Wow, my head is just buzzing with ideas that I got while visiting the 2011 Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa, CA.  I believe that this was the first time that this event has been put on, and it was a rousing success.  

Heirloom isn't just seeds, think poultry, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, vegetables, fruits - and talks on where our food comes from.  

I went by myself as Kevin was working - an 8 hour drive up on Tuesday and an 9 hour drive home on Thursday (traffic) - and a day full of adventure on Wednesday.

I got to see a Dexter cow - I still want one, but I'm betting that money is going to be a major factor here... maybe Kevin will calculate out the cost of feed for me and decide a Dexter would still be a better bet than a Jersey... remember I'll need babies for milk, so whatever the cost for one, it'll be three times as much - papa and baby will eat too. A registered Dexter will cost from $1500 to $4000.  Yes that's each.  Maybe after I sell a few Jersey's that we've produced on the farm I will be able to afford a couple of Dexters.

I spoke with Jim from Heritage Farms, he and his wife Amy were wonderful.  I picked his brain for as long as he was able to spend time with me.  What I learned: 


Dairy farmers are selling their cows because they can't afford them - so get a Jersey cheap from one of them.  They are docile, good mothers and produce up to 5 gallons of milk a day.  

How to choose my first cow - pretend to be a calf... Rub up against her, push her in the side as I slide down her back toward her tail, rub her belly, push some more, push on her bag, pull on her teats - keep out of kicking range while I do all of this. If she doesn't try to kick, buy her.  This is what a calf does to 'prep' mama into letting down her milk.  This is what I'll do before I go in to milk her.  I found that a milking stool is one with just a single leg - so that the farmer can lean into and on the cow, just like the calf does.  

If I can find one, get a Heritage Jersey - they are 1/3 to 1/2 the size as a standard Jersey. They are known as Mini-Jerseys, Guinea Jersey's and Barnyard Jerseys.  ~ 32 - 42 inches is considered a Mini and 42 - 46 inches is considered a Mid-sized Jersey. The minis do produce less milk (who can use 5 gallons a day anyway?) and it's supposedly of a higher quality.  And like the Dexters, they also take up less space, eat less food and produce less waste.

What to do with all that milk?
Be scrupulously clean!  I will go through many rags daily which I will be washing daily.  Luke warm water in a bucket and some soap - wash her udders well. With a clean rag rinse her well, rinse her again.  Jim had a surge milker - you have a belt around the cow, turn on the vacuum pump and attach the suctions to each udder.  5 minutes and milking is done. 

We also talked about what to do with all that milk. After your milk for home use, your butter (which can be preserved - see the recipe page), sour cream, cheese, etc - you'll still have left over milk.  Give the older milk to the pigs which will fall all over themselves to get to it.  This is candy to them.  Also, the 'skim' milk that you drink will have a bluish tint, but one glass and you'll be full - the fat that is in raw milk has something (enzymes?) that tells your brain that you're full.  The milk that is pasteurized and homogenized doesn't have that - it's destroyed in the processing I believe he said.

Are you interested in learning more about raw milk?  If so visit http://realmilk.com/

With a cow, I'll need a stanchion.  This looks incredibly easy to make.

Jim told me that these are custom fit for the cow (or goat if I built a smaller one). Everything is solid and doesn't move except for the the post you see on the left which is sort of leaning and has raffia tied around it.    The cow's head has to fit between the distance at the bottom.  Once the cow is happily munching on some hay you tilt the bar over and it tightens around her so that she can't pull her head out.  

There is a pin that goes in to hold the bar in place.  - Very easy design.

These three little pigs don't have to worry about the big bad wolf coming for them to blow their house down, they have to worry about Mr. Farmer and his ax after they weigh between 250 - 300 lbs. These little guys and gals were the sweetest things.  Jim would rub their tummys, they would jump onto the backs of the cows trying to get them to play.  It was adorable - and at this age they cost around $150 each.

Why pigs?  Well... let me tell you.  For one they taste wonderful.  Their gestation period is only around 5 months long and they give litters from 1 all the way up to 14 - that's a lot of bacon - er, I mean money when I sell them.  But also they are very smart, can be walked on a leash (like a dog), and love to dig... So you have some land that needs to be plowed (I do, by the way) you put up your hog panels (just wire them together) and let your pigs go 'hog wild'.  They will eat any vegetation that's to their liking, and plow under anything that's left.  So prior to planting they can help prepare the soil - and if I have around a 2 month window before I need to plant, I can leave their poo in place as fertilizer.  It will be ready by then.  When the season is over instead of digging up all the plants, set the pigs in there again - they eat and/or plow under anything that's left.

These two are Guinea Hogs.  They get to be between 150 - 300 pounds when about 2 years old. They are known for being very friendly - even boars or sows with piglets.  Sows give birth without any assistance and the piglets weigh about 1 lb when born.  They weigh around 10 lbs when weaned at 2 months old.

Remember that my whole reason for wanting the farm was for goats - I haven't given up on that.  In fact I fell in love with a Nigerian Dwarf Goat and her Kid.

Mama actually looks kind of big in this picture, but in reality I at first thought she was a baby - and then I saw the baby - puppy sized and so adorable!  

There really was more to the expo than just animals, I swear - maybe I should focus on that for awhile.

I've been wanting to make sauerkraut - yum, I grew up with the stuff and love it.  But I also want to make beer - I don't drink it, I just want to know how to make it.  So incredibly enough, I came across some people who were advocating fermenting... 

I hadn't thought about it before, but all of the things listed on their board are fermented - cheese, tobasco sauce - who knew?  Well apparently these people did. Fermentation Nation.  The young man I spoke with gave me a taste of kombucha - I didn't care for it.  He said he doesn't either, he likes beer the best. :-)  But he also suggested some books for beginners.  The one he recommended the most or a beginner was "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer.  

Something totally cool that I learned about.  A SEED LIBRARY - and it happens at the local libraries in the Sonoma County area.  They have seeds that you can 'check out', like a book.  You plant it, and return seeds that you've harvested.  A great way to share resources, get the community involved and get free seeds / plants.

I talked to a lady about beekeeping and bought her DVD - Organic Beekeeping 101 which has a ton of information - which is good because I have bees living in one of my pepper trees.  I now know (theoretically) how to get my own bees from that hive - I wait until Spring when the Queen Bee and many of her cronies fly off to start a new hive.  Left behind is a new Queen Bee and her cronies that stayed with her - and they are waiting to find a new home... which hopefully will be in my Top Bar Hives that I plan to make myself. (with some help from my friends)

Okay farmers, get out there and prepare your land for the next season... you can try to plant a few things now too, but it's starting to get late in the season.  I think I'm done for the year as far as growing goes.  The new beds need to be prepared at the farm.