As a rule, I do not make personal NY resolutions, but I do set annual farm goals. This year we have some big ones!
Revamp the Coop
We built the chicken coop in 2016 and although we built it to last, weather has taken its toll. With almost ten years under our belt, our original design needs some updating. Plans for improvement include: replacing worn out OSB with metal siding, finish the interior walls and insulate with waste wool, build new nest boxes that function better, move the automatic door opener outside and make it weatherproof, re-attach existing and add new perches, replace chicken wire separation wall with OSB to at least chest height, same thing for the interior doors.
Move the garden
The garden was installed in 2016 also. We had intended to build a house between the barn and the garden, so it is quite far away from our current living space. We have since decided not to build a full-sized house and just live in the barn apartment. Having a bit more experience with weather patterns and soil concerns, our existing garden isn’t very functional due to its slope and clay soils. It is too far from the house to be convenient for maintenance or harvest, and it tends to be very exposed to the prevailing winds (50mph is common). Our plan includes a fenced area in a more protected area closer to our barn and build raised beds for easier access.
Enrichment for the sheep
Very early on, we sourced 9 tractor tires for free from a local farm with the intent to use them for raised beds. Given the potential for toxins leaching from the tires into our food, we chose not to use them for that purpose. Instead, we plan to install them in the sheep pastures for climbing, scratching and rubbing purposes. We won’t use all of them but we plan to bury 3 or 4 of them halfway oriented vertically, leaving an opening that sheep can fit through. We will also add scratching rolls for the sheep. We have learned that itchy sheep are VERY hard on fences. To provide them with the relief they need and save our fences, we are giving them an alternative.
Begin shop construction
It in unlikely we can complete the entire project this year, but we want to get a good start on it. I’d love to have my farm store/studio open to the public by the end of October. If you know me, you know I LOVE Halloween. I would be so excited to have a Halloween themed grand opening!
Continue rejuvenating our pastures/hay fields
This one is kind of perpetual. Regenerative farming doesn’t have an end point. We burned two areas in the fall which we will be frost-seeding for improved pasture grass. The sheep won’t have access to them for a whole year, so we probably will be feeding a lot more hay. In the end, productive pastures will reduce our annual feed bill, it is just a matter of getting there and we needed to really buckle down and start somewhere. We also chose one of our least productive hay fields to try some cover cropping. We are planting triticale (wheat x barley) and oats that will help improve the soil and can be harvested for hay. In the fall we will plant back with a good pasture grass mix. We fortunately we able to find an old school, pull behind manure spreader last year and will be employing that along with our homegrown fertilizer to improve all the pastures and hay fields.
What do you think? I believe this will keep us busy! Follow the blog for updates to these projects as we work on them.
