Judy's Dutch Barn Farm Blog

Check out the American Lamb Board personality test.  It’s simpler than those ink blots and you get a chance to win $200 from Williams Sonoma! (I am, by the way, a “game-day partier” – woohoo!)

Here's the link to the test: http://woobox.com/8cof6b
Continue reading...

Summer around here ends with the Fonda Fair, our local county fair which closes on Labor day. When the fair is over, summer is over.  Kids go back to school and we begin in earnest selling our lambs.


Plate of deep fried vegetables


Go Swifty, Go!

There have been County fairs in the US since before it was the US.  There’s some dispute whether the first county fair was held in Fredericksburg, VA (1738) or York, PA (1765) but the first state fair was held in Syracuse, NY in 1841. Then, as in now, ...

Continue reading...

It’s been a very busy year. So busy, that the blog has sat silent. But today we have something we have to share.  We have a champion!

 

 

MacKenzie Hart did an awesome job at the Fonda Fair with her Texel ewe lamb “Annie Marie”.   Here they are all pretty with ribbons (Annie Marie is the one on the left). Kenzie worked hard with Annie Marie to make sure that she looked her best. Our lambs are born later than a lot of fair animals because we focus on grass-feeding as our prime objective. ...

Continue reading...

Spring means lambs, and both are now well and truly here.  Our last lamb was born today, bringing the total up to 98 and the pasture across the road is lush enough to graze.



Everybody loves a lamb.  Family and friends have been dropping in for weeks to see the cute, cuddly creatures.  This lovely photo was taken by Frank St Leger.

Now it is the turn of passers by to watch them play in the field.  We have become used to cars stopping at the side of the road.  Quite a few get out and take picture...
Continue reading...

Food columnist Mark Bittman has a terrific article in this week’s NY Times Magazine with twelve recipes for what he contends may be the best major cut of lamb – the shoulder. Mark describes this cut as “explosively delicious and juicy”.  

Here is a link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/01/magazine/bittman-lamb.html?_r=0 ("Better Than A Meat Lollipop" in The New York Times Magazine, December 1, 2013)

 

His recipes include braised, roasted, stir-fried, and g...

Continue reading...

To cut groundskeeping costs during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson brought a flock of 18 sheep to trim the White House grounds – specifically the south lawn. The war ended in 1918 but the sheep were on the grounds at least until 1919. Included in the flock was Old Ike, a tobacco-chewing ram. They were shorn and nearly 100 pounds of  wool was auctioned off to raise money for the Red Cross during World War I. The wool sales brought more than $50,000 to the Red Cross.

Read more here ht...

Continue reading...

Every now and then we move a flock of sheep across Stone Arabia Road, also known as County Route 34, which divides our farm in half.   There isn’t a high volume of traffic on the road but people do drive fast, so we don’t take crossing the road lightly.  We prepare by putting up fences on both sides to contain the sheep before and after the crossing, and we recruit a couple of neighbors to act as sheep crossing guards.  It always goes well, but we always wish that we had a Sheep Crossing ...

Continue reading...

The best thing about growing hops is the people.  Working 18 feet off the ground in high winds also has its moments, but the best thing is definitely meeting the community of people interested in beer and brewing. 

Most brew beer; some are interested in the social or architectural history of brewing or hop farming.  The Albany Ale Project combines both interests.  And is now brewing beer with heritage hops from Dutch Barn Farm. We are proud to be a small part of this very cool project.

...

Continue reading...

We are committed to eating locally and this year we are making that a financial commitment.
 
2013 lamb sales are in full swing. We are taking orders for whole, half, and select cuts of lamb. The 2013 lamb crop will be ready by mid-October, although we have already delivered some. This year we have been thinking about eating locally.  As our web site points out, our lamb is at least 10,000 miles more local than meat from Australia or New Zealand. We want to reward folks who are committed to eat...

Continue reading...

Check out the American Lamb Board personality test.  It’s simpler than those ink blots and you get a chance to win $200 from Williams Sonoma! (I am, by the way, a “game-day partier” – woohoo!)

Here's the link to the test: http://woobox.com/8cof6b
Continue reading...

Summer around here ends with the Fonda Fair, our local county fair which closes on Labor day. When the fair is over, summer is over.  Kids go back to school and we begin in earnest selling our lambs.


Plate of deep fried vegetables


Go Swifty, Go!

There have been County fairs in the US since before it was the US.  There’s some dispute whether the first county fair was held in Fredericksburg, VA (1738) or York, PA (1765) but the first state fair was held in Syracuse, NY in 1841. Then, as in now, ...

Continue reading...

It’s been a very busy year. So busy, that the blog has sat silent. But today we have something we have to share.  We have a champion!

 

 

MacKenzie Hart did an awesome job at the Fonda Fair with her Texel ewe lamb “Annie Marie”.   Here they are all pretty with ribbons (Annie Marie is the one on the left). Kenzie worked hard with Annie Marie to make sure that she looked her best. Our lambs are born later than a lot of fair animals because we focus on grass-feeding as our prime objective. ...

Continue reading...

Spring means lambs, and both are now well and truly here.  Our last lamb was born today, bringing the total up to 98 and the pasture across the road is lush enough to graze.



Everybody loves a lamb.  Family and friends have been dropping in for weeks to see the cute, cuddly creatures.  This lovely photo was taken by Frank St Leger.

Now it is the turn of passers by to watch them play in the field.  We have become used to cars stopping at the side of the road.  Quite a few get out and take picture...
Continue reading...

Food columnist Mark Bittman has a terrific article in this week’s NY Times Magazine with twelve recipes for what he contends may be the best major cut of lamb – the shoulder. Mark describes this cut as “explosively delicious and juicy”.  

Here is a link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/01/magazine/bittman-lamb.html?_r=0 ("Better Than A Meat Lollipop" in The New York Times Magazine, December 1, 2013)

 

His recipes include braised, roasted, stir-fried, and g...

Continue reading...

To cut groundskeeping costs during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson brought a flock of 18 sheep to trim the White House grounds – specifically the south lawn. The war ended in 1918 but the sheep were on the grounds at least until 1919. Included in the flock was Old Ike, a tobacco-chewing ram. They were shorn and nearly 100 pounds of  wool was auctioned off to raise money for the Red Cross during World War I. The wool sales brought more than $50,000 to the Red Cross.

Read more here ht...

Continue reading...

Every now and then we move a flock of sheep across Stone Arabia Road, also known as County Route 34, which divides our farm in half.   There isn’t a high volume of traffic on the road but people do drive fast, so we don’t take crossing the road lightly.  We prepare by putting up fences on both sides to contain the sheep before and after the crossing, and we recruit a couple of neighbors to act as sheep crossing guards.  It always goes well, but we always wish that we had a Sheep Crossing ...

Continue reading...

The best thing about growing hops is the people.  Working 18 feet off the ground in high winds also has its moments, but the best thing is definitely meeting the community of people interested in beer and brewing. 

Most brew beer; some are interested in the social or architectural history of brewing or hop farming.  The Albany Ale Project combines both interests.  And is now brewing beer with heritage hops from Dutch Barn Farm. We are proud to be a small part of this very cool project.

...

Continue reading...

We are committed to eating locally and this year we are making that a financial commitment.
 
2013 lamb sales are in full swing. We are taking orders for whole, half, and select cuts of lamb. The 2013 lamb crop will be ready by mid-October, although we have already delivered some. This year we have been thinking about eating locally.  As our web site points out, our lamb is at least 10,000 miles more local than meat from Australia or New Zealand. We want to reward folks who are committed to eat...

Continue reading...