Country House Creamery at Balfour Farm

Spring happenings

2011-04-08T17:43:00.006-04:00

We have been busily working on the creamery and multiple projects around the farm. We also have new additions to the farm: Joy, a JerseyX Normande calf born to Olivia on 3/4/11.
Romeo and Juliet joined the farm last week- they are Duroc X pigs that will be breeding this spring, for piglets this summer.
With his spots and her white stripe, we are sure to have some colorful piglets!
The creamery is complete and we are bottling fresh milk to order. Once we have the pasteurizer calibrated, we will be able to make fresh cheeses and yogurt. The large cheese vat for raw milk cheese is not installed yet, but will be the next step.
This grey and white kitten was Doug's little helper while he was working in the creamery.

Calves, labels and yogurt flavors, oh my!

2011-03-03T05:54:00.007-05:00

The air is full of expectation here at the farm. Our first calf to be born in Maine is due any day. Olivia is the first Normande heifer that we raised to freshen. Doug bred her to a Jersey bull for calving ease (Jerseys have smaller calves and this is easier for heifers to handle), the calf will also be our first Normande/Jersey calf as well.She is due tomorrow and her udder is starting to fill out. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she calves in the daytime and not overnight since we are expecting some seriously cold weather tonight.Stay tuned, we will post pictures for the calf when it arrives!
The work on the creamery is getting underway, Doug sepent the day yesterday removing the old garage door from the front of the building and today will be spent working on removing part of the ceiling that is not at the right height.
We have a graphic designer working on our label design so we can start bottling unpasteurized (raw) milk for sale at farmers' markets and from the farm.(Check out Tracy's work at www.tracingsgraphics.com) I have ordered some organic flavors to start formulating recipies for yogurt and flavored milks- so far we are going to try: coffee, milk chocolate, blueberry, lemon, strawberry and orange cream. What is your favorite flavor??

New Website is Up!

2011-01-29T12:52:00.005-05:00

Emily, our multi-talented daughter has begun a new business, Elegant Designs By Emily (www.elegantdesignsbyemily.com ) She created a new website for the farm, with links back here to the blog to make it easy for you to follow the farm happenings. www.countryhousecreamery.com and www.balfourfarmdairy.com will both connect to the new page. It is gorgeous and easy to use, so check it out!

New Beginnings

2011-01-29T12:22:00.006-05:00

Taking a deep breath here as I am not sure where to begin- so much has happened since the last post! Here's the condensed version of the last eight months of our farm life:
- In July, we agreed to sell the farm to a lovely couple, who are currently living overseas.
- In the following months, we downsized our cattle herd to 13 cows. Most of the cattle we sold went to small Amish farms in southern NY state that were just starting out. We know they went to good homes and will be well cared for. We also had a farm auction in September to sell much of our equipment and farm 'stuff' that we have collected in the six years we lived in NY.
-Throughout the summer, we made several trips and spent countless hours on the internet and phone communicating with realtors while looking for a suitable property to move to.
- In late November, we finally closed the sale of our NY farm as were able to commit to purchasing a farm in Maine. The farm has 100 acres and an old, 1835 farmhouse that has seen many additions over the years and needs a little TLC.
- On December 3rd we closed on the Maine farm and made the first moving trip. For the next two weeks, Doug remained in Maine working on constructing a coverall barn for the cattle, building a milking parlor and getting all the power, water, electric and heat operational in the house. It was quite the undertaking!
- December 18th we moved the cattle and the rest of the household items. It was a long day, with the drive alone taking about 12 hours!
Christmas was extra special this year as we were able to celebrate with family since we are much closer now!
The cattle have adjusted well to the new barn and milking parlor. We began to ship milk again the first week of January. We should be back on the organic truck soon, as we are just waiting for the Colorado office to process our paperwork.
Our next big project is the start construction of the creamery. So stay tuned!

2010-05-21T16:31:00.006-04:00

The smell of sweet, fresh cut grass hangs in the air and the hum of the tractor can be heard in the field. Haying season has begun and the first field is baled up and ready to be wrapped. Here are some photos and a couple video clips of Doug in action on the Massey Ferguson.
The technology symposium was very interesting and I learned a lot about using social media. Now I just need to find the time to implement all the things I learned!
The milking herd is happily grazing on a new pasture and we are crossing the road with them twice a day. So, If you happen to be driving by, be prepared to stop for a bit.

To Market, To Market...

2010-05-19T05:34:00.002-04:00

Farmers' Market has started in full swing! We are now attending two markets: Ogdensburg on Wednesday and Saturday and Canton on Tuesday and Friday. Gouverneur begins in June and that will be on Thursdays. Makes for a full week. Emily, our oldest daughter, has returned from college and will be helping at market. Today she is covering the Ogdensburg market while I attend the North Country Technology Symposium. I received an email a couple days ago asking me to participate in a panel discussion on blogging and how we started our blog. I am very excited to share our experience and learn from other farmers' experiences as well. The Symposium is at Clarkson University in Potsdam. One of the things I love about living in Northern NY is the support for local foods and the connections between colleges, Cooperative Extension, businesses and farmers. As farmers, we are very fortunate to have people at these other locations looking for ways to increase access to local foods. I will write more about the conference later- for now I have morning barn chores to tend to before heading off to Clarkson for the day!

Time flies

2010-05-09T06:06:00.005-04:00

The old saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun." Life has been interesting since our last post. In late March, we had a medical emergency that put Doug on the sidelines for a couple of weeks. He cut his foot with the chainsaw. He was very lucky- it could have been much worse. Needless to say, waiting for the bone in his foot to grow back has slowed him down a bit. He has been able to get around with a walking boot and it is nearly healed. We are now catching up on spring work that has been put off- fencing, equipment repairs, etc.
Thanks to the early warm spell, we were able to start grazing in late April this year. Traditionally, it has been the first week of May. We have set up all the temporary fencing paddocks for our rotational grazing plan on the large field behind the barn. We take the 20 acre field and use movable fencing to divide it into smaller paddocks. After each milking, the cows are able to go to fresh grass. This method of grazing maintains pasture health and allows the grass to grow back between grazings.
We have received our spring chicks- they are Cornish Rock, which is a meat bird variety. The layer birds are on order and will be delivered by mail at the end of the month. This year we are getting Buff Orpington- a heavy, brown egg laying breed known for being 'broody'. We are hoping to raise some of our own chicks next year. As a heavy breed, the Orpingtons can also be used for a meat bird. Our current laying flock, pictured above, is Plymouth Barred Rock chickens, also brown egg layers. They have been moved out of the winter coop and onto a fenced yard in the orchard. They are locked up at night, to keep them safe from raccoons,in a portable mini-coop.Their nest boxes are also portable and will be moved along with the mini-coop.

Spring is here!

2010-03-10T11:57:00.003-05:00

Signs of spring on a farm:
1. the cows are shedding out their winter coats and after a couple weeks of looking kind of rough with patches of fur missing, they will all be sleek and shiny.
2. there is mud everywhere! The dogs are tracking muddy paws across the floors in the house. It looks like we have 100 dogs, not two!
3. The tulips and daffodils are peeking above the winter blanket of leaves to show their green tips. A welcome sight to be sure.
4. Leaf buds are swelling on the trees and bushes.A tender treat for the cows to nibble on in the pasture.
5. The critters are um, to put it delicately, frisky. The barn cats will probably be having kittens in the next few weeks and the mild weather means the cows are having very strong heats. December will be a busy calving month again this year.
6. The chickens have kicked up their egg production- we are getting nearly a dozen eggs a day now. Although we keep a light on for them in the winter, there is nothing like the naturally longer days to increase egg production.
7. The maple sap is running. While we do not sugar ourselves, the evidence is everywhere the maple tappers are getting ready for the first runs. We talk about it every year. Not quite the same as actually tapping the trees and boiling the sap, but it gives us something to dream about. That is how we ended up milking cows!
8. Cows are calving- we are currently on a streak of bull calves. We started with two heifers on Jan 1+2, every calf since has been a bull. I think we are up to 10 bull calves. Three more cows are due by the end of the month.
9. Farmer workshops! It is the window between bad weather and planting season. In the past month, we have attended two grazing workshops, marketing workshop, a talk about cow health and the new pasture rule from the USDA, a talk about the health benefits of pastured meats, lard, butter and liver; and there are more scheduled for the end of March and throughout April.
10. I am starting seeds in flats to eventually put into the greenhouse and then the garden. Today is tomato day.
11. Time to clean up the front yard and lawn. Winter has not been kind to the trees and there are branches everywhere. Along with the sticks, firewood and other things the dog has decided need to be on the front lawn. Chole has a collection of items just being revealed by the melting snow.

Farming in Alaska's Yukon Territory

2010-02-20T05:21:00.003-05:00

I didn't realize it has been so long since I blogged until a follower mentioned it the other day(Thanks Sally!) The month of February always seems to go by so fast. We have several family birthdays to celebrate, and our anniversary too!
Things have been very busy here on the farm- Velvet finally had her calf, another bull, and Wedge did too, another bull. Doug has been busy working on the farmhouse, doing some "fix it" and "finish-it" projects before the next showing (which is tomorrow!). I have been going around after him painting and cleaning up the mess he leaves behind :).
The weather seems to have turned, with milder temperatures- 30's during the day and uppper teen or 20's at night. No more worries about the barn freezing overnight for now. Along with the 'warmer' air, we have been having snow flurries on and off for the last week too.Might have to plow the driveway today since it is getting slushy.
On Friday we had a visit with a family from Canada. Jan and his wife Alex and their friend Cain came to look at our Normande cattle. They also brought cute little 4month old Malcom. Jan and Alex are from Kingston, "just over the border" and Cain came all the way from the Yukon Territory. He's on his way to a young farmer's conference this weekend. It was really interesting to learn about the Yukon- it sounds a little bit like the wild, wild west.
Cain homesteaded his land- basically he staked a claim, cleared and improved the land and now has deeded ownership from the government. There were many governmental/ environmental hurdles to overcome- I think he said it took 2 years and many many calls to bureaucratic government offices to get everything done.The economy is thriving with just about everyone having jobs ( a lot work for the government or mining companies) with good salaries, but cost of living is high. Whitehorse is the main city ~35,000 people, with just a few hundred living in the outskirts of the territory. This sound like a lot of people, but when that is all there is, Cain said he knows everyone.
There is also that little thing about the weather- it routinely drops to -40 degrees, and stays there. Daylength is also an issue. It is light/dark for 24hrs around the winter and summer solstices. I didn't realize it, but they often irrigate their crops (grains and hay included) because there is so little precipitation. They can grown really great gardens because of the sunlight, but the water seems to be the limiting factor. Because of the short growing season and the moisture limitations, the variety of microbes that make soil healthy are often limited. This means they have a very thin layer of topsoil and there are 'gaps' in the microbe chain that breaks down biologic material. They don't have many earthworms and often rely on compost for adding fertility to the soil. Jan and Cain were joking about first and last frost- sometimes it is hard to tell them apart!
Cain has a couple Jersey cows that he houses in his garage. A fully insulated building! Doug asked him about the -40 temp- if it is Celsius or Fahrenheit? Cain replied that once it is that cold, it doesn't matter, it's just cold!
We decided that the snow, the rain and the -20 temps from time to time doesn't sound so bad!

Show off!

2010-02-01T19:27:00.005-05:00

Well, we had our first showing of the NY farm on Saturday. It went well and the people seemed very interested in the farm, animals and operation. They were here for 4 hours!
Today I spent most of the day on the computer trying to figure out what to do for a website for the farm. There are so many options and choices! Decided to do more research and wait before committing to anything.
We received a delivery of product packaging on Friday- containers, bottles, lids etc., and need to spend some time working on label designs. We have worked on business card designs and have settled on a beige and pale green design with black lettering. So, things are moving along.
At the farm site in NH, the perc test was done today. The land drained well, so the septic system shouldn't be a problem and can go 'in ground' instead of above ground. This is good news, and less expensive.
Here in NY we are waiting for a cow to freshen- one of our favorite cows that milks alot, has a great personality and beautiful calves. Velvet is one of the older Red and White Holsteins and is very mellow and laid back. In the summer when she has shed out her winter coat, her fur is really short and velvety smooth. Hence, Velvet for a name.
Most of our cows have a story to go along with their name: Wedge wandered between two posts in the barn and got stuck (wedged!) and Doug had to cut one of the posts out to free her; Tippy has a white head and brown tips on her ears; Blackie is well, black and Brownie is, you guessed it, brown. Naming cows is a lot of fun. Sometimes we get stuck and end up naming them after towns. We have Utica, Bronx, and Meredith (NH). Here is Friendly:

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2010-01-24T16:21:00.002-05:00

We had a beautiful day here in Northern New York. The clouds moved in for the afternoon, but we had lots of sun and 40's for temps for most of the day. We went out to cut some firewood. Three truck loads in the woodshed to split now. It is going to rain tomorrow and later this week, so we can stay dry while splitting. We are all tired now- lots of fresh air tends to do that- so some downtime is needed. I am going to work on adjusting the business plan for final submission this week and Doug is working on a materials list and estimates for the farm in NH.
One of the things on my "To Do" list for the month of Feb is to come up with a label design and farm logo. SO many choices to make: color scheme, size, fonts, label shape, one size or different labels for different products? If anyone has suggestions, feel free to post a comment and let me know!
Heather

Leaping hurdles in a single bound...

2010-01-22T20:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Hurdle #1: review of business plan by Small Business Development today- appointment went well and just a few little things to add/adjust, then it's off to the FSA.
Hurdle #2: scheduling a perc test on the land in Hill (necessary for septic system design and approval) Best Brother-in-law in the world, Jamie, has found someone to do the test and design the system. Scheduled for next week. Things are moving along...

The Beginning...an introduction

2010-01-19T13:10:00.001-05:00

We are Doug and Heather Donahue, certified organic farmers getting ready to embark on an adventure. We are moving our dairy farm from northern NY to NH. Even though we have lived in NY for five years, NH is really home for us. We grew up in the Lakes Region, right on Lake Winnipesaukee. In the time we have lived in NY we have become involved in the local food movement, and have made great strides in producing much of our own food,but that is another story.The story we want to tell here is one of building a business, a farm and a house from the ground up (well, almost). Our current business is Donahue Family Farm, located in Gouverneur, NY. We operate a certified organic dairy on 283 acres, with 46 milking cows and about 20 heifers. We sell our milk to Horizon Organics, and to a few raw milk customers locally. By moving to NH, we will be able to sell our raw milk at farmer's markets and we plan on processing our milk into cheese as well. We are planning on a smaller farm, about 58 acres total with 20 milking cows.
For now the next step for us is to have the NH land perc tested for a septic system and submit a request for a building permit. On the NY end of things, we working putting the finishing touches on a business plan to secure financing for the new venture. Oh, and then there is that little matter of selling this farm!
Have a great day everyone! I am off to clean out the chicken coop and split some firewood.
Heather