2019 Year In Review
Here is a look at what has happened over the last year and our plans going forward into 2020.
Steer Processing
2019 - Reflections
While the raising of our steer really took place in 2017/2018, we didn’t get him processed until 2019. We actually took him to the processor on New Years Day making that our first farming act of 2019. It was the end of a two year experiment to see if we could handle raising a bovine. We had started with 2 steers and one died while we were away on vacation and that event has, up until recently, put a poor taste in our mouth about raising them. However, we loved having home grown pastured beef all year.
2020 - Looking Forward
We almost pulled the trigger on buying a couple more steers last month to start raising. We decided to hold off and see what the new year brings. With interest from customers for beef products, our own depleted beef supply and the need for grazing animals on the farm, we expect to get a plan together to have steers return to the farm in the near future. We are a little timid after losing a steer the first go around, but we’re ready to get back on the horse again.
Broilers
2019 - Reflections
This year we ordered 1,020 Cornish Cross Broilers and we ended up taking 933 to be processed. That represents about a 9% mortality rate which was under our goal of 10% this year! We would like to see that number continue to decline in the future, but we’ve come a long way from the 75% mortality rate with our first batch of chicks 4 years ago.
We had only planned on raising 800 birds when we got started in the spring, but it quickly became apparent if we didn’t sneak in a couple more batches of birds, we wouldn’t keep up with the customer demand. By building a new pasture shelter, we were able to raise two more batches of birds and now we feel confident we will have enough supply to last our customers through the winter.
2020 - Looking Forward
We are making two changes for the upcoming season.
The first is the number of birds we are raising. Our plan is to increase our numbers to 1,200 birds.
The second change is to take a break from raising the broilers in July. The last three years we’ve had continual batches running from February until Thanksgiving (and this year Christmas). We have found that neither the birds or ourselves perform typically well in the middle of the summer. To keep the birds alive, we have to run misters on them all day which creates extra work and maintenance and still doesn’t make up for low weights and feed conversion. Lace and I also think taking a break in the summer will give us time to catch our breath, regroup and focus energies on other projects.
We’ll run 3 batches of birds in the spring and then run the other 3 batches in the fall.
Eggs
2019 - Reflections
Since the first day we started selling chicken, we’ve been asked about 1 million times if we are selling eggs. While we have had laying hens from time to time, we never have been serious about making them a part of our business. They are a different operation altogether from the broilers and we wanted to concentrate on being successful with the broilers before expanding. During the summer this year, we finally decided to take the plunge into the egg business and we scheduled 75 laying chicks to be delivered in the fall. At the same time we got in touch with a new farmer in Valley Mills, Richard at Long Branch Farm, who was looking for a way to sell some of his eggs while he gets his operation started. We agreed that I’d sell his eggs at market until mine came into production. It’s been great to be able to provide eggs to our customers while also working with and learning from another like-minded farmer.
2020 - Looking Forward
Our own flock of laying hens should start laying in the next month or so. I still need to build them some proper nesting boxes, but other than that they are happy running around the farm. Laying hens produce consistently for about 2 years before production slows down, so our goal is to add a new flock every year and then sell the spent birds either to people with backyard flocks or have them processed as stewing hens.
In addition to having fresh eggs, I’m looking forward to having a kid friendly chore. Our son usually wants to help with chickens, but there is only so much he can do at his age. I hope he enjoys collecting eggs and taking part in the business.
Markets
2019 - Reflections
We made a big decision in 2019 to only attend the Waco Downtown Farmers Market and no longer attend the markets in Meridian and Clifton. It was an easy decision in that it was evident the time and effort we spent going to the smaller markets was not being offset by our income. It was a difficult decision because we felt we were abandoning faithful, supporting customers and we were going to miss spending time with them. But we did what we felt was the best decision for us as a business and a family.
We have seen our customer base steadily increase at the Waco Market. We have some very faithful customers who not only buy from us on a regular basis, but proselytize to the masses about our farm. We are forever indebted to them.
In addition to the meat and eggs, we did have a few months where we were able to provide produce, mainly potatoes and onions.
2020 - Looking Forward
We plan to be at the WDFM through 2020 and beyond. We hope to continue connecting with new customers while building on the relationships we have developed the last two years.
Along with our meat and egg products, we hope to add some more produce to our selection. We have the garden turned over and ready for planting in the fall and are making decisions for what crops to grow.
Waco Delivery
2019 - Reflections
We talked and talked all 2019 about starting a delivery route. It took us the whole year to start, and finally in December, we had our first two delivery days. We decided to do deliveries every other Tuesday afternoon to zip codes in the Waco and surrounding areas.
2020 - Looking Forward
We have a lot to do in terms of advertising and getting the word out about our delivery. We feel there is a need and desire for people to have locally raised food, but farmers markets are just not an option for everyone. We hope we can bring quality food to people’s doorsteps while continuing to foster the farmer/customer relationship.
That wraps up the 2019 Review and outlook for next year. It will be fun to look back this time next year and see what has changed!