Category: Ranch News

Newsletter: Summer on Big Bear Ranch

Dear friends, customers and followers,

this was (and is) not only a very hot summer, but also a very busy one for us on Big Bear Ranch. I am sorry to have missed several month with our next newsletter, but it was just so much to do and quite a challenge due to the dry season with lots of hot days, no rain and the forest fire – situation in the Cariboo region. Most of our animals did not seem to suffer much by the smoke of the forest fires and the dry weather, except for the chicken. They hardly layed any eggs.

Horsefly was cut off for a while as Williams Lake got evacuated and we were lucky to have virtually all of our food grown on our place. We were very close to the evacuation order area, but so far we were only bothered by the smoky skies with dark days and no growing happening on the field or in the garden. We had to cut 30 % more acres for hay than in other years to get the hay we need for the winter. 

Because of some road closures due to the fires we were not able to deliver beef to the butcher in Kamloops. And he had to discard all the lower value cuts of all his customers. This was his only solution to at least take care of higher value cuts because his freezer was filled to overflowing and his customers  could not pick up their meat in time. For that reason we are now short on certain cuts and organs, as well as on beef bone broth the next deliveries (all the bones are gone).

But we have now pork bone broth available, because these bones already were in our walk in freezer. Thanks to friends in Horsefly, who lend us their big generators, we could save all our meat in our walk in freezer on the Ranch.

Our Cattle, sheep, horses and pigs depend on the hay to survive the long cold winters up here.

The fires and the smoke are not only frightening, it creates sometimes wonderful pictures.

We hope you are all well and wish you all clear skies and a fresh breeze!

Your team on Big Bear Ranch

February 2017 on Big Bear Ranch

We hope you are all well. The new year kind of just started and there happened a lot on Big Bear Ranch already.  I am totally behind my office work!

Most important and best news first: My first grandson, Finnegan Arthur Krumsiek, was born on 08.02.2017. The whole family is totally happy, although the young parents (Florian and Stefanie) are missing out on some sleep because Finnegan wants to drink every hour.

Steffi worked at the vet clinic until 3 days before giving birth and – despite being heavily pregnant – spent much of the rest of her remaining spare time on the ranch and with the animals.

Now the rest of the February News:

Pigs: Last Tuesday I brought this 13 nice finished pigs to our butcher in Kamloops for our March Delivery:

We will bring two more loads of pigs to the butcher, on March 21st and on April 11th. Then all 54 pigs from last spring will be butchered and we have to wait until the newborns of our latest litters (January 2017) will be ready. That will probably not be until December. 

So far we had three pig litters this year:

  • 10 piglets on January 19th,
  • 8 on February 7th (in the coldest night with -30°C) and the last one with
  • 13 on February 24th (after it warmed up to 0°C).

 

That leaves 3 more sows to go!

Cattle: All beef from the first butcher dates are already sold. Now we are looking at an August or September delivery if you order some right now.

Two days ago we heard the first geese, and the woodpeckers are drumming like crazy. The weather is uncommonly mild for February right now. The Dogs and the cats enjoyed the sunshine already – as we all did.

Maybe we have an early spring like last year!?
Now I have to visit Finnegan, bye bye
Rainer

No Poultry in 2016

We used to raise different kinds of poultry on our ranch on green forage with supplemental certified organic feed for the last few years. We moved them to new pastures every few days with electric netting. This of course was no big hindrance for predators in the air and on the ground.

The resulting losses and the non approval by “Animal Welfare Approved” of the only available poultry slaughter facility in our surrounding are the reasons we do not raise poultry for the time being.

We hope to be able to find a different (and humane) slaughter facility and more man power to do the daily time consuming chores to bring you these tasty birds back on the table.