Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to info@mendovoice.com.
Livestock are the most difficult part of the farm puzzle to manage because they operate with independent agendas with which we try to find compatibility. We want the animals to be comfortable and able to enjoy their natural proclivities; for the pig to be able to express its pigness. Chickens should be able to scratch and hunt for bugs and eat green forage.
This week the last ewe finished birthing and everyone is back out on lush spring pasture. It makes me happy to see the lambs kicking up their heels in the green grass with all the sheep and pigs out grazing in contentment. I’m excited with how good the pasture looks, and appreciating the learning lessons of years past in informing our stocking patterns.
We grazed the south pasture well during the sunny March, and then let it rest through the cool April rains. The result is that the clover got a good chance to spring up after the animals ate down the faster growing grasses. It feels good to see variety in the species composition, good amounts of legumes and less of the poor forage species such as medusa-head grass. Change is incremental but important.
I love living in community with other farmers. The mutual admiration and support is a core driving force in my life. A dear farmer friend came to buy some piglets the other day and stayed to help a ewe through a difficult birth of triplets. We lost one lamb, but the other two and the mama are healthy and well. I’m super grateful to Blaire from Folk Life Farm for saving the day, and for the magic of life that put her at the ranch at just the right moment!
This week we slaughtered the first batch of meat birds that we raised in the light dep tunnels. The second batch is rotating across the upper portion of the south pasture, while batches three and four, along with turkeys, are growing in the brooders at my place. The extra effort and coordination this time of year is a lot on top of getting spring setup done and summer crops in the ground, but the moving pieces fit together well for the most part.
With the birds out of the tunnels we got the last two hoops at brother Lito’s prepped and covered to decompose the leftover crop biomass after chickens and mowing. The first two hoops will be uncovered and planted this week with Strawberry Biscotti and Purple Cream clones that are ready to come out of the propagation house. The seed plants are growing well at my place, and we’ll be planting them out in ten days or so.
This coming week is tomato planting time in the two hoophouse rows, and the last of the cabbages and broccoli go out on Monday. Salad mixes, cooking greens and tender root crops keep up their regular successions ad infinitum, and we’ll be sowing more seeds to continue the process. We’ll also start the last of the winter squash, the third round of summer squash and a few melons for home use.
Despite the busyness of the season, I’m glad for a moment of reflection to feel like things are going well. I’m deeply grateful for the help we receive from so many friends and neighbors that makes it all possible. It all comes back to planning and clear communication, so I’ve been focusing on being better in these areas.
On Sunday evenings I walk the gardens and make harvest and task lists for the week to come. Then I duplicate the spreadsheet from the week before and adjust based on my notes, laying out the harvest plan for what I think we can pick, pack and sell, along with orders, CSA numbers and contents, and my expected work plan and task lists. On Monday I print it out, and we go over the plan for the week so that everyone knows what to expect. By mid-week, I’ve scrawled extra notes in the margins, and the plan has often shifted, but the consistency and quality of the process is getting better.
On good days I’m thrilled with the interlocking and varied pieces that make up our farm and shared, cooperative ranch project. On hard days I feel overwhelmed and stressed with too many balls in the air. Overall, there are more good days than hard days, and for this I’m grateful. As I edge into my mid-forties, it feels like we’re getting better at what we do and that feels like enough. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!