Hayman Road Farm

I have been trying to grow and preserve my area...

2012-03-21T00:09:54.781-07:00

I have been trying to grow and preserve my area's food plants for years, I have lived in the area off and on literally all my life, but I have a small 1/6 th an acre city lot, though once we had open forest near here, that is going away with houses and apartments. I Hope to be able to grow all the food I myself need on the land I have. Which after you take out the house and other things you only get 1/12th an acre. In the book "One straw revolution" They feed 4 on 1/4 of an acre, so that is 1/16th per person. So my goal is to BioWebScape that down to 1/20th an acre or less. Between rainwater harvesting and other methods, I hope to be able to prove my ideas in a few years within this framework. The more we know about how to eat off the land we have the better off we will be. Found your link via JHK's site, thanks.

I've been reading through your posts and wante...

2012-02-28T11:24:05.410-08:00

I've been reading through your posts and wanted to drop a note saying thank you for writing as you do. I appreciate it a lot.

Re: getting away from oil-based fuels-- I read a W...

2011-09-05T04:48:49.849-07:00

Re: getting away from oil-based fuels-- I read a Wendell Barry essay that seemed to cover a swath of topics. One point that aggravated him was how he could not figure a way to live without needing a vehicle. Even the Amish take rides from the "English" to visit stores. I think economics will force a change. Once oil is rare enough to be unaffordable, towns will contract (like they once expanded) and alternative fuels will improve and expand by need. Most people are not prone to doing "right things" because they are right. You are one of the rare good souls who does.

Hi Kristen -- glad you like it. Feel free to stop...

2011-08-22T09:37:52.182-07:00

Hi Kristen -- glad you like it. Feel free to stop by if you're ever in the neighborhood!

Hi! I found your blog through the EatLocalSWMich Y...

2011-08-19T06:35:31.934-07:00

Hi! I found your blog through the EatLocalSWMich Yahoo group, and subscribed. I live halfway between Galesburg and Augusta on a small farm that my family started renting two years ago. We're just getting started, but I love reading about people that already have their farms in motion - and you're doing a lot of the things that I'd like to do eventually, and share some of the same opinions on the state of the world. Thanks for blogging! :)

Regarding "the ones who haven't come to t...

2011-04-26T07:49:39.570-07:00

Regarding "the ones who haven't come to terms with reality"...

That's a very good point. I'm fairly certain there will be fewer than 1 billion people around to witness the turn of the next century (if anyone makes it that far, which might be a stretch considering the upcoming climate chaos we've built for ourselves).

For now I'm just interested in making it through the transition period, where TSHTF.

American as a group are very well armed, so I'm sure those will be put to good (and bad) use. I like the idea of "speak softly but carry a big stick". That may help us survive the initial phases, but eventually, people will find that ever larger groups engender greater success rates when it comes to getting their needs met, and someone will have a bigger "stick" than we do.

My hope is that we can build someting of a community where neighbors see eachother as important to their own survival instead of envying eachother's stashes of rice and beans. Will such a policy be successful? I have no idea, but it's the best idea I've got.

Interesting blog. A few things in life have opened...

2011-04-26T06:54:47.665-07:00

Interesting blog.
A few things in life have opened my eyes to what's really going on. Unfortunately, I think you're probably closer to the truth than most would imagine. Maybe not exactly the things you stated, but perpetual growth isn't sustainable in any regards. We're most likely seeing the beginnings of changes most can't imagine, on many different fronts.

Hopefully I've started my path to sustainability soon enough. The year to come I have a bad feeling is going to be "interesting" to say the least.

One thing I haven't ran across is how you intend to deal with all the ones who haven't come to terms with reality. Who won't be able to stop at Walmart or McD's for their "cheap sustenance".

Take care and good luck.

Birgit -- I would love to compare notes with you o...

2011-04-25T18:43:27.632-07:00

Birgit -- I would love to compare notes with you on the small grains, esp with regards to harvesting/processing. Though I've done a fair amount of research, I was not aware of the Rodale book, but have run accross some interesting info. Please email me (davidveale@hotmail.com).

We are also planting hull-less oats this year (onl...

2011-04-25T11:33:35.981-07:00

We are also planting hull-less oats this year (only about 1000 sq ft), and we have 1000 sq ft of winter wheat. After the exceptionally tedious threshing event last year, we are actually building a threshing machine (based on the Rodale Press model in the Small Grain book, 70's edition). All the welding is done, and we just need to assemble it. You might want to think about building something like that as well for processing your grains.

--Birgit

I don't think you are crazy at all.... well, y...

2011-04-24T17:26:45.034-07:00

I don't think you are crazy at all.... well, you were always a little "different" but not crazy.
The more we see farms down here, the more I think that you are really on to something. We spent a night at a farm (that is probably going to be buried by an upcoming dam project) a couple of nights ago and they are mostly off the grid. They do use a truck to get to town and get some supplies but when I looked around I thought of you and how the Veale compound could really exist in Patagonia. Land is cheap down here, there is plenty of water and sun and you won't have to drive to the mountains at all because giant glaciated peaks are literally across the river.
It is a fantastic place down here and it only took me 250 gallons of blissful gas to get down here. I hate to think of how much it will take to get back.
Although I'm not quite ready to take the measure that you have, I really respect what you have done and your choices have had a big affect on mine.
Looking forward to seeing the ranch someday. Maybe this fall.

Marshall

Bruce reminded me that horses are intelligent anim...

2011-04-06T18:56:03.387-07:00

Bruce reminded me that horses are intelligent animals, too. The way you treat those animals is really inspiring. This idea of riding horses for transportation is actually good, although the number of people relying on cars increases almost everyday. But I also agree that this technology requires energy from living creatures on this planet. Humans are the ones who invented cars after all, right? Let's just hope that people will become more aware on the importance of utilizing these inventions responsibly so we won't run out of resources.

Hi Birgit, Glad you like the blog! I really li...

2011-03-02T14:05:54.946-08:00

Hi Birgit,

Glad you like the blog!

I really liked the blacksmithing class and definitely recommend it. You get to dive right in and try forge-welding, which is considered one of the more difficult tasks for a blacksmith. Very hands-on, which is my favorite way to learn. The instructor is a professional blacksmith who really knows his stuff.

Not sure if you're in Michigan or not, but you may also want to check out the Michigan Artist Blacksmith Association (http://www.miblacksmith.org/calendar.html)

Hi, I really enjoy your blog! How was the blacks...

2011-03-02T13:13:55.536-08:00

Hi, I really enjoy your blog! How was the blacksmithing class at Tillers? My husband is interested in taking it (but we're 4 hours away -- so I'd want to make sure it's good). We saw their setup at the Harvest Fest last year (yay Heinberg) and it looked nice.

I am envious of your setup and level of learning/preparedness!

--Birgit

Hi Brad, Good idea -- I'll cover that in more...

2011-02-16T07:59:35.650-08:00

Hi Brad,

Good idea -- I'll cover that in more detail on the next entry.

We do not yet have a hand pump, though we do have a second well drilled for exactly this purpose. It's a long story... email me and I'll fill you in on the details (email link is on the blog, upper right corner)

David, Have you ever done a post on the Michigan l...

2011-02-15T14:44:35.191-08:00

David,
Have you ever done a post on the Michigan law regarding raw milk sales and on how your public is receiving the opportunity to buy raw milk? I'd also be interested in your "policies and procedures" for milking, handling the milk, sanitation, marketing, etc. Wisconsin used to have an "understanding" of sorts that allowed incidental raw milk sales--until the Dept of Ag, Trade and 'Consumer Protection' decided to re-interpret said understanding and shut down the few people who were selling shares of their cows. I don't expect that opportunity to come back here any time soon, but one can hope. And on an unrelated question: do you have a manual pump on your well? If so, what brand and how well does it work?

Thanks for your blog. I enjoy reading your story.

Hi Katie -- that's correct; Rachel did go to ...

2010-10-17T18:01:06.661-07:00

Hi Katie -- that's correct; Rachel did go to school in Plainwell also. Feel free to email (links are on the right hand side of the main page).

HI there- I think you are the couple my mom told m...

2010-10-16T09:25:00.550-07:00

HI there- I think you are the couple my mom told me to get in contact with...is your wife's maiden name Kopka? I went to Plainwell too. Would love to hear more about your journey with farming.

I love the website it is very informitive and peop...

2010-08-11T08:35:02.879-07:00

I love the website it is very informitive and people need educated,also great pics ...very good!!!

Yeah it was the Hubbard White Mountain Broiler fro...

2010-08-03T06:19:54.446-07:00

Yeah it was the Hubbard White Mountain Broiler from Townline that I won't repeat. It was so regrettable, every possible problem, and yeah, some even croaked at 7 weeks! I had three whose legs were so bad that I had to lift them into the coop (the rest of them were in the chicken tractor). All for, what, saving you 2-6 weeks of work for the other birds? No thanks. I will go slow.

This is our first year raising our own meat birds (from an egg bird rooster) but we don't have "enough" to satisfy my husband's yearly consumption needs so I got the FRs, after seeing them offered by someone on the EatLocalSWMI list. I dunno. I am hoping maybe our egg birds just get extra busy next year so I don't have to do the tractoring, etc. You, though, well, have a real farm! so, good luck figuring it all out...your customers are waiting.

Maybe our experience with the Freedom Rangers is b...

2010-08-02T19:37:01.762-07:00

Maybe our experience with the Freedom Rangers is beginner's luck. I've heard so many horror stories about the Cornish Crosses, but I also know folks who seem to do alright with them. We were definitely not disappointed with the rangers though, so at least we have a baseline to go with.

Ugh. I am growing the Freedom Rangers this year an...

2010-08-02T05:10:54.383-07:00

Ugh. I am growing the Freedom Rangers this year and I am really disappointed by them! I can't believe I am typing this but this is Year Four of raising meat birds (wow time does fly) and so far we've raised a type of Cornish Cross (from the hatchery in Zeeland), Slow-Growing Cornish and Red Broilers from Privett Hatchery in NM, and this year the FRs. I have horrible mortality: 5 out of 25 in just 2 weeks. And they've got the spraddle leg thing really bad too even though they're on good feed supplemented with boiled eggs, etc. Grr. The Slow-Growing Cornish have really been my favorite: the roos finish at 6lbs at 9-10 weeks and they're great at free-ranging. My best mother hen is Chicken Patty, who has successfully brooded and ranged 15 chicks so far. I don't know, maybe this is just a bad batch. Can't figure it on the spraddle legs at all. The first two weeks they're on terry towels, then wood chips then out on grass, so their surface isn't slippery. And they're not growing too fast: our mutt chickens hatched at the same time and many of them are bigger even if they're out with their mamas. Sorry to clog the conversation as I do get your larger point (really!) but...I had to whine. :)

Tillers is amazing! I took their farming with dra...

2010-07-15T17:28:21.793-07:00

Tillers is amazing! I took their farming with draft horses class, which is what got me going with our horses. Rachel has taken one of their spinning classes too.

Am really looking forward to hearing Heinberg at their upcoming harvest fest; for all the good stuff they do, I haven't until now seen energy issues placed so much at the forefront. I read two of his books -- The Party's Over and Power Down -- both of which were real eye openers for me.

Enjoy your posts, they are always well thought out...

2010-07-14T11:55:47.453-07:00

Enjoy your posts, they are always well thought out and interesting. Since you're in SW lower Michigan, you should really check out Tillers, International in Scotts. They do a lot with animal power and appropriate technology. Richard Heinberg is speaking at their harvest festival in September.

Hi El! Extricating ourselves from fossil fueled l...

2010-07-13T10:22:45.695-07:00

Hi El! Extricating ourselves from fossil fueled lifestyles in a society that's based on nothing but isn't easy, that's for sure. Just keep hacking away, I guess.

BTW -- nice outdoor kitchen! We're quite envious -- might have to copy you on that. It would make having a woodstove in the indoor kitchen much more bearable in summer (that's on our list too, not done just yet)

I would just say I was feeling swell reading this ...

2010-07-10T06:15:51.610-07:00

I would just say I was feeling swell reading this while eating my homemade sourdough (fired in our outdoor wood oven) topped with my own goat's herbed chevre...but I do realize that though the wheat was grown in MI and the goat's grains were grown and ground here too I did rely on the fridge to cool the cheese. Sigh.

It's hard to make an end run around this first-world way of life. But one can take steps, and one should not be immune to some comforts, like that A/C in your car.