Sheep as Art ...

The busy summertime always reminds me of one more thing to do around the farm. Having said that, I am amazed that some farmers have so much time on their hands (what's the deal?).

But I guess with their free time they had an opportunity to create this multimedia masterpiece, utilizing their sheep as the primary actors. Enjoy!

Organic Dairy Farming in Frederick County

I came across a great story about an organic dairy farm in Jefferson, Maryland - in Frederick County - where the whole family plays a part in producing quality, organic dairy products.

Having visited this farm, I can say they have a really great operation.

Read more.

The machinery in the first picture is their current dairy operation, equipped to milk many of their cows all at once, aiming for efficient production twice per day.

The device in the second picture is designed to eliminate the flies that tend to congregate around cows out in the sun. The cow walks through here, equipped with machines that work similar to a bug-zapper, and it eliminates the majority of the flies.

The purpose of the device is to eliminate the need to medicate a cow with fly spray or ointment (remember, this is an organic operation, i.e., no chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, etc.).

While I think this would be very hard to manage an entire operation, I admire the Holter's for doing such a great job with it.

As for me and Wild Wind Farm, I think we'll stick with the all-natural approach as best we can and go from there. But it certainly is a great operation.