Our farm is nothing fancy. We do what we can with the little space and the equipment we have. We don't have a big red picturesque barn with lazy barn cats lounging in the bales of hay. We've scrounged together a modest barn surrounded by wire fencing and t-posts. We did, however, splurge on a wonderful electric netting unit and a fence charger. The most wonderful thing this provides for our animals is safe mobility. I ordered the fence off of the Kencove website. They call it a feathernet because its electric wires create a small enough grid to keep the chickens or goats in and the predators out. It came with step-in posts that are easily pushed into whatever piece of ground we desire to put it in. In our heavily wooded property Justin and I can get this thing assembled in about half an hour mostly because we need to clear paths for the fence to go. If we find a place out in the open it takes about 10 minutes. Then the animals can roam around in a new pasture. Eating, scratching, sleeping, and pooping to their heart's content until it's time to move to the next space.
Joel Salatin, my guru of farming and animal husbandry, has really capitalized on the innovation of electric fencing. His idea is that the movement to new spaces every few days keeps them healthy. They stimulate the flora to grow with their hooves and claws and then leave the wonderful gift of their manure to feed the next flush of growth. It's such a wonderful system and it makes so much sense because we are improving the land with our animals while we feed them. Letting them do what they do best, the way nature intended.
This is why we named our farm Schone Vida, Beautiful Life. It is our guidepost to the way our farm shall be run forever. A holistic goal on which to base our management decisions. A reminder that if we are to succeed, our animals must be able to behave as naturally as possible. This means experiencing the sunshine and breeze while laying in the leaf duff or grass. Why does this matter? Because we, as farmers rely on these animals to support our lifestyle. Unhappy and sick animals do not perform to the best of their ability and they certainly do not produce the best meat, eggs, or milk. I have had the pleasure of tasting the difference and I have discovered that our beautiful life on the farm produces truly the most beautiful food.
