We've been searching for good hay to feed our Icelandic Sheep - The lambs really benefit from second cutting hay which has a higher protein content. What with unseasonal rains here in late July which ruined much of the hay crop in the Willamette Valley, more farm land being sold for housing developments - drought in the west, well, that equals a hay scarcity and higher prices. This leads us also to another decision - perhaps to take out much of our Italian prune orchard - many of the trees are 80-100 years old. The gophers are taking their toll - digging around the plum trees and eating the roots- eventually the trees fall over. So every spring it has been a woodlot festival - cutting up the windfalls for our firewood. The plum orchard hasn't yielded a commercial size crop in years - the tree bloom early, and often there have been rains and cold weather, so the pollinators can't get to the blossoms. So the thought is shall we grow hay on some of these plums acres? That way we can control what type of grasses/weeds grow, nutrient levels and perhaps even grow our own organic hay!! Points to ponder... The photo above is our pastures in August, time to feed hay.
Through a local hay connection, a local farmer showed up with a trailer of beautiful second cutting orchard grass - very leafy - 2 1/2 tons at $180 a ton - we jumped on it as I just paid $260 a ton for eastern Oregon second cutting orchard grass - last year's crop. We are firm believers in grass fed lamb, and will be offering lamb for sale sometime in late October - November 2007. The hanging weight is around 35 pounds - Icelandic lamb is very mild and lean, being grass fed it has higher Omega 3 content - our customers have really enjoyed the taste of our lamb. I know Whole Foods is importing on occasion lamb from Iceland, but why not support a local farmer (and of course the price is much lower locally than the imported Icelandic lamb). If you would like more information contact us at http://www.dolcefarm.com/
