Sustainable Spring Farming
Sustainable farming practices are what we’re all about here at Beretta Farms, and we know more and more people are interested in learning what exactly that means. We couldn’t be happier to share!
Spring time, being all about renewal and growth, means the farm is really busy 24 hours a day. Our ranchers are barely sleeping as they are fertilizing the pasture with organic manure and compost, as well as tending to our animals (many of them giving birth at all hours of the day!), and getting ready for our famous Farm Day!
Fertilizing our soil:
- Fertilizing our soil is an important process as this supplies nutrient dense material for our grass to grow plentiful. This is what feeds our cattle in the spring, summer and fall months. Organic fertilizer lends to pure, organic grass for our cattle to feed from and makes for strong and healthy animals.
Tending To Our Animals:
In the spring months, our cattle keep us really busy with feeding them hay consistently as the grass isn’t green until mid-May. Our ranchers are also on guard 24/7 on the lookout for predators, as there are a lot of calves being born in this time of renewal. They are also keeping an eye out for birthing Mother cows that are giving birth at any time of day. When a new calf is born, the rancher tracks the calf to its mama and they are ear tagged for traceability purposes. This has to be done very close to birth before the calf gets too fast and runs away! Calves gain some serious speed within 24 hrs. Once our grass is nice and green, the cattle are moved from their winter field to new greener pastures! The cattle herd is moved every 4-5 days to have fresh yummy grass to mow!
Our Pigs are the most amazing little guys. We raise about 30 piglets each spring at our home farm. They are reared all year round and have a cushy bed of hay in their pens to keep them warm and cozy when sleeping. In the spring and summer, they “root” the pastures, which is a hilarious sight to see as they are literally going to work rooting up all grass and foliage. They don’t leave a plant in sight! Post rooting, they arrange their hay in their pens in one corner for their sleeping quarters, then they collectively designate another part of the pen for feeding, and lastly, and area as their washroom. Ironically, they really are the cleanest animals on the farm! One of the best days on the farm are our annual Farm Days, where families can join us in feeding the animals and sometimes a watermelon or two and see what a day in the life of a farmer is like! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter (link), to get more info about these fun filled days. We have one every July and August!
Spring is also the time when we buy new chicks. We keep them inside with heat lamps as they’re super tiny and are very sensitive to cold and draft. At about 6 weeks old they are big enough to move outside, which we do so in movable pens. We move the pens daily in order to allow us to rotate them on different pastures as they then naturally fertilize the soil as well as provide fresh grass for them to graze upon.
All in all it’s hard work to keep a sustainable and organic farm hustling and bustling, but we love it and wouldn’t trade it for the world. We think our animals would agree! We can’t wait to have you join us this summer at our Farm Day where you can see for yourself just how wonderful farm life is.
