Fresh Birds and Fresh Markets!

Let’s start things off with some exciting news: we’ll be joining the Northampton Tuesday Market behind Thornes Marketplace starting this coming week (7/16)! The market runs from 1:30-6:30pm and is one of the most well-known in the area. We hope to see you there! We will have frozen whole chickens for sale. If you’d like to pick up a fresh bird, our second batch is headed to the processor tomorrow (7/13) and will be available for on-farm pickup after 5pm. Email us at underlinefarm@gmail.com to let us know if you’d like to grab a few fresh birds to break down and grill up. I can’t bring myself to turn on the oven these days, but I sure do love grilling! Nervous about breaking down a whole bird yourself? I’d also be happy to teach you. All you need is a sharp knife and a bit of grit.

Many thanks to those of you who bought some birds from our first batch—they're almost completely sold out!

Here we are in the dog days of summer. A high chance of thunderstorms yesterday turned into nothing but a drizzle after days of yearning for quenching rains. I’ve resigned myself to watering the gardens each evening again this week. But our pastures are not irrigated, and without water the grass will not grow nearly as quickly. In these times of uncertain weather, regenerative agricultural practices become increasingly important. Building soil is building resiliency. Increased organic matter and soil coverage results in higher water holding capacity, among other things. And when the heavy rains do come, that healthy soil is able to absorb it rather than just let it run off, carrying nutrients and toxins alike unhindered into our waterways.

So, I’m thinking of rain these days, and feeling good about increasing the resiliency of this landscape through the way we farm. The spring growth got ahead of our grazing, but now those tall grasses are being flattened and fertilized by the passage of our chickens, and all that plant matter will break down into rich soil. I’m very interested to see the difference in regrowth between the paddocks where the cows grazed before the chickens, where the grass was shorter, and where we now have this mat of reeds. In this weather the grass doesn’t start to regrow for about four days after animal impact. I like to walk back through where the birds have been and see the progression of growth. Where they were about two weeks ago is looking amazingly lush!

Want to see for yourself? We’d be happy to give you a pasture tour any day we’re on the farm.

Now, go for a swim!