Autumn Olive Farms

2012-01-04T20:58:00.002-05:00

For the latest news from Autumn Olive Farms check out the news page on our website at autumnolivefarms.com.

For additional news, farm stories and videos check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/AutumnOliveFarms
and our You Tube channel at youtube.com/autumnolivefarms.

A different kind of kid on the playground...

2011-10-29T21:01:00.000-04:00

We were invited by Dr. Mindy Garber, principal at Hugh K. Cassell Elementary School, to bring our goats to the playground to entertain the school kids yesterday.

Our Boer Bok goats were the last "kids" to play on the playground before it is to be torn down to make way for a new one. What a fun afternoon we all had!

Teachers and parents were snapping photos.

Pat Jarrett the photograhper from the Newsleader said it was the highlight of his week! It is amazing the affect our animals have on people.

The school kids were squealing and cheering with delight every time a goat jumped off the playground or went up or down the slide. I even heard one teacher say it was okay for the goat kids to break the rule and go up the slide! The goats had a great time!

The dogs even got in on the action! This is Bea, she usually does not like attention, but boy yesterday was a different story! I looked and there she was standing by the fence letting the kids love on her. This was so good to see. She has been very sick from Lyme's disease. She has had a full recovery! Thank you Dr. Barton from Commonwealth Veterinary Clinic!

This is Ms. Peabody our 3 legged goat. She is the most popular goat amongst the kids. They are always looking for and asking about Ms. Peabody. She is an amazing goat!

Two of our favorite goats are Wilbur (the one without horns) and #17. They enjoyed hanging out on the playground.

One thing you should know is that our goats weren't the last "kids" to play on the playground. It was actually our son Luke and his friend Forrest. They were taking a "break" from working...

You see, part of the playground is going to become a "chicken palace" here at Autumn Olive Farms!

"Field" Trip....

2011-10-27T20:44:00.007-04:00

The fourth grade class at Hugh Cassell Elementary School went on a "field" trip last Thursday. No bus, no fuel, no money spent! They just walked out of the back of the school and down the path...

Ready and waiting for the kids to arrive!

Here they come!

Better turn the electric net off!

The kids learned what the terms sustainable farming, biological control, invasive plants and environmentally friendly mean and got to see those words in action. They also learned about livestock guardian dogs and their purpose.

Clay telling the kids about Mr. Max. He is the one who contracted meningeal worm when he was young. It caused him to become stunted and weak in his hind legs. He is one of those animals that is not a "good business decision," so we found a job for him. He is great with new goat kids that come into our herd from other farms. His gentle nature is very calming to them and helps them to adjust to their new home.

Mr. Max then went over for some special attention. He is a very gentle buck and loves to have his head and horns rubbed!

This is #17 he also loves attention! Ms. Peabody is standing to his left. She is the one who had to have her front leg amputated. All of the kids were fascinated with Ms. Peabody. She is a remarkable goat! Now whenever we see the kids out and about they all ask "Where is Ms. Peabody?"

The goats ran and followed the kids back up the path. They were sad to see them go!

Scenes from the Agritourism Festival...

2011-10-25T09:38:00.024-04:00

We had a great day at the first annual Shenandoah Valley Agritourism Festival on Sunday at Hermitage Hill Farm! The Festival had a large turnout with over 600 people in attendance!

It was an honor to finally get to meet Joel Salatin when he came by to visit our display. It was even more exciting to hear him tell us that our farm model is fantastic and that he has never seen one like it!

The weather was perfect and folks were very interested in learning about our farm and what we do.

Pat Jarrett/The New Leader

The goats enjoyed being fed branches of autumn olive, honeysuckle, blue weed and privet.

It is quite different than what most folks are used to when they go to a festival and see goats.

Pat Jarrett/The News Leader

Usually you get a cone with feed in it. Not our goats! It was a great way to teach kids and adults about the goats natural diet. It also allowed for an up close view to see how their prehensile mouths work to pluck every leaf off of a branch!

Even the newest addition had to get in on the action! She wanted to show that at one month old she can forage too!

Chloe was her normal "stoic" self. She spent most of her time "modeling" as a Pyrenees statue. She would mosey over for a few rubs every now and then. She was very disappointed the folks were feeding the goats, but not feeding her!

Our son, Luke was on hand to give out samples of our Autumn Berry Sauce. We were anxious to get the feedback on our batch of Autumn Berry Spicy Sauce and folks gave us a thumbs up! All agreed that it was not too hot just a little warm!

Here is a link to The News Leader article about the festival. You can see more pictures and learn about the festival. Hope to see you there next year!

Our Boer Bok have gone to school and the school has gone green....

2011-10-10T22:01:00.001-04:00

The A-Team has gone to school at Hugh Cassell Elementary School. The school has gone green and the green is getting gone!

Looking east toward Turk Mountain on the Skyline Drive

It is a surreal feeling for Clay every time he goes to check the herd. This was part of his original family farm and he can remember hunting ground hogs and making hay in the fields where our Boer Bok are. Who would have ever dreamed that we would have 184 Boer Bok from our herd grazing this land 40 years later?

The views from the top of the hill are stunning! This is looking northeast at the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

This site has a stand of walnut trees for shade. Clay remembers these being big when he was a little boy.

It also has concrete pads. The Boer Bok love to climb and play on these!

They are enjoying this gorgeous weather!

Chloe likes it here as well! She checking the wind for smells of a threat or out of the park balls from the baseball fields..

We will be doing a presentation for the school kids next week. The kids and staff are excited about the "foreign exchange students" that are attending their school. We are excited to be able to teach a young generation about these beautiful animals, sustainable farming and biological control methods of invasive plants and weeds! Those are a lot of big words to learn for young kids!

The scent of Romeo...

2011-10-06T21:01:00.001-04:00

Clay and I were doing our evening herd check and noticed that the does were super affectionate. They were crowding all around us and leaning into us to be petted and rubbed. Even the does who usually don't want to have anything to do with us were behaving this way. It seemed a bit odd to see this over affection they were displaying.

Romeo

Then it occurred to Clay why they were behaving that way. Prior to checking the does we checked the bucks and noticed that Romeo needed his hooves trimmed. Needless to say that when you trim his hooves you have to touch him and when you touch him his "essence" gets on you. Yes, the girls smelled the scent of Romeo. "O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?" is what they were saying. Not to worry, they will get to see him and our other buck, The Hardy Boy in about a month. That will be too much to blog about!


The Band of Bucks - "Skipper", "Romeo" and "The Hardy Boy"

"The Hardy Boy" and "Romeo"

Scenes From Kite Day...

2011-10-02T21:36:00.001-04:00

Kite Day Coyner Springs, Waynesboro VA

Kite Day was a great success! There was wind and the kites were flying high. It was a beautiful site seeing the goats with the kites flying in the background.

Kite Day Coyner Springs, Waynesboro VA

We did not know how they would react to the kites. They could have cared a less that there was a 50 foot octopus flying in the sky!

The goats drew quite a crowd. The people really enjoyed seeing them in action and asked a lot of questions.

Of course, the newest member of our herd was a big hit.

She even put on a little show dancing and prancing around.

Her mother said enough fun and games! She took the opportunity to teach some forage skills. This kid is foraging at 1 week! What a show off!

Then there was Chloe... She was a hit when she was awake. She is not used to all of this activity during the day. She works the night shift and sleeps most all day.

"Ho Hum, I'll let them pet me. Just wish they would give me some of that kettlecorn!"

She preferred laying on the hill and looking regal!

Notice Chloe in the background. This is how she spends most of her days.

A special thanks to my great nieces Lauren and Maran for helping me give out samples of our Autumn Berry Sauce!

It was great for folks to see the goats foraging on the invasive Autumn Olive plant and then to learn there is a yummy way that THEY could help remove over 5,000 plants from the environment! Good on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, cheese cake.....

Wild Harvested Autumn Berries

The girls have arrived...

2011-09-28T11:43:00.000-04:00

Introducing the newest arrivals to our farm. These two gorgeous girls arrived this morning. They hopefully will be giving us some Thanksgiving entertainment for our guests in the way of piglets.

We have not officially named them, but I am thinking of Ethel and Myrtle. We will have to get to know their personalities a little better and it will have to be a unanimous decision or I won't hear the end of it!

So far they are liking their new digs. They are investigating with caution though. Notice the bristles on the back!

Eeny, Meeny, Miny and Mo are quite curious about the new arrivals. Hopefully they will make for one big happy hog family!

When the war on invasive plants is beyond your control it is time to contact....

2011-08-22T22:28:00.001-04:00

Autumn Olive Farms has biological control agents on staff 27/7.

"The A-Team"

"Your battlefield is their banquet hall"

Fields of Grace....

2011-08-21T21:51:00.000-04:00

We are thrilled that we were able to purchase the floor of goats at the Rockingham county fair again this year! We ended up with 85 of them.

They were running jumping and playing this morning. It must have felt really good to get out in an open space and eat green forage after being in the barn all week showing off their handsome selves! They are such nice animals from good stock. The 4-H and FFA kids did a great job raising them to showcase their potential.

The title of this blog post is appropriately named. If we had not gotten them they would not be running jumping and playing this morning. These children's hand raised goats would have been immediately snatched out of their cozy show pens and thrust into the harsh environment of large pens and trailers heading into the brutal and heartless Northeast industrial meat system. Unbelievably that was not the worst possible end result. One particular buyer in our area is actively buying 4H/FFA fair stock at high prices and they would be on their way to medical research programs focused on highly infectious diseases including leprosy research. More likely though is the medical program where these children's pet are partially blown up by the army in a controlled way in order to train medics how to stabilize severe trauma victims of IED and land mine injuries. With other options available, how could anyone choose to use young children's pets in that way?

With the very real threat of that being the outcome for the goats in this sale I am afraid we did have both a smart price and a also a "heart" price. Unfortunately for us the sale price was a lot closer to the heart price so we REALLY need to find at least one great forage job for them to earn some income to make it up.

It is true that most of our stock will one day die to become a very healthy meat product for informed consumers. Until that final moment though, all the Autumn Olive Farms goat's lives will be good days and filled with all the fascinating antics and details that make the goat uniquely what it is.

In fact, although we have one of the finest meat products that a human can eat we would gladly forgo the meat side of our business if we could afford to keep all of them as full time foragers. That would require us to become Boer Bok snowbirds to Florida! Know anyone in need of our services from November to May in a fine Florida setting?

Jiggity, Jig, Jig....

2011-07-30T10:46:00.001-04:00

Introducing the newest additions to Autumn Olive Farms... Two Ossabaw Island Sows.

The girls have not arrived yet to our farm location as they are off with a Boar. Which means that this Thanksgiving instead of having kids we will be having piglets!

Ossabaw Island Hogs are a unique breed of pig. They are listed on the American Livestock Breed Conservancy list as critically endangered.

They were brought to Ossabaw Island in the 1500s off the coast of Georgia by Spanish explorers. Breeding pairs were left on the island to provide food for the explorers when they returned.

In my research I came across an interesting article on Gourmet.com.

The fat from an Ossabaw hog is found to be high in oleic acid which is the fat that is found in olives. The fat is so unsaturated that it is nearly liquid at room temperature. Could it be that this pork is actually good for you?

We have learned a few things about the girls. One is that they love to get massages! I know what you are thinking, no they don't stink. I was surprised to learn that pigs don't stink when raised properly.

They love to eat snacks... So when you come to visit, bring your scraps!

They like to forage in the forest...We are hoping for a good acorn crop this year!

We will have to put Willow on "squirrel duty." She will be thrilled with that job.

They also like to root around in the mud, so wear your boots!

We struck gold today...

2011-07-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

Our son Luke helping with the harvest.

Yukon Gold that is! We harvested our first Yukon Gold potatoes today.

They will be available for you to enjoy at The Local Chop and Grill House and The Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg.

You will also be able to enjoy them at MAS Tapas in Charlottesville. We will keep you posted on the other places to find them.

We are very excited to be able to provide these fine restaurants with the bounty of our harvest!

Bea's Spa Day...

2011-06-28T18:50:00.001-04:00

Bea's "before" photo

This past Saturday was Bea's turn at the spa. Bea is Mudflap's sister. She came to us last fall and she has never had anything done to her fur. We had to wait until warm weather to give her a new look.

She is mostly Komondor with some Great Pyrenees mixed in. It is hard to tell from this picture, but Bea has what Clay calls "country dreadlocks." This is what the Komodors fur is supposed to do. The problem is that she is like a walking biohazard with those "stinking dreads." It is quite an unpleasant experience to ride in the car with her.

It was so surprised when I shaved her. Under all of those nasty dreads was beautiful clean white fur! It came off in mostly one big piece like a rug. I could have just laid it in the chicken pen and the predators would have thought there was a dog lying in there. Instead I tore it apart and put the dreads all around the pen.

You will be quite surprised to see the look that Bea went for. She wanted something different than Chloe.   Something that was "South African".....

Her "Lioness"

She was not cooperative for a photo. She was more interested in playing. You can still get the general idea.

Chloe's Spa Day...

2011-06-14T21:36:00.000-04:00

Chloe's before picture

Chloe says she is ready for a new look! She is tired of all of that heavy fur weighing her down.

We discussed it and decided what the best cut would be for her body type. Then I got to work....


That is a lot of fur!

First she had a course cut and then a peppermint bath and massage and then her final touches. She was then treated to a VIP golf cart ride back to her pasture.

She was so happy that she was "kicking up her paws!"

Chloe's glamor shot

As you can see she is very pleased with my work! I think it is a good look for her. She was going for a semi - poodle look with out the curls.

The fabulous C&O...

2011-05-16T22:09:00.002-04:00

We celebrated Mother's Day with a fabulous meal at the C&O Restaurant. We went for a late dinner Saturday night after moving animals all day. What a wonderful treat it was to have family and friends share the rewards of our hard work!

Popover with Kibbeh

Chef Eric surprised us with an appetizer that he made especially for our party. It was a Popover with with Kibbeh. It is usually made with local lamb and house made burrata and crispy leeks. Instead of lamb he used our Boer Bok meat. The burrata is a is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. This dish was full of wonderful flavors that my taste buds had never experienced!

Vindaloo

The entree we enjoyed was Vindaloo. It is an Indian Curry dish using our Boer Bok meat. I will have to confess that I am not one that likes curry, but I wanted to eat our Boer Bok goat meat. Oh My, it was sooo delicious!! What I did not know is that there are different kinds of curry. Eric selected the perfect one to go with our Boer Bok! The entree also included grilled romaine with a raita sauce. Yes, I said grilled romaine. I had no idea that you could grill lettuce! It was incredible as well! I am so thankful that Clay has planted romaine in our organic garden. We are going to have fun with it. I also tried another new flavor which was fried yucca. It was a perfect complement to the Vindaloo!

January 31, 2010 Feeding hay by hand.

As we sat there enjoying this fabulous meal I thought back to last winter when we were wading in waist deep snow to get to our animals and feed a 900lb hay bale by hand. We did not have a tractor that winter. I remember wondering if all of this hard work was worth it. I will have to say as I sat there and enjoyed what Eric created out of our Boer Bok goat meat that YES it is worth it!! We also loved seeing a couple at another table obviously enjoying the Vindaloo!

After we finished our meal we snuck down to the kitchen to give Chef Eric a big hug! We work well together!
Thank you to the staff for such great service and making our evening special. We appreciate it!

Fear The Goat...

2011-05-09T19:23:00.000-04:00

Carolina Brewing Company Spring Brew

Leave it to our son, Tyler, to bring us this glass. I could not believe it! It is from the Carolina Ale House in Wilmington, NC. He said when he saw it he told them he had to keep the glass. He said "Don't even ask... Just give it to me." I did have to put milk in it so you could see the writing. :)

We just need to request they drop the "c" in Bock! I would suggest Romeo's head, but I don't think he fits the profile they are looking for.

Easter at Autumn Olive Farms...

2011-04-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

Slow Roasted Boer Bok Goat Meat

At Autumn Olive Farms we enjoyed Boer Bok Shoulder Roasts for our Easter meal. Clay slow roasted them on the grill and they came out delicious! It was a sweet reward for all of our hard work!

We delivered several whole goats on Friday that were going to be the centerpiece of some Easter celebrations. Can't wait to hear about it!

An Easter Egg Hunt Autumn Olive Farms style!

We also had an Easter Egg hunt. The chickens even got in on the fun. They were wondering about those strange colored eggs though. It was funny to see them running all around and checking them out before the egg hunt started. They had a perplexing look on their faces!

Oops you missed one! The chicken sees it though!

Cat on a "Hen House Roof" and "Tweens"...

2011-04-20T17:45:00.001-04:00

Doug on the "Hen House Roof"

The chickens are at it again. They have decided to abandon Doug's house and use the nesting boxes. It is a much better choice and one that Clay can feel good about since he spent the time to build them such a nice "complex." The problem is that we have 6 nest "units" available and 5 hens want to use the same one. Boy I thought it was loud before. I had to close the door to carry on a phone conversation due the the squawking that was going on out there. You have never heard such fussing from a bunch of egg laying hens! It starts all over again once the egg is laid. For some reason they think the whole farm wants to know their business! Reminds me of some people I have known.

Doug has also decided to abandon his house as well and has turned the "nesting complex" into a "duplex." The hens don't seem to mind and as you can see, Doug could care a less. He just sleeps through it all. Reminds me of some people I know!

Louise and her "Tweens."

So much for having cute little fluffy Easter chicks for all of the company to see. I don't think they will have any "fluff" left by Easter. They are in that awkward "Tween" stage of their life right now. Fluff AND Feathers!

Boer Bok Peninsula...

2011-04-17T16:02:00.000-04:00

Chloe assessing the flood damage and "keeping the herd safe."

So we had our goats on the lower part of the farm cleaning up around the creek and garden area. Did not know that they would be on a peninsula after the storms yesterday. We had over 2 1/2 inches of rain here on the farm.


Our electric net fence is tough!

The good news is that all of our Boer Bok are fine and our fence did not get torn up from debris.

What just happened here?

They were nice and clean right after the storm. I don't think that is going to last too long!

"1700 feet of a potatoes lover's dream"

The other good news is that Clay and his dad worked hard to get this garden planted before the rain came. This garden is planted in 1700' feet of potatoes including Yukon Gold, German Butterball, Russian Banana Fingerling and Kennebec's!

Almost, but not quite.

The best news is that the water only came up literally to the very edge of the first row of potatoes! The soil is wonderful in this garden and full of earthworms so it drains very well.

Unfortunately, our neighbor did not come out as well from the storm as we did. He came home to find that the South River had risen quickly, stranding his sheep on high ground where they were cut off by flood waters. The high ground went under as well so his 12 ewes and 11 lambs were up to their necks in water. Some were literally clinging to a fence with their front hooves and "body surfing" to keep their heads out of the water.

While he was rushing to get a boat ready to rescue them the lambs decided to swim for it and the ewes followed! None of us knew that sheep could swim! Amazingly all made it across except for his oldest ewe who was swept away. What an unexpected turn of events for just 2 1/2 inches of rain!

A Sad day at Autumn Olive Farms...

2011-04-15T17:16:00.003-04:00

160 on right foraging at the Frontier Culture Museum.

Our day ended on a very sad note yesterday. We had to put down the first doe that was born on our farm in NC. She would have been 6 years old next month.

Her name was simply 160 which was her tag number. We referred to her as 160 while we were thinking of a name and 160 stuck.

160 at two weeks old.

We noticed that she was having a hard time chewing her cud. After careful examination we discovered that she was missing 2 back teeth on both sides of her jaw. Clay recalls that he found her chewing on a Hickory nut last fall. This must have broken her teeth. A goat has to have a full set of back teeth to properly chew it's cud or it's digestion does not work properly. In this case there is nothing that can be done.


160 as a young mother.

160 was a powerhouse of a doe and was a fine example true South African Boer Bok genetics. She was very hardy and produced many kids for us over the years. She even gave us a set of triplet does this fall. We are thankful that we will have these does to carry on her South African genetic line. Thank you 160 for 6 great years and all of the kids you produced for us. Job well done!

160 working as a "Biological Control Agent"

Food For America...

2011-04-14T16:43:00.005-04:00

Autumn Olive Farms Boer Bok loving the attention.

Would you like some hay?

These are pictures from the Food For America day that the Wilson Memorial High School FFA put on this morning. Food For America is a program where preschoolers go around to different stations and are able to get a hands on experience with farm animals, planting seeds, sitting on a tractor and even "milking" a cow.

The FFA students did a great job. It is never too early to learn about where your food comes from! I'll bet there will be interesting discussions at the dinner table of these preschoolers tonight!


This is a baby lamb not a calf!

Chloe and her horse.

Jonathan and his show lambs.

"Milking the cow!"

Chaz and s show steer.

Mr. Lawson's sheep shearing demo.

Boer Bok on the menu tonight...

2011-04-04T17:21:00.000-04:00

Would you like to try some Boer Bok in the Charlottesville area tonight? You can head over to Duners which is located 5 miles west of Charlottesville in the Village of Ivy. They have quite an impressive menu which changes daily and you can preview it on their website. Chef Laura and her staff are committed to serving the best local ingredients that are seasonally available, including our Boer Bok. Chef Laura prepared our ribs as Spicy Chinese Local Barbecued Goat Ribs with Ginger Cabbage Slaw. Sounds wonderful!

You can also go to C&O Restaurant

at 515 E. Water Street in downtown Charlottesville. Chef Eric has prepared a Biryana Stew. It is Boer Bok stewed with Indian Spices topped with a Mint Cilantro Yogurt and served with fried Yucca and sauteed local Spinach. Oh My! C&O is also committed to supporting local producers by creating spectacular dishes using locally grown products.

Our Boer Bok have gone back to their roots...

2011-04-01T10:36:00.000-04:00

So I did a Google search on Boer Bok goat meat and found this article called "Why the World Loves Our Boerbokke." It was in a South African magazine called Good Taste.

This is a description of the magazine from the about us section of their website.

Good Taste is a glossy, highly visual, lifestyle magazine offering a fresh and entertaining look at food, wine, travel, luxury cars, art, interiors, books, etc.—in fact, all the good things that make life more interesting and exciting.

The editorial staff of Good Taste subscribes to the concept of graphic journalism––writing that should look pleasing to read, even before you begin. The articles too are written by some of South Africa’s best writers, on topics that are aimed at the magazine’s affluent market.

I was reading along in the article and then I came to the 5th paragraph and was quite surprised! Click the link above to take a look at it.

I think it is a good article until you get to the last two paragraphs. This does not describe our Boer Bok and if it did they would be on a plate!

Doug has been evicted!

2011-03-27T12:52:00.002-04:00

Doug in his "new house."

Yep, it is official Doug has been evicted from his house by a broody hen named Louise. He has, I kid you not, moved into a cardboard box! He is a true homeless cat! I saw him sleeping in the box that is sitting on top of the nice nesting boxes Clay built for the hens. Yes, Clay built them very nice accommodations, but they prefer Doug's house.

"Broody Louise"

It all started when we noticed Doug sitting at the back door even after he had been fed one night. We looked and sure enough Louise was "spending the night" in his house. That only meant one thing and that is she is now officially "sitting on her nest." I reached in to take a look to see how many eggs she was sitting on and she struck lightening fast. Thank goodness she missed. It was pinch and twist kind of peck! Donating blood and flesh was not worth seeing how many eggs she was sitting on. I decided to just leave her alone. Clay moved Doug's house up on the back porch so she would be safer. She is a "sitting hen not duck" for a fox or mink. We have both here on our farm. We have to push her house against the sliding glass doors at night so nothing can get her. During the day we turn her around so she can get some sun and fresh air. Ridiculous, I know!

I noticed that she had some eggs that were rolling out from under her. Clay said she needed a rounded nest shaped like a bowl. She had chosen to make her nest in Doug's bed and it was flat from him sleeping on it. I decided I had better fix her a proper nest. I put on heavy leather gloves and my thick winter jacket. I lifted the roof off the house and there she was like a coiled up snake ready to strike at any minute. I reached down and grabbed her and tucked her under my arm, so I would have free hands to work. I gathered the eggs that had rolled out and were cold. There were about 8 of those. That left 11 that were still warm. I lined the house with fresh hay and made a bowl nest for her and put the 11 eggs in it. I put her down and she quickly accessed the new nest and thought it was acceptable and climbed on. She looked much more comfortable than before. I am sure it was hard to try and set on all of those eggs on a somewhat flat surface.

Thelma caught in the act!

I heard a racket out there one morning and discovered Thelma wanting to get on the nest. Louise said no way! What I did not realize is that Thelma had been going in there and laying her eggs. I donned on my protective gear and looked under Louise and now she is sitting on 19 eggs! Thelma lays her egg and then Louise rolls it up under herself.

By my calculations we should have chicks hatching at the end of the month. I will let you know how it goes. Last year a hawk flew into the pen and got the chicks! We will have to find a better place to keep them this year. One thing I have learned about chickens is that EVERYTHING wants to kill them! Doug hasn't so far, but that may change....

"Golden Boy" - His job is making sure the eggs are fertile!

Stay tuned. You never know what these hens will do next!

A Version of the Princess and The Pea...

2011-03-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

Doug

This is Doug, our cat, and he has a problem.

Thelma

This is Thelma. She is one half of Doug's problem. I don't have a picture of the other half of Doug's problem. Her name is Louise and she pretty much looks like Thelma.

Doug's problem all started when Thelma and Louise decided they wanted to fly out of their pen everyday and lay "their eggs" in a nest of "their choice." This is how they got their names "Thelma and Louise." Unfortunately for Doug, they decided that his house was an nice place to lay their eggs. Doug's house is located right by our back porch. As you can see it is nothing fancy, but it is a nice place for him to sleep and get out of the weather.

Doug's house. This picture was taken at 9:00 AM. Notice two eggs already in there!

There are several problems with Thelma and Louise choosing Doug's house for their nest. One is that cats do not get up early. They like to sleep until mid morning. The hens pitch an absolute fit and wake up the whole farm until Doug leaves so they can lay their eggs. If they could talk it would go something like this "GET OUUUUUT, GET OUUUUUT!! My egg is coming and I HAVE TO COME IN! You know there is not room for the two of us and I would never lay my egg in the company of a cat! " Doug just looks at her and yawns and stretches his paws out and thinks about it. Meanwhile she is standing outside clucking and pitching a fit as LOUD as she can. Doug finally gives in and slowly climbs from his warm bed. He then sits at the back door and waits for his breakfast.

There are also good things about them choosing Doug's house to lay their eggs. It is a convenient location for us to collect eggs right outside the back door. The top of the house opens up and we can easily collect the eggs. This is much better than the blue barrel where the rest of the hens lay their eggs. Of course they made their nest in the back of the barrel where it is hard to reach. We have to climb half way in to reach the eggs or use a stick to roll them out. Yes, I have stuffed the back of the barrel with hay to force them to make their nest where we can reach it. Does not work! They get in there and mash down the hay and make a cozy nest in the BACK of the barrel! Not very convenient, but it is nice to know where their nest is. Another good thing about Doug's house is that if we forget to collect the eggs and it is cold, then Doug lays on them and keeps them warm, so they don't end up freezing.

This story is about one day Doug seemed so sad, very tired and out of sorts. What could be wrong with him? He had been fed, so I knew he wasn't hungry. He did not look sick. Just tired. Then it occurred to me...

I had been really busy and had not collected the eggs in a few days. Okay, it was about 5 days! I went out to look and sure enough there was a nest of 10 eggs! Doug had no where to lie in his own house except on top of them. He did not mind sleeping on a couple, but this was really pushing it! No wonder he looked so tired. He had not had a good nights sleep for days! This gives new meaning to "The Princess and The Pea!" I collected the eggs and he went in his house and enjoyed a nice nap that afternoon and a good nights sleep that night. I do make sure to collect the eggs every day now. I wonder what is going to happen if Thelma or Louise decides to get broody? I don't think Doug would volunteer to be a "midwife." Thelma and Louise have burned that bridge with their antics every morning!

Stories from around the farm...

2011-03-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

People keep telling us we need to write a book. No one has called an offered us a book deal. No time to write a book anyways with over 200 animals to take care of everyday, so short stories on our blog will have to do. We have quite a few of them as it is never a dull moment around here. Clay and Luke are the better writers and hopefully they will have time to write about some of the "characters" on our farm. Until then, I (Linda) will share a few stories with you.

I will have to say most all of our animals from the goats to the chickens to the dogs and even our one lonely cat all have their own individual personalities. So you can imagine that with all of the animals this makes for some great stories. Just wish we could put voices with each of them for you to hear.   Thank goodness they all don't "talk." Nothing would ever get done!

Visitors to our farm are amazed we can tell our goats apart. It is not hard for us. They all actually do look different and we can even recognize them by their "bleats" without even seeing them.

The first story will be about our only cat named Doug. He has quite a story about how he showed up on our farm in NC. I will have to write about it one day...

New places to find Boer Bok on the menu...

2011-03-18T17:36:00.000-04:00

We are excited to tell you that you can find Autumn Olive Farms Boer Bok on the menu in two new locations in Charlottesville this weekend! They are Maya Restaurant and Bar and The Local Restaurant. Both of these restaurants have a strong commitment to support local farms.

Maya is located on West Main Street in the center of Charlottesville's Midtown. They will be serving our Boer Bok loin chops with a savory herb and cucumber tapioca and orange ginger vinaigrette.

The Local is located on Hinton Avenue in the Belmont area of Charlottesville. They will be serving Boer Bok ribs with a syracha barbecue glaze and horseradish slaw.

YUM!

Our offical website is up and running...

2011-02-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

Now that we have an official Autumn Olive Farms website we will start using the blog to share stories from around the farm. The website is still under construction, but we will have an online store where you will be able to order our Boer Bok goat meat and have it delivered right from our farm to your door. The website also gives you the information on what we do here at Autumn Olive Farms.

We will use our Autumn Olive Farms Facebook page to update you on the latest places to find our Boer Bok and other news of interest. Please join our Facebook page if you have not already.

So, how do you move a large order of meat when the basement is snowed in?

2011-01-28T22:26:00.001-05:00

With a sled and a dog of course! This is Chloe pulling the sled with the Boer Bok goat meat that is going to the James Beard House on February 8th. She is not your typical sled dog, but she is a very big Great Pyrenees and definitely up to the job! We had better wax those runners. Sounds like we might get another big snow next week. We may have to call on the Komondors, Mudflap and Bea, to help out!

Click on this Autumn Olive Farms You Tube channel link to see us in action!

Some VERY exciting news.....

2011-01-15T18:31:00.000-05:00

We are so excited that our Boer Bok goat meat will be on the menu at the James Beard House in New York City on February 8th! Chef Melissa Close Hart from Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Vineyard will be preparing an Elegant Vineyard Getaway dinner and we are one of three entrees...

"Braised Boer Bok Goat with Buckwheat Polenta, Orange-Glazed Turnips, and Micro-Turnip Green Salad
Barboursville Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve 2008"

's dynamic cuisine first hand." We will be updating the blog with more information about this event. It is our hope that after 6 years of dedicated efforts, Autumn Olive Farms Boer Bok will make it into the finest restaurants in the country. We might be a bit biased, but we do believe it has a rightful place at the table.

Where Oh Where Have We Been?

2011-01-14T13:42:00.000-05:00

We have been very busy here at Autumn Olive Farms with our herd of over 200 Boer Bok! We had 61 kids born in 11 days in mid-late November. Yes, Romeo was a very busy boy back in June! Then the holidays came.....

We have had our challenges with the unseasonably cold weather, but all in all everyone is doing well. We are all looking forward to the nice warm days of spring and fresh green forage.

The dogs on the other hand... Well, they are thrilled with this cold weather. They run jump and play and are totally obnoxious about it.

We have some exciting news that we will be sharing about our Boer Bok goat meat. Stay tuned...

Are goats a threat?

2010-10-31T21:32:00.002-04:00

Check out this video link that was on Colbert Nation. Clay and I have always talked about our perfect employees. They love their 24/7 work schedule and ask only for quality food and to have their time in the sun. They have a great attitude and are good to work with for the most part. What more could you ask for? Every now and then they organize and present a unified demand or two but we always work it out.

They don't have it too bad either... They get to eat a delicious variety of invasive plants anytime and as much as they want . They work in beautiful places with all of their friends. They get to take the late fall and winter off. As a matter of fact, they are all home here at Autumn Olive Farms for the holidays enjoying all you can eat locally grown alfalfa/orchard grass hay. Can't get a better life for a goat than that!

Boer Bok ribs for sampling.......

2010-10-15T13:56:00.000-04:00

Don't forget that we will be in downtown Staunton at Cranberry's Grocery and Eatery tomorrow from 10:30 - 3:00 giving out samples of our delicious Boer Bok ribs.

Cranberry's is a really neat store and cafe in historic downtown Staunton. They are just up the street from the Visitors Center. They offer local foods plus herbal remedies, wonderful smelling goat's milk soap, a whole lot more. I could go for a cup of their gourmet coffee right now!

We will also have Boer Bok bone-in leg roasts, shoulder roasts, shanks, chops and more available for purchase.

Hope to see you there!

Our Boer Bok is totally local......

2010-10-14T22:45:00.000-04:00

I attended the Building Health, Wealth and Capacity in the Shenandoah Valley Food and Farm Economy workshop today. Ken Meter of the Crossroads Resource Center spoke about the Shenandoah Valley local food and economic study he conducted.

Ken made a dramatic statement "that local food may be the best path to economic recovery." How can that be? Here is an example of what Autumn Olive Farms is doing to keep our dollars local.

We buy our animals in the Shenandoah Valley. As a matter of fact, we purchased the whole floor, which was 86 FFA and 4-H show wethers and does at the Rockingham County Fair. These are goats that were purchased at local farms by local families fed local food and then taken to the local fair. There were quite a few happy "human" kids and parents to see that their show goats that they had lovingly cared for were going to a farm and not straight to the market in New Holland. Yep, all of those dollars would have gone right out of the Valley.

Since that time those 86 animals have been generating income along with our other Boer Bok by combating an Autumn Olive invasion on an old family farm near Staunton.

In the winter our Boer Bok eat only alfalfa/orchard grass hay that is grown a mile from our farm. They also get fresh minerals daily produced by Countryside Natural Products in Fishersville. We have our meat animals processed in the Valley and then we sell to local restaurants and stores.

Whether you "employ" our Boer Bok to clear your overgrown land or you are enjoying our meat at a local restaurant or purchasing it at a local store you are helping stimulate the local economy. That is something we can all feel good about. Buy Fresh Buy Local!

The Boer Bok are in print again......

2010-10-10T20:43:00.003-04:00

Check out page 13 in the Fall 2010 edition of Edible Blue Ridge Magazine. You will see one of our Boer Bok does munching on forage and read about what we do.
Edible Blue Ridge is a beautiful magazine that focuses on all aspects of local food in the Blue Ridge area. From where it is grown to where it is sold and even recipes on how to prepare it. It also has a Buy Fresh Buy Local guide in the back. We are the first listing for Augusta County.

Mark your calendars......

2010-09-17T11:55:00.000-04:00

We will be speaking at the Piedmont Environmental Council's fall meeting on Saturday, September 25 at the MARE center in Loudoun county. Click on the link to read about the workshops that will be offered and how to sign up. Our workshop is titled "When Good Plants Go Bad: Managing Invasive Species.

Goats put biological brakes on invasive plant species.....

2010-08-25T11:05:00.001-04:00

That is the title of the article in the Virginia Native Plant Species Fall newsletter. Click on the link to read the article written by Nancy Sorrells. Native plants have a difficult and sometimes an impossible time competing with the invasive species. We have an environmentally friendly solution to help restore native plant habitats! Nancy wrote a great article about what the goats are doing at the Frontier Culture Museum.

Surprise......

2010-08-13T21:37:00.003-04:00

We knew that we were going to have an article in the small ruminant section of Country Folk magazine, but did not expect to make the front cover!

Jennifer Showalter, the author, came to the Frontier Culture Museum to write an article about our Boer Bok. She is a young farmer from Lexington, VA who knows first hand what a problem invasive plant species are for farmers. She said she has sprayed so many that the plants should wilt when she walks by!

Here is the link to the article. Goats create win-win situation for Autumn Olive Farms

What a sight it must have been........

2010-08-04T07:05:00.002-04:00

With help from some wonderful Volunteer Shepherds, we moved the herd to their new location at the Frontier Culture Museum on the hill behind the pond. What a sight it must have been seeing the herd literally running down the boulevard. (great for their hooves)

I was leading them with the guard dog, NOT herding dog! This breed of dog is good for protecting, but definitely not herding. I had to almost drag her to run that far. The Boer Bok were running behind me followed by 3 Volunteer Shepherds. Unfortunately, Clay has the camera with him in Indonesia, so I could not get pictures of the event.

After we got them moved I was awarded a custom handmade Shepherd's staff by my helpers. It was quite a day of taking down and setting up fence and moving the herd. Normally Clay and I do it by ourselves. I will have to say it works much better with 4 people! Thank you to my volunteers!

The Boer Bok are in a much better location for viewing from the Boulevard. By the evening of the day we moved them you could already see through the Autumn Olive Bushes. One of the Volunteer Shepherds went with me yesterday evening and could not believe what they had done in just a few days. He said it looked like a brush hog had been through there. It was a brush hog alright...a whole herd of them.

If you go by the museum, be sure to walk down the path beside the blue bird trail. You will see the devastation to the Autumn Olive, Honeysuckle, Multi- Flora Rose and Blackberry. Some one told me it looks like a war zone. Total devastation! The front of the first site is not as impressive due to the fact they don't care too much for the Pear Trees. They are stiff and it is hard for them to "walk down" to eat. I could have left them in there and forced them to eat it, but did not want to do that to my pregnant does.

Boer Bok is Tapas........

2010-07-28T23:25:00.001-04:00

What is Tapas? Check out the MAS website to find out what Tapas is. If you haven't been to MAS then you have been missing out on a fun and unique dining experience. I love lots of flavors and different foods and this is the place to get it.

The menu changes daily and Tomas has a commitment to support local farms. I love spending my local food dollars here!

Make sure you check out the Tapas menu on the website. They update it daily. Be sure to try the Datil con tocino (fat, juicy, pitted Medjool dates roasted inside of applewood-smoked bacon) YUM!!

Our Boer Bok should be on the menu this weekend. I can't wait to see what Tomas creates with our Boer Bok Loin Racks! Hope to see you there.

Here we go again.....

2010-07-05T19:18:00.000-04:00

We are now officially burned up here in the central Shenandoah Valley and there is no rain in sight for the next 10 days! We have been in this situation before in NC. The biggest difference is that in NC our goats were primarily on pasture that was burned up. Here in VA with our focus on invasive plant foraging they are largely unaffected by this drought.

Our solution in NC was to take our goats out of the pasture twice a day and walk them along the highway/utility right of way to forage on all of the invasive plants that are deeply rooted and largely unaffected by the drought and heat. Here we only have to make sure they have fresh water and minerals daily! In fact you will find the Boer Bok eating during the middle hours of the day when other livestock is holed up in the shade or in the streams and ponds causing a mess that carries all the way to the Bay.

Isn't it amazing how you can look in a field that is burned up and yet still see lush green plants. Those green plants are usually invasive species and they seem to thrive no matter what the weather forecast is. Our Boer Bok are doing the same. They are thriving while eating the invasive plant species in this terrible heat. The light-bulb went off for us in the drought of 2007, like "duh,,,,,,, no one else is doing it, but why not concentrate on the invasives and paddle downstream for a change"????????

We know first hand the stress of farmers who are going to have to start feeding hay in July while at the same time wondering if they will get another cutting of hay. Been there and done that. We also know about the next dilemma the small ruminant producers are going to experience when the rain does come. Those intestinal parasite eggs that are laying dormant on the pasture love to hatch in the warm moist heat. I will never forget the year this happened to us. It ruined a whole kid crop. We protect our Boer Bok from this severe situation by keeping them on invasives and off pasture. They are designed for woody forage. By eating off the ground with their heads up and they don't ingest the parasite eggs. It sounds simple, but most producers don't or haven't come to that place yet.

Unfortunately the Universities continue to teach the failed pasture rotation model. We took all of those classes about raising goats and that is the model they teach over and over. On fresh ground it will work for a few years, but it will eventually catch up with you and bring you to ruin. The intestinal parasite problem continues to be the greatest challenge to raising goats. So far, so good for us right now. This current weather pattern will bring the rotational pasture managers to the crossroads of success and failure. We hope that our example will be one they can learn from and adopt. There certainly seems to be enough invasives to go around and the sight of healthy goats is one that never gets old.

Augusta County Promotional Video............

2010-06-27T15:51:00.006-04:00

I want to share the video that was presented during the Culinary Writers tour that came to Augusta County on June 9th. A video segment designed to promote agritourism in Augusta County was produced in advance and presented to the writers and guests during the lunch at Hermitage Hills Farm and Stables. Guests included the new Virginia Commissioner of

Agriculture, Matt Lohr and the Augusta Country Director for Economic Development, Dennis Burnett. Click on this link to see the video.

The video was created and produced by Tim Nargi of digitaltimmay in Northern Virginia. It is facinating to read on his website how he got the shots and the equipment he used. The concept of featuring agritourism is new in the area and I believe that it is the first video that promotes agritourism in Augusta County. We are excited that we were able to be a part of it and that the new Commissioner of Agriculture got to see it!

Fortunately for us the girls plus Mr. Max were on good behavior the morning the cameras were rolling for them!

Some Before and After.......

2010-06-18T22:14:00.001-04:00

This is what Autumn Olive looks like before and during the Boer Bok foraging on it. They love to stand and reach the high leaves.

This is what Autumn Olive looks like after the Boer Bok have foraged on it. They remove the leaves which stresses the plant. The root then puts its efforts into regenerating the foliage at every point where the leaves have been plucked off. If you cut the plant off at the base only, all the root energy is applied at the one point, allowing the plant to come roaring back.

Meet the competition.....

2010-06-18T21:52:00.002-04:00

The retired girls and wethers have moved to a location South of Staunton. They are working on an area that was planted in pine seedlings that got overtaken by Autumn Olive. You can see how thick the Autumn Olive is.

While we were there today checking on the goats we met the competition! It is a giant saw hanging from a helicopter. This picture does not do it justice. Check out the video of this thing at work. We told the guys working on the ground that we would take care of the low growth and they can take care of the high growth. :) Click on this link for Video and this link for Photos of this new site.

A Fine Fellow has arrived....

2010-06-18T21:36:00.002-04:00

The Fine Fellow has arrived! As you can see the girls are checking the new guy out. They all agreed that he is definitely a Fine Fellow!

He immediately went to work showing off his foraging skills.

He is a beautiful buck and is a fine representation of the true South African Breed Standard. He weighs 211 pounds at just 14 months. We are looking forward to seeing the kids he produces this fall.

Click on this link for more Photos and a Video of him meeting the girls.

A surprise.............

2010-06-10T13:49:00.001-04:00

I was reading the Staunton Newsleader on line and saw a heading that said Herd Control. I thought is was an article about a herding dog or something. When I clicked the link I was surprised to see this picture of the girls! The girls are making the paper and we don't even know it.

Culinary Writers Tour and our display................

2010-06-09T19:17:00.008-04:00

We were asked to be part of a culinary writers tour that came through Augusta County today hosted by Hermitage Hill Farm . Lunch was prepared with ingredients exclusively from Augusta County. Our Boer Bok was on the hor d' oeuvre menu as Barbecue Boer Bok, Apple Mint Cucumber Slaw on a Silver Dollar Hoe Cake.

Our Boer Bok were featured on a video made to showcase Augusta County. The girls and Mr. Max did a great job showcasing their foraging abilities.

This is a picture of our display. It was complete with a invasive plant arrangement of Autumn Olive, Morrows Honeysuckle with beautiful red berries, Privet, Vine Honeysuckle, Greenbrier, Multi- Flora Rose and a touch of Blue weed.

When the lunch was over we decided to bring the arrangement home to our patient. One of our does got her front leg hung in a forked branch. It cut off the circulation to the point that we had to have her leg amputated. Dr. Bowman did the surgery at Commonwealth Veterinary Clinic. (This is the former Kingsbury Animal Hospital I worked at during college and where Clay and I met.)

We put the arrangement in her pen vase and all. As you can see our patient immensely enjoyed her flowers and even shared it with the chickens! You can view a
video on our Flickr site by clicking this link.

I am happy to report that she is doing very well with three legs and she should make a full recovery. It is amazing to see how she can walk and even run!

Boer Bok at Palladio.........

2010-05-29T15:07:00.001-04:00

We are honored and excited to let you know that our Boer Bok is being prepared by Executive Chef Melissa Close Hart , Best 25 Chefs, Mid-Atlantic James Beard Foundation. She is at the Palladio Restaurant located at Barboursville Vineyards. What a beautiful place!

Boer Bok will be offered on their June and July menu. I will post the link when the new menu is updated on their site.

Check out their website and read about the restaurant, vineyard and the Barboursville Ruins. I did not know about the ruins until we went to the vineyard to pick up the wine Luke used in his cooking demo at the Montpelier Wine Festival. I was fascinated by the ruins and that they are still standing since it was built in 1814. You can read about the history of the Barboursville Ruins and the connection to Jefferson, Madison and agriculture at the above link.

Boer Bok chops are now available in Charlottesville......

2010-05-29T14:04:00.000-04:00

Rebecca's Natural Food in the Barracks Road Shopping Center is carrying our Boer Bok Chops in their freezer section. Rebecca's is a health food store that offers a large variety of foods, supplements and body care items. They also have a commitment to support local sustainable farms. We are proud to have our Boer Bok in their store. Stop by and ask Bill about the Boer Bok chops. He has tried them and will tell you all about it.

You can now purchase Boer Bok at George Bowers Grocery.......

2010-05-25T19:54:00.000-04:00

George Bowers Grocery based in Staunton, Virginia, is a community grocery store that sells "staple goods & fancy groceries", just as it did over 100 years ago. It is a locally owned grocery selling local produce and meats and goods as well as fancy imported treats and now locally grown Boer Bok! Stop by and pick up some Boer Bok chops for dinner. The chops even have a recipe on the package created by Clay! Also be watching for the Friday night Boer Bok tasting at George Bowers Grocery. Sounds like fun.

I spent my local food dollars at George Bowers on wonderful Asphodel Bee Yard raw varietal honey. YUM!! You can read about it on the George Bowers Face Book page. Brian does a great job with his facebook page. I am working on one........

The girls are on TV...............

2010-05-20T21:43:00.000-04:00

Yep, they are actually on TV showing off their foraging skills. NBC 29 and WHSV TV 3 both came out to the Boer Bok Field day this afternoon. You can watch the videos that were on the news by clicking the links above. On the TV 3 link you will have to scroll through the videos at the right and look for the one that says Boer Bok Goats. Who would have ever thought the girls would end up on TV?

We had a great Field Day and appreciate all of you who came out to learn about using Boer Bok to control invasive species. For those of you who attended, make sure you check back in a week to see how much of the forage you saw today has been consumed by our "Biological Control Agents."

The girls are in the news......

2010-05-19T08:04:00.000-04:00

The News Virginian and News Leader that is. Click on the links to read both stories. We are busy getting ready for the Boer Bok Field day tomorrow. There is a lot of news I need to update on the blog. I will update it in the next few days. Meanwhile you can read both of these articles.

One exciting thing I want to tell you about is that Peck's BBQ is preparing our Boer Bok BBQ for the field day lunch.

We took a Boer Bok Bone in Leg for them to practice with and we got to go for a taste testing. What a treat! Clay and I have always loved Lexington style BBQ. We never dreamed we would be able to eat a healthy BBQ with our own Boer Bok meat!

I will update the blog in a few days, lots of news to tell you about. Including video of the girls arriving at their latest job.
Until then......

We are listed on the Virginia Grown website......

2010-05-07T18:32:00.001-04:00

We are officially Virginia Grown. This is another great website to find local foods. Check it out.

My only complaint is that they don't have a goat on their logo. It is always about the cows, chickens and pigs. What about the goats? :)

Boer Bok Field Day................

2010-05-07T13:08:00.005-04:00

What are South African Boer Bok and what are they doing at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, VA?

There will be a field day at the Museum on Thursday, May 20th to find out how Boer Bok control invasive species and to look at land management options and programs available once invasives are suppressed or eliminated. Click here to see the official flyer.

This is a free event for landowners to see how you can use the South African Boer Bok as biological control agents for invasive species such as Autumn Olive, Multi-flora Rose, Honeysuckle and many more. Biological control represents a viable alternative to the use of herbicides and their effects on streams and watersheds.

The field day starts at 9:00 am in the Octagonal Barn with an overview of using the Boer Bok by Clay and Linda Trainum. This will be followed by a discussion of land management options and state and federal programs available by speakers from the Headwaters SWCD and NRCS, as well as a local forester. Then it is out to the field to see the Boer Bok at work.

A Boer Bok BBQ lunch will be available for $5.00. This event is sponsored by Autumn Olive Farms, Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council, The Frontier Culture Museum, and Farm Credit. Preregistration and $5.00 lunch payment is requested so we will know how much food to prepare. You can register by calling Lorraine Cormier, Shenandoah RC & D at 540-248-3321 or online at http://www.shenandoahrcd.org/goatconfreg.htm

We are excited about this opportunity and hope you will be able to attend. You can contact me at ltrainum@ntelos.net if you have questions.

Luke's cooking demo was a success......

2010-05-04T16:12:00.000-04:00

Luke demonstrated his Rosemary Red Wine Boer Bok Roast and his Boer Bok Chops at the Montpelier Wine Festival. We were literally in James Madison's meadow in front of his house. How cool is that? I read on the website that Thomas Jefferson called him "the best farmer in America!" Luke has always been interested in Revolutionary History and that made it even more special.

I posted his recipes under the recipe page at the top of the blog. We will be adding more as we go, so check back for new ways to prepare Boer Bok.

Luke is in the kitchen....

2010-04-27T22:08:00.004-04:00

Luke is in the kitchen perfecting his recipe for the Montpelier Wine Festival this Sunday. At 3:15 he will be roasting a Boer Bok leg with red wine and he will also be searing Boer Bok chops marinated with a white wine marinade. He is using wine from Barboursville Vineyard. Both of these recipes were created by him. He has not given them a name, but when he does I will post the recipes on the blog for you to try. I will video him doing the cooking demo at the festival and post it on the blog for those of you who can't be there.

Luke is only 16 years old and is one of those blessed individuals with a discerning palate. He has been interested in cooking since he was about 4 years old! He is a creative cook and likes to come up with his own recipes. We can't wait to taste the roasted Boer Bok leg.

Hope to see you on Sunday at 3:15 in the cooking with wine tent. Bon Appetit!

Boer Bok has gone Gourmet......

2010-04-23T21:23:00.006-04:00

Greenwood Gourmet Grocery that is.   You can now find Boer Bok on the other side of the mountain at this wonderful store. Greenwood Gourmet Grocery is located in Greenwood on Hwy 250 near the I64 Crozet exit.

You will find an extensive wine and brew collection plus all kinds of gourmet goodies and local foods beautifully displayed in their store. They also prepare foods in their kitchen daily and you might just see Boer Bok as one of the dishes of the day!

You can purchase Boer Bok loin chops, loin roasts, bone-in leg roasts and bone-in shoulder roasts there. If you need something for a special occasion, let Nina know and we can usually have it there in a couple of days.

We are excited to have Boer Bok available for you to purchase at Greenwood Gourmet Grocery on the East side of the Blue Ridge and Cranberry's Grocery and Eatery on the West side of the Blue Ridge. Keep your dollars local and shop at these wonderful locally owned stores! Remember what just $10 a week can do!

You can now purchase Boer Bok at Cranberry's........

2010-04-22T17:57:00.005-04:00

We are excited to let you know that you can purchase our Boer Bok meat at Cranberry's Grocery and Eatery in Staunton. Cranberry's is a really neat store and cafe in historic downtown Staunton. They are just up the street from the Visitors Center. They have local foods plus herbal remedies, wonderful smelling goat's milk soap, a whole lot more and now Boer Bok!

They have a supply of Boer Bok chops and ribs with Clay's own recipes on the package. You can also order other cuts such as boneless and bone in leg roasts, shoulder roasts, loin roasts and neck roasts and organ meats. Just let Kathleen know and we can usually have it there the next day for you.

We will be at Cranberry's on a Saturday in May cooking samples for you to try. Check back for the date.

The girls are getting ready to hit the road......

2010-04-18T17:40:00.003-04:00

It has been a long hard winter and the girls are ready to hit the road. Check out our Video link to see the girls practicing getting on and off the trailer. They are ready to do some serious defoliation on those relentless invasives that are taking over the Valley. The Autumn Olive, Honeysuckle, Multi-flora Rose, Privet, Oriental Bittersweet, and Kudzu just to name a few don't stand a chance!

They will be returning to the Frontier Culture Museum in a couple of weeks. We will let you know so you can go by and welcome them back. We will also be looking for volunteer Shepherds to help keep watch on the herd while they are there. If you are interested please contact us.

Save the date....We will be hosting a field day at the Museum on Thursday, May 20th. More details will be available in the next couple of weeks.

Look at what $10 a week can do..........

2010-04-12T20:34:00.003-04:00

If each household in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia spent just $10 per week of their total food dollars on fresh local produce and Virginia based farm products the dollars returned to the community would look like this.

Cities and Counties of the Central Shenandoah Valley Region: $59,848,360!

Thats right. Almost $60 million annually!

Broken down into our areas:
Augusta County $15,315,040
Waynesboro $4,831,320
Staunton $5,659,160

These are community food dollars generated and reinvested in Shenandoah Valley area agriculture and local independent businesses from a small conscious decision to buy local. JUST $10 A WEEK! Think about it.

These statistics were complied by Matt Benson and Eric Bendfeldt, Community Viability Specialists, Virginia Cooperative Extension

Look for us in Flavor Magazine...........

2010-04-12T20:04:00.000-04:00

Look for us in the Local Grazings section of Flavor Magazine this month. Flavor is a beautiful magazine that focuses on local food and sustainable agriculture. Check out their website and Facebook page for more info.

We are In the Kitchen......

2010-04-05T17:10:00.007-04:00

We are featured in the April issue of In The Kitchen Magazine . Rowena Morrel came and spent a wonderful afternoon with us in early March. We prepared her lunch with ingredients from our farm. We talked about the many different facets of our farm and she beautifully wove it all together in her article. You can find the magazine at major grocery retailers and restaurants in the area. It is full of great articles about food and also has a meal planner and recipes. Check out the In The Kitchen Magazine online. It will inspire you to try something new for dinner tonight! Can't find a copy locally? Send me an email at ltrainum@ntelos.net and I'll send it to you in pdf.

To our Sheep Farmer Friends........

2010-04-05T17:05:00.002-04:00

In the recent "In the Kitchen" article April 1, the writer marvelously covered many facets of our Boer Bok program and did an outstanding job. On the concept of healthy foraging however we did not convey clearly to her one of the very important aspects that is causing so much damage in the goat industry and more specifically Boer Goat herd health. That is the topic of grazing vs browsing. In the article sheep were attributed with being plagued with the intestinal parasite problem. Actually it is the goat and more specifically the boer goat that has suffered with this malady as a result of being managed like sheep and not goats. You can see the confusion, in fact most universities still teach this failed model or the latest version of it.

We do not raise sheep but know that sheep are primarily grazers ie they eat grasses in a head down fashion similar to cattle. Goats on the other hand are primarily browsers ie they eat the forages that are available at a higher level or head up much like their cousin the deer. The huge health issue with meat goats in this country has been the organized determination to raise goats like sheep and cattle. That is, to put them in a pasture management program where they have nothing to eat but grasses. It is GOATS and not sheep that are plagued with parasite issues from this design, even using rotational models.

"Goats on grass", came about as best we can tell, as a well intentioned plan of how to effectively integrate the newly imported Boer Bok onto existing farms around the country in the late 1990's. We have been to numerous college seminars and each promoted a singular model of effective foraging on various grasses using rotational grazing techniques. Unfortunately this has been very much a "learn as you go" research lab where the standards continue to change as more bad health news confirmed the current models have been insufficient. So insufficient in fact that the Boer Bok, the finest meat goat in the world has suffered greatly. In our 5 years of active management we believe strongly and can validate that this "weakness" represents a failed management protocol and not a breed deficiency as is commonly bantered about. After much looking, we still know of no parasite problem in any herd where improper herd management is not the central cause. It would appear that folks can't successfully raise boer bok because they are not yet qualified to do so. It requires a model to fit the animal for there to be success and although not perfected yet we are having that success.

It sounds so simplistic for us to say "these goats are eating what they were designed to eat," but it is in fact, the difference in success and failure for the meat goat industry. Using our invasive plant species model in the valley as our primary forage base, we have seen our herd health issues plummet when compared to our previous model in NC. There we had a modified model trying to make the standardized university models work by using rotational pastures supplemented with head up foraging in timbered woodlands and right of ways. That required us to go "old school", taking out the whole herd once or twice daily on free ranging expeditions in the woodlands or along a utility easement beside the highway. We met a lot of people who were so amazed that the boer bok could work literally along the side of the highway with no barriers, eating their way on at least 30 varieties of plants. It would only take one hour for them to be bulging full and ready to head home for some quality "cud time".

We do appologize to the writer and to all the fine sheep produces for the lack of clarity on this important and complicated topic. This problem is with the meat goat producers and not the sheep.

You can now find us.......

2010-04-02T08:33:00.005-04:00

Autumn Olive Farms can now be found on the web at Local Harvest and The Eat Well Guide. Both of these sites are full of interesting information to help people who want to eat real food raised by real farmers find local products in their area. The Eat Well Guide even helps you plan where to eat local foods if you are traveling. Local Harvest has a recipe link on our page that links you to 90 recipes using goat cheese or goat meat. Check them out.

Buy Fresh Buy Local.............

2010-03-26T09:30:00.001-04:00

We are listed in the Buy Fresh Buy Local guide and will also be listed in the Farmer-Chef Express. Virgina is working hard at connecting the local farms and local consumers. From the BFBL site "Buying local food keeps your dollars circulating in your community. Getting to know the farmers who grow your food builds relationships based on understanding and trust, the foundation of strong communities." We are excited to be a part of Buy Fresh Buy Local!

Savor Staunton............

2010-03-26T08:20:00.000-04:00

Check out the new website for culinary tourism. savorstaunton.com It is a beautiful website and it highlights some of the wonderful places to eat in Staunton.
We are especially excited about this because it links the goats being at the Frontier Culture Museum to the restaurants where Boer Bok is served. I can't tell you how many times we have been out tending the herd and someone stops and asks where they can taste Boer Bok.
Staunton is a destination place for people who love to travel and eat locally grown food. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by the Frontier Culture Museum in May and see the herd at work.

Boer Bok is a hit at The Ivy Inn.......

2010-03-25T20:22:00.008-04:00

Boer Bok was on the menu at Ivy Inn's "Get To Know Your Local Farmer Spring Equinox Dinner" last Saturday night. It was a special tasting dinner featuring food from local farms.
Our Boer Bok was served as a Katskiaki (Greek word for goat) gyro canape. Aren't you glad we chose the name Boer Bok for our goat meat instead of Boer Katsikaki? I would never be able to spell or say it right! We heard that it was quite a hit and will be served as an appetizer course next week.

You can read Chef Angelo's blog about the dinner and see more pictures of the meat being prepared on his website. Here is the link You are what you eat! The dinner was also covered by Rowena Morrel and will be in the April edition of "In The Kitchen" magazine.
PS. We are preparing and serving Boer Bok gyros for our family Easter meal. Can't wait. Yum!

Our Boer Bok is on the menu this weekend at Zynodoa's...................

2010-03-13T20:28:00.002-05:00

The chefs are excited to have a new and different product to work with. "Amazing" was the term conveyed to us regarding the introductory dish prepared at Zynodoa. You may wonder about our application of the term "Boer Bok". We use the original and correct term for our South African Boer Goats which is Boer Bok. This is the Dutch term used by the South African farmers that literally means "Farmers Goat". Not only is this the correct term for our genetics, it is also helpful deflecting the negative connotations of "goat". Those negatives are NOT representative of quality Boer Bok. Well there is one exception to that. As much as we wish it were otherwise, we do confess that male Boer Bok during breeding season do look a lot like all male goats in breeding season.
Here is the link zynodoa.com

Spring is on its way..............

2010-03-07T22:16:00.008-05:00

There are signs that Spring is on its way at Autumn Olive Farms. As you can see from this picture, the goats are starting to shed their winter coats and rubbing their fur off on the trees. The birds are going to be thrilled to line their nests with fur when they start their nest building. Another sign that Spring is on the way is the goats are running, jumping and playing. They are saying good bye and good riddance to the snow!

The dogs on the other hand are not thrilled with the weather change. They think this has been the best winter of their lives! They were the ones jumping, running and playing in the 30 inches of snow. They love the snow and cold weather.

The goats just put up with it and were happy with their high quality alfalfa/orchard grass hay. As you can see from this picture the winter has not been too hard on them. They just have to eat and ruminate. They are however looking forward to fresh green invasives. Those invasive species plants don’t know what they have coming for them! The goats will be back at the Frontier Culture Museum this spring and they will also be on different projects throughout the county.

One last picture to share is this hen standing on Alexandra’s back. She was using Alexandra as a foot warmer! The chickens have been pecking bits of dirt and hay off the goats. Unfortunately it is just dirt and hay and not bugs. The chickens are anxiously waiting for the bugs to come out of hiding. When the flies come out the goats will go up to the chickens and lower their heads for the chickens to peck the flies off of them. It is an amazing thing to see. I wish we could send the chickens with the goats when they go to do their invasive species management, but it is not cost effective to use poultry net for fencing. The chickens are really going to miss the goats and dogs when they hit the road.

Boer Boks are Vogue!

2010-02-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

I found this picture of Jessica Biel in the February 2010 issue of Vogue magazine. She is wearing Ralph Lauren and posing with a Boer Bok. We always knew the Boers were Vogue! Unfortunately you won't see me in this outfit while I am tending the herd. It costs about $4000. :)

Her last round.....

2010-01-04T14:09:00.000-05:00

Zoe made her last round on Saturday checking to make sure everything was okay after she spent the night in the house. Friday evening I discovered that her cancer had advanced and she was declining. We brought her in the house for the night and started her on pain meds to keep her comfortable. We knew this was going to be her last weekend at the farm. She felt much better on Saturday morning and we let her go back out with the herd. She went right to work to check on things and to see what had happened in her absence overnight. She then made a bed in the hay with Mudflap and Chloe laying with her. They knew that she was not well. She spent Saturday night in the house and once again she felt like going out with the herd on Sunday. Later that afternoon, I found her surrounded by the goats in her bed of hay. That was her last time with the herd.

Zoe was a very sweet dog with loving eyes. I remember Dr. Anderson from the NC State Vet School commenting that he had never seen such friendly livestock guardian dogs. She fell in love with Dr. Bowman here in VA at Commonwealth Vet Clinic. She did not act like an LGD. She put her paw on him and just looked at him with her sweet eyes. It was almost embarrassing she was supposed to be a mean and tough LGD! We formed an unconventional relationship with our LGDs. We could not have mean dogs with children and older folks visiting our farm. Even though she was a sweet dog and never seemed to do much in the way of guarding the goats there was more to her than met the eye. We have never lost a goat to a predator. We had a large coyote population at our farm in NC and birthed almost 100 kids there and never lost a kid to a coyote or any other predator. Thank you Zoe. You will be sadly missed by your family, Mudflap, Chloe and your herd.

These are some of my favorite pictures that were taken at our farm in NC. Zoe was just under a year of age and already knew how to take care of young kids.

Zoe
February 2005 - January 2010

Home for the Holidays........

2009-11-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

The girls moved back to Autumn Olive Farm on Saturday. They still had a few days of forage left at their last site at the Culture Museum, but Saturday was the best day to move them back home. There is a final site behind the 1850 farm, but its far too wet now to brush hog the fencing lanes to move them there. Instead, they will clean a 7 acre site here over Thanksgiving and then we will move them one final time to their winter location close to the house and stands of large pine trees that provide them natural protection from the elements.

Both areas used to be a pasture over 25 years ago. It is now filled with Autumn Olives, Morrow's Honeysuckle, Red Cedar and Poison Ivy. In the winter loafing times the Boer Bok will eat the thin bark off the Autumn Olives, killing many in the process. This will allow the native grasses and plants to start growing back that much sooner.

Like last year, we will feed them high quality alfalfa/orchard grass hay and free choice minerals. It is over 21% protein this year and they will have no need for commercial feed at all! We use large round bales and unwrap it is needed on plastic, saving every bit of the pure alfalfa powder to put into old cattle mineral tubs. They do seem to lose all civility when we serve up the green crumbles. We can't imagine wasting it. The hay has almost no seed so the manure produced is of a very high quality that we incorporate into our vegetable gardens.

In the meantime, I am in the process of getting everything set up for my meat business. You know, all of the fun stuff... liability insurance, LLC, inspections, etc. (I received my Meat Handlers License today.) I should have samples to the restaurants the first week in December. I hope you will see Autumn Olive Farms Boer Bok on several menus locally in December. We had our meat reviewed by an Executive Chef and will post his review on the blog next week.

We will also be featured in some upcoming publications. I will keep you posted on that as well.

Thanks for keeping up with us and we hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

What a difference!

2009-11-18T20:25:00.001-05:00

This picture shows where the brush hog went through thick honeysuckle and multi-flora rose to cut a path to run the fence. What a difference where the Boer Boks have been! You can now see what is under all of that thick growth of invasives. This allows for safe clearing of thick overgrown areas. They are now in the area on the right. This will be their last area to clean up before coming home for the holidays. :)

Before and After photos of the project areas

2009-11-18T19:45:00.000-05:00

These are before and after pictures of site one. They cleaned up 18 acres in 19 days. As you can see they pretty much defoliated all of the invasives. When they defoliate a plant, the plant then puts its energy into sprouting new leaves where the leaves were plucked off by the Boer Boks. If the plant had been cut or mowed down, then it would put its energy into the root and sprout new shoots. After being defoliated several times the plant dies.

The girls made the paper again....

2009-11-05T21:47:00.000-05:00

The Waynesboro News Virginian printed the news release from SRC&D about the goat project on page 7 of today's paper. We are glad they got the info about the project in the paper and hope to do a more thorough article with them at some point. They even have a picture of Clover browsing. The News Virginians website is limited and this article is not on the web. Below is a copy of the news release from SRC&D.

The Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council announces a new project taking place at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton: goats eating invasive species to help reclaim pastures.

In conjunction with partners the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District and Autumn Olive Farms, this pilot land reclamation project involves South African Boer Bok goats browsing down Autumn Olive, vine and bush honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, oriental bittersweet and more. The goats must browse the invasive vegetation down several times in order to kill it.

Biological control of invasive species represents a viable alternative to the use of herbicides and their effects on streams and watersheds. While devouring the invasive plants, the goats are building soil and putting on weight to also create a healthy meat product.

The goats are fenced in with a special fence and protected by guardian dogs, specifically bred as working dogs to protect the goats from predators. The goats are moved from pasture to pasture and will come back next spring and summer to continue to browse down and ultimately eliminate invasive species from the grounds of the Frontier Culture Museum.

Boer Boks on front page of paper....

2009-10-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

The Boer Boks are featured on the front page of the Staunton News Leader. You can click on the link under Project Links to view it. There are also 9 pictures of the goats you can access when looking at the article as well. It is a good article to let people know about the project and to answer the question.... What are goats like these doing at a place like this?

There are a few corrections to the printed article. (They corrected the article that is online.) The most important one is we did not receive a grant from USDA. We received a grant from a private family foundation through the Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council, which is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization composed of volunteers across the Valley.

Somehow we ended up with a picture of our ugliest goat on the front page that isn't even a Boer Bok. She is Black Betty, a very old Nubian that we retired this year. She has a face only a mother could love. :)

We will have some more articles coming out soon and will keep you posted on when and where you can view them.

Quite a Scare...........

2009-10-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

I went to check on the goats this afternoon and noticed they were all in a tight group on the hill. I called and called for the dogs and they did not come. Then I noticed that someone had opened the fence and they did not connect it properly and there was a gap between the poles big enough for the dogs to get out. I continued to call the dogs for a couple of minutes and got no response. I called Clay to alert him to the possibility that something bad had happened. I fixed the fence and went looking for the dogs.

The goats were very nervous like something was wrong. When the goats get scared they get in a tight group with the little ones in the middle and the older does on the outside. Kind of like circling the wagons.

It was breezy and I thought that the dogs might not be able to hear me calling. I walked halfway up the hill calling them and thankfully saw one tail bounding down the hill and then two more. I breathed a big sigh of relief and fed the dogs.

Now it was time to count the goats. They were still in a tight group which makes it impossible to get a head count. I called them down the hill and they were very reluctant to come past the area where the fence had been opened. I finally got them strung out enough to get a head count and only got 58. There should be 68! I counted two more times and still got the same number. I went to the car to get my list to figure out who was missing. Unfortunately I switched cars and left the notebook in the Suburban. (will put a list in both cars!)

I decided I would walk up to the top of the hill where the dogs came from to see if I could find the missing 10. Thankfully when I got to the top there they were! Of course one of them was Ginger. Those of you who know my goats will know that Ginger would be the ringleader of the missing ones. She "beats to her own drum." Princess and Black Betty were amongst them as well. How predictable!

I still don't know who opened the fence and what they were doing. I hope to talk to the guy who likes to watch them in the mornings to see if he saw anything. I alerted one of the dog walkers and she said she will start walking her dog in that area to check on things. She is usually there twice a day. How nice to have extra eyes and ears there.

I wish the goats and dogs could talk! Maybe not. :)

Thankfully Clay didn't have to drive out there. He was home picking Autumn Olive berries. When I got home had cooked a 5 gallon bucket of berries into a delicious sauce that we will can. Yum!

On the hill......

2009-10-23T21:28:00.000-04:00

The Boer Boks are loving their new location on the hill behind the pond. What a site to drive up the first morning and see them all laying on the hill with the three dogs lying amongst them. We met a nice man that was parked across the road just watching and enjoying the scene.

They were all a bit sleepy though. I don't think they slept too well in their new location. It takes a couple of days for them to feel comfortable after they are moved.

Yes, I did say three dogs! We moved Zoe to the new location. It is a much larger area that can handle three dogs. Zoe is our Pyrenees that has untreatable mammary gland cancer. We had planned to breed her to our male Pyrenees x Komondor. She went into heat when she was a year old and developed mammary glands like she had milk. The Veterinarian said the only thing we could do was to spay her and the glands should go down. We had her spayed and her glands never went down and he said she would some day develop cancer. That was three years ago. We took her to the Veterinarian a few weeks ago and he said she now has cancer in her glands and her lymph nodes. She is doing well and he said she probably has a year or two before she can no longer work. We decided we would keep her home and retire her, but she was SO UNHAPPY! She barked and cried day and night. She did not like being here without the goats and other dogs. As soon as we took her to be with the other dogs and goats she was running around and so happy. We will let her continue to be with the herd as long as she can.

Clay took pictures of the new site and you can view them at this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/10619460@N03/sets/

If you see goats walking down the boulevard don't be alarmed! They are not ordinary goats!

2009-10-20T08:36:00.000-04:00

These are our herd of Boer Bok or "Farmers Goat" and they have been on the job at the Frontier Culture Center in Staunton, VA since September 30th clearing invasive plant species.

They are being used as Biological Control Agents and are doing a great job so far. In fact they

already need to be moved to a new location on site. We will be moving them today to Site #2, a thick area on the hill above the pond. I will now be blogging on a regular basis to let you know how the project is going.

We are pleased with the progress to date. They have cleaned up the 14 acres in Site #1 a week sooner than expected. They all seem to have adjusted well. Their body conditions look really good on the new forage. These Boer Bok only eat forage and alfalfa/orchard grass hay in the winter. This is a completely natural diet as we do not use supplemental grain or feed. Some of the does are actually fat on their forage diet of Invasive Species! Clay has taken quality photos to document and demonstrate what these Boer Bok can do.

Go to our Flickr site to view the photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10619460@N03/sets/

They are the Frontier Culture Center Project Sets.

We have a brochure available at the Museum store and Visitors Center that gives details on the project. Here is the link to the Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council website where you can see the brochure http://www.shenandoahrcd.org/WhatsNew.htm

The dogs have also adjusted to their new location. We have two on site right now protecting the herd. It is amazing to me how the dogs know who and what is a threat. I was very concerned about the dog walkers and how our dogs would react to them. Much to my amazement, the dogs quickly figured out that these dogs are okay. They give a warning bark and then go about their business of protecting the herd. We have enjoyed meeting the dog walkers and appreciate them keeping an eye on the herd when they are there.