Greetings from Dennis Farms!

Our first Fall weather arrived this week. We had cold and a little rain earlier in the week and clear and cold this morning. 45 degrees on the porch. Janie was bundled up like she was going into hibernation. After the extreme heat and drought of this summer, a little cold and rain can be put up with. Speaking of drought, this made the 6th consecutive year we have had to deal with drought at some level. We spent most of the summer in what the U.S. Drought Monitor folks call moderate drought and now are in severe drought. Please send any rain you can spare.

Pasture News: In mid-spring I started cleaning up 7 acres of new ground we had cleared last summer in the hopes of getting a crop of hay off it. I got it seeded in “Quick-n-Big” crabgrass the first week in May. Then we went 6 weeks before we had a rain with enough moisture to germinate the seed. With little follow up rain the grass grew slow, thin and spindly. By mid-August it was thigh high and I was afraid a rain and wind combination would knock it over so I asked a friend to bale it for me. Even though I had picked up too many loader buckets of rocks to count, his disc mower took a beating. We only got 10 bales which was very disappointing. In early September we had it limed and fertilized with broiler litter. And then a really amazing thing happened. We got a little rain, 1/2″ or so, and all that seed dropped by the first crabgrass germinated. There is a thicker stand now than when I seeded it. I don’t think it is going to get tall enough this late in the year to make a hay crop but it should drop a tremendous amount of seed for next year. Pretty neat!

Thank God for pearl millet. If it wasn’t for our pearl millet we wouldn’t have had anything to graze the back half of summer. This was the 3rd or 4th year I’ve planted TifLeaf 3 and I love it. It started slow because of no rain, grew when there was a little rain and then hung on when everything else was dying. By stripping it off into 2 or 3 day grazes, I got 6 weeks of grazing in August and early September when the crabgrass and Bermuda were dried up. I’ve attached a photo of our ewe Rose standing in what looks like wheat straw but is really a pasture.

Cow News: We started a new cow line for us with the arrival of our first progeny out of our new bull, Champ 7094, from Andras Stock Farm in Manchester, IL. The dam is Kimberly 0922 from OOF Farm in Athens, AL. This little heifer is a real cutie and we are really excited about this new blood line. I’ve attached a photo of her and mama (that’s pearl millet they are grazing).

Our last calf of the fall was a good size guy. (76 lbs.) It was all I could do to get him weighed. Between the length of the scale, the sling, his long legs, and my short legs, I had to raise the scale head high to get his feet off the ground so Janie could get an accurate reading on the scale. A few days later talking to my friend Danny (about my size and age) who had been weighing calves that morning, I asked him if he was having trouble weighing his bigger calves. “Not since I started using a weight tape instead of a scale”, said Danny. Duh!! I guess Janie is right, I need to get off the farm more. The good news is Janie is getting me a weight tape.

More good news is, while it has taken us several years, many dollars, and a lot of hard culling, we are starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel toward developing a core group of genetics that will thrive in our harsh environment, on our farm and on grass alone.

Pig News: Our objective for the year was to continue building our herd to the point where we could supply our customers requests – be it for live animals or meat – without lengthy delays. I think we have come pretty close. We had a large order for feeders early in the year we couldn’t fill and I’ve got a couple of Georgia customers patiently waiting for us to put the final pieces together for unrelated breeders, but for the most part we were able to get our customers their pigs in a timely manner. The next goal will be to figure out what is the correct inventory to carry balancing meeting customer needs against the obscenely high cost of feed these days.

While there are multiple genetic characteristics we select for when deciding which pigs will be kept for breeding purposes, inclination to grazing and grazing ability is an important one to us. This includes the inclination to eat hay as well. I’ve attached a photo of a litter of pigs just past 2 weeks of age and they are all ready out grazing. It is our pigs forage consumption that gives the meat it’s full flavor and a much healthier fat profile than pure grain fed pork.

Sheep News: I have been trying for a couple of years now to get Janie to have a fall lambing as well as a spring lambing to more evenly have a supply of lambs for meat. Janie has been reluctant to do this because she is well aware that with our drought issues, grass may or may not be around in the fall. However, I had a guy to guy talk with our flock ram Maximiser, and he agreed with me. So now we are going to have a fall lambing. Seriously, I think it was more a case of the mature ewes being in such good body condition that they bred back much sooner than expected. It now looks like the mature ewes will be lambing in November and the yearling ewes this Spring.

New Product: In addition to our whole cow “Primeburger” and our whole hog sausage, we can now offer sides of pork and the whole pork. You can have the pork cut up as you would like. If you are new to this, I will be happy to assist you in deciding how you want it cut. I will deliver the animal to our processor in Bowdon Junction, GA and you can pick the meat up when it is ready. A side of pork is $3.40/lb on the hanging weight. A whole pork is $3.25/lb on the hanging weight. Both pork prices include delivery of the animal to the processor, processing the meat, and sealing in vacuum packs. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail Greg.

All of our meat is free of hormones, growth promoting antibiotics and steroids. None of our animals ever receive non-natural feeds. The cows and sheep are grass/hay only.

New Venue: We now have a booth at the West Georgia Flea & Farmers Market in Bowdon Junction, GA. The market is located on US Hwy 27, 3 or 4 miles south of Interstate 20. We are in booth F87. We will be there on the 1st and 3rd weekends of every month and on the 5th weekend of months with five weekends. We will have both “Primeburger” and whole hog sausage with us. For large orders, please let us know in advance so we have an adequate supply with us.

Also, Janie is now delivering to central locations in Newnan, GA and Carrollton, GA. Please call her to set up a delivery.

Best Regards,

Greg & Janie Dennis

Dennis Farms

Ranburne, AL

 

 

 

 

Greetings From Dennis Farms!

Has Spring sprung where you are yet?  We thought for sure it had here a couple of weeks ago and then the weather did a complete flip and it has been cold and wet for a week or more now. Actually, it has been very wet.  We received 9.5 inches of rain in March.  I hope we didn’t borrow from our summer allotment of rain.  We have 15 acres of new ground from our timber harvest last summer that I desperately want to get seeded in grass.  However, its been so wet this spring I can only get in with the tractor for a day or two between rains.

Birthing Week! The week of St. Patrick’s Day was a week full of births for us.  Within a four day stretch we were blessed with new lambs, new piggies, and a new calf.  Very busy, very exciting.

New Piggies: Our sow Connie had her 2nd litter on Tuesday.  This involved quite an adventure for us and Connie.  It seems the farmer miscalculated Connie’s farrowing by a week and Connie was still in a pasture with cows.  As a matter of course, we always move mamas to be to an area away from cows so little piggies don’t get stepped on.  I had just started evening chores and was filling the water tank in this pasture when I saw a baby pig run by the hay ring.  Not being totally obtuse, I knew something was wrong with this picture so exploring I went.  Sure enough, Connie had dug out a birthing nest in the shelter of some downed tree debris and had farrowed.

Fortunately, Janie was just arriving home from work at this time so I hollered to her to grab a picnic cooler and come quick.  While Janie kept Connie off of me with a sorting stick, I grabbed the baby pigs, put them in the cooler and took off for the adjacent pasture with Connie in hot pursuit.  When we got to the spot her nest should have been, I set the cooler down, dashed off to get a bale of straw, dashed back, and then quickly built a nest to put the piggies in for Connie.  Whew!  I really am getting too old to do this dashing stuff.  Fortunately, all turned out well and Connie and babies are doing great.

New Lambs: Our ewe lambs Pinto and Taffey both had their first lambs this week.  Taffey had twins on Monday and Pinto had a single on Wednesday.  Both new mothers lambed unassisted and are doing a great job with their lambs.

New Calf:  The bred heifer (Tammy) we bought this past fall calved on St. Patrick’s Day.  We were really elated.  Tammy calved unassisted, the calf was a heifer, and the daddy was the pasture bull we were hoping would be the sire.  Turns out Tammy is a very protective mama.  She was not at all happy with Janie and I when we went to weigh, tag and tattoo her baby.  We of course named the calf Pattie.

Sausage: We will have sausage back in stock again this weekend.  We apologize for any inconvenience our gap in supply may have caused.  We are working diligently to keep this from happening and as our herd grows this should not be a problem in the future.  Unfortunately, we are going to have to increase the price of our sausage $0.50 per pound.  We have put this off for as long as we could, but can not continue to absorb the rising cost of feed.  As I’m sure most of you are aware, grain prices are going through the roof.  Corn has doubled in price since last summer.  Wheat and soybeans are also way up.  In the last 3 months both the starter feed and finishing feed I buy are up 20% and the feed store folks tell me they don’t know where it will end.  How’s that ethanol working for you?

Primeburger: With the grilling season fast approaching, don’t forget that our whole cow “Primeburger” not only tastes great, but is actually good for you.  Why feel guilty about having that burger?  Make it “Primeburger” and your taste buds and your body will both be happy!

Regards,

Greg & Janie Dennis
Dennis Farms
Ranburne, AL

 

Greetings from Dennis Farms!

I hope all of you are coping well with your winter weather.  Ours has been brutal to say the least.  So much for the National Weather Service’s forecast of a warmer, dryer winter than normal.  We had several nights in December when the overnight low was down into the teens and highs for the day didn’t get above freezing.  January wasn’t much kinder.  That’s not the kind of weather a grass farmer in Alabama is looking for.  But I’m sure after the snow that is forecast for Wednesday night melts, Spring will be just around the corner.

Lambing Has Begun! After Janie had me on “lamb watch” for a week and a half, our first lambs were born February 2nd.  Rose had triplets!  We don’t especially like our ewes to have triplets because it is hard on mama and hard on the babies but all seem to be doing well.  All three were ram lambs and of very good size for triplets.  Our flock sire Maximiser is giving us the extra size we were looking for.  Janie and I tagged the babies yesterday.  A lesson well learned is that we are getting too
old to be chasing 5 day old lambs around the pasture.  We won’t wait that long any more when the next lambs are born.  I’ve attached a couple of pictures of the new lambs.  The person in the background is the shepherdess Janie making sure I did things right.

Primeburger! We took another cow into the processor for harvesting a week ago.  We will have a fresh supply of “Primeburger” in a couple more weeks as we age the meat 14 days before it’s ground.  While waiting to unload the cow, the owner of the facility was excited to tell us that he had just completed upgrading his meat grinding equipment which should produce an even better texture to the “Primeburger”.  Please e-mail me or call Janie with your new orders and let us know what YOU think of the upgrade.

Roasting Pigs! This summer we hope to have some roasting pigs available for your 4th of July or Labor Day BBQ.  Nothing beats the fun and good eating of a pig roast for your holiday celebration.  We will follow up with more details as summer approaches on how you can reserve a pig for your BBQ.

Calf Watch! Our new heifer Tammy may be due to calve February 20th or not.  If she conceived from her AI sire, that’s her due date.  If she conceived from her pasture exposed sire, it will be at least 21 days later.  Either bull will produce a great calf, but we are kind of hoping it’s the pasture bull whose the daddy.  I’ll let y’all know later.

New Years Resolutions! One of my resolutions was to be more regular in sending out farm updates (yea! I don’t have to type so long).  One of Janie’s resolutions was that she would do a better job of updating the farm’s Facebook page.  Well!  We all know who’s off to a good start.

I can’t emphasize enough how much Janie and I appreciate your encouragement and patronage.  Both are essential to us continuing our journey.  While the patronage is certainly essential, when the hours get very long and the bones get very tired, it’s the encouragement that enables us to take that next step.  Thank you!

 

Regards,
Greg & Janie Dennis
Dennis Farms
Ranburne, AL

 

Janie and I wanted to share some exciting news with y’all.  We have 2 new members in our cow family that arrived on the farm last week.

Andras Champ 7094 will be our new herd bull and Andras Tamara 9097 will start a new line of mama cows for us.  Both were bred by our friends Steve and Will at Andras Stock Farm in Manchester, IL.

Champ is one of the most evenly proportioned bulls I’ve seen.  He has a great butt with even bigger shoulders.  Champ will put the muscle (meat) on our calves we’ve been looking for.  We turned Champ out with the “ladies” Saturday afternoon and trust me, he needed no instruction manual!

Tammy, a bred heifer, will have her first calf this spring.  Tammy has the exact physical characteristics we are looking for to produce quality grass fed beef.  She has moderate height, moderate length with depth and thickness.  That’s cow talk for short and stocky, kind of like me.

We weaned our last litter of piggies for 2010 this weekend and I’m looking forward to a break from farrowing.  At the high point this summer I was feeding 48 pigs which was no small task.  We have a sow in with a boar now to start the process all over for 2011.  We are hoping to produce enough feeder pigs next year to start offering pork in cuts as well as whole hog sausage.  We will let you know when this happens.

With our new ground that hopefully will be growing grass by Spring, Janie has decided to rebuild the sheep flock.  Therefore she does not plan on selling any breeding stock next year.  The new lambs will either be held for our own breeding stock or meat production.  With this goal in mind, this summer we purchased 2 new ewe lambs from David Maddox of Warm Springs Katahdins.  Janie put the girls, Taffey and Caramel, in with our ram Maximiser a couple of weeks ago.  Since Janie won’t be selling breeding stock next year, we would highly recommend David as a source.

There are a couple of new adventures for Dennis Farms that some of you are aware of but others are not, so I’ll mention them here.  Thanks to the wizardry of Janie’s son Kris, we are now developing a kind of current events opening page on the web site.  We also are now on Facebook which I know nothing about but Janie does.  We are off to a slow start with this because I’ve been slow in giving stuff to Kris and Janie.  But y’all may want to do whatever one does to know when we update Facebook.

Our biggest new adventure is our new partnership with our friends Daniel, Susan, David and Tina Hammond of “My Dad and Me Family Farm” in Powder Springs, GA.  The Hammonds operate a raw milk (labeled for pet food) dairy.  Janie and I can attest to how delicious the milk is from their Jersey cows.  They also raise pastured broilers, free range laying hens and a wide assortment of seasonal fruit and vegetables.  The Hammonds are making our beef, pork, and lamb available to folks in NW Atlanta.  You can learn more about their farm at their website www.mydadandmefamilyfarm.com.

I know I’ve been terribly remiss in getting Updates out this year, but we have had an incredibly busy year and my mind is usually mush by the time I get into the house.  If it wasn’t raining, I doubt I would have gotten this one out.  I’m sure I’ll do better next year.

In closing, Janie and I want to express again how much we appreciate the support from all of you.  Whether it is moral support from distant family, breeding stock purchases, or meat purchases, we couldn’t do what we do without YOU.  Thank you!

Regards,

Greg & Janie Dennis
Dennis Farms
Ranburne, AL

Greetings from Dennis Farms!

We wanted to introduce ya’ll to the newest member of our farm family.  This cute little heifer was born around 8:00 this morning and is doing great!

001 weighed 60 pounds and her mama “Anna” is quite proud of her.  After Janie got home from work this evening we weighed, tagged and tattooed 001.  She was very well behaved, all though Anna was a bit anxious about what those humans were doing to her baby.

 

Best Regards,
Greg & Janie Dennis
Dennis Farms
Ranburne, AL