What began as a conversation about options for sourcing quality meat turned into a fascinating discussion on all that you can accomplish on a small homestead. Amy homesteads less than five acres, and she is full of creative ideas for making the most of a small space. For those who are interested in raising their own meat, we dive into what that looks like on a small scale. For those who want to source high-quality meat without raising it themselves, we also share our best tips for that. And if you stick around until the end of our discussion, you might just find yourself adding dairy sheep to your homestead! May this episode inspire you to think creatively about producing and sourcing animal foods no matter the size of your homestead.
In this episode, we cover:
– The beauty of finding community as a homesteading mama
– Counting the cost of raising your own beef
– Where to begin sourcing food locally
– Options for raising your own meat on a small property
– Different approaches to weaning calves and lambs
– What to know when ordering meat in bulk
– Choosing and using the various cuts of meat
– Questions to ask your farmer about how your meat is raised
– Surprising benefits of dairy sheep over other dairy animals
– Why you might want to prioritize raising animals on your homestead
Thank you to our sponsors!
Toups and Co Organics uses nourishing, organic ingredients to create simple and safe skincare products. Toups and Co is offering my listeners 10% off any one purchase with the code FARMHOUSE. Visit ToupsandCo.com to order today. And check out my interview with the founder of Toups and Co, Emilie, to find out more about this amazing company and their products.
Check out some of my current favorite Toups and Co products: activated charcoal face bar, seabuckthorn cleansing oil, frankincense tallow balm, makeup line
Azure Standard is a family-owned company dedicated to providing you with high quality, affordable organic, natural, and non-GMO groceries, health, and household products. Place your first order at AzureStandard.com and use the code FARMHOUSE10 to receive 10% off your purchase of $50 or more delivered to a local drop point.
You might like some of my favorite Azure products: bulk raw honey, raw cheddar cheese, gamma seal lids
Harvest Right has made preserving food accessible to anyone with their home freeze dryers. This method of preserving the harvest locks in flavor and nutrition and can last for years. Harvest Right is offering my listeners a discount on your purchase of a freeze dryer at bit.ly/farmhousefreezedryer.
ABOUT AMY
Amy Sliffe of Blue Whistler Farm and founder of Homestead Mamas lives with her husband, Josh, and their two little boys in Harrisonville, MO, where they are currently bringing back to life a 100-year-old farmhouse on five acres. Her passion for farming and desire to provide nutrient-dense food for her family sparked the idea of bringing together a community of like-minded women.
RESOURCES
Follow Homestead Mamas on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/homesteadmamas/
Join the Homestead Mamas Membership Community https://www.patreon.com/Homesteadmamas
My interview with Melody Haege of Renaissance Woman MN https://anchor.fm/simple-farmhouse-life/episodes/116–Embracing-the-Simplicity-of-Winter-on-the-Homestead–Melody-Haege-of-Renaissance-Woman-MN-e1d6ijm/a-a79059e
My interview with Erin Worrall of The Cedar Chest Farm https://anchor.fm/simple-farmhouse-life/episodes/123–Seasonal-Eating-Spring-Edition–Erin-Worrall-of-The-Cedar-Chest-Farm-e1fghrl/a-a7i42ca
Local Harvest https://www.localharvest.org/
Real Milk https://www.realmilk.com/
Premier 1 Netting https://www.premier1supplies.com/c/fencing/
Keeping a Family Cow by Joann S. Grohman https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/162062.Keeping_A_Family_Cow
Green Dirt Farm’s sheep milk cheese https://www.greendirtfarm.com/
Homestead Dairy Sheep Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/283875238439778
CONNECT
Amy Sliffe of Blue Whistler Farm
Website https://www.homesteadmamas.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bluewhistlerfarm/
Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone
Blog: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FarmhouseonBoone
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Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/farmhouseonboone/_created/
Join us in the Simple Farmhouse Life Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/748012922264552
GET MORE FROM THIS EPISODE
Listen to this podcast episode: https://anchor.fm/simple-farmhouse-life/episodes/148–Small-Homestead-Living-Raising-and-Sourcing-Quality-Animal-Foods–Amy-Sliffe-of-Blue-Whistler-Farm-e1n7npl
View full show notes and transcript on the blog: https://simplefarmhouselifepodcast.com/2022/09/01/episode-148-small-homestead-living-raising-and-sourcing-quality-animal-foods-amy-sliffe-of-blue-whistler-farm/
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There are many sources in Oregon. If by the Portland area, Estacada or the SW Washington area have multiple beef growers. If on the East side there are a lot of cattle ranchers from Ontario, Baker City. South has Medford. Just need to ask around. Then you mentioned Azure Standard. They're I'm Oregon, so that's an amazing source right there!
Thank you so much for this, I watched it as soon as I read the title!
I want to raise animals but have only half an acre of woods to use and it's full of lots of poisonous plants. How can I put animals out there with the poisonous plants?
I don't think sourcing is as much of a problem as the affordability factor. For families already stretched thin, it was expensive to buy local/grass fed years ago. Now for farmers it has also gotten more expensive, and therefore even more out of reach for families to buy local.
Lisa’s pocker face lol
Greetings from Oregon! I raised beef on 3 acers in southern Oregon , if you have an irrigated pasture its cheaper, but if you can get good hay it's still inexpensive compared to buying at the store! Something to try, if you have someone who has a few acers but doesn't use it, offer to raise a couple of stears, for them and youself, on their unused land. thanks Lisa for your blog! May the Lord Jesus bless you and your family!
Can you explain a bit about hanging the animals and how long you have between culling the animal and the actual butchering? Sometimes people "age" the meat and I haven't seen a lot of info on what animals you do this for and how long, and how different it makes the meat taste.
Great convo! Thanks for tips on animal cuts and just making it ground. We don't use pork chops either so that's super helpful!!
Another thing we ask is about shots for the animals. We don't want to eat those ingredients in the meat, so we generally avoid animals that have those, but everyone is different. I didn't realize animals got so many until I had chickens! Definitely able to keep healthy animals without them and have no health issues. 🙏
I'd love to see Becca Bristow on the podcast. She has a small homestead, is a RD and is renovating a 1800's farmhouse! I love her YouTube channel
Just wondering if you’ve ever heard of Kerry cows?Sheep milk sounds so much like Kerry cow milk!We are just getting started with Kerry cows and they are amazing!The milk is super creamy and delicious,the cows are smaller,more like a mini cow,kinda like a Dexter,the milk is very easy to digest and people who are lactose intolerant can usually handle the Kerry milk.Kerry’s are an ancient breed dating back to 2000BC,so like 4000yr ago!So their milk is still much more exactly the way God designed milk to be,so delicious and so healthy for us!We have our own small herd started with the vision of having a someday doing milk shares .Feel so privileged to have this delicious milk to use for our own use and am able to make butter and cheeses as well.
Lisa, I hope you will read this comment. Your local extension agent at the county courthouse could advise someone average pasture stocking numbers in your area. They are based on a variety of factors , average annual rainfall, type of grass, type of soil, if you are using rotational methods etc. Also if your area is in a drought or has been the previous year. Predicted long term forecasts should be considered. Hay has doubled in many parts of the country. The county extension office might advise you of the hay prices and trends. In central Nebraska where we live they will tell you 7 acres per cow/calf pair based on using the pasture only from May thru September. We are in a drought so those numbers are wrong now. That would be under normal conditions. In Missouri where you live your numbers would be vary different because of all the rain you get.
Lisa, Freeze dry the liver then grind into powder. You might even be able to sneak the powder into your smoothies.