Author: ebeth

About two years ago we purchased two bred ewes. Like all our animals we raise sheep outdoors. In the summer our sheep are grass fed and supplemented with a mineral block. They live in the pasture they are grazing.

In the winter they live in a three sided shelter and are hay fed. The hay they don’t eat becomes part of their bedding. This bedding pack is then added to our compost and aged manure pile, which is used on our gardens.

Our sheep are a cross of Dorper and Katahdin, two varieties of hair sheep. This means they are self-shedding. We will see small pieces of wool in the field where they have left their wool behind. We don’t collect their wool or shear them.

Last year we purchased a ram. We breed the ewes sometime in the fall. A ewe’s gestation (pregnancy) is 5 months. We keep the ram separate from the ewes except when we want them bred, so that we have a better idea of when they will lamb.

Our lambs are born in March or April. We process them in October. This allows the meat to have some fat which adds to the flavor.

This year we have boneless leg roast, bone-in leg roast, bone-in stew meat, chops, and ground lamb.

Farming outdoors allows for more mammal predators than farming in barns or greenhouses. In our squash patch we have a woodchuck this year. It has gnawed on these squashes. These are useable. However, with the skin broken and the flesh bitten into, they are more vulnerable to mold and bacteria. So they will need to be used sooner or cooked and frozen. We won’t sell them or store them as squash for winter.

Sometimes the mammal predator is our own dog. We let her loose among our layers. Then one day we saw her chasing a chicken and grabbing it with her mouth. So now her area is more restricted to protect the chickens she is to be guarding. She is good at barking at what should not be around. I guess she just didn’t think to bark at herself.

Sometimes the predator is a pack of dogs. This used to be common for us. We would lose 25 meatbirds in one morning. Since getting a guard dog, this doesn’t happen as much.

However, it did with this year’s batch of turkeys. Our turkeys were not near our guard dog, and the dogs got into the turkey enclosure and damaged or killed about 10-12 turkeys. We were left with 7 turkeys.

Where do dogs like this come from? Probably someone owns them but just lets them run and fend for themselves. They didn’t have collars, and they don’t come to us if we call, so they aren’t real tame. Our turkeys looked good to them, and that was breakfast. It is annoying, disappointing, and upsetting.

With any predator, after grieving and feeling the pain, then it is time to look at what happened and why, and decide how to prevent destruction of our vegetables or livestock and also what we can do to live with the mammal predators. And so we continue to farm, growing food and working to live in balance with the natural world around us.

UPDATE – Turkey Preorders are closed. We had a large loss to dogs recently. The remaining turkeys are spoken for. Thanks for considering local pastured turkeys for your Thanksgiving.

We are raising turkeys for Thanksgiving. These birds are moved regularly, getting fresh grass which they love. They also receive locally grown organic grains. As they get larger, they will be allowed to free-range during the day, which they really enjoy.

We are taking preorders for these turkeys – $20 down which will be put toward the total when you pick the turkey up. Preorder price is $5.25/lb through Saturday, November 4. November 5 and following they will be $5.50/lb. They will probably be 12-16 lb. We can try to accommodate your size preference, but please be willing to take something a little smaller or larger as needed.

Turkeys will be ready on Saturday, November 18 after 3 p.m. They will be fresh and can be refrigerated for up to one week. Let us know what you would like – how many, what weight range, if you want the giblets (heart & liver) – and how you would like to pay $20 down (in person or by invoice). Email us at sales@tojfarm.com , call/text 315.200.2341, or use our order form.

When we cut up chickens to sell recently, we ended up with the chicken carcass, which consists of the neck and the back, the breastbone and rib cage, a skin-fat portion from the lower back, and some meat and skin. We packaged these, two in a package and are selling them as chicken carcasses for broth. (My daughter-in-law doesn’t like the word carcass, but the synonyms are remains, skeleton, and body, so I think carcass it is.)

I thawed these carcasses and then covered them with about 6 quarts of water. As with all my broths, I covered the pot, brought it to a boil, turned it to low and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. This pic is of the broth with the carcasses still in the pot.

I then made 2 batches of soup with the broth.

The first one had the leftover meat, probably about 4 cups, some greens, celery, summer squash, cauliflower, and carrots. I had rice on the side for those who wanted that.

The second one was broth with vegetables. The broth had cooled in the refrigerator. It had a layer of yellow fat on the top. Very tasty! I used the vegetables that I had, in this case, carrots, celery, yellow beans, summer squash, and Swiss chard, and made enough for however many I was feeding that day.

As I thought, the chicken carcasses make a really nice broth. More meals for our fall and winter meats!

Meaty Shank Soupbones and Short Ribs are beef cuts that do well with moist slow cooking. They both have a bone, some fat (marrow in the shank bone), and some meat. I tend to saute the meat, saute companion vegetables, almost cover with broth or water, and let it simmer on the stove top for 2-4 hours. (After the sauteing, this could also be cooked on low in a crockpot for 6-10 hours.)

The flavor will change depending on the vegetables used. Winter squash, like butternut squash, or sweet potatoes will thicken the mixture. Diced or crushed tomatoes will give it a tomato flavor. Consistency will be more stew like if less water or broth is used. And if more water or broth is used, the consistency will be more soup-like.

Here are some links to similar dishes – Osso Buco , Meaty Shank Soup Bone, or Beef Barley Broth – many ways to enjoy meat shank soupbones or short ribs.

Here is what the young turkeys sound like. I think of it as pipping.

Pork roasts include shoulder roast, butt roast, and boneless loin roast. All of these have some fat that adds to the flavor. This fat should also be used to flavor other parts of the meal. So if I am cooking a roast in the oven, I will put sliced or chunked up potatoes with a little bit of water underneath the roast. As the meat cooks, the fat will melt and mix with the potatoes. (I do cover the meat and potatoes with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in. And I typically cook everything at 400F – I think that my stove runs cold and I have found this temp to work well for our kitchen.)

Roasts like these also do well in the crockpot. I put my veggies in the crockpot first. This could include potatoes, winter squash, beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, or cauliflower (or whatever I have). Then I put the roast in the middle. If it is too high, I make a well in the veggies, so that the meat fits in it and the lid can seal on the top. I put a small amount of water in the bottom to give something to add steam. A lot of these roasts do well with moist heat, and the crockpot lets us provide this.

I don’t have an insta-pot, but it would work in a similar fashion. Follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Order your roast today!

Meat is meat. You can eat it whatever kind of meat whenever you want to. But some meats seem more suited to certain times of year. Roasts; whole duck, chicken or turkey; and slow cooked meats tend to be better suited to fall and winter. As they slowly cook in the crockpot, on the stove top, or in the oven, they help generate heat for the house. The warm food will also warm the body.

This series will look at the meats we have and ways they can be used. Especially in the fall and winter. Here are links to the meats we have written about.

Pork Roasts

Beef – Meaty Shank Soupbones or Short Ribs

Chicken Broth

This time of year we have patty pan squash. These bowl-shaped summer squash are mostly yellow with a green circle on the blossom end. They can be used in the same way as zucchini or yellow summer squash.

Here is a look at the inside of a patty pan. The top one was cut horizontally and the bottom one vertically. It is meatier than zucchini or yellow summer squash.

Two customers like to slice them horizontally and roast them. They put some basting oil with seasoning in the pan, place the patty pan circles on top, and add some onion or garlic. One customer roasts it like this for 20 min. at 400F, then flips them and roasts them until the edges are brown and it is sort of caramelized. The other customer, after placing them in the pan, sprinkles them with parmesan cheese and roasts them until the cheese browns. Both of them love patty pan season!

I am more simple. I tend to slice and boil them like I might with zucchini or yellow summer squash. OR I wedge/chunk them up and add them to the veggie stir fry mix for the day. With any of these ways they are a good squash, tasty and pretty!