We often get asked how we “herd” the bison. Most of the time we don’t. Bison will charge dogs & horses, if we need to bring up the rear we might use a vehicle, but more often than not we simply open the gate and ask them if they would like to move. The answer…
Potential for Shake and Catch Harvesting of Hazelnuts Research funded by the Western SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant Program is helping us look at alternative harvesting options for our hazelnuts. Conventionally, hazelnuts are harvested by sweeping them off of the orchard floor every fall. This “sweep harvest” method necessitates keeping orchard floors very flat and free of…
Big Leaf Maple Project with Oregon State University The farm is involved in a project with Oregon State University that is exploring the viability of producing maple water & maple syrup from Big Leaf Maple in the Willamette Valley. Big Leaf Maple sap does not have as high of a sugar content as the traditional…
University of Oregon – Hallett Lab Our pigs spent autumn under the canopy of oaks and hazelnuts in constant pursuit of falling nuts. We did this to explore the potential for pigs to interrupt the life cycle of our hazelnut’s most feared (and effective) pest—Filbert Worm. These worms are native to Oregon and hatch as…
Moving pigs a quarter of a mile without fences, a photo diary. Ready to move Following the leader Big corner game Following the pigs ship Down the road without fences Safely in the pond paddock So tired, must veg We half expected to be chasing the pigs around the property the rest of the day, but they…
We get a lot of people asking why we decided to raise bison on the farm. Short answer? They help us build healthy soil. Not only is bison a delicious healthy protein, but more importantly, we needed a large grazing animal to help transition the pastures from annual rye grass production to perennial systems. For…
Ru-mi-nate – verb, gerund or present principle: ruminating. To think deeply about something. “we sat ruminating on the nature or existence” OR.. Chew the cud. We prefer to think the bison are contemplating the nature of existence, but they could just be chewing the cud. Ruminants have different digestive systems than other mammals. Instead of one…
There are multiple benefits to running the pigs through the hazelnuts after harvest. We set up a paddock in the oak trees adjacent to the hazelnut orchard. We are able to keep the pigs in the forest and open up the young orchard to supervised day grazing. One of the main pests for a hazelnut…
We have to switch out the breeding bulls every three or so years to keep from inbreeding and maintain quality genetics. Normally we buy a calf or two from proven lineage and raise them on the farm so they are used to the environment. We had been warned in the past that buying a mature…
Fall is a busy planting time on the farm. We seeded about sixty acres using a no till drill. No till drills do not require the farmer to till the soil in order to plant. The machine cuts a small row in the soil using a disk and drops seed in the row, it then covers…
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