ROYER FARM FRESH BEEF, LAMB & PORK
Natural, Tender, Flavorful Meats from Our Family to Yours
August 31st, 2010 Newsletter #73
Newsletter specials....
PORK- Buy one package pork burgers, get $2 off the second package.
LAMB-Buy one package lamb brats or Italian sausage, get 50% off the second package.
What is happening on the farm....
Dry, dry, dry! What we do on the farm is so impacted by the weather. We would like to build more fence, but it is next to impossible to drive the posts into the bone-dry hard ground. August is also the time for planting pasture seed, but it would be a big waste of time and money to plant anything without some hope of rain. We can always plant in the spring, when the only problem is usually excess moisture. Since the previous two newsletters about cattle and pigs were well received, I will continue the series and focus on sheep. First, some terminology. A ewe is a female (she is called the same name whether she has given birth or not). An adult male is a ram and a wether is a castrated male. The term lamb is used to describe sheep under one year of age (regardless of sex). There are many breeds of sheep, some are known more for meat production and others for wool production. We raise Suffolks and they are definitely the leading meat breed due to their size, rapid growth and large lamb chops.August is breeding time for the sheep. To optimize the quality and number of lambs born, we do more than just let mother nature take her course. Every year Scott analyzes the offspring of prior matings to determine which rams and ewes should be paired together. With 100 breeding females and five rams this planning can take some time, but Scott does not mind.Just like the sixth man in basketball can be critical to a team's success our "sixth ram" is just as valuable or maybe even more so than the "starting five". The individual ram I am talking about is known as Teaser. He has a very special job: stimulating the ewes to ovulate. Six years ago when he was just a few months old Teaser was already exhibiting the libido of a mature, experienced ram. Unfortunately, his physical structure did not meet Scott's ideal, but it seemed foolish to let all that passion for the ladies go to waste. So Teaser got a vasectomy and become the opening act for the fertile rams. The pheromones (smelly hormones) secreted by Teaser are detected by the ewes he is pastured with. These scents trigger the ewes to ovulate and therefore breed and lamb in a group. When the lambs are born in clusters they can be fed and cared for more precisely. Teaser was removed from the ewes before they started to ovulate (which usually happens after 16-17 days of exposure to a ram). A fertile ram could serve the same role as Teaser, but to protect their semen quality, we like to keep the breeding rams cool and rested until the ewes are ready to breed in earnest.Early in the morning when it was cool, Scott brought the ewes in from pasture to be divided into their breeding groups. All our ewes have ear tags, but from a distance the tags can be difficult to see, so as a backup visual identification we paint branded the ewes. While Scott caught the sheep, I dipped the metal numbers into a very, thick blue paint and then pressed the paint onto the ewe's wool (making the blue "stripes" shown in the picture above). The paint stands up to the weather okay, but will come off when the wool is prepared for fabric manufacturing. After each ewe was painted she was sorted into a pen assigned to a specific ram.One of the more challenging parts of the day was to put the breeding harnesses on each ram. Our old (six years) patriarch ram, 112, was the one giving us difficulties, because he is very very MEAN! He has always been feisty at breeding season but each year he becomes more aggressive toward humans. He is actually not the dominant ram of our flock when it comes to his hierarchy with the other rams. Maybe he wants to take out his frustrations on people. I do not go into the pen with him. Scott will only go into the pen after he reaches over the fence and gets a halter on him. Sheep like to fight by backing way up and then charging at their opponent. When Scott has his head controlled the ram loses his main fighting method and becomes a little easier to handle.The purpose of the breeding harnesses is to leave a visible mark showing when the ram has mounted the ewe. The harness is strapped over the ram's shoulders with a big crayon attached to the part of the harness between his front legs. When the ram mounts the ewe the crayon leaves a mark on her wool. With a 146 day gestation, we know that not quite 5 months after being "marked" we can expect the ewe to give birth. Between the bright blue paint-branding numbers and the red marks from the crayon our sheep are quite colorful this time of year!I hope you have found this information about sheep production interesting. If you have any questions please give me a call or email.We look forward to seeing you at the markets or at the farm.Take care,
Scott, Nikki, Cale and Knic
Volume orders... Have what you want, when you want, at a great price
Lamb- We are taking deposits for volume orders of 1/2 and whole lambs . We will sell out of lamb by the end of September. Please do not delay in reserving your lamb.
Beef- The volume beeves (1/4, 1/2 and whole)continue to be very popular. Make your deposit now for September delivery.
Pork- 1/2 and whole hogs are available with delivery throughout the fall.
Chickens-Now available.
Eggs- Both brown and blue eggs are available.
Thanksgiving Turkeys- Now taking $20 deposits.
Fall 2010 Schedule
Fishers, Terre Haute and Broad Ripple Farmer's Markets NOW OPEN!
Fishers Farmer's Market
Saturday June 5th- September 25th
8:00AM-Noon
In front of the train station at the Municipal Center off of 116th Street.
ONLY 4 Markets left for the season, place your volume orders ASAP.
Terre Haute Farmer's Market
Saturday June 5th into October
8:00-Noon
9th & Cherry, just south of Hulman Center
Broad Ripple Farmer's Market
Saturday May 1st into November
7:30AM-Noon
In the Broad Ripple High School south parking lot (by the football field), 1115 Broad Ripple Avenue
Terre Haute
Baesler's Market
2900 Poplar Terre Haute
Beef, Pork and Lamb available 24/7
Located in Aisle 9 of the frozen food section
At the Farm in Clinton, IN
Please call 765-832-7104 to make pick up arrangements
For all your Labor Day weekend festivities at the farmer's markets we will have:
BEEF.... Ground beef, Beef patties, Steaks (sirloin, ribeye, NY strip, filet) Roasts (tri-tip, chuck, rump, and sirloin tip), brisket, short ribs, stew meat, tenderloin and more.
LAMB...Ground lamb, heat-n-eat gyro, rack chops, shoulder chops, loin chops, shanks, kabob, leg of lamb, Italian sausage and bratwurst.
PORK... Ground pork patties, sausage patties, mild and hot Italian sausage, jalapeno bratwurst, polish sausage, chorizo, bacon, bratwurst, ham, ham hocks & ends, Boston butt roast, pork steak, bone-in pork chops, butterfly pork chops, and pork cutlets
ENTREES...Just microwave and eat! Lasagna, meatloaf, steak pot pie and egg casserole. Made by hand using our meat and eggs.
CHICKEN...Whole cut-up chickens, drumsticks, wings and necks/backs.
TURKEY...NOW...Taking orders for Thanksgiving 2010
EGGS...Eggs from pastured hens
We will have BONES for dogs, too!
Part of the brood ewe flock out grazing in the "south woods" pasture. If you look closely it appears the sheep have blue stripes down their backs...read below and I will explain that it is not graffati.
The cornish X white rock meat birds lay in the shade of their hut. Even though we have had only a 1/4 each of rain in the last three weeks the chicken pasture is still quite thick. The dry weather has really eliminated the flies (hurray), but there are many little crickets for the birds to chase.
Most of the pastures are getting brown due to the very hot and dry weather, but not the sorghum sudan. This plant loves heat. The 100% grassfed cattle ate this as their finishing diet and now the grass/grain cattle get their turn.
Young turkey in the brooder. A brooder can be any enclosed area that can be kept clean, warm and secure against predators. For the first weeks after hatching the brooder for the turkeys is a wooden building that was formerly an ice cream stand. We will be offfering a limited number of turkeys for Thanksgiving. The frozen birds will be available for pick up Saturday November 20th at Fishers or Broad Ripple. A $20 deposit will reserve your bird.
