Monday, February 22, 2010

GO Conference and an update on the Airstream and Chicks...

The Georgia Organics Conference...


I was in Athens over the weekend, still very sick, trying to get the most out of the GO conference. The event itself was much larger than I expected, with a fairly extensive workshop list and farm tour experiences. I took Will Harris's Pasture to Processor class on the first day. He didn't disappoint. (If you ever want to have a entertaining and learning experience, sit down in front of Will Harris for a while.)



That afternoon, I hopped on the bus to visit two farms in the area. Both sold market vegetables and some eggs, but I picked the wrong tour. Looking back on it, I should have picked the Woodland Gardens farm tour. I really wanted to see people that had to make a living on the farm, not a hobby or extra income type farm. Don't get me wrong, they were both very interesting, but not the same focus as what we are doing. Live and learn. Should have listened to Nicole, as usual, she was right.

That night I went to see the movie "Dirt". I thought it was interesting, in an environmental activist kind of way. It certainly had more to do with the future of the environment/soil protection and less to do with farming itself.

Saturday we had intensive workshop sessions until dinner. For the most part, the workshops were very informative, though a couple were disappointing due to unforeseen circumstances or too much scientific jargon. (I believe an instructor had car trouble.) That night was the Farmers Feast. Man, what a dinner. If you have ever been in a large conference style dinner setting, you know that the meals usually are barely better than what you would feed your dog. Not this one! Some of the best pork tenderloin I have ever had. No joke. Absolutely wonderful! Plus, the way they have the tables set up, their was plenty of networking time. I hope Nicole and I can come together next year so she can experience it.


Need to start seeds this week...
Man, I need more room. I have over 150 tomato plants to start, 150! Not counting peppers, eggplant, and so on....
My onions came in and I'm having a breakdown. Well, not a total breakdown, but there is a little stress. They need to be planted in the next week or so and I have nowhere to put them yet. Waiting on some tractor help to finish the fields so we can start dropping them in.


Update on the Airstream...

The floor is gone! Yeah!! Now I need to source the grate flooring to put on the bottom. Trying to finish it this coming weekend. Still haven't pumped up the tires to see if they hold air, so I will be praying that they will.



Baby chicks not so little any more...

I was gone for three days and it seemed as though the chicks grew half a foot. The ducks are just huge and are starting to learn the art of quacking. Very cute seeing them get their feathers in and scratching around looking for stuff. Nicole (MacGyver Jr.), came up with a great way to keep the birds from knocking over the waterers. She wrapped rubber band around them and the 2 X 4's they sit on. This has held them in place without incident. 

Tested electric poultry netting on older chicks and Maddux...

I set up the electric poultry netting and put Maddux in with our layers. He did great watching the birds and realizing that he was there to protect. I was surprised that he didn't chase them at all. I thought that the puppy in him would give way to some mischief and he may have the urge to play with them but he didn't. Well, Maddux got his first taste of electricity. First the chickens got popped, and then Maddux. He cried for about a minute straight to the horror of Camron. Cam was a little worried seeing his new buddy so upset. He will learn the importance of Maddux's job and over time will understand that we all care and love Maddux, but he has an important job he must do.


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