Innehållsförteckning för March/April 2019 från Hobby Farms

It’s Hobby Farms’ annual poultry issue, and I’m writing about worms. John Moody shows off his vermicomposting setup on page 52, and it’s a fascinating piece. People often ask me, “What’s the next ‘chicken?’” They’re referring to the backyard chicken boom of the past decade, and I wonder whether worms might be it. Are worms the next hot livestock option for small farms? Worms are easy to house and take care of; you feed them with your leftovers; and they provide compost, food for your chickens and bait for fishing. As Moody writes in his article, you can collect excess worms consistently to give to your flock. “Coming in at 60 to 70 percent protein, it doesn’t take many worms to make a big difference in a laying hen’s diet,”…

If you have a farm with pasture, the muscovy might be the duck breed for you. Muscovies love foraging on pasture, where they convert slugs, snails, mosquitoes, weeds, tender grass, berries and other edibles into tasty, lean meat and eggs. Muscovy females only lay around 50 to 100 eggs a year, but they make devoted broody birds that will gladly set their own eggs, as well as those belonging to other waterfowl, and vigorously defend their young from perceived enemies. These birds can make friendly, fascinating pets, too.…

If the Slow Food Ark of Taste were a place — a real ark — it would be the most diverse collection of animals, plants and foodways since well before our industrial food system began to prioritize production and efficiency over taste and function. But it’s not a place. Rather, it’s a list developed and maintained by an organization called Slow Food (www.slowfood. com), founded in 1989. According to its website, the group aims to “prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions” and “counteract the rise of fast life.” It also seeks to “combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from and how our food choices affect the world around us.” The more information that food producers and consumers have about the history…

A common question we get is how to collect worm compost. If you have multiple bins, you can have finished compost available when you need it, without interrupting the compost creation process. Note that with the new FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, feeding a worm bin and harvesting finished castings soon after is no longer allowed. For personal use, this is not as issue, but if you sell produce and are subject to the FSMA or if you sell worm compost, you need to navigate the rules regarding compost safety. You can read the current NOP rules, which are what FSMA uses for vermicompost, at https://bit.ly/2AN7Rue and https:// bit.ly/2su7fox. Generally, we build up our main worm bins starting in July through November, so that by the time we hit winter,…

To safely provide honeybees with a source of fresh water, simply put out a shallow plate or saucer, fill it with water and add plenty of clean gravel, seashells or even marbles. (These help visiting bees keep their footing as they tank up.) Although area bees might not take to your bee bath right away, be patient and keep the water level topped off. They will find it — especially if the water becomes a bit mossy. If you also have a traditional birdbath that you plan to keep filled, add some large stones to it as well. In the event that area pollinators gravitate to that water source instead, the stones inside can help to prevent accidental drowning.…

Inspecting your luffa plants for signs of insect invaders such as aphids, cucumber beetles and squash bugs is as important as regular watering, especially as younger plants are becoming established. That means examining the undersides of leaves for bad actors and their eggs and removing them before their populations can grow. Also watch for evidence of squash vine borers, which drill small holes into stems, leaving little piles of shavings behind. They dine on the insides of vines, killing entire sections of the plant as they go. See some telltale signs? Take a clean razor blade, make a slit along the vine and remove the intruder. Because insect pollinators are critical for the success of your crop, it’s better to rely on organic and integrated pest management methods instead of…

Find out more about growing ginseng at https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/ ginseng-productionguide-for-north-carolina or order a copy of Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals by Jeanine Davis. SALES POTENTIAL Woodland Planting: $73,000/acre 200 pounds of seed @ $65/pound = $13,000 1,000 pounds of roots @ $60/pound = $60,000 Intensive Cultivation: $129,000/acre 600 pounds of seed @ $65/pound = $39,000 3,000 pounds of roots @ $30/pound = $90,000 NET INCOME POTENTIAL Woodland Planting: $73,000 - $37,000 = $36,000/acre Intensive Cultivation: $129,000 - $53,000 = $76,000/acre…

Fly-strike, also known as myiasis, happens when a blowfly lays as many as 250 yellowish-to-white eggs in a wound, or in soggy feathers, hair or fur laced with fresh feces. The eggs hatch, becoming maggots in eight to 24 hours. Then they molt twice in three to nine days before dropping to the ground to pupate. Newly hatched maggots burrow into their host’s flesh and immediately begin feeding, and as soon as the first wave of maggots hatches, they attract more blowflies. The maggots of most blowfly species secrete an enzyme that breaks down flesh, reducing it to semiliquid material as they literally consume their host. Significant damage can occur in as little as 36 hours after egg-laying, and no type of livestock or poultry is exempt. When most farmers…

Barber’s pole worm is a major problem for keepers of sheep and goats throughout the world. Bloodsucking gut-dwellers, barber’s pole worms (Haemonchus contortus) cause serious anemia and death if not aggressively treated. Females are prolific egg-layers, laying as many as 10,000 eggs per day, so large worm loads develop rapidly. Unfortunately, because of the overuse of dewormers that control this worm, resistance is a major problem. The FAMACHA system (it stands for FAffa MAlan CHArt) was developed by three scientists in South Africa and introduced to North America by the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control. It helps producers single out individuals for treatment by matching the color of an animal’s eye mucous membranes to a chart showing five color categories indicating level of anemia. The colors go from…

When people ask why I raise chickens and pigs rather than, say, alpacas or cattle, the answer is easy (if pithy): bacon and eggs. But behind this quick answer is a longer response involving a suburban home, a big garden and some backyard hens. I wasn’t a farm kid. My parents brought me up in the suburbs of northern Kentucky, but I still managed to step in a few cow patties before my 10th birthday. Two uncles on my mother’s side did small-scale cattle farming, so the extended family commonly traipsed across pastures en route to a fishing hole. Visits to my grandparents’ house, with its acre of garden and dense side-yard vineyard, weren’t complete until I’d ventured down the road to chat with horses and cows lumbering behind the…

The Livestock Conservancy deals with rare breed conservation in the U.S. and helps draw attention to the turkeys mentioned in this article. Each of these breeds is on the organization’s Conservation Priority List, which is broken into breed status. All of these turkeys are listed as Watch or Threatened. To make it to the Threatened list, there must be fewer than 1,000 breeding birds in the U.S., with seven or fewer primary breeding flocks, and an estimated global population of less than 5,000. Watch list breeds have fewer than 5,000 breeding birds in the U.S., with 10 or fewer primary breeding flocks, and an estimated global population less than 10,000. Also included on the Watch list are breeds that present genetic concerns or have a limited geographic distribution. You can…

To harvest sponges, let luffa vines and gourds dry completely. Ideally, this can take place outdoors before fall’s frost, but, if freezing temperatures are forecast, you should harvest your gourds and let them dry in a protected garage or outbuilding. (Frost can damage gourds’ spongy interiors.) Dried gourds are dark brown and lightweight. (Shake them, and you’ll hear some dried seeds rattling inside as well.) Gently squeezing along the length of a dried luffa will cause its skin to loosen and crack, revealing the fibrous treasure inside. Vigorously shaking the sponge or whacking it against your open palm helps dislodge the luffa seeds. After removing all traces of their outer shells, you might notice some loofas aren’t uniformly cream colored. You can set them out in direct sunlight to naturally…

Many consumers today want healthy, local, farm-fresh eggs, so selling eggs from your homestead or hobby farm can be a great income source. That’s because informed shoppers know that hens from small farms generally produce eggs that are healthier and tastier than those from conventional egg sources. If you do a good job marketing your quality farm-fresh eggs, consumers will pay significantly more for them. But, egg sales in the U.S. are regulated by federal and state codes and can vary significantly from state to state. It’s important to understand the rules at your location so you comply with applicable laws. It also means you have many decisions to make before selling your eggs. The first step in marketing homestead eggs is to develop a plan for selling directly to…

IBC totes are used for a wide variety of food and related materials such as olive oil as well as numerous industrial, agricultural and other chemicals. Many of the containers are safe to use, either as-is or after a good washing. Some I would never use for anything on my farm or homestead, regardless of how clean they look. Don’t purchase totes unless you know what they previously contained and have checked out the Material Data Safety Sheet to see whether they’re safe to use in food production. Also note that if you can get totes that are on poly or metal bases rather than wood, you will avoid needing to eventually replace the pallet bases. If you loft your totes, this isn’t as big a deal, as they should…

If you usually deadhead flowers and herbs the minute they look worse for wear, consider leaving them intact for a longer period. They might look bedraggled to you, but you’ll notice pollinators are still able to obtain valuable nectar and pollen from some of them. This is extra important when temperatures begin to fall and honeybees make final preparations for overwintering. That goes for veggie crops as well. Allowing broccoli, lettuce and other cool-weather crops to fully flower in the spring and fall garden provides a little extra food for area bees during periods when the temperature and weather patterns are in greater flux.…

Here’s a tip. When you hear that a much-sought-after wild plant is being overharvested, think “profitable farming opportunity.” I’m not saying it’s good that some species of wild plants are being overharvested. Obviously that’s bad. But it also tells you there is a significant demand for that plant in the market, and that’s where any smart farmer wants to be. Plus, you’ll take pressure off the plants in the wild. There’s no need to be put off by the fact that the plant is described as “wild.” Every cultivated plant in your farm or garden — tomatoes, wheat, roses, yarrow — started as wild. They remained wild until some clever stone-age foragers deduced that they could save a lot of walking time by growing that wild plant behind their hut…