The title says it all. Before Christmas the snow came. It wasn’t a lot of snow, but it was enough to give the state a white Christmas and frustrate me (I really was hoping for a no snow winter). Now there are warmer temperatures and there is rain in the forecast (that will create the always exciting mush). And then by this weekend things are forecasted to cool down again and that will turn the mush back into ice (actually … of the three choices I prefer this one the most). All of this is rather irrelevant in the whole scheme of the farm, but it does keep chores interesting and makes me wish that I would have made it a bigger priority to get chains for the tractor this year!
Last winter I pretty much got anything stuck that could get stuck and I decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea to head into another winter without tractor chains. But, as the summer went along and I was never able to find any in the sweet spot of my price range (read inexpensive, but still high quality) I now find myself in a sloppy position with no chains. This isn’t the end of the world though and just means I need to take precautions. One thing I do in if I have want to take the tractor down to the woods or something like that is put a bale on the 3-point spear so that I bit more weight on the back end. It’s not the best solution, but it does help some.
The big thing that is going through my mind right now though is the farmer’s market season. Last year I did my first market and while it was a good experience for learning it didn’t quite make enough sales wise because it was not very well attended. This year I won’t have much more product during the market season than I did last year, but by the time fall comes around I should have more hogs ready to go, a crop of lamb, and maybe a steer (possibly poultry as well). That could mean as many as 18 hogs that would need to be sold, potentially 30 lambs, and some beef. I’m afraid that without making any more customer contacts at a market this summer I will have a tough time selling out in the fall/winter.
Any thoughts on the upcoming market season? I’m open for suggestions …
Not sure about where you live, but lately in Kentucky, farmers markers are “en vogue”, if you will, and they have a website that is devoted to giving a list of all the farmers markets in town and what days of the week they fall on and where. I’d just be sure that I was going to one that was on that list if I was looking to make contacts. The county extension office might be able to give you a list of the better advertised locations. And while it would be the organizers responsibility to advertise the “event” you could also see if it can be added to any sort of free publications that you might have in your town (penny savers classified, church bulletins, etc) or ask a local reporter to do a story on the farmers market…They do them all the time here…but we aren’t exactly rural either..so maybe we just find a whole lot of excitement in a farmers market 🙂 Good Luck!
Have you read the book ” Farm Fresh Direct Marketing Meats & Milk” by Allan Nation. ? Great usuable and realistic ideas for the small farmer. Covers farmers markets, CSA’s, delivery routes, etc ISBN is 0-9632460-9-7
Sounds like the LHF was a good training market for you guys, but I would consider getting into one of the bigger markets for the later season. Try the Downtown market, producers are the priority for new vendors and later in the season there are many more slots available.
Also do you have a Local Harvest site? If not, I would highly recommend it.
Are you a fan of Joel Salatin? Here are some great 10 minute video that may offer some help.
http://www.earthactionmentor.org/articles/20100323
Also, a potential good source of tire chains are fire departments. I don’t know if you’re north enough that the local dept put chains on the trucks in the winter. But if they do, chances are they replace at least one set a year. Around our parts, they give them away when they are done with them.