An homage to our hens…
An homage to our hens… Did you know chickens and their eggs are seasonal? In the shorter days of winter their laying prowess decreases many fold. Cycles are dicatated by hours of sunlight. Our farm Wise Acre Farms was not able to fulfill our order, less 15 dozen eggs last week.. And so many of us at Pastoral Plate got none or just some of the eggs we ordered. I thought “I want those amazing rich yellow bordering on sweet eggs for breakfast”.. but alas not for our house. Then I remembered...
Read MoreConnecting The Dots
This weekend Pastoral Plate hosted an event where we “harvested” our own chickens. The day filled in the blanks from the pasture to the plate. By the completion of the day, I had expanded my understanding of what is involved in the definition of “good food”. There are more chapters than just concentrating on what the animal eats and how they roam. The way an animal dies affects the taste and vitality of the food we eat. It was splendid. We gathered the chickens from the field, calmed...
Read MoreWorkday at Amber and Son’s Farm
]Thank you everyone for coming to farm workday! This past Saturday, the 11th, we gathered at Amber and Son’s chicken farm in Sebastopol. When we arrived, heavy mist was in the air, some dark clouds threatened. By the afternoon, the sun was shinning and it was mild and perfect for working and working and working.
Read MorePotential Investors Visit Amber and Son’s Farm
Last Sunday, we visited Amber and Son’s Farm in Sebastopol as part of Pastoral Plate’s efforts to encourage and make socially responsible investments in local food producing enterprises. We discussed chickens, farming, sustainable practices, the breed, the food, the little chicks, etc., etc. These chickens are spoken to, cajoled, pastured raised, and loved. One of our goals is to “be involved” in the production of our food, to take some responsibility for what happens rather...
Read MoreWhy Invest in a Start-up Farm?
WHY FUND A START-UP FARM? Some of our members wanted to know why we are interested in funding a start-up farm. The above New York Times article addresses some of the formidable obstacles that young farmers face today whether in New York or California. Part of Pastoral Plate’s stated mission is to take responsibility for “our food”. In order to realize this part of our mission, we squarely address the issue of access to inexpensive capital for the farmer/rancher. When we say...
Read MoreInvesting In A Chicken Farm
Last Sunday, some of the members of Pastoral Plate held a meeting to discuss investing in a local chicken farm. This farm is one of our suppliers. We considered the investment from two distinct points of view. We discussed the more formal outlook which solely uses traditional investment criteria such as interest rate, rate of return, risk management and asks the questions: “How much money can I make and how quickly?” We also deeply considered alternative value propositions...
Read MoreThe Result of Our Work – July Farm Day
Here are the photos showing the completed extensions to the pig barn. Nice...
Read MoreFarm Work Day July 16th. Chapter 2.
We returned to Gleason’s Ranch for a second workday on July 16th. Half the group built outdoor yard extensions for the pig barn while the other half continued to take apart the old moveable chicken coops. Nancy served a fabulous lunch of pulled pork that she cooked all night. The chickens were fed, the pigs were fed and we were fed.
Read MoreOur Chicks: Day 15
In these photos you can see how quickly and naturally these chicks (our future egg producers) took to being outdoors in the grass. They were placed in this introductory grass patch for the very first time 10 minutes before we took the photos. They are 15 days old. It’s a...
Read MoreInsightful letter from Gleason’s Ranch
Dear Pastoral Plate Members, So here it is!!! In all it’s shining glory… our Pastoral Plate Mobile Chicken Coop! It’s been up for a couple weeks now and our first batch of birds seem to be very very happy with it. At first they weren’t venturing out from the house very much, but thanks to all of you who worked on disassembling the old pvc coops, we’ve re-used them and the old tarps in a new configuration to provide several shade coverings around the houses (not...
Read MoreHard Choices and Eggs
HARD CHOICES AND EGGS This week we decided to buy 10 chicks in order to conduct a small scale, egg farm experiment. Pasture-raised eggs now sell for between $7.50 and $8.50 per dozen both in Bay Area stores and at farmer’s markets. That’s more than three times what massed produced eggs cost. Even though I believe that there is no such thing as inexpensive pure organic food, I wanted to understand first hand the economics behind producing these types of eggs. Before we even took ownership...
Read MorePig Tales and Other Stories
Pig Tales and Other Stories or Farm Work Day – May 1, 2011 Chapter 1 – Building The Chicken Coop (almost) After two cancellations due to rain and mud, we finally went to Gleason’s Ranch today. Nancy greeted all of us and then began what was supposed to be a quick tour. However, while we were standing outside of the pig barn, we heard a thunderous ruckus, complete with crashing and extremely (extraordinarily) loud squealing and screaming. Nancy muttered, ”Oh no, the male is free.” She...
Read MoreClimbing Pig
This beautiful pig was raised at Gleason Ranch. It was sociable, interested in being with us, and very friendly. [cincopa AIAA1fqANvq3]
Read MoreThe Bull!
This regal bull resides at Stemple Creek Ranch and is extremely beautiful and magnificent. There was, however, a moment as he sauntered through “his” herd when he turned and intently stared at me. I stopped taking pictures, backed-up and then left. [cincopa AMMAIdapNLyr]
Read MoreSinging Heritage Turkeys at Gleason’s
Listen to The Heritage Turkey Choir located at Gleason’s Ranch. [cincopa AIKAsfKKNfvM]
Read MoreGleason’s Chicken Ranch
Gleason’s Ranch – Our Source for Chickens. As you can see, these chickens are raised outdoors where they are subjected to sun, wind, rain, warmth, and cold. They eat the bugs and worms that they find and their diet is supplemented with organic soy. The breed is called Poulet Rouge. Take note!! This is why these chickens are so very nutritious and taste so very good. This is not how most chickens are raised in the USA. [cincopa...
Read More
Facebook
Twitter