It’s the time of year I start getting the question, “How much longer will you have fresh milk??” Our standard response is that we have fresh milk mid-April through October, but each year is different.
When we’re making large decisions on our farm, we’re looking at it holistically.
What is good for the soil? What is good for the animals? What is good for the farmer? What is good for the consumer?
Right now, the forages in the pasture are looking excellent which keeps the cows content and milk production holding steady. The weather forecast has no snowstorms in the near future, so the farmer is also content to keep milking. Plus, our winter supply of dairy products is low. Since the soil, grass, and cows are looking good we’ll continue to milk – hopefully for the next week or two.
The super exciting part of this is that milk production has been holding steady for a month now. Usually this time of year we see a steady decline in the amount of milk produced each day as forage quality decreases with less sunshine. But this year is different.
Remember when I told you about Daniel and I attending our favorite soil health conference in September? A huge takeaway from that event was the value of, well…worm poop (worm castings). At the conference we met a guy who is commercially raising worms and compost 6 miles from our farm. And we’d never heard of him until the conference. Connection, my friends…it’s all about connection.
The amazing thing about worm castings is that it improves the current forage quality like a fertilizer, but it has lasting effects on the soil health as well. When we’re improving soil health, we’re decreasing the carbon load on our planet.
We know this isn’t THE ANSWER to all soil health needs, but we’ve tried a lot of different composts, compost teas, and live inoculates over the years and we’ve never seen results like this. Fed ‘N Happy also ships worms and worm castings that are great solutions for at home gardeners.
Our favorite part of this story is that the “answer” came from the earth that our Creator made. It’s not some man made solution. And it also came from connecting with others who are trying to improve the health of our soil, community and planet. That is something to celebrate!
Help Be the Solution…We Want Your Leaves!
We would love to turn your leaves into compost! This not only reduces waste on landfills, it actually improves the health of the soil, and therefore the food raised at Jako Farm. This year we’re adding worms to our compost piles to add even more nutrients!
You can leave your leaves (haha) in bags outside the farm store or drop them off at the compost pile 1/2 mile west of the farm. THANK YOU for doing your part and being part of the soil solution.
P.S. Last Chance for Beef Bundles
This is your last chance to snag a grass-fed and finished beef bundle in 2021. Both bundles give you a 10% savings over purchasing individual cuts from the farm store. We are accepting orders through October 31st.
Here’s to the beauty of solutions provided by Mother Nature and through connecting with others. Let’s learn to listen and be the change.
