Sheep Out!

It was a bright sunny day - finally - at Wild Rose Farm & we came home after lunch to find a wooly breakout!  The heavy wet snow yesterday must have caused the electric net fence to lean over.  You can see it leaning behind the water tank.  The sheep will always find a breech in the electric fence within hours.  Off they scampered to the wet areas that are greening up.  Much tastier than hay ..... 
You can also tell that the ewes are due to lamb in about 5 weeks by looking at their profiles. 

Notes From The Conference

Beef Evaluation Component - Question @ Rib Eye Comparison

It's a week to the day that Wild Rose Farm attended the 2011 Appalachian Grazing Conference in Morgantown, WV.  Those folks in West Virginia sure know how to hold a conference!   We only made it for the 1st day, but we came home with a bag of goodies & info.  The goodies in the logo bag that we all got at registration?

• A wonderful new glossy full color book included in the registration; "Identification & Adaptation - Common Grasses, Legumes, & Non-leguminous Forbs of the Eastern United States" by Dr. A. Ozzie Abaye of Virginia Tech.  (For $55.00 includes shipping payable by check to Virginia Tech Foundation. Order the book via: Kimberly C. McCoy Administrative & Office Specialist Crop & Soil Environmental SciencesVirginia Tech 424 Smyth Hall (0403)Blacksburg, VA 24061 Phone: (540) 231-5797 Fax: (540) 231-3075).  
•  Found a DVD "Silvopasturing in the Northeast - How Land Owners Can Maximize The Use Of Their Land" by Christine O'Dell for $5.  Still need to watch this, but it should fit in with our tree thinning project!
• A 2011 - 2012 "Pennsylvania Conservation Planner" calendar included in the registration.  Our friend Laurel from the  Greene County Conservation District was part ot the team that created this calendar. 

If you get a chance to go, this conference is held every two years & there was some talk of PA Project Grass & other PA ag organizations putting on a conference in alternate years ....



Felt Like I Was Back @ Penn State!



Another Topic - Marketing Info For Producers

AND THE FOOD WAS GREAT TOO!

Seen At The Conference

Wild Rose Farm is always impressed with the adult leaders and volunteers that make things like 4-H, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts possible.  This First Class Scout and sibling of an Eagle Scout can be counted on to buy Girl Scout Cookies & support local youth.

I spotted this gentleman at the Appalachian Grazing Conference  and asked him to stop to take a picture of his team jacket.  He was the proud team coach.  How many of you knew that soil judging existed? 
I remember a class in Soil Science at Penn State.  "IT'S NOT DIRT!" said the professor ..... it was a combination of biology, chemistry, classification, & management.  It really was one of the "building block" science classes in the College of Ag. 
Anyway, hat's off to the leaders & coaches who mentor, take time, & travel with their teams to compete!

Long Weekend

Got a chance to spend some time away over a long weekend.  I attended the Applachian Grazing Conference in Morgantown, WV on Friday - info & pictures to follow on this blog - and then headed down to Maryland for the weekend.  The weather went from sunshine to wind to rain, but we got out before the rain.  Here are a couple of pics ......

It looks like this grove of trees have been pretty popular ........

George Washington Did Not Sleep Here!

On the way out, this posting got our attention ..... 

Time to get out of the woods before the Northern Goshawk returns to nest!

Heading For The Safety Of The Car ...... 



Sunny Sheep

This sunny picture comes to you from Wild Rose Farm on a vacation day from work.  The ewes are enjoying the day and actually seem to be smiling.  :) 
Meanwhile, the lambs are split up between their hay bale & munching on some pine trees that we cut down.  The sheep always enjoy a different taste .... hard to explain, but it doesn't hurt them to eat it.

Ewe Lambs Munching on Pine Trees

Sunset Sheep



Wild Rose Farm Ewe Lambs @ Afternoon Feeding

 The weather warmed up today and the forecast is for heavy rain overnight & into tomorrow at Wild Rose Farm.  Yuck.  We always prefer to have the sheep on frozen ground, preferably snow covered, in the winter.  They are quite warm enough in any weather and really won't come in to the barn.   The snow cover just keeps the fleeces cleaner and that's a good thing! 

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

WRF Casey Joenz

 Western PA & Wild Rose Farm have been suddenly blanketed with what looks to be 6" of snow.  It started at 3:00 PMish and just came down!  There are all kinds of traffic horror stories being told on the radio right now.  Some folks haven't made it home from work as of 10:00PM. 
Luckily, WRF left work early, headed for an appointment, & so made it home before it got bad, but the plows were already running.
I imagine that the ewes are all bedded down with a thick covering of snow on their backs ..... yes, they're well insulated and this doesn't bother them at all. 
Here's one of our black sheep before turning in for the evening!