What a Day

Amazing weather today. It was a great day to work on cleaning out the barn. I got a lot done, but a lot more needs to be done.
Sorry it has been a while since I last posted any updates for you. It has been a busy spring so far. We now have seven new calves and many more yet to come. We also have a 100 chicks started. Pigs will be coming soon along with some ducks.
Now and then I get feedback that yuou would like a little more personal tid bits on the Hiday family. Many of you know my sons Alex, Adam and Aaron. Well for those of you who want some family updates: Alex is now working in Kalamazoo using his engineering degree. Adam will be graduating from college on May 7th and will be working at the hospital while waiting to get into PA school. Aaron is finishing his sophmore year of college and will spend his summer working on a summer internship/research project. Yes it looks like the Old Man is going to be on his own a lot.
Hope all is well with you and your family.
Dan

A Sign Of Spring

Spring is always an exciting time of the year for us. One of the signs of spring on the farm is the arrival of new born calves. Well there may still be snow on the ground, but on Saturday, Feb. 26th. we had the first calf of the 2011 calving season. It is a strapping bull calf that has almost identical markings as his father. His mom is a white belted cow, with a lot of milk. He should grow well. Aaron and I gave him the once over to make sure he is OK and then sent him back to mama. She is a good mama and he will be well taken care of. We won't physically handle him again until it is time to tag him with the USDA required identification tag and to band him. I would expect a couple more calves to be born within the next few weeks and then another bunch in April and May.

See you Soon
Dan

It's Been an Icy Week!

Clean up after the storm...lots of fence repair. Our pine tree out front looks like a giant stick :-(
Got our power back this morning. Today we're going to take a total trip around the perimeter of the farm to assess damages. Then of course, we'll be doing repairs and getting hay and water to the cattle.

Chickens, Turkeys and Ducks, Oh My!

We will raise several batches of chickens this year so that we have plenty with us at the farmer's markets and for those of you who stop by the farm. If you want a consistent supply or several for the freezer, pre-order what you think you may need.

Turkeys must be ordered in May or June to guarantee poult delivery in July, in order to have them ready by Thanksgiving.

Ducks available mid to late summer.

Chickens, turkeys and ducks are processed whole and are frozen.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for supporting the Hiday Farm in 2010. For us, 2010 was a very busy year. We had a good growing season for pasture and at the peak of the season we had 60 head of cattle grazing. Of course, that included mama cows, 2010 calves and steers for the fall processing season. Around 20 pigs spent time on the farm along with several hundred chickens, 50+ turkeys and even a couple flocks of ducks.

Our Fall Open House was a great success and we will have another for 2011.We want our farm and farm practices to be open to our customers. If our Fall Open House date does not work for you and you would like to visit the farm, call and make an appointment We would love to show you around.

We fell grass-finished beef is better for you and the animal but it takes longer to mature than a grain fed, hormone-implanted animal.

Using a grass based system requires the entire growing season to get our beef ready for processing. This is why we don't fill orders until October and go through December. We also use a first come, first serve basis. For example, a customer who ordered in February or March will be on the list for order fulfillment before an order placed in June. Pork works much the same way except we try to get all of those orders completed from late summer to early fall and before we start processing cattle.

We sold every pig and every steer we had ready for processing in 2010. Some late requests were put on the list for 2011. While nice to sell out, we hate turning people away. Current customers were sent an order form in the mail and are encouraged to return these as soon as possible. New customers may call us at the farm (517) 765-2268 and request an order form or place an order over the phone.

Again, thank your continued support and we look forward to seeing you in 2011. We plan on being at the Eastern Market in Detroit, Fresh-on-Q in Kalamazoo and the LUNASA market in Ann Arbor. Stop in and say hello!


http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/
http://www.discoverkalamazoo.com/member-profile/92/294/
http://www.lunasa.us/

Winter Chores

You would think that this time of the year would mean less to do on the farm. But lately that seems to be just the opposite. The cattle reqiure more work and of course there is the year end paper-work to do. I am trying to get the newsletter finished and hope to have it out to you soon.

Eastern Market friends we plan on being up to the market on Saturday, Jan. 22nd.