Sangha Farm: Grown the Way Nature Intended

New England Winter!!!For those of you who are reading this from somewhere other than New England, we are for the first time in many years having an old fashioned New England Winter. Our first snow storm was very early in the season....right after Thanksgiving I believe. And here it is mid-Feb. with still 2 feet of snow on the ground & more predicted for later in the week. Last year, our first snow storm was mid-Feb. As much as I enjoy a good snow storm, I'm ready for warmer weather & a new farm season!!!! These pictures were taken Feb 13th, we woke up to at least 8" of new snow, sometime in the early hours of the morning the snow changed to sleet/freezing rain. The branches of the trees are covered in ice. Derek snow blowed early & then fed the animals. The picture is of him returning from the barn.

chrissy & lisa after running 27 miles in San Fransisco
The race was won!!!!!!
Last October my cousins Chrissy & Lisa ran in the Nike Women's Marathon to Benefit Cancer. They ran the race in 6 hrs 15 min. not bad for 27 miles.
A heartfelt thanks to those of you who sponsored them, & us. We put the money to good use, some went to hay (Moses & Abraham are especially thankful!!), & some for fencing the new paddock area. Your generosity is much apperciated.
And special thanks again to Chrissy & Lisa for asking us to be the benefactors.

The barn is finished!!!
(well the outside anyway)
At long last the outside of the barn is complete the solar panels are functioning & producing energy even with the little sun we've had this winter. Will, Scott, & Al are busy finishing the milk parlor, milk/cheese room. Things are moving along for our cheese making endeavor. We start purchasing equipment this month. Its all very exciting. The barn is amazing. Good old fashioned workmanship. Each & every detail of the building has been a labor of love.

Babies!Babies!Babies!
Soon there will be many 4 legged babies running around Sangha Farm. All the ewes are bred, including our neighbors sheep thats 7 ewes which means at least 14 babies.
We had the vet come out a few weeks ago to ultrasound the goats. We're very happy to say that all are bred. Bennie the first doe we bought has been having false pregnancies the last few years. Last spring I attended an 'alternative herd health' workshop, where douching with a herbal remedy was recommended to correct a suspected hormonal imbalance. I had also read in another holistic livestock book that douching could help an animal when there is trouble breeding. Bennie was milking when we bought her,so we knew she could get pregnant. So last Sept. we started douching her. It was one of the least enjoyable jobs we had to do here at the farm, but fortunately it worked. I can tell you how happy Derek & I were when we saw the babies on the ultrasound. Other vets & breeders have told us that since she had 2 false pregnancies there was little chance she would breed again, & we should cull her. We did consider selling her but knew her prospects weren't that good for finding a good home. I couldn't give up on her, she was such a good milker, & has been a great surrogate mother to the babies we've had I wanted her to have her own babies. Since my first inclination when ill is herbal medicine its really nice when its effectiveness is proven. Bennie is bagging up (which means her udder is filling with colostrum), we expect her to kid soon...definetly by the beginning of March. I will post pictures when the babies start arriving. From our calculations from whenver Bennie kids til mid-April we'll be having babies....I can't wait.

Sangha Farm C.S.A. page coming soon!

Soon you'll be able to sign-up & pay for our CSA on line. Keep checking back

Organic Certification

Each year Derek & I discuss wether or not to apply for organic certification. We grow according to organic standards the USDA now owns the word organic, which means we can't say organic without certification. Because there is a 3 yr. waiting period when transistioning fields, this year we can apply for certification for all our growing fields & pasture land, the hay fields have to wait 2 more years. We have never used chemicals but there is no record of what was put on the fields before we started growing on them in 2004. The paperwork is intense & there is a significant expense.

Since our market is mostly local we debate on wether its necessary or not. We sell at area farmers' markets where customers can ask our growing style or because they are are neighbors they just know our growing standards. Where the certification becomes necessary is when you enter into the wholesale market. Which is an area we want to enter into more.

So once again Derek has pulled out the application & started the paperwork process.....answering questions, drawing maps, charts, etc., etc., all to make us more efficient farmers?????? or maybe just more accountable. I would like to certify our pasture land, since we are entering the dairy world with goat cheese it would be nice to have on our label that our grass fed goats graze on certified organic pasture.

It would be nice to hear if that certified organic label is important to those that buy our produce, please email with your opinions. Thanks