One of Those Weeks
This was one of those weeks that did not go as planned, which sometimes can be exciting. On the way out of the field, Terron was driving the tractor when all of a sudden it stopped running.
Author: Nathan Henderson
All posts
Title: How We Move Pigs Without Stressing Them: Wild Apples and a Hog Cart
Moving a group of pigs is one of the more humbling jobs on a farm. Moving 70 of them, each approaching 300 pounds, across a road is the kind of thing that can go wrong in a hurry. This is the story of how our team member Terron did it calmly, by himself, with a hog cart and a few buckets of wild apples.
Two Heroes, and the Horses We Used to Farm With
At the end of August we lost two people who shaped how I think about my work: Dolly Parton, and six days later, Wendell Berry. A remembrance of both, and of the draft horses we used to farm with.
What Is Shaved Pork? A Cut We Came Up With on Our Farm
If you have seen shaved pork in our store and wondered what it is, the short answer is that it's thinly sliced pork from the ham, and it might be the most useful thing in our freezer. Thinly sliced shaved pork from pasture raised pigs at Reber Rock Farm. The longer answer starts with a question we were trying to solve.
Food and Music Are Connectors
Each summer we open the farm for a few Friday evenings of food and live music. We call them Farm Food Fridays, and having just closed out another season, I have been thinking about why they matter to me as much as they do.
The Sow Who Chose Her Own Spot
This year we farrowed our first certified organic piglets here on the farm, and one of the clearest lessons came from a sow who made a decision for us. During a summer thunderstorm, she walked across a fence and gave birth somewhere no pig had been in a generation.
Sliced Ham, Our Answer to the Deli Counter
...If you want to know what's in it, it's simple. We take the whole ham and remove the bone in the middle. The ham is tumbled with a mix of salt and sugar for flavor. Then it is smoked, which in turn cooks the ham. Then we slice it thinly, package it, and it's ready to eat. Nothing more, nothing less.
Visit with old friends
Lovett was inspired this week to go find her old friends Butter and Vinegar, the two calves she adopted in their first days of life, when their mothers had challenging births and were not able to nurse them.
Piglet Friends & Porcupines too
The first update is about our piglets. I took down the electric fence that had been separating the new piglets from our friend Ben at Wild Harmony Farm and the piglets that were born here, and I can share now that everything has gone well, something I was pretty concerned about: these two groups of pigs coming together.
Weaning and Pollinators
On the farm this week, we all felt the pressure of heat as a heat wave swept across the country, and we saw unusual temperatures in the high 90s during the day. Chickens were hot, pigs needed a bath, and the humans were somewhere in between. Gratefully, nighttime temperatures still dropped back down into the 70s, so it was okay sleeping weather.
What does Independence Day mean to you?
I love the cadence of national holidays for their capacity to remind me of all the different ways we can approach a topic. In our nation's independence, and in the celebration of that holiday, there is history, both past and present.
Dinner on the farm & Weaning Piglets
Terron and I weaned another round of piglets this week. Weaning is the process of separating piglet from mama. This may sound like a hear wrenching process, and it can be. However we wait until the piglets are much older than a conventional piglet operation. Allowing piglets to be with their mamas for 8-10 weeks.
Pasture-Raised Organic Meat
from the Adirondacks
Reber Rock Farm is a small family farm in the Adirondacks producing pasture-raised certified organic chicken, pastured organic-fed pork, 100% grass-fed beef and lamb, and maple syrup.
Shop online for home delivery, or pre-order for pick up at our farm store or one of our convenient pickup locations.
