Lamb Pictures

The group of lambs in all their glory!

The moms just after feeding.

M doing a little mutton bustin'.......maybe not ready, yet.

Hello Sally Pearl,  I'm Mini Pearl!

New Girls Just Arrived

Yesterday afternoon, we added 2 more ewes and their lambs (2 each) to the flock.  This brings us up to 5 ewes, 8 lambs, 2 goats and about 70 cows (most with calves).  Pictures of the new sheep are to follow.  We have named them "Dolly Parton" and "Carrie Underwool".

Sad day...

Our newest ewe, Lamby Gaga, who was the last one to lamb, had a single lamb this morning that did not survive.  We do not know whether it was still born, or just didn't get started.  It was an unusually large lamb, so that might have played a part in it.  The sad fact is that during lambing season, the shepherd needs to camp out in the barn to aid in the birthing process.  Gaga is recovering well, and should be back out with the goats in a week or so.

2nd Lambs of the year.

Hannah had her twin lambs, one day after Sally had her twins.  Both of these are ewe lambs, and are also healthy and happy.  The weather has turned cold, so we will wait for a couple of weeks before we turn them out.  Lambing is done until maybe March. 

1st Lambs of the Year

Our ewe "Sally Pearl" gave birth last night to twin lambs.  The lambs are Suffolk/Dorsett crosses, one femal and one male.  They seem healthy and vigorous, and are mostly white in color.  I am used to Suffolk lambs being born solid black, which caught me off guard.  Our other two ewes are nearing the end of their pregnancies (one soon one later) and we will post when they give birth.

August/September

The heat has been deadly this summer.  90+ degrees for 2 months straight.  Got hired at Springfield High School as the new Agriculture teacher the first week of August.  It has been an uphill battle ever since.  Finished my Master degree in Agriculture in July, and we welcomed our daughter into the world 3 days later.  Busy summer and fall.

Updates.

Our update for July includes a thumbs up on the quality of our beef we delivered.  Mater's degree thesis is completed, comprehensive exam is taken, and I will find out this week if I passed.  I had two research posters accepted to the 2010 ACTER conference in Vegas, so I might get a vacation.  The biggest news on the farm is the birth of our daughter M.  She is beautiful, and we look forward to introducing her to all the animals (and pets).

Delivering the lastest beef.

The latest butchered beef will be delivered in a couple weeks to it's new owners.  They will enjoy a fantastically tender freezer full of steaks and ground beef.  Enjoy.

All Natural Beef. Local Sales only.

Thank you for your interest in Silvey Family Farms all natural beef. All natural refers to the lack of hormones and antibiotics used in the raising of the animal. Silvey Family Farms uses husbandry practices that promote low stress and a healthier animal. We have been primarily a pure bred and full-blood Gelbvieh cattle breeder, having 20 years experience with raising Gelbvieh beef. Recently we have begun a venture into “Balancer” cattle. This “Balancer” consists of a Gelbvieh/Angus cross-bred animal, which is bred for its lean Gelbvieh beef with a hint of Angus marbling. The beef is still very lean, but is also extremely tender (lean beef can be tough and chewy).


The carcass is aged in a freezer for 21 days before the butcher process can be finished. Once the carcass has been properly aged, the meat is cut up into steaks, roasts and ground beef. Silvey Family Farms will then deliver the meat from the processor to your front door, hassle free. The meat is priced per pound of “hanging weight”, and is offered by the quarter, half, or whole carcass. Hanging weight is the weight of the animal prior to the butcher process, and is usually 60% of the live weight. Typical weights are whole: 600 lb., half: 300 lb., and quarter: 150 lb.
Please email for current pricing and packages.

Bah, Bah White and Black Sheep...

We have added two Suffolk ewes to the herd. Hannah Montana Sheep and Sally Pearl. They are to help start our market lamb program, and will be well taken care of. They were purchased through the 4-H lamb program, and we are happy to support the kids. The sheep boss the goats around (for now), but seem to fit in well. Sally in the front, Hannah in the back.

The new girls.

We finally have our goats. We purchased 2 does from Mr. Head @ Montgomery Central High School this Friday. They are curious and a little shy, but we are working to make them feel at home. They are percentage Boer goats, and are still young and growing. We think they will be a welcomed addition to our "herd". These girls will help us get ready for a transition into fiber production on a small scale.
The white faced goat is Peppermint and the brown faced is Snicker-doodle.

Goats and goodbyes.

Friday is the day the the two goats will be coming to live at our house. We also said goodbye to our dog Charlotte, who passed away last Tuesday. She was with us for over 7 years. She was my buddy. We will miss her dearly, but we have Biscuit to help us work through it. More to follow when the girls arrive.

Update 5-31-09.

Hay, hay and more hay. It's that time again, so we are several fields into our hay cutting and rolling. We are buying our boer goats from MCHS possibly this week, and will be building fences this week, too. Photos to follow.

Iowa and the garden...

I recently finished a course for my master's degree at Murray State University. We traveled in vans over the course of one week to Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa to visit several manufacturing plants for agriculture implements. Quite an eye opening experience. We also toured two cattle farms while on the trip, and I was able to see a more progressive show cattle operation in action. I was able to take a few ideas home to discuss with dad, and I think we will shift gears again to up the ante this show season.

The garden is partially planted, and will hopefully be all ready by Friday. We have 3 new raised beds and the rest of the plants will be in our regular garden spot.

We have purchased our first goat feeder from Christian County High School, and I am eager to finish constructing the goat coral. I am considering purchasing goats from Montgomery Central High School's agriculture program. I will know in the next week if they have some does for sale. I will post some pictures soon, and update more frequently.

It's been a while....

It has been a few months since the last update, so here goes. Cattle farming is going strong, and the last of the spring calves are on the ground. We had a few close calls, but all is well. We will be adding new additions to the farm this summer.... a couple of goats, some chickens, maybe a horse and possibly some ewes for wool production. We have began preparations for the garden, and the cows are steadily fertilizing the freshly tilled soil. I have been student teaching agriculture this semester, and have been gone from dawn 'til dusk every day. Soon all will be back to normal, and hay season will begin. More to follow.

Cheatham Co. Fair.

The Ceatham Co. fair was Thursday August 21st. We again showed our three heifers and our bull, this time without any other Gelbvieh cattle to show against. They all behaved well except for the January heifer we call "Grumpy." I have blisters on my hands and a purple toe from getting stepped on. I still feel pleased with how the cattle looked, and we got positive comments from the other competitors about how well they appeared. We placed 1st, 2nd,and 3rd in heifer class, Grand and Reserve Champions for breed, and bull got 1st, and Grand Champion. We also got an award called "Get of Sire" for all our show animals being out of the same bull (Eagle Pass "Bahama"). We may travel to Robertson Co. show next Thursday.

Monday in the washpit.

Today was the day we decided to wash the calves for the first time. All in all, things went as expected. They reacted well to the washing and cleaning. We knew they would still be a little skiddish while on the halters, but they did pretty well with that process too. I believe they will be fine when the shows start.

Show Calves

My dad and I have been working on halter-breaking three heifers and a bull calf for the fair show circuit. We haven't done this since my brother was alive, over four years. We both have been patient. I haven't been expecting too much out of these calves as far as how quickly they become "broke", but I have been pleased with the process so far. We'll see when we get them in the ring. Monday is was day, so we will see how they act in the wash pit. Always something new with "teenagers".

Welcome......Introduction

Welcome to our new blog. We have several things going on on the farm this year, so I will try to cover as much as I can and still finish my work. We are a 650 acre, 60 + head Gelbvieh cattle farm as well as trying to start a small beef CSA for next season. We are currently building our organic beef business, and will explore different crossbred varieties as we grow. I will also blog about cycling and other things going on in my life. Welcome to my blog.