Laughing Earth

The are starting to be dissatisfied with their hay. They can see all this lovely green grass just on the other side of the fence, and that's what they want. We have them shut off from pasture for now, while it grows, until the grass reaches a certain size and they won't do more harm than good to our pasture. Grow, babies, grow!! #laughingearth #grassfed #pastureraised

Who wants skritchies? #laughingearth #pasturedraised

Plant babies getting planted outdoors! #laughingearth #farmshare

The chickens are growing fast! We are hoping the weather will be good enough to move them out to pasture, as they are getting a little cramped in their indoor space. #laughingearth almost #pastureraised ... Spring is tough.

The only home we've got. #earthday

If you're buying your eggs at the grocery store, your hens don't live like this. Fresh pasture twice weekly, regionally grown organic grain, lots of space to act like a chicken. #laughingearth #certifiedorganic #pastureraised

The peas have germinated! #laughingearth #farmshare

@suncommon I hope you don't mind the helpers we provided ... You may want to check for surprises in there... #laughingearth #freerange #farmlife

9 am//5 pm. Ah, spring. Not sure the temperature changed all day, but the atmosphere did. #laughingearth #pastureraised

I don't care that it snowed today. These tiny tomatoes got bumped up to big kid pots, @suncommon guys came and started to build the frame for the solar array, @indigo_glitter made empanadas for lunch, Zack baked a cake, and Aaron made tahini swirls for morning snack. And no livestock escaped or died. And it's my birthday. So weather, you do you, I'll enjoy whatever. #laughingearth #farmlife

We gave the spring pigs a bit of fresh grass yesterday. Pigs can graze! Pigs raised over winter for spring meat are difficult as a pasture-based farmer, because there is always tension between animal health and happiness and pasture health. Generally, if you have livestock over the winter, you have what's called a "sacrifice pasture" and anybody who has walked up to visit the pigs here has a good view of the sacrifice pasture - right now it's just dust and mud. We could have... left the pigs shut in the barn all winter, giving them lots of hay for their roughage and protecting all of our outdoor areas from their depredations, but the pigs would be more prone to boredom and disease, so we've opted to give them outdoor area at the expense of the health of that patch of soil. Pigs raised over the summer for fall meat are a little easier in this regard, because there is plenty of grass, as long as we take the time to move them often, #laughingearth #pastureraised #pork See more

No till drill on loan from @rensselaercountyny SWCD - we are seeding some leased land that's been in corn for some years over to pasture, hopefully for pigs in the late fall or next year. Folks who drive on Bulson road will know where this is. Chris Bulson still owns this land, but we now have a real solid lease with him, so we will be doing more with this acreage, and transitioning it to organic with the rest of our acreage. #laughingearth #pasture

I think video is a better medium for chicks than still photography. We got our second batch in this morning, and this one has some of the grey broilers in addition to the regular white ones. They get really pretty when they grow up! #laughingearth #pastureraised #certifiedorganic

It was a beautiful day to be a hen on pasture. #laughingearth #certifiedorganic #pastureraised