We want to take a moment to let you know how thankful we are for having you as a customer.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Warmest wishes from Forest Hill Farm

A "Corny" Celebration

In New England in 1623, a famine devastated the newly settled Pilgrims. Corn, their primary crop, became so terribly scarce that they rationed it kernel by kernel. Each person was given five kernels a day. That's all! When the famine was finally over, receiving the five kernels of corn became a symbolic ritual. On Thanksgiving Day, people each received five kernels of corn on their plate as a reminder of those hard times - and of their gratitude to God for their many blessings.

The word "thank" comes from an Old English word that means to think. Perhaps we could use this definition to add new meaning to this holiday - this "Thinks-giving."

Thinking people are thankful people. When you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner, give each person five kernels of corn. Ask individuals to think about each kernel and the blessings it represents:

First kernel- the beauty and bounty of nature God provides.

Second Kernel- our rich heritage of courageous men and women who helped establish this land of freedom.

Third kernel- the work each of us has - in school, at church or on the job - and the privilege of doing it to the best of our abilities.

Fourth kernel- our loved ones, friends, classmates, teammates.

Fifth kernel- God's power and presence throughout our past, present and future.

Make your Thanksgiving celebration a "corny" occasion this year for the whole family. It's a good way to think about how fortunate we really are.

From the Norway Lutheran Church 150th anniversary cookbook, Saint Olaf, Iowa

Turkey Brining Recipe

2 gallons water
1 can apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup sea salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 TBS peppercorns
1 cup brown sugar
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 oranges, cut in quarters

Mix all the ingredients together. Place thawed turkey In a food grade bucket or brining bag. Pour in brine. Refrigerate for 24 – 48 hours. Rinse turkey and pat dry. Bake or smoke turkey according to your favorite recipe.

Let Your Heart Be Full of Thanksgiving!

Welcome a stranger,
Seek out a forgotten friend
Keep a promise
Laugh
Listen
Brighten the heart of a child
Encourage the young
Express your gratitude
Be gentle
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth
Speak your love
Speak it once again…
And
Let your heart be filled with

THANKSGIVING

How to Raise Turkeys

Each spring, for the past 24 years, we've raised turkey; Royal Palm, Narragansett, Bronze, Bourbon Red, and several others, primarily heritage breeds, though. Occasionally we would find a 2 – 3 day old turkey poult, that appeared perfectly healthy earlier, dead on its back. Researchers believe this is a neurological disorder with a genetic component called Early Poult Flip-overs (EPF). Not one to argue with research, however through observation this issue seems more of a developmental problem.

Here's how to prevent Early Poult Flip-overs (EPF) in Turkey Poults

Our solution is simple, successful, and has eliminated the problem.

Newly hatched turkey's legs are weak, and their bellies big, it's difficult for them to to right themselves. They get stuck on their back, legs paddling, and chirp in distress. If you aren't there to help them they'll die.

If you are going to place newly hatched turkeys in to protein tub brooders wait for one week to ten days and follow this plan instead: Place newly hatched turkeys into a brooder with varying sizes of sticks or small tree branches. If the poults get cast they can right themselves by pushing against the branches.  The hatchlings easily navigate through the branches to access feed and water.

After a week or so their legs are stronger, they're out of danger from EPF, and they're ready for the protein tub brooders.

For instructions on making a Protein Tub or Muck Bucket Brooder

look for the article in the Winter 2017 issue of Farming Magazine or  the Summer 2017 issue of Tractor Supply Company's  Out Here Magazine  

Turkeys are easy to raise once you get them past the first few weeks which is a fragile stage for poults.

Are you raising chickens, too?

Check out, The Healthy Chicken Handbook

How to kill tens of thousands of chickens with the flip of a switch

Clean living conditions prevent disease; Sunlight kills viruses, fresh greens boost immunity and exercise improves health. These are the benefits for poultry raised on pasture.

Inside poultry confinement buildings ventilation fans run 24 hours a day. Without these fans the birds die relatively quickly from ammonia fumes and the heat that’s generated from the high density of bodies within the building.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced that the federal government is preparing for a bird flu outbreak this fall that could be twice as bad as the one this spring.

The USDA is calling for shutting down the ventilation system if there's another outbreak of Avian Flu.  The policy is designed to help farms more quickly keep the virus from spreading.

USDA officials said that teams hired to euthanize birds in Iowa and Minnesota fell behind on destroying infected birds this spring due to the size of the flocks. The new euthanasia policy initiates a 24 – hour “stamping-out.” If no other method of killing would meet the 24 hour deadline federal and state officials, along with the producer, agree to shut down the ventilation system.

For chickens in pasture it's a different story. There is no switch to flip. No ventilation fans to shut down. Just sunshine, fresh air and green grass. Pasture pens are open to allow chickens access to all three. The tops are partly covered to give shade along with protection from the rain. The bottoms are open to the grass.  The birds aren’t crowded and they live outdoors during the optimum growing season; May – October.

Before dropping that carton of eggs or package of conventionally raised chicken into your grocery cart the next time you're at the store remember these words from Jo Robinson, author of Pasture Perfect;

“... a chicken that looks stressed and abused on the day of slaughter looks just fine when cut into uniform pieces and wrapped with plastic. The words on the label are targeted to calm any concerns one might have about the meat. This chicken is “Fresh, All-Natural, and Locally Grown!”

Instead of buying confinement chicken make a healthier decision. Find a farmer who raises pastured poultry. The health and taste benefits far surpasses the cost.

As a gardener there comes a day when even the heaviest frost blanket can't offer protection. You resign, relinquishing the garden until spring. Maybe it's because of this resignation, probably not, but nothing could satisfy the melancholy feeling of the garden shutting down like a fresh picked tomato. Fresh tomatoes are gone until next year, this is the off-season.

There's a group of small, like-minded farmers who network together. Barter and trade are frequent among us. Last year we traded a young Gloucestershire Old Spot boar for hen and tom heritage turkey's. This spring the hens were late to set their eggs, some never cycled into egg laying. Talking with a turkey raiser he determined last winter too severe. Turkey hens, regardless of their care, just weren't up to the task of laying, at least not fertile, viable eggs, anyway. That is until this week.

In front of the machine shed door a Narragansett hen sat sunning herself. She puffed her feathers, called in a high-pitched whistle and seven small turkey poults scooted underneath her. Doesn't she know this is the off-season?

Later in the day I collected pumpkins for the sows and boar. Among the vines and fruit another Narragansett hen is sitting on a clutch of eggs. One of the Muscovy hens hatched eggs last week. Five ducklings follow here through the pasture every afternoon. We haven't found where she's hiding her brood, hopefully a weasel or owl won't find them either.

The peach trees, all but one, have been dormant all summer. Scratching the surface bark there’s life under the cambium layer so they weren't cut down. Maybe next spring they'll surprise us with buds, it's doubtful, but I remain optimistic. In October of 2012, following one of the worst droughts in our area, the lilac bushes started to blossom for a second time in one season. The October flower clusters were sparse, but the following spring they were full of flowers again as if the off-season blossoming hadn't interrupted the cycle.

The oak tree along the lane is dropping bushels of acorn that go uncollected. The oak in the pasture is dropping a heavy crop for the pigs to feast on. They've gleaned the fallen nuts leaving the ground underneath bare. One pig in particular stands sentry, he won't let the sheep near the tree. He doesn't realize the sheep want sweet clover not bitter acorns. Between the pumpkins, clovers, apples, and nuts the pigs diet is diverse. Their commercial feed goes untouched when there's so much they can harvest themselves. This is one of the benefits of pastured hogs; a healthy diet.

Now that September is here the air conditioner is off and the windows are wide open. At night I've been running the fan, not because it's hot but to drown out the insect's singing. When I fall asleep the crickets, locusts, grasshoppers and others joining in the evening symphony seem far off and distant. However, if I wake up during the night their sound is overwhelming. It's loud, it's close, it's intense. So much for quiet country living. A couple hours before dawn the coyotes start their own mournful calls. Lying awake I try to judge their distance from the barn, sheep in the pasture, and turkey pen. One morning, a couple of years ago, while he was walking to the catch the school bus, Garrett saw a coyote take a turkey. The bird was too heavy for the coyote to carry while being chased by a young boy. The coyote dropped the turkey, there weren't any nasty gashes or wounds, at least not visible. The turkey walked around the yard, feathers plumped up for a day or two but he didn't recover. That same week Miley was dumped in town and found wandering. A friend called and asked if we could take her. We tried finding her owner, no luck. She's such a nice dog that we decided to keep her. Since she and Maisey have been at the farm we haven't lost anymore livestock to coyotes.

Cookie and I were in the barn having a great visit. He was explaining to me the value of petrocurrency. Anyway, in walked the flock of ducks, the pleasant conversation ended. We couldn't hear anything above the noise from those ducks. Cookie pointed out that of all the animals on the farm the ducks are the only ones who make a singular sound. The cattle have a range of vocals. So do the sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Ducks, however make only one sound. It's loud, it doesn't vary, and it's incessant. When ducks start talking you can hardly hear yourself think. A sign of the times perhaps...we finished our conversation by texting each other.