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Summer Work

July 3, 2011

Being home almost full-time in the summer, Ron spends his time between animal and vegetable needs. Animals need to be moved, watered, fed, sheltered, protected and processed at the appropriate time. Vegetables need to be planted, weeded, amended, weeded and harvested, again, at the appropriate time. Enjoying a delicious finished product makes this tiring endeavor worthwhile!

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Useful Info

Have you thought about having a homestead? We recommend any books by Gene Lodgson. For a more philosophical reference check out Wendell Berry.

Our History

Rabbit Ron was an early adopter of Y2K, the theory that the change to a new century could cause technology problems leading to a disruption of basic services. He and the family were living in the city at the time and decided that if there were going to be problems then the best solution was to begin making lifestyle changes rather than just stocking up on food and water. By the time the new century changed it was obvious that Y2K would not amount to much, but we were filtering our water, grinding our own grain, and heating "off-grid" (off natural gas) with coal. When the opportunity presented itself, we moved to the farm in 2001.

We had expected to start raising food for ourselves and a few friends but once we got going we saw that it made sense to expand the farm into a proper business.It has become more of a retirement investment now than just a hobby. Here is how things developed: Goats come to the farm

We started out with a small flock of chickens. And some piglets. And while the upper acres were neglected and started getting weedy, we lost the chickens to some wild dogs but added goats and rabbits and bees. Somewhere in the first few years we added a garden and went through the process to have it certified organic through NOFA-NY. We went through the certification program for three years but the garden income did not justify the continued effort and expense.

In 2004 Ron left his job and spent 9 months of full-time effort on the farm. It was a good time to build farm infrastructure so that we could handle more animals. Ron's new job was part-time. This allowed him to be at the farm at critical times, including milking times, since by now we had a family cow. Through the assistance of the Onondaga County Soil and Water unit, we received grants which helped pay for a professionally installed high-tensile perimeter fence, piping, and a solar-powered pumping system so that we could water our livestock in their various small grazing paddocks.

Honey Jar

In 2009 Ron took a job with a school which gave him summers off. This is the year we started selling at the Green Hills market. We have consolidated our efforts by eliminating the rabbits and goats. We maintain a flock of about 80 layers and raise meat chickens every year. We are researching the addition of fruit and a high tunnel or greenhouse.