Tag: agriculture

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

When Things Break Down…

There are seasons when everything seems to break down.  In nature, in societies, and with equipment, stressed systems eventually give.  So it has been with equipment at Quill’s End this year.  Being beings of few means, we rely more on our resource and sagacity during such seasons.  This, too,  has fallen short this summer.  Our tractor (1989), which already displayed uncommon character, has sat idle at far too regular intervals waiting for proper attention. 

We have taken our cues and are refining our mechanical skills, such as they are, to meet the moment.  Animal husbandry, as we practice it, does not require daily usage of steel, diesel, and hydraulics, but they do come in handy to move, crush, turn, spread, mow, and transfer when needed.  As the season wears on, the need for a working machine, having oft been broken when needed, becomes more pressing.  It occurs to me that machinery only goes awry while you are using it, whereas the opposite applies to living beings.  The inanimate objects in our lives can only display character when in use; living beings can display character even while at rest.

Astrid was born on a cold November day 5 years ago.  A daughter of Teeter and Freddy, she was immediately destined for incomparable character.  Marked by a white star on her forehead,  her name was her destiny as well.  I had to save writing about her for last, as the words to describe her are more complicated.
 

A magnet for human attention, Astrid is usually the first in any given paddock to approach.  She demands attention and gets it as her coloring, health, and shiny coat endear even the most inexperienced bovine observer to her.  Oh, but it doesn’t stop there.  She loves proper attention, and scorns being slighted.  She can come to the barn in a mood for perceived slights, discomfort, or…nothing at all.  She will refuse to be milked until such efforts are made to mollify her and assure her of most favored status.

Having her is a pleasure as her personality brims over and spills out when interacting.  Her health and vigor makes you think you know what you are doing.  She is a one of a kind that you’re OK with, as a barn full of Astrids would probably be unmanageable.  There is only so much farmer to go around.

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Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

She’s an Easy Keeper!

This week, I was reminded of the age-old acronym KISS.  Keep it simple, stupid.  For some time now, my main form of transportation has been misbehaving, and even a short to the mechanic’s shop this week drive provided a massive dose of adrenaline. 

Since my appointment with the mechanic was scheduled three weeks after my phone call, I had time to research, troubleshoot, and possibly save some money by doing some of the work myself.  The more modern the vehicle, the deeper the rabbit hole of sensors and components.  My little Toyota Tacoma is a 1996, and fortunately, still has a fair amount of mechanical, rather than electrical, components.  I should have concentrated on corrosion instead of sensors, it seems.  My research complicated a problem fixed by a professional with WD40.

I was flabbergasted when, after a harrowing drive to the mechanic shop on Wednesday, they called with a fix mere hours later.  Thank God for knowledgeable professionals.  Mechanics are a mystery to me.  I lack the patience for discovery and the mechanical sense that clicks so easily in their minds.

It is that “click” that sets an individual apart in any field.  Sometimes, creatures just intuit a skill.  Cows as well as humans.  True in fields of pasture as well as mechanical fields.  Ariel is like that.  She is just three and on her first lactation as a dairy cow, a novice in her career.   Yet, she is the essence of a dairy cow…she embodies it.

Born from Pippin, of whom I wrote three weeks ago; and sired by Hughbert, the mellowest bull we have ever had, Ariel has been eager to please and unwilling to make a fuss from day one.  She goes about her business with class and skill, no matter what you ask of her.

She calved last fall when we had too much milk and were trying to sell a few cows to even out the supply-demand cycle.  We felt we had to list her for sale along with some other difficult choices.  We are glad no one bought her. 

She raised three veal calves for a few months and then willingly came into the milking parlor to provide you all with dairy products.  This would not be an easy transition for many cows.  She would melt into a larger herd, but is all too happy to be treated to royal care here at Quill’s End, where we can seek her and her wonderful, willing personality out and value the ease she provides us. 

Old-timers would call her an “easy keeper” and I am beginning to understand just what that understated metaphor means, thanks to Ariel.

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Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

There are times on the coast of Maine when a land farmer has to dress for fishing.  If one could call June “times,” it fit the bill.  

I have had to practice gratitude this last month, as day upon day of rainforest weather has grown fantastic grass and also tread upon my spirit.  So I’m remembering the Junes when all the first cutting of hay is in because of the lack of rain, which means that hay might be needed in August rather than December, and the second cut won’t amount to much.  I’m remembering dry pants after moving the cow fence in the morning when by rights, my thighs ought to be wet from wading through tall, dewy pasture grasses.  I’m remembering jonesing for rain during “perfect” weather.  A rainforest month like June sure does grow grass, and grass sure does make milk, and extra milk sure does make beautiful pork and veal.

As this weather pattern stretches into July, a different consideration arises.  Rain gear does a great job of keeping the weather out, but it is also quite good, at warmer temperatures, of wetting you from the inside.  Now the decision to don the full gear is harder.  Rain does the job comfortably in warm weather; gear does not.  Rain requires a change of clothes and gear wets less but offends the olfactory senses. 

I have choices this summer unavailable to me in dry years, and try as I have, pleading, and later, obscenities, do not produce rain.  Logically then, too much moisture is better than drought.  Plenty of grass and wardrobe choices.  So, why do I still feel like I’m trying to convince myself?

To celebrate (despite?) this wet, wet weather and make room in our full, full freezers, we are offering a sale on smoked hams, loin roasts, veal chops, and veal short ribs.  A great meal in good company need not wait for clear skies.  Fog, mist and rain all call for comfort food.   Embrace the damp with fantastic food.  Leftover ham bone makes a great pea soup to go with the fog.  Short ribs stewing in a crock pot or Dutch oven smell divine on gray days.  Veal chops make any weeknight special.  A loin roast is an occasion to invite your neighbors in from the downpour.

When your tongue is dancing, you may forget you cannot see the end of your nose outdoors.  

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Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

With all the animals out on pasture now, our “inter-chore time” is spent shoveling out barns and shelters and planting as much as we can as we can. This week the goat house and the heifer shed have been on the list along with getting all the potatoes in the ground at long last. As we clean up the last of winter in the barns, I can’t help but start to think of winter in the woodshed. It’s time to get firewood cut and split.

I’ve always maintained that a successful northerner has a short-term memory, but the reality is that the successful northerner knows winter is coming, no matter the season. Thankfully, this thought doesn’t extend to the rest of nature. It lives in the moment not knowing the moment won’t last.

Our bluebird land baron now occupies himself with feeding his brood and mostly forgets to maintain his supremacy in his domain only occasionally fighting his reflection in our truck mirrors. The cows now step out of the barn to head to a new paddock as a matter of course, rather than romping up into the next field or the wrong barn door just for kicks. The clover, vetch, and grasses soak in the sunshine and rain and store it all down, just as they were meant to.

For now, I feel pretty sure of what is to come. The peas, the greens, the new potatoes, the tomatoes, the apples…all of the work that bears fruit will please us (may we be so blessed) in its season. But the wood pile, the preserving and freezing, they call to us on cold rainy days and remind us of our roots. Life here takes a short memory, and a long trajectory.

For the growing season, we must live for the day and also plan for the year(s) ahead. Farmers live on a fulcrum thinking simultaneously of the decades ahead and how we can make the time of plenty last all year, while improving everyday functions and work for the moment. The bluebirds and the cows, the vetch, clover and grasses are following their internal rhythms. We’ll keep taking our cues from their textbook

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Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

This month will mark 18 years since we moved from Brooksville to Quill’s End Farm.  It seems to have all started with resolve.

And continue forward in the same way.

We bought this farm from the late Paul Birdsall.  He was instrumental in starting Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Maine Farmland Trust.  Paul was a visionary in land transfer to the following generations.  He paid particular attention to the ridge that extends from Orland to Blue Hill because of the soils and traditional use.

Our farm had been vacant for nearly 30 years when he purchased it, the last owner having passed away in the mid-1970s.  When her daughter decided to sell, she remembered that Paul was interested in conserving it as farmland and approached him.  After Paul bought the property, he worked with the Blue Hill Heritage Trust to grant them development rights and certain restrictions that will keep this land as farmland in perpetuity.  He then listed the property through the Maine Farmlink program at Maine Farmland Trust.

We had mostly resolved ourselves, landless farmers as we were, to moving from Maine in order to farm.  A fellow farmer from Brooklin told us about Paul’s search for farmers for this farm.  We met Paul at the farm one bright fall day and walked the fields.  After that first meeting, he offered the Old Nevells farm to us.  He noticed fire in our bellies, he said.

In September 2004, we started to gut the old house, long abandoned by human residents, but certainly not vacant.  The horsehair plaster walls gave way to stories and clues to the past lives of the previous farmers and their families.  The ceiling bays gave way to tons of porcupine scat.  In January 2005, Kenny Jordan and his crew picked the house up and moved it 400′ over 3 days and onto a new foundation where it now rests.  In late March, we welcomed Carolyn into the world.  In May, newly remodeled inside and out, we moved in.

I don’t know that the whirlwind has stopped since or if we’ve merely grown more accustomed to it, but our resolve?

That is still there in the eye of the storms.

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Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.