First Half of 2016 - At A Glance

2016 has been a fantastic year so far for Restoration Acres Farm and the Palma family! We entered into our 3rd year of production this year with plans to increase production in every enterprise, and so we have. We have doubled our egg and pork production, and slightly increased our broilers and turkeys. We are also slowly growing our own beef herd with 2 pregnant cows and 1 young steer who was born on Christmas day, while continuing to care for our land owner's herd as if they were our own. By next Spring/Summer, we will have around 12 whole steers to sell that we raised from birth! That being said, make sure you make plans to fill your freezer with the best 100% grass fed and finished beef around!

Farmer Jackson is growing up to be quite the outdoorsman! He would play out in the dirt and grass all day every day if it was up to him! And thankfully he does get to spend most of his life doing just that, which was one of the big reasons we started on this journey of building a farm in the first place. His favorite animals so far are the cows and the farm dogs :) He constantly points at the trees and grass, the animals, the sky, anything outdoors. He even longingly points out the windows when we are inside, basically begging for us to take him outside. He turned one on May 5th and we had a wonderful party for him that week with so many friends and family there to celebrate his life. Thanks again to all who came out and to those who drove and flew long distances to be there with us! Jackson truly is a blessed little boy.

Farmer Matt has been working hard on the farm as always, making sure to keep the animals alive and happy and working to build infrastructure in order to increase our production. He is also becoming quite the cattleman, learning more every day about successful grazing and cattle management. It is amazing to see how much restoration has come to the pastures just from 2 years of proper cattle management! He also had the "privilege" of experiencing his first bone break. In April, he was moving the pigs and while attempting to push a fallen tree out of the way of the fence, was smacked in the face by a "green" branch from another tree that was hiding behind the fallen tree. Needless to say, his nose was pretty broken. The pouring blood streaming from his nose was his first clue, but when he touched his nose and it moved more than it usually does, he realized how bad it really was! Thankfully, the Dr's at UVA were wonderful and were able to reset it and get it pretty close to it's original straightness. Only a slight slant remains, but only noticeable if you really stare at his face. He said he's actually pleased that it is a little crooked...a sort of scar to remember this monumental moment of his first (and hopefully last) broken bone.

I (a.k.a. Mama Palma) have also been working hard in the home and on the farm. While Matt does the majority of the farm work, I do my share as well. I love working out on the farm though! I love the work and it keeps me from having to go to the gym or keep a scheduled workout going, which I have failed at in the past :) I have also been doing some planning in the kitchen for additional farm products that we will be offering soon, including ground chicken, chicken sausage, rubs and spice blends, chicken broth, and shredded cooked chicken. So be on the lookout soon for these items! I am so thankful to be able to stay at home with Jackson, something that we decided from the beginning we would make work. It is hard to do farm work with a child strapped to you, but so worth every extra bead of sweat, every sore back, every step uphill with an extra 20lbs (thankfully he is a skinny boy!). It is all worth it because again, THIS is one of the main reasons we decided to live this lifestyle, for our children! Jackson is in heaven when he is outside, whether playing in the dirt or strapped to mommy while we move the cows. The days when we are outside more he sleeps better, eats better, and is just all around happier. I wouldn't change any of this for the world!

We are also expecting Restoration Acres Farm's first piglets to be born here on the farm sometime in the next week or so. Our gilt (young female pig not yet farrowed) Shadow, and our boar Henry, will both be first time parents and we are so excited to see how they do with their little ones. We have been buying weaned piglets from other farmers but are hoping to be able to supply our own from now on.

Banjo and Mandolin, our (not so) vicious guard dogs, are doing well and keeping the farm (mostly) free of varmints. Our only predator problem this year has been hawks. We have two of them that live in our neck of the woods and while they mostly stay away from the chickens because of Mandolin, they do find the occasional opportunity to swoop down and attempt to snag one. Usually that opportunity presents itself when Mandolin is distracted with a dead deer carcass or trying to catch a ground hog on the opposite side of the farm from the chickens. Other than that, she keeps those suckers away from our birdies. Needless to say, it has been a worthwhile investment to have her here!

The turkeys have arrived and we are getting our last batch of broiler chicks this week. These two events mark the beginning of the end! And by that I mean the end of our poultry season. Although there is a whole lot of work between us and our season of rest, at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And man, does it look bright! We love what we do and enjoy every bit of it, but we are also quite thankful for seasons. We are thankful just as much for the season of long, hot days, chicken processing, and constantly sweating, as we are for the season of rest, cool air, reading, relaxing, and lots of family time. We are always striving to be content in every season and not dwell on "what's next". And not just every season of the year, but every season of life. We are in the middle of some sharp learning curves right now as we build a farm from the ground up, and each day presents it's own set of challenges. But before we know it, we'll be looking back and saying, "Man, remember when we first started our business? I can't believe we ever worried about [enter current worries here]". I will have to do an entirely separate post about the bountiful blessings God has provided for us! Until then, know that God has provided everything, and I mean EVERYTHING we've needed, in amazing and incredible ways.

Thanks for sticking around and following our journey. As always, we love and appreciate everyone's support and encouragement! 

Some more pictures.....just because!

Jackson's first big snow!

As many of you know, Matt takes some amazing pictures on the farm. And he does it all with his phone! We are hoping to eventually buy him a camera so he can actually make prints and sell them!

We added a "Brooder Box" to our current brooder. The box creates a more efficient space to heat with lamps and gives the chicks the freedom to run into the box if they're cold, and into the "run" on the left if they are warm and want to enjoy the breeze. 

Finishing some details inside before we put the side on. The lids come off for easy cleaning and checking on chicks.

A progressive picture of how the pasture restores itself and becomes better after pigs go through it

Our first set of broilers out to pasture in March

We received 9 ducklings with one of our chick orders this year. When we called the hatchery they said they don't produce ducklings at that location, so apparently someone in the postal service decided we needed a few ducks on our farm!

As you can see, the ducklings grow a lot bigger and faster than the chicks! All the birds in this picture are the same age! 

Charcoal is a natural wormer for pigs. Pigs are prone to worms, but when they are raised in a pasture based system and are constantly being moved to fresh ground, worms aren't much of an issue. But we do give them the occasional dose of charcoal to proactively take care of any worms. They always love the treat!

Almost always happy to be strapped
to mommy while farming!

Our niece helping water the piggies

Cows are such curious critters

Our brother-in-law Dave helping
Matt castrate our steer... :(

At the market with Uncle Justin

Banjo's mom and sister came to visit him at the farm. This is him and his momma!

Composting our brooder bedding

Picking up pork from the butcher!

He fell asleep on Papa on chicken
processing day. It's an exhausting
day for everyone!

Learning about chickens 

Our new sign hanging at the Lynchburg Community Market

We decided to buy a few Muscovy Ducks to help with fly control around our chicken pens.
Muscovy Ducks are known to be excellent fly catchers. So far they have done an excellent job!
This is the chickens getting to know the ducks through the chicken wire. 

Doing chores with our nieces and nephew. Teaching them about hard work, and
getting some practice for farming with lots of children!

Jackson made his first dollar
at the Farmer's Market!
He put his pale on the counter and
one of our customers put a dollar
in it as a tip. :)

As you can see, the grass and soil love the nitrogen boost from the chicken manure from our chicken pens. The green is where the pens have been, and the brown is where they are going. 

Our new laying hens have been successfully integrated into our flock. A few pecks here and there to establish their pecking order, and now everyone is happy and loving life!

Beautiful sunsets 

And beauty all around!