From the Foreman's Desk - August Update

From the Foreman's Desk is a monthly update from Kaitlyn Kesten (Remi's wife and self-proclaimed "Ranch Foreman.")

August was a great month, with lots of animal stuff going on. Turkeys, cows, chickens, pigs, oh my!

John and Amber's cows were over at the Kesten farm mowing down the pasture. We haven't had a lot of animal impact on our pasture this season. We were letting it rest for a bit. The cows did an excellent job of cleaning things up! It was fun having cows over here again.

The little piggies were moved out of their training paddock and out to the pasture as well! They are so adorable 😊 They were all very interested in getting their picture taken.

One day the boys were setting up a new pig paddock while I was working in the garden. They drove up in the bobcat to say hello. I turned around to find this!

Jack and I have enjoyed going on walks lately. He likes to go on his own mini adventures. Can you spot him? I'll give you a hint, look for the white tip of his tail.

Jack also went on a car ride with Remi 😂 He preferred to ride in Remi's lap instead of the passenger seat. He also managed to cover Remi with his slobber!

A couple of weeks ago, we harvested some peaches! It was so exciting because I didn't think we would get any this year. I know nothing about fruit trees, and this tree hasn't gotten any TLC. We picked 165 lbs of peaches. So nice having homegrown fruit in the freezer to enjoy throughout the year. This was the first time I put up peaches. It was a learning curve. Figured out how I like to do it and how I won't do it next year 🤣

Another first for me was making chicken broth with feet, necks, and bones. Usually, I only make broth with a cooked carcass. The boys were thawing out products for raw product photos. When they were finished, I threw them in the crock pot and gave it a whirl. It turned out great, and chicken feet are quite interesting to work with...

I couldn't resist. I had to do an impromptu photo shoot.

Chickens are doing great out on pasture. I did morning chores with Remi on Monday and was able to get some pics of how we do it!

Here's our handy dandy farm truck and grain wagon. We buy our broiler chicken feed in bulk and store it in this wagon. Buying in bulk cuts costs down and also eliminates feed bags! We use 5-gallon buckets to get the feed to the chickens. Here's Remi filling them up and trying not to get feed on the ground. It's harder than it looks, takes a special skill.

Then we load them in the bed of the truck, and away we go.

Food's ready, come and get it!

We use hanging feeders in our Range Coop. This makes daily moves easier because we don't have to pick up and move feeders that are on the ground.

We also use hanging bell waterers. They are also automatic. John has a pretty sweet water set up at his farm. I probably can't explain it using all the proper terminology, but I can put it in Kaitlyn words.

The Cox's have a pond in their pasture with a pump. They also have pipes all along their property. These tube thingies have spots where you can attach hoses. So basically, no matter where the animals are at, there are water hookups for the hoses. This makes watering a lot more streamlined. No hauling water. And even better, it's from a nice pond!

The birds also get grit with their food. Check out this blog post to learn why!

Thanksgiving turkeys are big enough to be out in netting. I didn't get a great picture of them because they were very excited to eat their breakfast 😂

More little chicks came in the mail on Wednesday, so they're tucked away all cozy in the brooders until they're big enough for the range coops. This will be in 3 weeks.

This weekend the farmers at DP will slip away for Labor Day at our church family camp. It's a great time to decompress and enjoy time with friends and family.

After that, our small town of Concordia, MO, throws an annual fall festival with all sorts of activities to enjoy ranging from the carnival, parades, a car show, and exhibits from local bakers, gardeners, quilters, you name it! Maybe next year I'll be able to enter a quilt!

One of Remi's sisters is coming up for a visit, and we are sooo looking forward to that! I love getting to see some of the original Kesten crew together and having fun 💙

Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend. Be sure to tag us on social media if you cook up anything yummy with DP meats! I'm planning on making sloppy joes and bbq pulled pork 🤤

While I'm going to do my best to soak up all the summertime festivities, I am starting to dream about pumpkin cinnamon rolls and beef stew!

~ Kaitlyn