Janie and I wanted to share some exciting news with y\u2019all.\u00a0 We have 2 new members in our cow family that arrived on the farm last week.<\/p>\n
Andras Champ 7094 will be our new herd bull and Andras Tamara 9097 will start a new line of mama cows for us.\u00a0 Both were bred by our friends Steve and Will at Andras Stock Farm in Manchester, IL.<\/p>\n
Champ is one of the most evenly proportioned bulls I\u2019ve seen.\u00a0 He has a great butt with even bigger shoulders.\u00a0 Champ will put the muscle (meat) on our calves we\u2019ve been looking for.\u00a0 We turned Champ out with the \u201cladies\u201d Saturday afternoon and trust me, he needed no instruction manual!<\/p>\n
Tammy, a bred heifer, will have her first calf this spring.\u00a0 Tammy has the exact physical characteristics we are looking for to produce quality grass fed beef.\u00a0 She has moderate height, moderate length with depth and thickness.\u00a0 That\u2019s cow talk for short and stocky, kind of like me.<\/p>\n
We weaned our last litter of piggies for 2010 this weekend and I\u2019m looking forward to a break from farrowing.\u00a0 At the high point this summer I was feeding 48 pigs which was no small task.\u00a0 We have a sow in with a boar now to start the process all over for 2011.\u00a0 We are hoping to produce enough feeder pigs next year to start offering pork in cuts as well as whole hog sausage.\u00a0 We will let you know when this happens.<\/p>\n
With our new ground that hopefully will be growing grass by Spring, Janie has decided to rebuild the sheep flock.\u00a0 Therefore she does not plan on selling any breeding stock next year.\u00a0 The new lambs will either be held for our own breeding stock or meat production.\u00a0 With this goal in mind, this summer we purchased 2 new ewe lambs from David Maddox of Warm Springs Katahdins.\u00a0 Janie put the girls, Taffey and Caramel, in with our ram Maximiser a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 Since Janie won\u2019t be selling breeding stock next year, we would highly recommend David as a source.<\/p>\n
There are a couple of new adventures for Dennis Farms that some of you are aware of but others are not, so I\u2019ll mention them here.\u00a0 Thanks to the wizardry of Janie\u2019s son Kris, we are now developing a kind of current events opening page on the web site.\u00a0 We also are now on Facebook which I know nothing about but Janie does.\u00a0 We are off to a slow start with this because I\u2019ve been slow in giving stuff to Kris and Janie.\u00a0 But y\u2019all may want to do whatever one does to know when we update Facebook.<\/p>\n
Our biggest new adventure is our new partnership with our friends Daniel, Susan, David and Tina Hammond of \u201cMy Dad and Me Family Farm\u201d in Powder Springs, GA.\u00a0 The Hammonds operate a raw milk (labeled for pet food) dairy.\u00a0 Janie and I can attest to how delicious the milk is from their Jersey cows.\u00a0 They also raise pastured broilers, free range laying hens and a wide assortment of seasonal fruit and vegetables.\u00a0 The Hammonds are making our beef, pork, and lamb available to folks in NW Atlanta.\u00a0 You can learn more about their farm at their website www.mydadandmefamilyfarm.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n I know I\u2019ve been terribly remiss in getting Updates out this year, but we have had an incredibly busy year and my mind is usually mush by the time I get into the house.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t raining, I doubt I would have gotten this one out.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll do better next year.<\/p>\n In closing, Janie and I want to express again how much we appreciate the support from all of you.\u00a0 Whether it is moral support from distant family, breeding stock purchases, or meat purchases, we couldn\u2019t do what we do without YOU.\u00a0 Thank you!<\/p>\n Regards,<\/p>\n Greg & Janie Dennis
\nDennis Farms
\nRanburne, AL<\/p>\n\n\t\t