Farm News

October 30, 2011

Fall is in full swing here at the farm, bringing soaking drizzles, occasional wind gusts and lots of beautiful fall color. It was a weird year for weather, and a bit deja vu’, with a very late-arriving summer, very little summer heat, and a mild fall. To date we’ve had only one slight frost, which is strange for those of us on Frost Pairie. (Normally, first frost comes by October 15th, although two years ago it was in September!) The weather forecasts call for below-freezing temperatures a couple of nights this week, so I’m hoping that’ll mean an end to the multitudes of flying insects that bombard us as we step out under the porch lights to leave for work in the dark. So far, the cattle have had plenty to eat on the leased pasture so are happily still hanging out there. We installed fresh, bright “No Hunting” signs a while back to offer a reminder to folks to keep their guns pointed elsewhere, and so far there we’ve not had any issues. Elk season starts this weekend, so Paul and his male-folk will be doing their man event in the woods, while I hold down the fort and do some fall projects at home. We both love this time of year, especially the hearty meals and warm fires in the fireplace (or pellet stove, in our case!), perfect for snuggling up with the latest issue of Stockman Grass Farmer. Speaking of good reads, check out this great article about the Scottish Highland breed (featuring the president of our regional breed association) from National Public Radio!

Hope you’re staying dry and cozy!

Best,
Paul and Amy

September 25, 2011

Fall has arrived at Skookumchuck Farm, and it’s very welcome. Those of you who follow the farm blog know that Paul and I experienced a most heart-breaking loss this summer with the late miscarriage of our twins on August 5th. The month was difficult, to say the least, and it’s taken us a while to feel any semblance of normal. With the arrival of fall, though, comes mind-clearing breezes, and while we’ll always love and never forget our daughter and our son, moving forward feels like the right thing to do.

So, this weekend Paul got busy helping to hang fresh “No Hunting” signs at our leased pasture so none of the local hunters decide our horned cattle look more appealing than elk or venison. He also helped change some fencing around so the fold can access the green growth on the hay pasture across the creek. They are looking very healthy and robust, and were mighty pleased to be moved to fresh grass. Our two 2012 beef steers, Cowboy and Clyde, are developing very nicely on grass alone and should be fantastic next fall when it’s time to butcher.

Meanwhile, cooler weather invites us to plan hearty, soul-warming meals, and beef figures in highly for Paul and me, of course. I envision roasts cooked slow in the crockpot while we’re at work, stews, and, of course, steaks and winter vegetables. I hope to post recipes on the site in the near future, but in the meantime, you can find good meal ideas at AllRecipes.com.

Bon appetite!
Paul and Amy

July 29, 2011

Summer this year feels a little like Groundhog’s Day – a sad repeat of last year. We’ve had above average precipitation and below average number-of-days-over-70-degrees, which makes for nice grass, stressful haying and poorly performing summer vegetable gardens. Still, this summer has a been a good one! Our cattle are happily munching away on lovely grass on our newly leased 10 acre pasture, where they’ll stay until mid-November (or later, depending on the grass and the soil). That gives us time to do a little bit of work on the property without the curious cattle getting in the way. Good news, too, given how much our lives have changed since May – and will be forever changed (in a most spectacular way!) You can read the details on the farm blog. These changes have led us to make some changes, including selling off the laying hens to Amy’s farming friend to simplify and reduce the unnecessary chore burden on Paul. We’ll probably have layers and sell eggs again in the future, but it’ll be awhile, and that’s ok. Locals, we can direct you to several nearby farms who regularly have eggs for sale if you’re interested.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Warmly,
Paul and Amy

April 24, 2011

Happy Easter to you and yours! Typical of Western Washington’s weather, today’s will bring chill and wet to all the family Easter Egg hunts – unless folks wised up and held them yesterday, which was a sunny day with highs close to 70 degrees! On the farm, much is changing. Just as spring encourages plants to grow and change, so are we. We’re purchasing two new females to join our fold, and we’ll post photos just as soon as the girls come home to Tenino. They’ll have a brief stay as we get to know them here at home, and then they’ll join the rest of our fold at our newly leased summer pasture 10 minutes from home. To have the opportunity to consider growing our fold, something we’ve dreamed of doing, is amazing and exciting. We plan to grow slowly since our winter pasture – just 2.5 acres – can only handle so many bovines (and we want to keep our neighbors happy!), but oh, the possibilities!

We wish you a joyous holiday and hope Spring is chasing those winter blues away in your area.

Best,
Paul and Amy

March 27, 2011

It’s hard to believe we’re already a full week into spring. Mother Nature has teased us with a couple of fantastically warm, sunny days, followed by weekends of more snow on Paul’s jobs (he’s currently logging at 2,500 feet) and torrential downpours with a side of hail and wind locally. Still, the flowers on the ornamental plum tree and the fuzzy volunteer daffodil heads indicate a change in the season. We know summer will be here before we know it…so it’s time to get busy!

For us, that means spring cleaning around the farm, planning the vegetable gardens, trying to keep up with the sudden onslaught of farm fresh chicken eggs, and this year, once again, starting to plan for show season! We don’t want to count our chickens before they’re hatched (er, calf before it’s born), but we tentatively plan to show Sheila and her June 2011 calf at three shows, and will possibly bring Cowboy and Clyde to the Puyallup Fair, where we’re allowed to show prospect steers. It’ll be a lot of work getting ourselves and the critters ready for show, but we have a lot of time to work on it…just as soon as the rains stop and it warms up a little, that is!

Happy Spring!
Paul and Amy

February 25, 2011

Heard this morning: crunch, crunch, crunch, the sound of my footsteps in the snow that fell yesterday and froze overnight.  Heard this afternoon: drip, drip, drip, the sound of all that snow melting and running off buildings, cars and plants as the sun broke out in a huge grin. Yes, it’s definitely winter in Western Washington, and a La Nina one at that. Just as we’d been cautiously ready to welcome spring as the crocuses bloomed last week, we now hang our heads in realization that winter isn’t through with us yet. The cattle, of course, could care less, happily hanging out underneath the big evergreen tree in the pasture, chewing their cud. Yes, unfortunately, they’re still on pasture, safe from all the mud that’s plagued our sacrifice paddock all winter. We planned to move them into the paddock this weekend, but we’ll have to see how the ground looks. It’s a fine line, keeping our cattle comfortable while allowing the land a break so that grass can grow in the spring. For Skookumchuck Farm, the transition of winter into spring brings with it the closure of our beef season until 2012. We’d like to thank our loyal customers – and a couple of new ones! – for their business. We hope you love your beef as much as we do! (We’ve got rib steaks on our menu for tonight…yum!)

Warmly (yes, please keep warm!),
Paul and Amy

January 10, 2011

It’s the New Year, full of bright opportunities, fresh starts, and the promise of spring! This New Year finds us preparing for our 2011 beef harvest, contacting repeat customers and generating new business from folks anxious to try our Scottish Highland beef. This time we’re harvesting two animals, allowing us to both fulfill our customers’ beef orders and make room on our property for new genetics so that we can improve our herd.

If you’re interested in trying our beef, you’ll want to contact us as soon as possible. We’re nearly sold out of both ground beef and quarters this time, and will not harvest again until Fall 2012!

Happy New Year to you and yours. May all your days be prosperous and joy-filled!

Paul and Amy

December 18, 2010

Where has the time gone?! Fall slipped past us with hardly a word, and winter has arrived for sure, at least as far as the short days and long nights are concerned! The air has chilled, and with only a few exceptions, our winter La Nina rains have begun. Thankfully, the thick coat of the Scottish Highland breed is keeping our cattle quite comfortable despite the chill. In fact, in all but the wettest, windiest weather, they actually prefer to stay out in the pasture, contentedly chewing their cuds, rather than seeking shelter under the trees.

La Nina is reminding us that our farm needs some wet-weather modifications, so we’ve put on our thinking caps and are already starting to plan for warmer weather chores. In 2011, that will include a renovation of our sacrifice paddock, which Ms. La Nina turned into a muddy, poorly draining nightmare last month during a heavy rain. We’ve never looked so forward to a good, hard freeze, as mud makes getting to the chickens quite an exercise! Having the cattle out on pasture and out of the mud is good for them, but not the best for the pasture, so we’re also starting to look into land to lease next summer to give ours a break.

Nonetheless, as we reflect on the past year and all the wonderful experiences we had, we can smile and shake our heads at the weather and know that this, too, shall pass, and the seasons will again turn. For now, we’ll enjoy the warmth of the fire, bundle up to do our chores, and continue to laugh at the goofy cold-weather antics of our Highlands!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Warmly,
Paul and Amy

October 3, 2010

Fall has officially arrived at Skookumchuck Farm, with that tell-tale moisture in the air, golden slanting light, and beginnings of brilliant fall colors. While the first hard frost of the season hasn’t visited yet, we know it’s likely only a couple of weeks away. (For reference, last year’s first hard frost occurred on September 9th, which was, in a word, weird.)

This weekend is weaning weekend for Cowboy and Clyde, the farm’s two steer calves. Both boys are growing well and take fewer feedings from their mamas, so it seemed the right time. It hasn’t been 24 hours of separation yet, but so far the bawling has been minimal, probably because we’re weaning the boys in the field section where they were born, right adjacent to the cows. Cows and calves can easily see one another and sniff through the fence, providing comfort and reassurance. The cows’ udders are starting to feel uncomfortable so they have things to “say” about that, but discomfort will leave in a few days as their milk production starts to slow to a stop. So long as no one (I’m talking to you, Clyde!) decides to go through a fence, this will be an easy weaning!

Happy Fall!
Paul and Amy

September 12, 2010

Fall and winter symbolize short days, long, dark evenings, and hurried family meals squeezed between kids’ after school sports events and activities. It’s a time of fall festivals, succulent comforting meals, and togetherness. Now is the perfect time to think about adding wholesome, tasty Skookumchuck Farm 100% Highland beef to your freezer and 2011 meal plans!

We are now accepting deposits for sides of beef (halves or quarters) or ground beef only. Harvest is expected in January 2011. Quantities will be extremely limited, so orders will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Learn about our beef, review our prices, and place your order now…and serve Highland beef for your family’s dinners and gatherings!

Warmly,
Paul and Amy

July 2, 2010

This just in: our first two calves, T-Bone and Annabel, both made the American Highland Cattle Association’s 2009 Roll of Excellence for the points they won after being shown in only two Highland shows!

For every point show an animal places in, their points are tallied and sent to AHCA. At the end of show season, AHCA tabulates all the results and the top five animals in each category are ranked and listed in the Roll of Excellence. Some shows, like Washington’s NWHCA Regional Show at the Western Washington State Fair (Puyallup) are “super points” shows, meaning animals win double the points they do at regular points shows. The numbers in red indicate the number of points earned by each animal overall.

While we are extremely proud and happy to have received this national recognition, we’re even more thrilled that FIVE of our fellow Northwest Highland Cattle Association breeders also made the list: Allen Acres (Amy and Kevin Allen, Shelton); Bitterroot Farms (Tom and Deanna Newton, McCleary); Blueberry Meadows Highlands (Bonnie McLarty, Enumclaw); Hemlock Highlands (John and Jean Bates, Sedro-Woolley); Run a Muk Ranches (Sue Weimer and Naomi Ewing, Yakima)!

To see the full national results of the 2009 Roll of Excellence for all Highland show categories, visit the AHCA ROE page.

June 24, 2010

Contrary to the popular adage, Spring  2010 in Western Washington came in like a lamb and went out like a lion! We received record amounts of rainfall in May and June, and only this week is summer-like weather beginning to appear, with partly sunny skies and temperatures forecasted in the low- to mid-70s (although yesterday was 79 in Tenino – too hot for Amy!).

While the extra moisture was good for the pasture grass in some respects (especially since our Frost Prairie rocky soil is quick to drain), the clouds and cool temperatures put grass growth behind schedule, slowing our first experiments with Management Intensive Grazing (MiG). MiG, sometimes called rotational grazing (although not quite the same), involves utilizing temporary hotwire fencing to break our pastures into small sections that can be grazed in a flexible rotation. The goal is for the cattle to graze the pasture plants at their optimal growth part – not too tall and not too short – and then move them to the next paddock so the area they just left can rest and recover. Over time, if done correctly (and “correct” is loose term), MiG improves the fertility and diversity of the pasture and can extend the amount of time per year that a pasture can be grazed, while continual grazing – allowing cattle to roam the pasture freely and eat whatever and whenever they want – results in all the tastiest grass being overgrazed and weakened and allows room for weeds and non-desirable species to move in. We’re not doing MiG “perfectly” so far, but are confident that even with our mistakes to date, what we’re doing now is better than what we’ve done the past two years, and we’re seeing some great diversity around the cow patties already.

If you’d like to learn more about MiG, check out the book Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin, or visit the Holistic Management International or National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) links on the right-hand side of our website.

Enjoy your early summer!
Paul and Amy

April 27, 2010

Sheila’s 2010 calf arrived at 8:43 p.m. on Sunday, April 11th! Named Cowboy, this  80 lb, blue-eyed bull calf shows indications of gray pigment on his nose and eyelids, indicating he’ll likely mature to be brindle like his sire, Umberto of Hem-Loch. He’s showing a lot of blockiness already and looks to be a promising bull prospect.

Five days later, on April 16th at 7:40 p.m., Bridgit delivered her healthy bull calf, Clyde, the spitting image of his slightly older half brother. This little bundle of energy was up on his feet in 18 minutes and running and playing at less than 12 hours old. So far he appears to be light red or yellow in color and doesn’t show the gray skin pigmentation of a brindle animal. He’s a curious little cutie pie!

Cowboy at 2 days old

Clyde, 2 days old

To read more about what’s happening at Skookumchuck Farm, check out our blog.

Happy Spring,
Paul and Amy