Farming in the shade

Shady Side Farm will host our Annual Shearing Day on Saturday, March 5th from 9 am - 3 pm (come and go as you wish.) Our farm is located at 13275 Blair Street, Holland, Michigan. We will be shearing our Polypay sheep that day, and our open house is geared toward folks who want to see shearing on a working farm and learn more about wool production. This event is free. Fiber artists will demonstrate their work, and wool products (roving, yarn, socks, etc.) will be available to purchase in our little on-farm shop.  The open house is suitable for families and folks of all ages, though very small children sometimes are bothered by the noise and smells of a sheep barn. Wear old clothing and dress warmly. We shear in a barn. :) For blog posts and photos about other years' shearing days, click here .

I was walking around the farm Sunday with a friend. As we walked, I pointed out the tree line to the west of the sheep barn. It includes highbush cranberries, button bushes and assorted spruce trees. Nice cover for wildlife, including the robin which had built her nest in one of the trees. She flew off and we were able to see one perfect, lovely egg. We talked about how our farm straddles two watersheds. Half the farm drains into a watershed to the south, the other half drains to the north. While we believe it's important for everyone to be good land stewards, we realize that we need to be especially careful. I showed her how we've planted filter strips (they look like grass pathways) along the ditches on our property. She asked why, and I told her the grass catches any runoff--fertilizer runoff, pesticide runoff and soil runoff. Keeps the waterways clean. Then I laughed and said since we are transitioning to organic, it might not be as necessary to have the filter strips. ...

Sheep are mentioned in the Bible more than 500 times. The Bible often refers to us as sheep. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." --Isaiah 53:6 It also talks about Christ being the Lamb of God. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." --Isaiah 53:7 "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" --John 1:29 Today we remember the death of Christ--it's called Good Friday. Wishing you all a blessed Easter.

Recently I was contacted by a graduate student from Texas Tech University. She asked if I would ask my readers to help her out with a survey. I love surveys! I checked it out and here is a post from her about the survey: Dear participant: We would like to find out more about what factors motivate people to access agricultural blogs. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions, just what you think. This survey will take about 15 minutes of your time, and we will use the results for a research study. We will not be able to identify you individually. If you would prefer not to answer a question, please leave it blank. Participation is voluntary and you can stop at any time. Farming in the Shade https://aecttu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4MhKXKG5FspLTcp If you have any questions about this study, please contact Kate Gracey and/or Dr. Courtney Meyers at (806) 742-2816 or by email at kate.gracey@ttu.edu or courtney.meyers@ttu.edu . Thank you for helping us with t...

95% of Michigan's farms are single family operated and/or family partnerships. Of the few farms structured as corporations, 99% of those are family-owned and involve multiple generations and family members. For instance, our farm is structured as a corporation. We do this because it's the best idea for our situation, tax-wise. Our farm has one paid employee, and several unpaid volunteers. So, while there is a lot of talk about "corporate" farms, be sure you understand that corporate doesn't necessarily equal huge and faceless.

image attribution Recently I've seen a rash of posts about how to keep strawberries fresh longer. While I have no idea if putting them in plastic bags with holes or rinsing them in vinegar water actually help strawberries keep longer, I do have one suggestion:  Buy local. Ask when they were picked. Better yet, pick them yourselves. There is no reason right now to buy strawberries that have been shipped in from out of state.  And that brings me to my Friday Fun Farm Fact: If every Michigan household spent $10 of their weekly grocery budget on Michigan food, over $37 million would stay in the Michigan economy each week. Of course this principle holds true if you live in another state or province, too.  

Michigan has over 10 million acres of farmland, with 33% of the total farmland in some form of preservation agreement.

Michigan has many microclimates which support the growth of over 200 commodities on a commercial basis, making the state the second more agriculturally diverse state in the nation. Over 702,310 TONS of fresh market and processing vegetables were grown in Michigan in 2010. The state ranks 8th in fresh and 5th in processed vegetable production annually. --agclassroom.org

Lately we've been getting phone calls, emails and facebook messages asking if we allow farm visits. Some of them are even phrased more directly, such as "when can we come and visit?"  We struggle with this, and I always carefully craft a response. I aim for a kind answer, but I'm not always sure I achieve that.  You see, if we started allowing personal visits to the farm, we'd never get anything done. That's our reality. The truth is, there are times when we run from one thing to the next.  But we do realize that we have something very, very special here. Something that not a lot of people have a chance to experience. And we want to share that.  So when there was talk of letting the sheep out of the barn for the spring, we decided to offer a quick glimpse to whomever could come on short notice. We emailed those who are on our email list, and posted it on facebook. We gave about 2 days notice, and we offered only a one hour window to come, late...

The average person consumes 584 pounds of dairy products a year. Like snowflakes, no two cows have exactly the same pattern of spots. The average dairy cow produces 7 gallons of milk a day, 2,100 pounds of milk a month, and 46,000 glasses of milk a year. Cows are heribivores, so they only have teeth on the bottom. There are 350 squirts in a gallon of milk. Cows must give birth to a calf in order to produce milk. --from farmersfeedus.org

Americans crave more information about food production: 69 percent of consumers think it's important to understand how their food is produced.  19 percent of people who visit farms feel better about the safety and quality of the food they eat.

More than 84% of farm bill related spending goes to food and nutrition programs like food stamps, not to farmers. Only 11% of funding in the farm bill goes to farm policies. U.S. farm policy costs Americans just 2.3 cents per meal for a total of 6.9 cents per day. --www.farmpolicyfacts.org photo credit: TumblingRun via photopin cc

Wool is flame resistant. Because it is made up of protein, wool fibers are naturally flame resistant, requiring a higher temperature to ignite than other natural fibers. When wool does ignite, it burns slowly by smoldering and charring but giving off little heat. A wool blanket is an effective tool for smothering a flame. Most synthetic fibers are made from petroleum and have dangerous burning characteristics.

Somewhere in the blur of Christmas parties and Farmer's Markets, we had some of our sheep shorn. We always shear our ewes before lambing, and these 20 Suffolk ewes are due to lamb starting in early February. Timothy has taken over for Nick, who had the audacity to shear for us just long enough to work his way through college and get a good job far away. We had a TV crew here briefly, filming a spot to advertise our shearing day open house (March 2--mark your calendars!). I can hardly believe the things we get ourselves into--TV crews and big annual events at the farm. Why do we do it? It's important for us to show the process of farming. Many people will tell you things about farming that "ain't necessarily so." Unless you can see farming practices yourself, and meet the farmers who care for the land and the animals, you are at the mercy of the latest blog post, newspaper article, or YouTube video. Farming is a messy, heartbreaking lifes...

Which U.S. states are the leading producers of dry beans? 1. North Dakota - 32% 2. Michigan - 17% 3. Nebraska - 11% 4. Minnesota - 9% 5. Idaho - 8% 6. Colorado - 5% 7. California - 5% 8. Washington - 4% --US Dry Bean Council, Production Facts and FAQs

Did you know? The Bureau of Engraving and Printing depends on farmers to produce paper currency--75% of every bill is made of cotton. (That's why you can launder dollar bills and they don't fall apart, unlike checks.) One bale of cotton can produce 313,600 $100 bills -- over $31 billion dollars worth!

Cows have four stomachs. The averages cow has more than 40,000 jaw movements each day. Like snowflakes, no two cows have exactly the same pattern of spots. Cows are herbivores, so they only have teeth on the bottom. Cows can detect smells up to six miles away!

Did you know? Different breeds of sheep grow different kinds of wool. Sheep can grow fine wool, medium wool or coarse wool. Fine wool is often used to make suits, baby clothes or dress fabrics. Medium wool is often used to make blankets, outer sweaters, mittens or upholstery fabrics. Coarse wool is most valuable for carpets and tough-wearing articles of clothing. 

Did you know? Michigan ranks third in the nation for asparagus production. Michigan asparagus, unlike asparagus from other states, is hand-snapped above the ground. This method yields a more tender and flavorful product. Michigan processes 95% of the U.S. asparagus crop. Today, while you read this, will you pray for Michigan's asparagus and fruit farmers? The early warm weather has put everything ahead of schedule, and they are facing a partial to total loss of their crops. Thank you.

Did you know? Michigan leads the nation in geraniums, potted hostas, marigold flats, and Easter lilies. Michigan's number one cut flower is the gladiolus with approximately 33.9 million spikes sold annually. Michigan is the third largest floriculture producer, only surpassed by Florida and California. It is estimated that floriculture provides more than 14,000 jobs in Michigan.