! I've been busy increasing production though as it wasn't nearly enough, but we didn't want to go fully stocked until we got a feel for what the demand would be. We pretty much sold out.
Our first Bar Harbor market is this Wednesday and we found out a few days ago we got voted in to the Winter Harbor Market. We are grateful and excited. It will also be our closest market which is nice.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Belfast and Camden Market Menus 5/22 & 5/23
Belfast and Camden Market Menu
Heritage Pork
Osso Bucco
Stew Meat
Pork Kebabs
Nitrate Free Ham Steaks, Bacon Ends, Bone-In Ham, and Petit Jambon
Boneless Boston Butt
Thick-Cut Rib Chops
Countrystyle Ribs, Baby Back ribs, St. Louis Style Ribs- Slab
Tenderloin
Sirloin Cutlets
Artisan Sausage Links
Dante's Hot Italian
Sweet Italian
Chorizo
Maine Maple Breakfast
Andouille
Classic Bratwurst
Garlic
NEW !!! From the Creamery at Olde Sow Farm.......
Raw Creamline Milk
Raw Jersey Cream
Cream Top Yogurt
-Mission Fig
-Nantucket Beach Plum
-Meyer Lemon
-Aunt Polly's Raspberry
Smoothies
-Strawberry Bananna
-Red Raspberry
-Wild Maine Blueberry
Cheese Spreads and Dips
-Garlic Thyme
-Creamy Purple Onion and Basil
-Herbed Blue Cheese
-Garlic and Chive
Salad Dressings
-Creme Fraiche Vinaigrette
Farm update:
Of course Teeny is holding out on me. No calf. Frankly, I'm a little scared of that udder. Immense, vast, burgeoning all come to mind. I think she is starting to get chafed from her udder rubbing her legs waddling up and down our lane twice a day. She doesn't have the nicest udder attachment, but she has wonderful creamy milk, milks fast and is always EAGER to come in and get milked. Like so eager, sometimes you need a stick to hold her at bay so the other cows can be milked.
Gale, my favorite little cow, has now left the overgrown bulls behind ( they are 15 months old and 6 months old , big naughty Momma's boys ), and joined the line up. I believe her to be bred, so she is now permanently seperated from the bulls. She is giving a decent amount too, considering she's been milking a year. She does pine for the boys, and if you aren't on your toes herding them up to the milk parlor she'll double back, cut through a shortcut in the woods, and prance back to the fenceline calling the boys. Enabler. This is why they are to be physically, permanently seperated.
I try to time milking with Ida May's naps. it is much quieter that way. Ayla, almost 3, and Veda, newly 5 LOVE to go with me to " milk the moo cows ". Future milkmaids in the making. Zoie ( 10 )and Jude ( 7 )do a great job " bringing the cows home " or walking them the half mile from pasture to parlor. Zoie isn't interested in milking but that predatory side of hers really enjoys keeping the cows in a tight knit group and herding them. Who needs a border collie when you have a kid like Zoie.
I got up at 2:00 a.m. to make smoothies for the market, and organize the products. Then Ida May got up at 2:45a.m. It was a dance of nursing the baby back to sleep, labeling products, rocking the baby in the dark, assembling coolers, wearing the baby on my back, writing on the chalkboard. Somehow it all worked out. This is the first time Dante will take dairy to the markets. I feel a bit like a Mom sending her kids off to kindergarten. Even though we homeschool, that's what I imagine it feels like anyway.
Today- it is mozzarella and feta making time with the morning milk, and tonight I'm gonna do a nice caerphilly. I am getting into the groove again. Just in time to get lambasted with Teeny's bounty I'm sure.
Heritage Pork
Osso Bucco
Stew Meat
Pork Kebabs
Nitrate Free Ham Steaks, Bacon Ends, Bone-In Ham, and Petit Jambon
Boneless Boston Butt
Thick-Cut Rib Chops
Countrystyle Ribs, Baby Back ribs, St. Louis Style Ribs- Slab
Tenderloin
Sirloin Cutlets
Artisan Sausage Links
Dante's Hot Italian
Sweet Italian
Chorizo
Maine Maple Breakfast
Andouille
Classic Bratwurst
Garlic
NEW !!! From the Creamery at Olde Sow Farm.......
Raw Creamline Milk
Raw Jersey Cream
Cream Top Yogurt
-Mission Fig
-Nantucket Beach Plum
-Meyer Lemon
-Aunt Polly's Raspberry
Smoothies
-Strawberry Bananna
-Red Raspberry
-Wild Maine Blueberry
Cheese Spreads and Dips
-Garlic Thyme
-Creamy Purple Onion and Basil
-Herbed Blue Cheese
-Garlic and Chive
Salad Dressings
-Creme Fraiche Vinaigrette
Farm update:
Of course Teeny is holding out on me. No calf. Frankly, I'm a little scared of that udder. Immense, vast, burgeoning all come to mind. I think she is starting to get chafed from her udder rubbing her legs waddling up and down our lane twice a day. She doesn't have the nicest udder attachment, but she has wonderful creamy milk, milks fast and is always EAGER to come in and get milked. Like so eager, sometimes you need a stick to hold her at bay so the other cows can be milked.
Gale, my favorite little cow, has now left the overgrown bulls behind ( they are 15 months old and 6 months old , big naughty Momma's boys ), and joined the line up. I believe her to be bred, so she is now permanently seperated from the bulls. She is giving a decent amount too, considering she's been milking a year. She does pine for the boys, and if you aren't on your toes herding them up to the milk parlor she'll double back, cut through a shortcut in the woods, and prance back to the fenceline calling the boys. Enabler. This is why they are to be physically, permanently seperated.
I try to time milking with Ida May's naps. it is much quieter that way. Ayla, almost 3, and Veda, newly 5 LOVE to go with me to " milk the moo cows ". Future milkmaids in the making. Zoie ( 10 )and Jude ( 7 )do a great job " bringing the cows home " or walking them the half mile from pasture to parlor. Zoie isn't interested in milking but that predatory side of hers really enjoys keeping the cows in a tight knit group and herding them. Who needs a border collie when you have a kid like Zoie.
I got up at 2:00 a.m. to make smoothies for the market, and organize the products. Then Ida May got up at 2:45a.m. It was a dance of nursing the baby back to sleep, labeling products, rocking the baby in the dark, assembling coolers, wearing the baby on my back, writing on the chalkboard. Somehow it all worked out. This is the first time Dante will take dairy to the markets. I feel a bit like a Mom sending her kids off to kindergarten. Even though we homeschool, that's what I imagine it feels like anyway.
Today- it is mozzarella and feta making time with the morning milk, and tonight I'm gonna do a nice caerphilly. I am getting into the groove again. Just in time to get lambasted with Teeny's bounty I'm sure.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Teeny's on Deck
Teeny is up next to calve. She is officially due tommorrow. I predict a bull calf, which would be nice since it is a beef cross. Berretta's baby, Brevi, is so incredibly sweet, but will really appreciate having another calf to pal around with.I decided to let her go back out to pasture and not keep her in tonight. I hope that wasn't a mistake.
Today I realized that our little bull, Wolfie, is getting close to crossing that line where he has to go. Happy is very slow to come to the gate and gets bullied, so I need to be able to go in the field and herd her through the gate. She is acting very strange, I think she lost the calf she was carrying. I didn't get her confirmed bred, but she suddenly overnight weaned the 6 month old calf she was nursing, and came into full production like a fresh cow. She had dwindled down to only a couple gallons of milk a day. Back to the bull, Today he made it very clear that that is his field and he wasn't even very deterred by Dante. He's always been afraid of Dante until today. He is 15 months old and probably 800lbs now I'm guessing. The cows are all getting preg checked in a month, if all are bred- he is gone. We have Brody coming along to replace Wolfie anyway. I have got to learn how to A.I. the cows. I'm just nervous because you can ruin a good cow by simply not getting her in calf again in a timely manner.
I am keeping just a few steps behind with all this glorious milk! I know I need more glass wide mouth half gallon jars and probably 2 more 20qt SS stock pots for making cheese in. I am just doing loads of fresh cheese because I don't have time enough yet to pay attention to pressed cheeses.
Half the herd is permanently out grazing.
2 dry cows, 3 heifers, and my ewe and lamb remain at the barn. Tommorrow I hope to put the milkers on really nice new grass and move the barn girls down. They will be so happy and so will I. I can clean the barn out for the last time until Fall.
My milk fridge is bursting with all sorts of goodies.I have buttermilk and yogurt incubating right now as well as 5 gallons of milk for fromage blanc.
I am so tired but started some things later than usual today so I need to either stay awake until midnight or take an hour and a half power nap. Thing is I'd probably "nap" right through until morning. This kind of tired feels good, and I'm thankful for it. I'm gonna go wash some equipment, and come up with a game plan for tommorrow.
Today I realized that our little bull, Wolfie, is getting close to crossing that line where he has to go. Happy is very slow to come to the gate and gets bullied, so I need to be able to go in the field and herd her through the gate. She is acting very strange, I think she lost the calf she was carrying. I didn't get her confirmed bred, but she suddenly overnight weaned the 6 month old calf she was nursing, and came into full production like a fresh cow. She had dwindled down to only a couple gallons of milk a day. Back to the bull, Today he made it very clear that that is his field and he wasn't even very deterred by Dante. He's always been afraid of Dante until today. He is 15 months old and probably 800lbs now I'm guessing. The cows are all getting preg checked in a month, if all are bred- he is gone. We have Brody coming along to replace Wolfie anyway. I have got to learn how to A.I. the cows. I'm just nervous because you can ruin a good cow by simply not getting her in calf again in a timely manner.
I am keeping just a few steps behind with all this glorious milk! I know I need more glass wide mouth half gallon jars and probably 2 more 20qt SS stock pots for making cheese in. I am just doing loads of fresh cheese because I don't have time enough yet to pay attention to pressed cheeses.
Half the herd is permanently out grazing.
2 dry cows, 3 heifers, and my ewe and lamb remain at the barn. Tommorrow I hope to put the milkers on really nice new grass and move the barn girls down. They will be so happy and so will I. I can clean the barn out for the last time until Fall.
My milk fridge is bursting with all sorts of goodies.I have buttermilk and yogurt incubating right now as well as 5 gallons of milk for fromage blanc.
I am so tired but started some things later than usual today so I need to either stay awake until midnight or take an hour and a half power nap. Thing is I'd probably "nap" right through until morning. This kind of tired feels good, and I'm thankful for it. I'm gonna go wash some equipment, and come up with a game plan for tommorrow.
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