Briar Patch Farms

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Briar Patch Farms
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Owner/Manager

• Preston Boop
• Buys and Sells Farm Products
• All Farm Activities
• Herdsman
• Feeds
• Health Checks
• Treats Sick Animals

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Owner/Dairy Herdswoman

• Wanda Boop
• Dairy Herdswoman
• Milks
• Feeds
• Cares for Sick Animals
• Cares for Young Kids
• Makes and Sells Dairy Goat Products

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Employees of Briar Patch Farms

• Carson Shrawder
• Field Manager
• Plows
• Plants
• Mows
• Tedds
• Rakes
• Bales
• Wraps (Balage)
• Combines

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Employees Cont

• Tim Shoemaker
• Mows
• Tedds
• Rakes
• Bales
• Wraps (Balage)
• Cleans Barn
• Turns Compost
• Compost Applicator

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Employees Cont

• Interns
• Rob, Justin
• Feed Goats, Hay Making Tasks, Unload Hay, General
  Farm Work

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Employees Cont

• Seasonal Hired Hands
• Heath, Zeb, Greg, Travis
• Unload Hay

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Briar Patch Organic Farms

• 300 Acres of Certified Organic Land
• Located near Mifflinburg, PA in Union County
• Soils range from Thin Rocky Calvin Klinesville to
  Tight Shelmonite Clay

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Briar Patch Products
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Reasons for Raising Goats

• More Intelligent than Sheep, more Profitable then
  Cattle
• Niche Market
• Can Perform Well on Poorer Quality Pasture
• Fewer Health Problems
• More profit per acre for breeding stock animals

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Meat Goats

• Boer Goats
• Ethnic Live Market in NYC
• 4-H Projects
• Other Direct Markets
• Stocking Rate
• 7 goats/acre
• 75 per head

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Dairy Goat Products

• Alpine Nubian and Boer Nubian cross
• Direct Market cheese, soap, milk, and skin care
  products.
• Lewisburg Farmers Market, and also Internet
  sales.

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Goat Pest Solutions

• Coccidiosis Treated with Corrid in the Water
• Parasitic Worms Treated with Safe-Guard Oral
  Wormer (Triple Dosage determined by weight of the
  animal)
• Put on Different Pasture after Treatment, Old
  Pasture Drag-Harrowed to Expose any remaining
  Pests to the Sunlight.

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Grazing Practices

• Three-Five Day Rotations
• 150 Goats on 30 Acres of Pasture
• White Clover, Orchardgrass, Reed Canarygrass,
  Perennial Ryegrass

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Reasons for Grazing

• Easier Manure Management
• Better Ventilation and a Better Environment
• Goats Harvest Their own Feed
• Reduced Soil Erosion
• Animals Graze Premium Quality Feed

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Maremmas

• From Mountains of Italy
• Guard Dogs not Herd Dogs
• Easily Trainable- Instinct
• Run with Livestock Year Round

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Guard Dogs
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Marketing

• Meat Goats
• -NYC Live Market
• -Direct Sales
• Dairy Goats
• -Lewisburg Farmers Market
• -Home Sales
• -Internet

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Field Crops
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Economics of the Field Crops

• Organic Balage 15-30 versus 10-20 conventional
• Square Bales 3/bale versus 1.50/bale

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Organic Balage

• First Cutting Hay
• Ability to make quality hay product during rainy
  seasons
• Two days, less labor
• 60 Moisture content
• Long Cut Balage

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Balage Wrapping Process

• 3-4 layers of wrap on each bale
• Important that the round bale have square edges
• Plastic traps out oxygen which allows
  fermentation to occur

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Organic Dry Hay

• Round Square Bales
• Second Third Cut
• Three Days
• Labor Intensive
• Necessary For Ruminant Health

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Haymaking Processes

• Windrows produced for balage should be width of
  round balers pickup
• Tedding is done to dry the hay
• Raking should only be done when making dry hay

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Alfalfa Pests Prevention

• Alfalfa Weevil
• Potato Leaf Hopper
• Planned Harvest at population peaks
• Photos http//www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Ento
  mology/entfacts/fldcrops/ef115.htm
• http//agweather.mesonet.ou.edu/models/alfalfawee
  vil/images.html

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Inter-seeded Grain Hay

• Nurse Crop
• Reduces Soil Erosion
• Crop Diversity
• Multiple Products
• -Grain
• -Straw
• -Oatlage
• -Hay

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Compost

• Municipal Leaves
• Goat, Chicken, and Hog Manure
• Mulch Hay and Straw

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Compost cont.

• Turned once or twice a week
• Turning aerates promotes decomposition
• Ideal compost CN ratio is 301
• Compost should be dry

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Compost Turning

• Turner Brings Inner Materials to the Outside and
  Outer Materials in.
• Low Tractor Ground Speed High PTO RPMs.
• Skid Steer used to Form Piles and Scrape Up Along
  Windrows.

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Ideal Compost Composition

• Start with old hay, quality hay, manure,
  municipal wastes
• Ideal material to start with is old hay
• Least desirable material to start with is chicken
  manure and sawdust due to the volatility of the
  nitrogen in the manure and the high carbon
  content in the sawdust

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Off Farm Inputs

• SulPa-Mag
• Gypsum
• Dolomite Lime- Hi-Mag Lime
• Calcium Lime
• Feed
• Corn
• Soybeans
• Molasses
• Minerals

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Off-Farm Inputs cont

• Fuel
• Municipal Leaves
• Hog and Chicken Manure
• Seed

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On- Farm Inputs

• Prepared Compost
• Goat Manure
• Feed
• Oats
• Barley
• Hay
• Pasture

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Reasons Why Organic

• Moral Choice to be Certified Organic
• Put no chemical inputs into the ground and lessen
  impact of soil erosion on nearby Buffalo Creek
• Sustainable Ag Definition Environmentally Sound,
  Economically Profitable, and Socially
  Responsible

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Briar Patch Farm Philosophy

• Sustainable agriculture doesnt mean organic
• What we decide at 7 this morning may not be what
  we do at 10
• Large numbers is what makes money
• I would be hard pressed to raise livestock on
  pasture and not have some hay equipment
• Agriculture is all about learning and applying
  new ideas to help your production

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