Updates around the farm include:

• We were featured on Libsyn's Rockin New Podcasts! - http://imake.libsyn.com/rockin-new-libsyn-podcasts-chicken-thistle-farm-coopcast
• The growing season is officially over with a hard freeze last week,
• We finished turkeys by processing the last of the Midget White Turkeys,
• We got our municipal water bill from over the drought months (WOW),
• Winter preparations are ongoing including cleaning out the chicken coop and starting to put the vegetable garden to bed,
• Farm stand review for the year.

This week we are having 2 related farmers choice segments about commitment:

• From the farmers side, what levels of commitment are required to your livestock, land and customers?  We talk about this in relation to a listener email about his journey into becoming a farmer.
• From the consumer side, what and why are you committed to a farm or farmer? And how do your actions speak louder than your words when it comes to demonstrating that commitment?

(This episode was recorded on the eve of our 13th wedding anniversary, hence the commitment theme!)

This weeks farm updates:

• Special announcement is we are going to be a featured podcast on Libsyn's http://imake.libsyn.com/ blog of up-and-comers on October 15th!
• Pork pickup - happy customers and farmers - yummy pork too!
• Hermione and Katniss are getting along just smashingly
• Turkey vs Fox story (a win for the good guys)
• We eat good - soup - add greens - yum!

In the CoopCast Community:

• Business info posting on Facebook - http://www.uvm.edu/newfarmer/?Page=webinars%2Fwebinar_recordings.php&SM=webinars%2Fsub-menu.html#management
• Gift from listener - http://www.potterybymehg.com/
• A "postivie" review, maybe, says she can't go to sleep without our voices - hmmmmm!? 
• And National Lard Rendering Month, maybe?

In the News:

• Pig farmer eaten by his pigs
• Farm out of business http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Fond-memories-of-Soul-Food-Farm-3923428.php

Even though it's early Autumn we have still been busy farming this week!

Updates from around the farm this week include:

• Taking the last of the pastured pigs to processor and deciding who was going to stay with us!
• We touch again on the difficulty of sending respected animals to the processor,
• Getting ready for pork pickup with customers as the meat comes back from the processor,
• Dealing with turkeys - everywhere.

We take a muddy stroll through the veggie patch:

• CSA is done but still harvesting,
• Late planting reviews and opinions: zucchini, beans, lettuce, bok choy,
• Dried bean update,
• Greenhouse plantings update.

In the CoopCast community:

• Jennifer asked about feeding candy to cows,
• Constance wanted an update on the poison ivy drops (Oral Ivy),
• Chad was wondering what we do to winterize farm (waterer, shelter bedding) right now: coop, winter paddock for pigs

Updates from around the farm:

• We got some of our pigs to processor and share our feelings on that.
• Turkey processing of the first batch
• Frost Warning!

In the Coopcast Community

• Vivianne shares her experiences raising cornish cross and shares that on her blog.
• Adalyn Farms shared with us as well and has Kelli wanting a dwarf goat.
• Paul asked some specific business questions about  a farm corporation, LLC, insurance etc and we discuss why we don't answer those questions very well.
• John was afraid we were deleting his Facebook post and had some questions about a sleepy rooster and some bad advice he was given.

This weeks Farm U (part 2 of Chicken Processing)

• Poultry Processing
• Our set up: what we have and our line set up
• Some general comments about our HACCP procedures

• A discussion about pork cut sheets and pig preparations
• Turkey processing starting next weekend
• Egg layers- who's laying? Dealing with  older chickens and refreshing our flock
• Last week of CSA
• Greenhouse - looking good

In the Veggie Patch:

• Our potato results!
• Do it yourself- note pesticide levels in store bought potatoes

Farm U: Chicken Processing

We try out a new intro on this weeks show based on a listener iTunes review...

Updates around the farm this week:

• Our Daycation here in NY,
• A new to us hog feeder,
• O2 and his bum leg,
• Turkey ordering,
• prepping greenhouse for fall.

In the Veggie Patch:

• Fall Succession planting update in the garden and in the greenhouse,
• CSA spotlight - Edamame.

In the CoopCast Community:
We get mentioned on some blogs (thebeginningfarmer.blogspot.com and empressofdirt.net) where they say we are a good farming podcast - COOL!

A update light week on the farm with:

• No poultry pens to move,
• Normal weather for a change on the farm,
• Turkeys and layers doing well,
• Pigs have their first weigh in.

In the Veggie Patch we talk:

• Greenhouse soil fertility and design,
• Low tunnel greenhouses you can build,
• End of garden season discounts.

Updates this week on the farm:

• We learned that Ollie is no more on the farm we took him to,
• Hay and livestock trailer,
• The seasons final chicken processing,
• 5 gallon bucket waterer gauge,
• And a question - what makes you happy when farming?

In the Veggie Patch:

• Tomatoes and canning,
• Succession planting,
• We discuss the results of the above ground potato growing method (from coopcast 014)

Questions, Conversations and Ruminations:

• We get asked all the time "Don't you get attached to your animals?"
• Can you care about the animals you eat for meat? 
• Is it better to not like them? 
• Is that why we've gone to a system of mistreatment?