Happenings on the Ranch

I’ve begun sending out periodic newsletters to all those that have signed up for or shown interest in our CSA Programs.  You can view the current issue and past issues on our newsletter page at www.nvranch.info/newsletters.html.  Once the harvesting season starts, we’ll be posting these weekly.  The newsletter page will also have a weekly posting of what the CSA shares will contain that week.  If you’re not a CSA shareholder, this list will give you an idea of some of what we’ll have at farmer’s market that week.

Since the weather was warm on Wednesday and then turned abrubtly cold on Thursday afternoon it was perfect timing for us to butcher our family hog for this year.  With the weather warmer during the early morning yesterday it made it easier for Arcenio to work without feeling like his hands were frost bitten.  As the weather quickly turned colder and dropped below freezing it was perfect for cooling the carcass, preparing it to be divided into cuts today.  This hog also serves as our “test” hog for the CSA Meat Program.  This one was started earlier than the others to allow us the opportunity to monitor growth and make changes to our feeding schedules and practices for the hogs we’ll use for our customers.  This hog ended up huge.  Arcenio and I estimate the hanging weight to be at least 175 pounds, probably more.  I’ll post again when we’re done with an accurate weight.

If you don’t know the difference, there are different ways to classify the weight of an animal when butchering.  “Live weight” or weighing “on the hoof” refers to the animal’s weight when it’s live.  “Carcass weight” is the weight of the animal after the internal parts and unusable areas have been removed.  “Hanging weight” is often used interchangeably with carcass weight, but generally refers to the weight of the carcass after it’s been aged which includes any shrinkage from evaporation of moisture content.  “Finished weight” is what’s left after the carcass has been cut, trimmed and boned.  This is what you see in individual packages.   Hogs are one of the most efficient converters of food to meat.  In other words, you get much more useable meat by percentage from a hog than you do from, say, cattle. 

For example, when butchering cattle a typical steer will have a hanging weight of 62% of it’s live weight.  The aging process may remove another 15%.  Finishing reduces that number another 30%.  So, with a 1,000 lb steer, you may end up with around 350 to 370 lbs of actual meat.

For pork, however, the numbers are much higher.  If you finish a hog at 220 lbs, you’ll end up with around 120 to 150 lbs of cuts depending on the cuts.  So, the ratio is closer to 65% of the live weight, compared to 35% with cattle.

One of the other benefits of raising hogs is they take up less space than cattle.  Depending on the way they are raised, they can forage for much of their diet and eat a wide variety of foods from hay, legumes and grains to dairy products, leftover sweets (a much appreciated treat) and more.  As long as they have areas to root around and are provided adequate shelter, they’re happy animals and can be quite social.

We butcher our hogs for family use ourselves here on the farm.  The pork we provide in our CSA program and for sale at farmer’s market is processed by a USDA butcher and labeled for retail sale.  While the butchering process may be disconcerting to some, it’s a vital part of our farm life.  It is satisfying to enjoy the fruits of your labors and all the while know that the animal was well treated during it’s lifetime.  I honestly believe in the way we do things and have a difficult time buying anything in the grocery because I don’t know where it came from or what kind of life the animal had.  We’re proud to offer our meats to our customers, whether it’s pork, beef, chicken or goat and glad you’ll know where it came from.

 -Karin

“I love it when a plan comes together.”  If you don’t get the ‘A-Team’/Hannibal Smith reference, that’s okay; you get my meaning.  If you DO get the reference, don’t worry – I don’t have a cigar in my mouth.

But I do have a smile on my face.  Subscriptions to and inquiries about our 2008 CSA Programs are steadily coming in.  It’s really nice to see how many people are interested in supplying their family with naturally grown produce and meat and are willing to support their local farmers.  But, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if you haven’t sent in your contract and deposit, now’s the time to do it.  I’m anticipating we will run out of shares by the end of February.

That’s not to say we won’t have plenty of produce to sell at market this year.  But, that does mean we need to get started on pre-planting activities.  With it being soooo bitterly cold outside right now and the wind only making it worse, it’s a wonder I’m at all excited about planting.  But I am.  Arcenio has been working on updating our indoor seed-starting area so I can get the first seeds into soil.  This is very important if we want to be able to provide you a wider assortment earlier in the season.  Many seeds will be started over the next several weeks, then the seedlings transplanted into the soil after the final frost (probably late April).  Seeds of those same plants will also be directly sown into the ground later on to provide multiple harvests.  We’re planning a wide assortment this year and want to provide for multiple harvests of each for everyone’s enjoyment.

 Additionally, we’re trying eggplant this year.  Yes, I said “trying” because eggplant is notoriously difficult to start from seed.  They’re very particular about the amount of heat they get until they sprout (which takes about three weeks; most seedlings only take 7 to 10 days) and then are particular about the amount of light.  They are fragile when “hardening off”, which is the process we use to acclimate the seedlings to temperatures before moving them outdoors.  If you can manage to get through all that, AND manage to get them transplanted into the ground without damaging them, then you’re still only halfway there!  Their soil conditions are particular for both warmth and nutrients.  And you have to harvest them without going beyond their peak ripeness and in a specific way to make sure they aren’t damaged.  So, needless to say, if you get an eggplant in one of your shares this year or buy one from us at market, know that a lot of care and effort went into growing that beauty for you!

I’ll try to keep everyone posted as we move forward, but just know that it will become increasingly harder to do the busier we get.  I will begin posting a periodic newsletter and will let you know when that starts.  CSA subscribers will get a weekly newsletter (with recipes!) with their shares when the season starts.

Take care, stay warm and drop me a line when you have time!

-Karin