Category: Turkeys

Take aways from my first farm tour

8/25/2015

I was honored to be asked to be a tour site for the Farm Bureau District 9 Women’s Summit this summer. It was a great opportunity to share with fellow Farm Bureau members about raising meat goats, rotational grazing practices and pasture-raised turkeys.

It was also the first time I hosted a farm tour. Here’s what I learned in the process:

It takes more time than anticipated to get the farm ready for visitors. If the visitors farm are involved in agriculture, they also understand what an undertaking it can be and are ok if a few things are out of place.
Think through what information you want to your visitors to take away from the tour. Don't forget about industry resources. I was able to use grazing and grass-fed meat fact sheets from GrassWorks, a grazing organization I'm a member.
Do a walk through of the tour before visitors come. It helped me think through how I would share information and also draw attention to any hazards that others might not initially recognize. For example, we use electric fence and some of our pasture still has brushy stubble.
Plan for parking. Simple as that.
Have refreshments. Since we did quite a bit of walking and August can be hot, so I made sure we had water and a few snacks.
It’s ok to enlist in help. My husband, parents and in-laws were a great help getting things together and assisting during the actual tour.
Don't forget to ask visitors if they are familiar or have experience related to your type of farm. I discovered one attendee who also raised Boer-Kiko goats and other who had an interest in starting a herd. I wouldn't have know that if I didn't ask.

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Lessons learned on pasture today

6/9/2015

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Today has been a productive day, which I’m thankful. Work on the farm doesn’t always go as planned or takes a lot longer than anticipated. Since we have company coming later today, I wanted to cross a few items off the to do list right away: Set up portable fence for a new paddock and move the turkey pen. Regardless of my productivity, I managed to learn a few lessons while working out in the pasture.

Here are a few things I might do a little differently next time:

Reapply sunscreen. I had it on, but more is always good.
Apply more bug spray. Black flies are nasty. I was wearing pants and sprayed my feet and legs to deter ticks. However, more would have helped. At least I didn’t have any ticks on me.
When possible mow paths for portable electric fence with the brush hog, not the weed eater. The weed eater worked great, but it just took a long time. And, with our beautiful weather, I turned into a sweaty mess.
Put portable paddock fence up in the late afternoon or evening when the sun is going down.
Bring more water than I think I’ll need.
Keep rolling up portable electronet fence neatly after taking it down. I had a few tangles that tested my patience.

And, these are few tasks I’ll keep doing:

Keep using the gator to haul supplies.
The gator winch is perfect for moving the turkey pen.
Set up a paddock gate using the temporary fence. I crafted an insulator handle that will allow me to open the gate while it’s hot and not get zapped.
Use electric fence posts to help reinforce corners on the portable fence.
Use the stock tank for a quick splash cool down. It’s hot out there!
A good attitude makes everything more manageable.

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Welcoming turkeys to the farm

3/25/2015

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It’s official. I will now be adding turkey grower to my ever-growing skills as a farmer. Yesterday I placed an order for pullets (baby turkeys) and scheduled the butchering with an area processor that’s now a USDA federally inspected facility. Talk about planning the cycle of life in just a few short minutes!

While I wait for the pullets to arrive in mid-April, I need to start getting busy for their arrival. I do have a brooder on hand. But, I’ll need to start planning their feed rations and work on a number of building projects: a portable pen for use when they just start on pasture, a portable roost shelter when they are big enough to not need their pen on pasture, a water line and feeder, both for pasture.

The pullets will be pastured-raised and supplemented with grains. However, before they are old enough to go out on pasture, they’ll live in a brooder, a baby-turkey nursery pen. Once ready, they’ll head out to pasture, living in portable pens that will be moved daily with access to fresh grass. After sometime they’ll be able to live in their own paddock (section of the pasture) without the pen.

Since I also raise meat goats, the turkeys will “follow” the goats as they are rotationally grazed. This means every few days the goats move to a new paddock. Then the turkeys will move into goat’s old paddock. This will allow the turkeys to eat grasses and other greens, and even bugs, the goats don’t eat. It also is a way to naturally distribute fertilizer in a fairly even manner throughout the pasture.

After the summer on pasture, the turkeys will be processed and ready for sale this fall, just in time for the holidays.

Now it’s time to get busy building before the little fuzzy pullets arrive.

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Take aways from my first farm tour

Lessons learned on pasture today

Welcoming turkeys to the farm

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