Where Have We Been?

Read more! It's been so long since I've posted anything, it's definitely time for an update. The big news around these parts is the addition of Farmer Oscar to our family. Oscar Moreno Lara was born on September 24, 2009 weighing in at 9 lb., 2.5 oz. and measuring 22 inches in length. And truth be told, I haven't done much of anything for the past 3 1/2 months except play with the little guy. Winter is definitely a good time for that.

Oscar at 12 weeks

We did process our turkeys on the farm right before Thanksgiving. With the help of a few friends we slaughtered, feathered, gutted, and packaged 16 turkeys over 2 days (there was a bit of a learning curve as it was our first real adventure in poultry processing). Most of our birds were smaller heritage breeds but we did have a couple standard white birds weighing in at 24 and 30 lbs which we kept for our own Thanksgiving dinner. Delicious is an understatement. Raising our own meat was a rewarding experience in all senses except the monetary...it was our first time around and we could have potentially done better cost-wise; however I still don't think we could come close to breaking even for raising the turkeys without doubling what we charged per pound. Organic feed is an incredible expense. It may be a while into the future before we are able to raise turkeys for anyone other than ourselves again.

Gutting "Big Tom"

Mom, Joaquin, & Amber

Byron & Me


Oscar sleeping in the Moby Wrap during processing

Mom, Joaquin, Amber, & Alex

So what does the 2010 season hold for Above & Beyond? I can't answer that question just yet. We may need to continue our farming hiatus due to several constrictions including the economy and my special situation with meeting Oscar's nutritional needs. The farm will be back, just redefined and to be announced. Oh, and our laying hens say hello. We're rolling in the eggs! Feel free to contact me if you're interested in a dozen.

Happy Eating!

Jessica