Archive for June, 2010

It’s been a while since we’ve last given an update on the happenings here at the farm!  We’ve been busy!  One of the more exciting happenings around here was the much anticipated processing of our 290 broiler chickens.  We didn’t just raise pastured chickens, we raised ENORMOUS pastured chickens.  These birds were some of the best eaters I have ever met, and it definitely showed.  Towards the end of their 8 week lives, we were all anxious for the broilers to become someone’s dinner.

We began our day at the early hour of 5 AM and began rounding up the birds.

Sunrise

Cornish Cross at 8 weeks

We moved them down the street to the Andrew’s Farm where we began the very long process of processing!  We had a veritable team helping us, including all the folks from Maple Wind Farm, the VYCC farm crew,  Harold, the man who made the processing facility, and Bee, the master gizzard woman!  We also had some help from Ry, one of the HQ staff from VYCC.  We formed an assembly line, starting with the slaughter, which was followed by the scalding tank and de-feathering machine.   While a few of us had the privilege of participating in the actual slaughter, most of us were kept busy with the more time- consuming task of evisceration (otherwise known as taking the insides out).  With the help of some upbeat bluegrass music we stayed busy all morning and into the early afternoon with the first part of the processing.  After a much needed lunch break, we returned for part two, which entailed taking a second and final look at the birds to make sure they were good and clean, stuffing necks and bags of organs into the cavity, and then cryovac-ing  and weighing.  Our largest bird ended up weighing in at 7.9 lbs!  Some (large) family will be enjoying a lot of chicken soon!

The day was incredibly long and exhausting, but there was an undeniable sense of accomplishment in the air after we were done.  We had raised those birds from second day of their lives, given them a good life, lots of green grass and sunshine, and now they will provide nourishment for a lot of people.  I have never been so excited to sell someone a chicken!

In other news, we’ve had our first two CSA pick-ups.  While we were all nervous that the shares would seem too small, in the end everything looked great and the members seemed genuinely pumped about their veggies.  It’s quite a feeling to know that there are 80+ households in this area who are being nourished by the food that we have grown here.

Kelly harvesting radishes

We are now busy trying to stay ahead of the weeds and pests, thinning our root crops, and seeding some of the crops that we’re planting in successions.  The vegetables are really starting to take off—lettuces, cabbages, squash, tomatoes in the greenhouse—you can almost watch them grow.  And flowers are blooming daily in our pick your own garden.  Soon there will be a wealth of color out in the field to complement all the green and folks will be able to take home a freshly picked bouquet.

Lastly, our newest batch of broiler chickens are happily running around the pasture.  They seem to be more active than the last, and definitely more interested in foraging.  There’s nothing like seeing happy animals living the way they were meant to.

We’ll be starting a new compost pile on the far side of the field with food waste generated, not only on the farm, but by CSA share holders as well.  Members will receive a 4 gallon bucket where they can put their food scraps and return to the barn to be composted each week.  This is truly closing the loop!

Until next time, wish for sun!

~written by Kelly McQuade, VYCC Farm Intern

The VYCC has an opening for a Park Crew Leader at Quechee State Park. Crew Leaders must be 22+ years old and willing to hit the ground running! The position starts as soon as possible and will end on October 22nd. If you are interested in learning about park management, educational park planning, conservation skills, and crew supervision, check out the VYCC’s Crew Leader webpage for more information: http://www.vycc.org/positions/summer_leader.html

Interested in working on a VYCC crew at a Vermont State Park? The VYCC also has openings for AmeriCorps Park Corps Members. Under the supervision of Crew Leaders, Corps Members take care of the park while learning conservation and leadership skills. Corps Members must be 18+ years old and hold a high school diploma or equivalency. Positions begin as soon as possible and will end on September 10th. For more information, visit the VYCC’s Park Corps Member webpage: http://www.vycc.org/positions/americorps_member.html

Congratulations to Vermont’s Recreation Trails Program for winning “Outstanding State Trail Program” of the year by the Coalition of Recreation Trails. Sherry Winnie, Recreational Trails Administrator for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation will accept the award on behalf of Vermont at a ceremony on Capitol Hill in early June.

The VT Recreation Trail Program is a longtime partner of the VYCC. Sherry coordinates funding in conjunction with the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council for organizations including the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Green Mountain Club, Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, Vermont Mountain Bike Association, Catamount Trail Association, municipalities, conservation districts, non-profit organizations and of course, Vermont Department Forests Parks and Recreation.

“I’ve always been proud of Vermont’s trails and how we all work together,” says Winnie. “Trails provide Vermont with significant recreation infrastructure while conserving Vermont’s natural landscape. This Saturday, June 5th is National Trails Day and I hope everybody can make some time to get out and discover firsthand how fun trails can be.”

The Coalition for Recreational Trails is a national, Washington-based non-profit organization dedicated to catalyzing public/private partnerships to enhance and protect outdoor recreational opportunities and resources upon which those experiences are based.

The awards will be presented in Washington, D.C. during Great Outdoors Week 2010 (June 7-13) as part of the Coalition’s ongoing effort to build awareness and appreciation of this highly successful program, which has greatly enhanced the quantity and quality of trail experiences available to the public. Members of Congress have been invited to join in honoring the outstanding achievements of their constituents.

More info about hiking and trails in Vermont go to: www.vtstateparks.com

For more info on Vermont’s Recreation Trails Program, go to: www.vtfpr.org

Join the VYCC for a discussion led by Bruce Hennessey of Maple Wind Farm about “Grass, the Animals that Eat it, and the Vegetables they Help Grow: An Integrated Approach to Conserving the Working Landscape.” The walk and talk will be held at the VYCC’s Monitor Barns Farm (off Rte 2, two miles east of Richmond, VT) on Sunday June 6, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Free and open to the public, the interactive workshop will explore how diversified farmers at Maple Wind Farm and the VYCC use cover cropping, legume seeding, and high density grazing to add organic matter and fertility to conventional corn ground in preparation for high quality organic (after transition) vegetable production.

Participants will meet at the VYCC Headquarters Monitor Barn Parking Lot and proceed to the field from there.

VYCC and Maple Wind entered into a cooperative partnership to form the Monitor Barns Farm CSA in 2009 and are in their second season of vegetable and poultry production this spring. For more information, visit our Farm and Food Program website.