April 09, 2004

SPRING CLEANING AT THE DAIRY FARM

When the sap stopped running for a time last week, I cleaned up feeding areas where round bales were fed through the winter. This material, hay with some manure mixed in, is excellent for composting. I used several loader bucket loads to top off the compost mound I made for the recently deceased cow. Karen and I used this break to get in a little exercise, too. Karen walks several miles a day almost everyday, and I try to run 3-4 times a week. People often kid me, asking don't I get enough exercise working on the farm? I tell them that because more of the work done on the farm is done with machines, like feeding round bales with the loader tractor instead of handling 30-40 square bales a day, I don't get the workout I used to. I always add that my wife is a great cook, too.

-–Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Posted by Blogger Chris at April 9, 2004 02:40 PM
Comments

Can you tell me what the process of making milk "homogenized" does? My neighbor tells me it makes the milk less digestable by affecting the enzymes.

Posted by: Lisa Bell at April 11, 2004 03:33 AM