This weeks farming updates include our final decision on how we are managing our turkey order of midget white and Bourbon reds in the coming farming season.  We talk about moving a pig feeder to get it out of the swampy mud the spring has brought and finally we are starting some seeds for the vegetable garden.In the CoopCast Community we answer a question about washing eggs.  We also followup on the geothermal system and how it's been working through the first real winter it's been online.

Finally we spend some time on the farm with a rumination pertaining to the questions we often get from new farmers.We often are asked about advice and information with regards to getting into farming.  One thing that we have seen very often when talking with upstart farmers is sometimes they ask questions that they don't want the answer to.

This week's farm update were kind of all over the place since we missed an episode last week with #farmerandy being down for the count with a nasty lung bug.  We talk about sickness on the farm when it's NOT an animial but a farmer, living through mud season on the farm and dealing with mud and pigs.  We hase how the chickens onf the farm are doing with the Spring thaw and chickens and the challenges with their coop and netting and muddy eggs.

In the Coopcast community this week we spend some time raging in general... must be the sickness and/or the drugs.  We respond about a post where some folks were worrying about the CoopCast podfading away...  We spend some time answering listener questions about a modibe pig tractor in Grit magazine and some other questions about chicken pasture pens.  Sorry all you iTunes reviewers - no drama like high speed chases this week!

Farming updates this week:

Our Facebook page hit 1000+ fans - thanks so much!

Chicken orders done for the 2013 farming season

Turkey decision still pending

In the CoopCast Community:

Mark sent us some seeds!

Josh helps a neighbor pig rescue in his farming adventures

Suggestions posted on FB - for pasture pen plans

Kelli's visit to CSA fair

Ruminations continue about farm finances:

Farm finances continued as we discuss some of the specifics of expenses and income on the small farm

Using QuickBooks and a farm credit card

Farming updates for the week include:

Updates AI - no more updates needed, Due dates on calendar

Chick Wagon

Hay/straw delivery

CSA full

A new segment called "From the ground up" where we discuss the basics for any given project or enterprise on the farm and what we would do to do it again.  THis week we talk about how we would go about starting a CSA

Pictures posted of the shares

Surveys 

Reviews 

How to get people to invest that much

Make it a community with recipes, posts each week

Host events at the farm- potluck, etc. 

What to expect and communicate a lot

Questions, Conversations and Ruminations this week (and for a few weeks) are a in depth review and discussion around the farm finances.

Income

Expenses

Updates from around the farm:

AI update - no heat for Katniss

Checking Herm this week

Snow storm - closed off extended pasture; ran extra line

Round bales - more $ and hard to get

Farm census

Taxes and a financial look back at past year- upcoming discussions

A simple soil block question

This week we have a Farm U discussion around TRACTORS!

How much horsepower for diffrnt jobs

What is the right type of transmission

Confusion Solution for hydraulics

Farm updates this week include:

More AI talk- gator sound needed

Katniss heat check this week

Day 12

Cold weather continues

Super Bowl = good food from the farm

Chicken sitting-new chick wagon & lil eggs

Veggie patch, our vegetable gardening segment we talk:

New varieties we're trying this year

Seed organization

CSA email out to old members- did raise price

Farmers choice segment talks abous our value (or lack there of) in the natural food movement:

Our role/value in the food movement

Not big, not trying to grow big, not trying to make a living solely from farming- so what value can we bring?

Advice on farming abounds and can be annoying.

Farm updates this week include:

Hermione AI

Seed order in

CSA - email to current customers

Chicken trailer update

Bogs boots update

In the "Extended" CoopCast Community"

Song used last episode

The Facebook discussion of the picture of Hermione w/ Andy and Katniss in back

Questions about fencing

Feeding pigs "bad" milk

Patti and others - how to know if AI worked

Heather and Danielle - couples listening

This week's coopcast has a weather update about a big windstom that caused some damage but spends most of it's time talking about the artifical insemination process we followed with our gilt Katiniss and what worked / dindn't as well as what we learned about doing AI on the farm.

Part 3 of the Farm Meeting discusses the general palns around infrastructure this year and why we made some decisions we did about growtih or processes in 2013.

The updates in farming this week include:

A Big thaw

Planning for artificial insemination with the pigs

Finally raised egg prices to $4 / dozen

Kelli shares a listener requested update on her Bogs Boots

Freezer inventory fun

This is part 2 of the Annual Farm Meeting:

A pending plan for turkeys

The chicken succession plan

Purchase and project in support of the Chicken Plan

Breeds that we will be replacing the flock with and why

Updates around the snowy and cold farm:

Snow and drifting on the farm and the implications to portable fencing

Pigs on the loose

Electric netting - upright again

Chickens in the wind

Greenhouse - salad for new years eve, peas, Swiss chard and a warm refuge

The Annual Farm Meeting Farm Meeting for 2013 - Part 1

We discussed if we will be doing a CSA this year and the size,

The Pig plan and AI,

Laying chickens (more on this one next week)

The plan for broiler chickens this summer

General "farming burnout" that we are trying to avoid