It's been a lovely year. I might even say it's been the best year yet on the farm!
The discovery of donkey milk and how well donkeys fit in on our farm and with my personality has been a huge blessing!
Learning how they think and how to train them keeps me on my toes! They are never boring!
You can check out my Donkey milk board to read more Donkey Milk Benefits
I'm getting a better handle on what and how much I need to grow to feed us all year in our four-season gardens. I grow WAY too much food in my gardens and I have years of food preserved.
Next year will be a very different gardening year than the last few years have been! And I'm looking forward to it!
Check out one of my favorite Pinterest boards for veggie garden plans and Ideas
It was actually 2015 when the meishans entered the picture. But in this year of 2016 is when we were able to add the 2 rarest lines of Meishan in America.. The USDA line and the Illinois line. By the grace of God, we were able to acquire the last of these pigs from those 2 centers.
Never before available to the public, if managed properly the genetic diversity this brings to the table is outstanding!
The Meishan has a chance of being an amazing opportunity for small farmers looking to raise nondestructive, quite, productive, gourmet meat and lard hogs.
Also, for those of us who tire of the slow growth rates of most heritage breeds the Meishan grows much faster!
If there is a pleasant pig that exists it's this breed!
For more info on them go here Meishan Pigs
or watch this informative video on, Does the Meishan fit your farm?
My Muscovies are still champion baby raisers!
And we raised over 80 goslings this year.
I had some surprises along the way but overall the geese were wildly successful.
To cut back on the workload and the breeding pens needed. I'll only be raising Pilgrims next year. The Chinese will remain though for their superior egg laying ability. We love goose eggs!
To learn more about the best homestead goose check out my previous post here!
Also this year the addition of the quail has been wonderful! And we added a few more bantam chickens for summer eggs.
Our plans for dairy sheep were once again put out due to having to up the donkeys because of my health needs for donkey milk and allergy to sheep milk if I don't have donkey milk but we still plan to raise some meat lambs!
The Lord has lead us where he wants us to be. Our farm has developed into something I never dreamed it could.
It's a praise to GOD in every way. The failures and disappointments have been learning tools to help prepare us. The joys and successes have been amazing and we are grateful!
We will certainly be praying for guidance as we enter the new year to come.
Thank you, Jesus, 🙂 could not have done any of this without your guidance.
