#KYF2 Know Your Farmer Event at White House

I am lucky to have been invited to The White House (3/5/12) to discuss KYF (Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food). Follow #KYF2 on twitter to be updated.  I sure hope I get to see the WHBees
Feel free to email me if you have questions you'd like me to ask.

"KYF is about creating a national conversation about food, where it comes from and the connections from our country’s farms to our kitchen tables."

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass
The KYF Compass is a digital guide to USDA resources related to local and regional food systems. The Compass consists of an interactive U.S. map showing local and regional food projects and an accompanying narrative documenting the results of this work through case studies, photos and video content. 

Thank You SteamyKitchen.com

Cool Thanks, SteamyKitchen.com

Greenhorns Radio 3/6 @1pm

Tuesday March 6 at 1:00


Greenhorn Radio with @HappyChickens
Hosted by Severine von Tscharner Fleming
Produced by Hannah Bernhardt & Jack Inslee
Engineered by Carlos Salguero Jr.

Greenhorn Radio is radio for young farmers, by young farmers. Helmed by acclaimed activist, farmer, and documentarian Severine Fleming, Greenhorn Radio is a weekly phone interview session, surveying America's cutting edge, under-forty farmers.

For more info: www.thegreenhorns.net

Severine is an agriculturalist, activist and organizer based in the Hudson Valley, NY. She is the director and chief logistician of the Greenhorns project. The Greenhorns is a small, land-based non profit for young farmers.

BeeHappy Honey by Michael Piazza

My friend Michael Piazza took this amazing photo of my @BeeHappy honey.

Eliot Coleman

Living Off The Land
NYTimes 2/22/12

Four Seasons in Maine. "IT was early February, when the 10-hour day returns here on the 44th parallel, and Barbara Damrosch could see it in the brighter green leaves of her tatsoi and spinach growing in the unheated greenhouse attached to the house she shares with her husband, Eliot Coleman, at Four Season Farm."


ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Organic Connections

Thank you for writing this article Organic Connections.

"Orren Fox is an expert beekeeper, chicken farmer, and often-quoted sustainable-food advocate. He has been interviewed by the Huffington Post and NPR, among many others, and he’s on the advisory board for ChopChop magazine. His blog, through which he is mainly sharing what he learns in his care of his chickens and bees, is read by thousands, and he is heavily followed on Twitter (@happychickens and @happyhoneybees) and Facebook as well. Oh, and we should probably mention this: he's only fourteen years old.

For Orren, it all began with the chickens—and he’s not even certain exactly why. “When I was about nine, I must have been reading something or heard something on the radio concerning chickens that kind of caught my attention,” Orren told Organic Connections. “I’m not quite sure what it was, but one day I just had this large interest in them. I looked around online to see what I could find, then went and got a bunch of books about them and read all I could. There was something to do with chickens that was really intriguing.”

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Greenhorns film.

Greenhorns film.

Hens need light in the winter.

Light in the winter.
Chickens need a lot of light. I think that the steady supply of light in the coop contributes to good wintertime egg production and Happy Chickens.

I do two things to help with light for my hens:

1. See above. My dad and I enclosed the outdoor run in clear corrugated plastic, so it is both warm and sunny all day. I have seen coops where the outdoor run is closed in during the winter with wood, so the coop is dark all day. I try to get as much light to them as possible. The indoor coop is well lit because the roof of the barn has some clear panels as well.

2. I set up a crazy light / timer system for the indoor coop.
- Set a plug-in timer to come on at 4pm and off at 8pm.
- Then I clip these industrial lights on the overhead beams of the coop and the light comes on when it gets dark outside. Hens need anywhere from 14-16 hours of light a day.

Thank you for writing this article Organic Connections.

"Orren Fox is an expert beekeeper, chicken farmer, and often-quoted sustainable-food advocate. He has been interviewed by the Huffington Post and NPR, among many others, and he’s on the advisory board for ChopChop magazine. His blog, through which he is mainly sharing what he learns in his care of his chickens and bees, is read by thousands, and he is heavily followed on Twitter (@happychickens and @happyhoneybees) and Facebook as well. Oh, and we should probably mention this: he's only fourteen years old.

For Orren, it all began with the chickens—and he’s not even certain exactly why. “When I was about nine, I must have been reading something or heard something on the radio concerning chickens that kind of caught my attention,” Orren told Organic Connections. “I’m not quite sure what it was, but one day I just had this large interest in them. I looked around online to see what I could find, then went and got a bunch of books about them and read all I could. There was something to do with chickens that was really intriguing.”

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE 

Honeybee problem nearing a ‘critical point'

Honeybee problem nearing a ‘critical point
by Claire Thompson from Grist.com
13 Jan 2012 7:39 AM

Anyone who's been stung by a bee knows they can inflict an outsized pain for such tiny insects. It makes a strange kind of sense, then, that their demise would create an outsized problem for the food system by placing the more than 70 crops they pollinate -- from almonds to apples to blueberries -- in peril.

Although news about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has died down, commercial beekeepers have seen average population losses of about 30 percent each year since 2006, said Paul Towers, of the Pesticide Action Network. Towers was one of the organizers of a conference that brought together beekeepers and environmental groups this week to tackle the challenges facing the beekeeping industry and the agricultural economy by proxy.

"We are inching our way toward a critical tipping point," said Steve Ellis, secretary of the National Honey Bee Advisory Board (NHBAB) and a beekeeper for 35 years. Last year he had so many abnormal bee die-offs that he'll qualify for disaster relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In addition to continued reports of CCD -- a still somewhat mysterious phenomenon in which entire bee colonies literally disappear, alien-abduction style, leaving not even their dead bodies behind -- bee populations are suffering poor health in general, and experiencing shorter life spans and diminished vitality. And while parasites, pathogens, and habitat loss can deal blows to bee health, research increasingly points to pesticides as the primary culprit.

"In the industry we believe pesticides play an important role in what's going on," said Dave Hackenberg, co-chair of the NHBAB and a beekeeper in Pennsylvania.

ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE


Photo: Pesticide Action Network North America

When it is cold, tips for caring for your chickens

When it is super cold:
This weekend there are supposed to be 3 or 4 days where the temperature doesn't get above 10 degrees with the overnight temperatures well below zero. I don't know what the windchill will do to the temperature.


Here are a few things I do to help my hens.
1. Make sure there is always plenty of fresh water! I use a heated dog bowl which is quite big so if for any reason I can't get there right away they will have enough water.


2. I make sure they have really deep shavings. I actually use an entire bag of shavings per coop.


3. Today I put 1 heat lamp (on a timer) in each coop so overnight when it gets dangerously cold they have a place to perch and keep warm.


4. I added a little extra cracked corn and gamebird feed to their food mix. The gamebird feed is higher in protein and the cracked corn I understand takes some work to digest so keeps their body temp up.


5. I put vaseline on all combs to protect against frost bite.


6. I check them often. 


7. Helpful link 


photo by bytegirl2

Cracked corn for winter

Adding Cracked Corn in the Winter:
I increase the amount of cracked corn I feed my hens in the winter. However, cracked corn is low in protein and is not nutritionally complete for your chickens. It cannot be the only source of nutrition for them. Cracked corn is a good source of energy  when it is cold.

Cracked corn also makes for good scratch --- a snack that your chickens can scratch about to eat. It keeps them from getting bored and provides some activity.

Please be sure to include grit to your chickens when feeding them cracked corn. Chickens need grit to digest cracked corn. Grit can be small pebbles or rocks that chickens naturally will find in their outdoor coop or you can purchase bags of grit from the feed store and mix it with the scratch.

Have a happy winter. Here are some other WINTER TIPS

Do not allow the cracked corn to become wet. Wet and moldy cracked corn is very dangerous to feed to your chickens.

Read more: How to Feed Chickens Cracked Corn | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5787824_feed-chickens-cracked-corn.html#ixzz1h1GPkWlH

Awesomeness

About a month ago I sent my friend cookbook author Mollie Katzen some of my first harvest of BeeHappy honey. She is great, here is what she sent back.
 


"With each golden drop, I can taste not only the sources of the nectar, but also the air, the Atlantic ocean, and the devotion of this committed young beekeeper/farmer. BeeHappy Honey is a labor of love, and the flavor of joy. Thank you for sharing it all, Orren!" - Mollie K



Very Crunchy Honey Granola
Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s Sunlight Café

Granola should be crunchy—very. And here's a recipe that really works

•If you can't find barley flakes, you can substitute wheat flakes or just use 4 cups rolled oats.

Nonstick spray for the baking tray
3 cups rolled oat flakes
1 cup barley flakes
1 cup oat bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey !!
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup soy protein powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin seeds (optional, but highly recommended!)

1) Preheat oven to 325*F. Spray a 13 X 18-inch baking tray with nonstick spray.

2) Combine the flakes, bran, sunflower seeds, and almonds in a large bowl. 

3) Combine the oil, honey, and vanilla extract, and pour this in. Mix thoroughly. (Use your hands, if necessary.)

4) Stir in the protein powder and salt, and mix thoroughly (again, use your hands).

5) Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden. (Stir it once or twice during the baking.)

6) Crumble in sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven. and let it melt in. Cool it on the tray, and stir in the protein powder and pumpkin seeds as it cools. NOTE: The granola will get crunchy as it cools 

7) Store the finished in a tightly closed jar in the freezer for maximum freshness.
(This fits nicely into two 10-ounce jars.)

Variation
Cool Berry Granola
You can add sliced fresh strawberries—or whole fresh raspberries or blueberries—directly to the granola before you freeze it. After the granola has cooled, add up to 2 cups berries, stirring them in gently until the cereal surrounds them like a protective coating. Carefully pack the mixture into jars, close them tightly, and freeze. The berries will store beautifully this way, and will defrost very quickly in your cereal bowl, after you add milk.


Preparation time: 
10 minutes, plus 35 to 45 minutes to bake

Yield: 6 to 8 cups

My friend Jan Brett

My good friend Jan Brett was in the Boston Globe Magazine section this week. She is one of my key mentors. I have visited her on several occasions at her magnificent house, which has a spectacular coop and aviary for her ducks. Honestly I was quite jealous of her set-up. I used it as inspiration for how I'd like my birds to live. She always uses very deep bedding for her hens, now I do too. She feeds her birds a nice handful of mealworms everyday, I do too. But most importantly she just really truly cares for her animals and I really admire her because of it.

Whenever I go to visit Jan I take her a big bin of fresh red wiggly worms for her grassbins. She has these amazing shelves, where she grows grass for her hens. The hens also like to dig about for red worms. I have a worm farm, so we trade advice about hens with the crawly critters.

My glorious hen Stella came from Jan Brett. I had just lost a wonderful polish black polish hen and was quite sad about it. So I called Jan, she made me feel a lot better about it, but she also said, "You should come visit me and pick out a bird from my new pullet batch". Amazing. So we did go visit her and she put about 6 hens into a little pen out on the grass. I just sat with all the birds trying to get to know them all. I honestly would have been incredibly grateful to have any of her birds, but she let me chose. I chose Stella. She later told me that Stella was in fact one of her best pullets with tons of potential. I am so lucky to have Stella at our barn and even more lucky to know Jan. Thank you Jan.

Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING.
It's about time I thanked all the people who have helped me with my chickens, bees and now horse.

Lisa B was the first person to take me to see a chicken coop and a flock of hens. She was also the person who even in the middle of a snowstorm would take me out to my coop after school. Thank you.

I was first introduced to our local farm Oak Valley Farm and Julie by our neighbor Dorothy. Dorothy loves all animals, and she started the Merimack River Feline Rescue Society. She also introduced me to Albert Schwitzer. I volunteered at Oak Valley for a year, feeding, cleaning, sweeping, anything Julie needed. Then in the spring Julie said I should get my own hens. I did. I got my hens from several places: Mypetchicken.com and Jan Brett.  Now 5 years later I have 25+ hens and 4 ducks.

For my birthday I wanted to go to Bee School. It was held at the Essex County Beekeepers house at the Topsfield fair. I met some really cool Beekeepers there. My mentors are Jane and Rob Wild. They have really helped. This fall while I was at school they  helped my mom harvest the first batch of BeeHappy Honey.

With my new horse, Paddy, at school I have many people to thank. My initial instructor, Mr. Schryver and my most recent teacher, Mrs.Vancissin have helped me this fall Paddy. Very recently I passed my riders' test which allows me more freedom while riding Paddy. It might sound extremely cliche, but I wouldn't be where I am now if everyone wasn't so generous with their time and effort. Thank you.

Thank you
Lisa
Dorothy
Julie
Jan
Jane
Rob
Annie Novak
Megan Paska
Susan Orlean
Mollie Katzen
Mr.Schryver
Mom, Dad and Will

Beekeeping 101 from my friend Megan Paska

Many people have expressed to me their interest in beekeeping, which is awesome. Sometimes it is hard to communicate in a conversation the things that should be considered before getting started. I met Megan Paska at a cool event in Brooklyn a while ago, she is really smart and a great beekeeper. Here is her list. I think you will find it useful.



"The steps to get from bee-less to beekeeper are fairly simple, but should be followed closely so you don't end up in a pickle somewhere along the line."  Photo by Alex Brown


CLICK HERE for entire article

Know your beekeeper

"Chances are, that stuff sittng in the plastic bear in your pantry doesn't technically qualify as honey. The FDA requires honey to have microscopic particles of pollen, which allow the honey to be traced to its source so regulators can be sure it comes from safe origins. But nearly all of the honey that's sold commercially in the U.S. has been filtered to get rid of that pollen. It could basically come from anywhere. And that means it's not honey, according to the FDA's definition." - from Grist.com

CLICK HERE to read entire article

First Harvest

FIRST BeeHappy Honey harvest

Thanks to my be mentors Jane and Rob Wild, also my mom for harvesting the first batch of honey! I wish I had been there, next time. The honey came from two hives, I wish it had been from all four, however, it seems as if the queens in hives one and hive three weren't really doing their job. In fact hive one is essentially a frat house of drones because the queen wasn't able to do her job. As I understand it looked as if she were injured. Hive three swarmed this spring and I decided to leave it alone, assuming that they would create a new queen. Rookie move. I should have recognized about a month later that the new queen wasn't very strong. I should have reQueened. The realities of a rookie keeper. So as we head into the winter I really think only two hives will make it.

Back to the good news. Two hives produced about 40 pounds of honey. Not a ton but enough to satisfy a rookie keeper. My mom did all the work and I think she has officially become a beekeeper too.

I look forward to getting bee hives going here at school too. Orange Blossom and Avacado honey instead of apple and peach blossom.

Report

There is a new flock of baby silkies at the barn. They are amazingly smart even at only a few days old. I was a little worried that the weather was getting too cold at night for them, but they are actually plenty warm when they sit under mom's wing. It is funny to come into the barn and not see the babies anywhere and gradually they peek there heads out from under mom. When my hen Butterscotch hatched 7 eggs out this summer, she would tuck them underneath her until they were strong enough to be exposed to the cooler air.

Needless to say they are still eating grower and will do so for several more weeks. They have a lot to learn from mom but it is still important for them not to get bored, especially as the pecking order is getting established.

In a few weeks we will be prepping the barn for the winter. It takes quite a bit of work to put up the corrugated clear plastic on the outdoor coop, clean and sterilize the coops, get the heated dog bowls ready, adding new protein to the feed, adding lights and making sure each bird is in top condition going into the cold weather.

Lastly here are a 13 tips for raising happy chickens.

(reported from stories at home, thanks M+D for taking care of birds)

Winterizing the coop (a repost)

I've been asked what I do to winterize my flock and coop. Here are a few of the things I do:

1. Add Cracked Corn to their feed. They LOVE it! and it is helps keep their body temperature up.

2. I use heated dog bowls for their water, I find them much easier to use than the heated bases and metal watering towers.

3. I wrap my the outdoor part of my coop in heavy plastic so that they can still go outside. They need as much sunlight as possible during the day. By wrapping the coop it turns into a little cozy, sunny greenhouse.

4. I add more mealworms to what I give them each day. It makes them really happy.

5. I obviously go out to the coop every day, but during the freezing times I may go more often and I inspect each bird to make sure their combs and feet are ok. Sometimes I will put vaseline on their combs to protect them from frostbite (i even add some euclyptus oil to it)

6. Check for drafts and fill them.

7. I also use deep bedding for the indoor coop. I think of it like a big blanket for them!

8. Add a bit more protein to the feed. I use Game Bird Feed.

I think that is about it, if I remember anything else I will add it. Oh, don't worry your eggs shouldn't freeze.

Please let me know if you do something else that would be helpful to list.

Later

With winter coming.

A few articles that may help with chicken questions.

And HERE about bees.

Thank you.

Thank you Yankee Magazine

At the barn after riding.

New grey silkie

Preparing for the upcoming hurricane

Here is some interesting information.

I am going to strap down all of my hives and put a cinderblock on the top of each hive.
Hope it isn't too bad.

The future of the barn

Every year during the spring an average of about a dozen birds gets added to the collective population of the barn. This year had its share of the new birds except, many of them were added during the summer, including one added merely a week ago. Yes, I am talking about the homegrown babies that Butterscotch and Peach hatched. With a combined eight babies between them, I think they did a very fantastic job! One week ago today, I was still at camp Kieve having a great time, except that it is not the reason to be excited, one week ago one of my blue cochins hatched a baby chick! One chick sounds like nothing compared to the seven that Butterscotch hatched in mid July, but take no credit away from Peach, hatching a single egg is a very tough task and she did a great job. I feel some empathy for one of the other blues (blue cochins) named Sassy who was unsuccessful in her attempt to hatch a few eggs, by now I'm sure she has moved on and is probably looking forward to next spring/ summer when she will get another try.

When I walk into the barn, there is the unmistakable high pitched chirping of the babies chatting with their mothers. The excitement that both the babies and the mothers show for each other is amazing. Of course the mothers are happy to teach their children basic necessities of what to eat and what not to eat, while the babies are eager to learn. As I approach Butterscotch's coop holding a fresh corn cob, she immediately and easily gather her babies by calling them over. As they lock their eyes on the cob of corn, nothing else matters, All they want at that moment is to sink their beaks into the big, fat, juicy kernels of corn. It is great to see that something so simple as a cob of corn makes these birds so genuinely happy. Since today is the one week anniversary of Peach's baby, Fudge, being born I think will celebrate by giving her some mushed up corn that will be nice and easy for her to eat. If there is one thing that can be gathered form these amazingly cute babies it is that they are the future of the barn an will be for years to come.

My friend @Annie Novak

"A rooftop farm in Brooklyn grows vegetables and doubles as a green roof, insulating the warehouse below. Green roofs save money on cooling and heating costs and also retain water, reducing the load on sewer systems. Annie Novak, head farmer and co-founder of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm gives us a tour and Lisa Goode, whose company installed the roof, talks about the process." From SciFri

My hen Butterscotch hatched out 7 new silkies!

420 Racing.

Ok, not hens or bees, but I love sailing just as much.

New baby in the barn.

WELCOME HOLLY.

I just returned from a month a camp to find a 2 day old baby chick hatched by Peach, my standard blue cochin. She is an awesome mom.

Eunice and Alice (photos by my brother)

Off to camp, see you all in a month!

Later.

Butterscotch hatched 7 eggs!

TOO early.

A hard lesson on being impatient.

My sweet hen Butterscotch is quite broody. She has been broody for what seems like a long time (most eggs hatch within 21 days). I wish I had written down when she first became broody so I would know exactly how many days.

She is quite hysterical actually, she gets all puffy and protective when I come to check on her and the eggs. I worry a little bit about how much she is eating and drinking. She also makes this crazy, wonderful sound when we get a little "too close". It sounds a little bit like purring, but she is clearly saying you are "too close".

I was a bit impatient on Tuesday. I thought she had been broody for too long and began to think that the eggs weren't fertile. I didn't want her to continue to sit and sit and sit thinking the eggs would hatch when they actually weren't going to...So I took one of her eggs. I had figured that she had been on the eggs AT LEAST 4 weeks. I thought her eggs couldn't be fertile. But when I opened it up I realized that some eggs must take longer than 3 weeks. My candling experience was inadequate and unfortunately my mistake might have been at the expense of a baby chick. :( However, now I have learned how to candle an egg and hopefully I have some baby chicks on their way... If these eggs hatch (about 5-6 of them) where will they go, what if they are roosters? With excitement comes a conundrum.

Nat Geo - Heirloom Chickens

"People eat more eggs and poultry than ever, but the world’s reliance on a few high-yielding breeds is edging out hundreds of others: Nearly a third of chicken breeds are at risk of extinction. That’s alarming because many varieties have traits, like heat or pathogen resistance, that could be invaluable in the future."

I have a speckled hamburgh bantam, her name is Messy or Eunice. Depends on the day.

Thanks to my friend @sarahnow for the heads up.