Betcha didn't know I was a Survivalist!

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

The Dichotomy of being a Survivalist and starting a Business.

          It is a bit strange how I am certain that the present economy and way of life is going to change radically soon but I still continue to work at and invest in starting our gelato business. My “doomsday” belief should really have me investing all my time and energy and money in preparation for a total collapse, but it doesn’t & I don’t.

          I really do believe that the present economy based on continual growth and cheap imports from overseas nations cannot continue. I think a major correction is coming and it will drastically affect us. Food will not be cheap anymore and we will struggle to find replacements for all the offshore products that most people have come to depend on.

          To get an idea of what the future holds – try not buying anything made in China for a month, and only buy food from Canada, preferably local & organic if you can afford to. I check the label of almost every single item I purchase and do my damnedest to not buy from China – it greatly limits my spending, as most times I put the item back. I feel the only way I can affect change in the horrible, slave-like existence of Chinese workers is to boycott Chinese products – it worked in S. Africa.

          Ever since the Y2K scare, we have been preparing for this change. We live on a farm and practice growing food for ourselves. We practice raising animals for meat. I can slaughter chickens and process them adeptly now. I can butcher a goat but rely on my neighbor to slaughter them (we barter). We do a lot on the farm with using low-tech tools and equipment. We have also figured out our alternatives – what if the power goes out. In our part of the world, no electricity means no pump, so no water from the well. With 45 goats (and counting), we have developed strategies to get them water. We have plans in place and - more importantly – have practiced, practiced, practiced. It’s good to have a strategy but you must practice the skills required or you will have a tough time.

          All the while, we continue to develop our Gelato business, make plans for the future, develope marketing strategies and timelines. The Gelato business is dependent on electricity, water, available fuel, available ingredients etc… If I can’t purchase vanilla then I can’t make our luscious Honey Vanilla Gelato. Vanilla comes from Mexico and from Madagascar – it’s a long, long way from Vancouver Island. We have made serious efforts to locally source our ingredients and have done well. We have also considered alternatives. Lemon juice provides a bright acid taste – vinegar is an acid but taste – maybe not. Many local plants, such as Oregon grape is very acidic so it is a possibility, experimentation would be necessary.

          I think I continue on with my “split” version of life, as I am not willing to give up until something happens. I have done my preparations and feel confident in my abilities to cope. So my slate is clean to follow a great idea and share it with people.

And I know that my own goat milk gelato is really great – I think everyone needs an opportunity to taste it and enjoy the benefits of goat milk. Our gelato has much less fat than ice cream, more calcium, less lactose and is a REAL food. Locally grown, locally made with local milk. Can’t get much more yummy than that!

On a more personal note - keeping Positive

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

Keeping Positive

          Being positive has been a challenge as we’ve set up the dairy in 2011 and as we launch the gelato business.

          Some people are naturally perky and happy. I’m not one of them. I have been told I am over-sensitive and need to grow a thicker skin. Easier said than done. It’s probably from being raised with a very volatile parent that I have developed a hypersensitivity to those around me – sort of a survival tactic I suppose. Many times this almost intuitive gift has helped me avoid trouble and tune into people. Many times I have been hurt as well, mostly by people who have not had the intention to hurt. Once I have gotten over the hurt I can see that but during – not so much. It is just suffering and a dark blanket of negative effect on all my thoughts. I have learned to talk about it and get some external interpretation and that has proved invaluable to my overall perspective.

          In business dealings I get a strong sense of whether a person can be trusted or not, and if they have other agendas. Doesn’t change the business dealings but it makes me more careful and I make sure everything is documented/written down. Even email has come in handy when referring to an agreement over a handshake. I am a believer in “listening to my gut”, all part of the innate gifts we are born with but tend to ignore.

          Every second day there seems to be some sort of challenge or set back with launching the gelato. It’s a complicated process. If we were to only make gelato from purchased milk and mixes it would be straightforward. A machine and a commercial kitchen and good to go, just get labels and containers and start selling. But we have a different vision. We are going to use our own goat milk. It must be pasteurized in a provincially licensed milk process plant. The rules and regulations are legion. There have been many delays with the plant being approved and it has been a roller coaster. I can’t imagine what the owners of the plant are going through. We will just be using it to pasteurize our milk and make the gelato.

          I seemed to have reached a point in my life where I can generally separate the problems I can control and the ones I have no control over. It has helped in the assigning of worry. If I have no control then I can take a positive spin and hope for the best & let it go. Like the dairy plant. I would love to be able to make it happen but can’t – so I keep informed but not worry about it.

Things I have partial control over are not so easy. Like labels – we have a label company and a marketing/designer and it’s been surprising difficult to get anything happening. I am also restricted in time as I have a full time job that doesn’t appreciate me working on my business while I am working for them. Completely fair and understandable but inconvenient for me.

To counteract getting down, I actively try to catch myself thinking negatively or angrily and turn it into action or examine the thought. Action is great – gets work done, moves us ahead and keeps the wheels turning in the right direction. Examining a thought takes practice but it provides me with some insight, dissects the idea and helps to validate or invalidate it. It also helps me figure out when I have done enough, am overtired and need to just stop for awhile. Napping or walking for a break goes along way to recharge my batteries, clear my head and push the dark thoughts away, into their proper place.

You don’t need to be Pollyanna to start or run a business, just be prepared to take the necessary steps to care for yourself. And remember you only fail if you give up.

Ethics & starting a Business

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

          When I think of ethics, I think of what I consider “right” and “wrong”. My ethics have changed over time, I feel as I get older I am getting somewhat wiser and seeing more of the “big picture” with life. It seems to me we live in a time of dichotomy – where everyone has to take a side and there is no middle ground. Nature and life aren’t like that. There is always a middle ground, and shades of gray.

          It’s the same with food and food production. There’s the strict legislative way to produce food that is based on the worse cases. A few lousy producers have made everything very restrictive for those of us producing a superior product. What I do with my little farm and 30 goats just can’t compare with massive factory farms milking 500 goats. I have much more control over the product we produce, our small size means that every step of the production can be monitored and taken care of. My animals aren’t crowded so we have less disease, less problems and better quality milk.
          Milk has gotten a bad reputation over the last few years as well. I really think that factory farming is again to blame. There really is a limit to how many animals can be crowded together and pushed for maximum production without taking into account the natural behaviors and needs of the animals themselves. Cattle are built to wander around and graze. Most commercial dairy farms do not let their cows outside! Goats need to bounce around and investigate and play – some large commercial dairies do not let the goats outside as well. Bored goats get into so much trouble, fight with each other, and bully each other – it would drive me mad. Sunshine has its on intrinsic benefits as well (Vitamin D, UV rays). It seems that business decisions do not take into account the animals or the land.
          I understand that businesses need to make money. Heck, I want to make money with my dairy and my gelato business too. However, it has to be a balance (for us anyways). I don’t feel you can build a healthy, successful business without taking into account ethics and the ethical way you treat animals, people, and the environment.
          The balance is complicated and always in flux. For example; I purchase quality feed for my goats and provide them an interesting, enriched environment to live in. I could buy completely organic feed but I wouldn’t be able to stay in business. I could buy more land and give the herd more room to romp and play, but I can’t afford land at the going rate of $100K per acre (min.) for bare land on Vancouver Island in my area. I do provide the best hay and feed available that I can afford. I give them supplements and minerals to help make up for any lack, and we take them for walks. Yes – straight out of “Heidi – the movie”, goat walks.
                     Our property has crown land behind it and we try to get the milking does (females) out for a walk and nibble a couple times a week. The areas are primarily brush and wild plants and the does love it! It’s interesting to watch what they select to eat, their preferences change with the seasons. Right now (August) they feast on the leaves of salmon berries, wild blackberries, & huckleberries. The goats seem to know what they lack in the way of vitamins and minerals and will attempt to make up of it. No leashes required – goats naturally herd and our girls are bottle babies so love and follow people – especially Mom.
          So ethics and the basic right and wrong are always on my mind when we make decisions about our businesses. We provide the best we can in the way of milk from the goats and ingredients for the gelato. We decided to buy (in priority) local/organic, local and then organic products to go in the gelato. We support organic growers/producers as they have a commitment to the land as we do.
          It is our plan to operate ethical businesses. I believe it is the only way and I can’t see myself being happy with success unless it is obtained by keeping my beliefs & ethics intact. I don’t want to profit by using people or animals. We can all win and benefit from success.

Chickens

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 

Chickens are smarter than you think

 

          Over time, chickens have developed a reputation of being quite stupid. Not on the level of domestic turkeys who seem to have, a suicidal bent especially when they are young, but still daft.

          We were watching a hen with her nine chicks this morning. We have a mix of heritage dual-purpose chickens on our farm. Dual purpose means that they aren’t specifically for meat or for egg laying but are good for both uses. We like heritage chickens as they are generally healthier and retain more natural characteristics than the more modern breeds of birds.

          Most farms that keep birds for egg laying purchase a specific breed of chicken, such as Leghorns or ISA Browns. They buy them as chicks, the hens start laying when they are about 6 months old. During the first year, a hen can lay almost one egg a day. Farmers have lights on in the chicken’s coops to keep the hen laying for one-year straight, and then they sell them for slaughter. By this time the hens are pretty burnt out, it is a lot of work for a hen to lay everyday for a year – it takes a heavy toll on their bodies so they are thin and very scruffy at the end of 18 months of age.

          On our farm, a hen’s life is quite different. Most of our hens are born on our farm. They are raised by their mother’s and learn how to be chickens. Even if we buy baby chicks, we place them under a brooding hen and let her raise the babies. Our chickens have a coop and are locked up at night but during the day, they are active over most of our property. Truly free range. They hop fences and scratch around in the goat pens, the gardens, and the orchard. We supplement their diet with chicken lay pellets but they don’t eat much of it – they get most of their food themselves.

          A hen born on the farm will live out her natural life on the farm. Heritage breeds don’t lay as many eggs but will lay quite regularly thru the winter without having extra lighting to force them to lay eggs. A hen lays an egg every other day or so until she is about 4 years old then slows down to every 3^rd or 4^th day. When they are foraging for most of their own food, it’s not costing us much to take care of them.

          The older hens make the best mothers. The hen we were watching this morning is about 3 years old. She was teaching her chicks to forage. In the front garden, we have purple sprouting broccoli plants that have gone to seed (to self-seed for the spring). The hen was jumping up and pulling down the long stalks of seeds, shaking the seeds out of the pods onto the ground for her chicks. It’s not something a “stupid” bird does.

          Part of the domestic chickens reputation is based on observation of chickens that are all 18 months or younger. I think we shouldn’t judge chickens based on what they have learned as a baby chicken. Our birds, in a rich environment, learn quickly and continue to learn as they get older. We have had hens live to 10 years old and become wise old hens that teach the younger birds how to survive and thrive.

          Every animal on our farm has a good quality of life. Even if their life is going to be short, they are due an interesting, enriched, and stress-free existence.

The Sin of Pride

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

          Last weekend (August 18^th/12) was the Vancouver Island Exhibition. It’s a large annual country fair held in Nanaimo, BC. For many years, goats have been on display in the dilapidated “Goat Barn”, and Vancouver Island Goat Association presented the display for 6 years – we handed out cheese samples, demonstrated goat care, and let people milk the goats. Four or five years ago, we started having proper shows, sanctioned by the Canadian Goat Society .I have taken on the role of convenor with the help of many association members and we have had lots of fun.

          This year, Mike Dietrich, our association President convince the fair board to let us use the great big Agriplex. Therefore, the goats and the show were all inside a large metal building that is generally used for riding. The goats were in pens all around the sides and back wall. There was lots of room to put up signage and to decorate and make things look good. The show ring was a good size, about 40 feet by 40 foot and we were able to put lots of signage around the ring as well. One of the association’s goals is to promote goats and to educate people about goats and their many qualities.

          I have described in previous blogs the work involved in getting the goats ready for a show. This year I was absolutely blessed with the wonderful help from Shelby Meaden, a 17 yr old 4-H girl who is the daughter of my good friends, Dolina & Chris Meaden. Shelby took it on herself to clip and fit the goats for the show. Fitting is the final preparation where every square centimeter of the goat is examined, clipped, trimmed and buffed. I thought the does looked just wonderful. There were four adults from my herd, Gnome Wood and two babies from Snapdragon (Karen’s herd).

          My four does won seven firsts! Topaz, a 4-year-old doe with 3 pregnancies under her belt, won Grand Champion Toggenburg. WOW – it was just amazing. I was stunned and extremely happy. Her daughter, Jett, was Reserve Grand Champion (2^nd). Together they won the mother and daughter class. Topaz and her sister Ruby won the sister class. On her way to Grand Champion, Topaz won her age class & Senior Champion. Jett won first place in her class and Ruby won her age class. Karen’s babies were a respectable 3^rd and 4^th out of 6 babies.

          I am so proud of them. This fair is the best that I have ever, ever done at a goat show. I have had 2 does win Grand Champion on 2 separate occasions but nothing like the sweep we did at VIEX this year. I have shown for 11 years now and spent many years at the back of the final line-up. We’ve had lots of 6^th, 7^th and 8^th places and more. I have spent the last 5 years seriously trying to improve my herd and it has paid off.

          This leads me to the title of my blog – the sin of pride. Why is it a sin to be proud? Is the sin only if the pride is false? Is the sin boasting excessively and making others feel small? Perhaps the sin is false pride, where you take another’s effort and work as your own.

          It is just something to consider and think about. For now, I am really, truly proud of my ladies and just pleased as punch that we won a whole bunch of rosettes and ribbons and a fair chunk of money. Going to take photos and put them up on the website (www.snapdragondairy.com) so anyone can see how beautiful they are.

Sept 2012 - Getting Ready for a Goat show - last minute prep

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

Getting Ready for a Goat Show

           It’s Tuesday and I am writing my lists and planning (somewhat belatedly) for the goat show I am attending this weekend. The goats have to be in place by 8:00 pm on Thursday night.

          It has been so busy with the dairy and getting the gelato business going that I’m afraid I have left everything very late.

          I did get my entry forms into the fair’s office on time, so that’s good. As I am one of the coordinators of the show, it looks good if the paperwork gets in. I am the conveyor of the show but the show secretary that does all the work. They figure out the show entries, the schedules, and a hundred other details.

          My to-do list for this evening consists of clipping goats, should really bathe them first but I can’t face it. The goats hate getting wet and it puts them in a bad mood for the clipping to follow. I also have to call and arrange for a veterinarian to show up Thursday night and do a health check on the show goats. A vet or three active members of the Canadian Goat Society to do health checks are required under the CGS rules. It’s awfully last minute so I don’t hold out much hope for a vet.

          Need to send out some emails tonight as well, in preparation of the next show that is in the first week of September (less than a month now). I’m going to ask the office manager to arrange for a vet for that show – I don’t know many in that area.

          Writing up a list of “goat things” to take: Registration papers are important – I forgot them once and had to get the delivered to the show – I am still hearing complaints about that fiasco (it was a 2 hr drive each way); a milk stand and milk bucket, leads for each goat, buckets, hay bags and feed bowls enough for the six of them, enough grain and hay for 4 days, my clippers and clipping supplies for any last minute touch-ups, towels in case they need to be bathed, and any decorations/marketing and promotional material I have. – I think that’s it. I always throw in extra items as well, just in case.

          Then I have to load up the camper on yummy food, bedding (my favorite pillow and quilt). The camper is pretty well full of everything else. We have been stocking it as an emergency living space. Karen (my best friend and business partner) is the local Emergency Preparedness Rep, so we are prepared for emergencies. Living in an earthquake zone makes it more real and living out in the country makes you more aware of the possibilities of being on your own.

          I also have to organize my personal clothes/prescriptions and stuff all that in a small bag. I will be camping on the site from Thursday night to Sunday so only 3 nights but might as well be comfortable.

          Continuing this blog on Wednesday morning: I had some wonderful friends, Dolina, Shelby and Kat, come by last night and help me clip some of the does – they did an awesome job. It is such a great feeling to have very good friends who are willing to give me a hand. We had pizza and some honey vanilla gelato and then clipped and primped the does for 2 hours. Sapphire is completely done, Topaz has just her head/neck to trim, and Ruby needs her legs, udder, and tail trimmed. We didn’t get to Jett or the two babies; Navara & Christie though they had their hooves trimmed. It is a great start and a huge weight off my shoulders. A big THANK YOU to my friends!

Horny Goats, okay...Goats with Horns

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

Horny Goats

          For this entry, I am getting up on one of my soapboxes. That’s a strange expression, isn’t it? I’ve never actually seen a soapbox, and can’t imagine why the soap came in a box. I guess people would buy an entire year's worth at once. Still, how many bars of soap can you use in a year? It’s probably from a time when laundry was washed with bars of soap – like the Sunlight washing bars you can get at some grocery stores. I can envision using them by the box. But I digress – sorry

          This treatise will be why goats should NOT have horns. This last weekend, at the 99^th Coombs Agricultural Fair there were two horned goats entered into the show. The owners, new to goats and goatkeeping, felt that if God put them there then there must be a reason. The owner was wrong, not God. God has reasons beyond what we can comprehend.

          Goats grow horns because breeders haven’t found a way to eliminate them. A small percentage of goats are born polled (naturally hornless) and throughout the last 200+ years goat keepers have tried to use the polled animals to eliminate horns. Unfortunately, the gene for a polled goat is also related to fertility and hermaphrodites. If two polled animals are bred, there is a good chance that some of the kids will be intersexed – neither completely female nor male. They look like females but don’t have the reproductive organs to get pregnant. Moreover, in a dairy you need a pregnancy for a doe goat to milk. It would be very disappointing and expensive to raise a baby doe, breed her, and keep her around for upwards of 18 months for her to turn out sterile.

          Reasons the new guy was wrong:  Goats don’t use their horns for defense – they can but as a small mammal on the lunch menu their strength is running, dodging and being smarter than the predator, they can generally go where the predator can’t follow (cliffs, up trees…). When the herd is threatened, they all face the predator in a large fan shape crowd and bolt off in different directions, confusing the hungry predator.
          Goat’s heads are extremely hard as well – they don’t need poky horns to do damage. An adult doe’s head is so hard that a .22 bullet will not pierce thru the skull from the front.
          Does that have horns will use them on other goats in their herd. We have only had two goats with horns – both came to us as adults – and both of them were very free with whacking, poking and slicing other goats in the herd. We had a number of cuts caused by one doe especially.
          Young goats with horns get their horns stuck in wire fences all of the time. Once they are stuck, they yell and scream until you rescue them. Rescuing is fraught with difficulty as they struggle against you manipulating their horns and thrash around. We have had to cut many a wire fence getting the idiots out. In addition, they don’t learn from it, some have to be rescued every single day.
          Then there is the damage that the does can inflict on people. I speak from experience on this point. My old girl Sugar came with horns; she was my goat, totally in love with me. She would call to me, come and be near me when I was in the yard or we were out with the herd on a walk. She would give me all her milk while she held out on Karen. She would threaten the dogs if they came near me and never, ever used her horns or swung her head at me. One day I was feeding her and bent down as she lifted her head – her horn hit me about ½ a centimeter below my right eye – my eye swelled and I had extensive bruising on my cheekbone. Too close for comfort.
          Our other doe, Little Orphan Nanny (didn’t name her) was a bit freer with her horns and ended up slicing Sugar’s udder. The 6 cm cut cost $200 at the vet to have sown up and caused Sugar a lot of pain and discomfort.
          We disbud all our baby goats when they are 4 to 9 days old. It hurts them so we give them painkillers ahead of time. However, for 2 minutes of pain we are saving them a lifetime of trouble, and saving us the pain & expense as well. The babies get a bottle after the disbudding and then they are ready to rock and roll. It is unpleasant but necessary.
          So – Don’t buy a goat with horns and get your baby goats disbudded at 4 to 9 days!

"The Guy"

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

Everybody has a “Guy”

          The further into the business world I get with the farm/dairy business and now the gelato business and manufacturing world, the more I hear about “the Guy”. As in the phrase "I know a guy....."

           It seems everyone has one.

          Why can’t I have one? Maybe woman can't have one?

          What’s wrong with calling a company and booking an appointment? Oh no – you have to call “your guy” and he shows up whenever.

          Is “the guy” cheaper? Better? Smarter? He obviously holds a special place in the hearts and minds of the men who have one.

          And how does someone become “the guy”? Does he apply? Is there a secret ceremony with a secret handshake after some secretive ritual? I don’t know and frankly would like to find out.

          Could someone explain to me why “the guy” can’t make appointments? It seems that “the guy” has to show up at odd hours, outside of the regular workday. Perhaps he is a fugitive from the law. Or he is horribly disfigured like some character out of a comic book, only working under the cover of darkness to spare the public the horror of his damaged façade.

          Perhaps there is only one person who is “the guy”. It would explain why he is so hard to get a hold of, must be very busy as everyone and his dog refer to him.

 

          Maybe each trade has one or two specialists that become “the guy”. Probably a secret site on the Internet that you need a password to access that has a list. Maybe you work a few years as, for instance, an electrician. One dark night, two men in black show up at your home, whisk you away to a darkened warehouse and you are interviewed by a masked panel. If you pass, you are given the title “The Guy”.

           Even if men don’t have “a Guy”, they know “a guy” who can do the work cheaper, faster, better.

           Women do not do this, I may have the best hairdresser in the world and will give his name out to other women, but I never assume he is the one and only go-to guy for hairdressing. The men that fix my truck work at Midas, my dairy specialist has his own company, and a neighbour has a welding company. Maybe these are my “guys” and I just haven’t realized it.

           Maybe having “a Guy” is like having an invisible friend who provides security and a sense of pride.

           Hats off to “the Guy”, he is the topic of conversation for many men and seems to keep the whole world running. Good for you!

Judging and the 2012 Coombs Fair

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

        The annual agricultural fair at Coombs, hosted by the Arrowsmith Agricultural group is in its 99^th year. Amazing to think that in 1913, the local community had its first fair. How many of us know anyone even born in that year. It gives me a warm & cozy sense of attachment to my place in my community and a feeling of solidarity with all the farmers that have come before me. 

          Coombs fair doesn’t have a midway, so no Ferris wheel or rides or games to lose your money on. It is a real, old-fashioned country fair with livestock shows, a couple horse shows, some food vendors, and an area for retail display and sales. There are also competitions for bakes goods, jams, preserves, fruit, and veggies. A large number of 4-H kids show their projects and their animals at the fair as well and the organizers make sure the 4-H have a prominent place in the events.

          4-H is a great organization that believes kids (ages 8 to 19 yrs.) learn best by doing. There are many projects so it is not all about animals. Photography, small engines, cooking, & sewing are just a few of the “non-animal” projects a kid can do. I have been involved with the goat section of the Comox Valley club for a number of years. One year as an assistant leader and now I am resource person, so instruct on showing or whatever they ask me to do.

          The goat show at Coombs is a place where local people with goats, and not necessarily purebred or registered goats, can show them off. There is a 4-H show, where kids that are doing one or more projects involving goats can show. In addition, there is an “open” show; the 4-H kids can show their goats in the open show if they want, and members of the community can enter as well. I showed my girls for a number of years but it has just been too busy the last couple of years, and I have been taking a break.

          This year I received an email four days before the show that they were unable to find a judge and would I be willing to step in. I agreed, I had been thinking about going to the fair for one of the days anyways and this helped defer the cost of gas, parking and it meant I got in free. I am not a trained or licensed judge and I have actually thought about taking the 2-day course and the test to become a licensed judge but don’t have the time. I have kept goats for 17 years now and continually strive to increase my knowledge and learn from other people. So at a local show I am pretty well one of the experts.

          It was an interesting group of goats; some Toggenburgs and Tog crosses brought in by people I knew, who I had sold goats to or they had used some of my bucks for breeding, a group of Nigerian Dwarfs, and a couple goats with horns. Nigerian Dwarfs are the smallest of the dairy breed and a dairy goat but I don’t know anyone who actually milks them. The kids (babies) are extremely cute – like an adorable stuffed animal, the adults not so cute. Like any animal that is a dwarf, they are not proportional. The head of the goat is small but still seems larger than it should be, they also look fat as the internal organs, and especially the rumen (one of the four stomachs) is larger than it would be in a full size dairy goat as well.

          I had a good time judging. It was very hot and we had a large tent canopy to show under for shade. I kept the classes short and tried my best to provide clear reasoning for why one animal was better or worse. I find, for myself, that I don’t mind losing if there are clear reasons. Part of judging is knowing my own prejudices and making sure I don’t use them as my only criteria. I think a judge has to think about the big picture; what the animal is for, and how it will be when it is grown. It is always a matter of opinion in the end but I want to be able to defend my reasoning. It is a good exercise for my brain

Pouring Cement

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 

Pouring Cement

 

          Maybe I should have titled this “Pouring Concrete” but I get confused between the two names and just haven’t used either enough to have it stick in my mind.

          Prep work seems to be the key to getting good strong cement - opps, concrete. Even though it’s called a cement truck, it actually spews out concrete.

We had two projects to pour. A 10 foot by 10 foot square pad that our new silo is going to be placed on, and a 6 foot wide “sidewalk” that would cover the front of the dairy from the goat’s pen to around the corner (about 15 feet in all). Much of the reading I had done on pouring a concrete pad talks about digging down to undisturbed hardpan or bedrock.

Now we did have the base of our dairy building poured and at one point, a friend dug a hole to see where we needed to dig too. At about 5 feet down, he gave up. I don’t think we have bedrock anywhere near the soil surface. With this previous information in mind we just dug out the size and depth we needed. At my farm we have hardly any top soil, maybe 1 inch or so and then sand & gravel & rocks. We nailed together the wood frame, set in place, hammered, & sledged in the wood wedgies (which we cut from old scraps of lumber).

We made a point of making sure the frame part was level – that is where the concrete will go up to, so level is good. Added more soil on the outside of the frame and stomped it down to keep the wood from bowing out. We kept on digging and moving the gravely soil around until the bottom looked somewhat level as well.

          What I’m trying to say that it’s not complicated. If Karen and I can do it, then anyone can. It is hard work; digging gravely soil is heavy going. Making something level can be frustrating and cause a bit of stress between a couple people. When I am tired, I get somewhat snappy. Once the concrete is poured you have to muck it around (we used metal rakes, flipped over) and push it into the corners.

          Luckily, the cement truck driver gave us a hand at “scree-ing”, dragging a wet 2X4 over the surface to make it more level. If we had wanted an even, flat surface, we would have had to rent some metal wands that you rake the surface with to make it even and smooth – that was not necessary with either the silo base or the sidewalk area. The sidewalk was sloped away from the building but that wasn’t too tricky either. I was amazed at how the liquid concrete was happy to stay where you put it.

          The delivery truck was at our place for about 90 minutes and we were basically finished when he left. Still had some cleaning up to do – had to wash all the tools and scrap up any concrete that fell on the ground or onto the wooden forms. It dries very fast. As it was a hot day we hosed water on the new concrete a few times during the rest of the day, keeping it moist is supposed to help it set better. The driver said that for a major mall floor they would build up the edges and flood the floor, keeping it underwater for about a week.

          Did we save any money? Probably not. Did we save time? Absolutely! We used about 5 cubic yards of concrete, which would have taken many, many hours to make, probably a couple days of work at least. I also have a bit more faith in the purchased concrete when compared with what I could make at home.

          Another lesson in construction under my belt (tool belt!).

Painting my truck - it's all in the prep work - like a business

LegatoGelato

          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 Painting my Truck

           I am still amazed at the number of different skills I am learning in the process of having a dairy and starting a gelato business. It is stretching me in all sorts of ways.

           Has anyone else painted his or her own vehicle? I have an awesome 1991 Dodge Ram 4X4 pick-up truck with a Cummins Diesel engine. It’s a wonderful truck for the farm, one-ton size, lots of power, pulls any kind of livestock or horse trailer, big enough to put a camper on, carries 35 big bales of alfalfa hay without any problem. Goes well in heavy snow, built like a tank and I feel really safe in it. If I drove off the road it would get a couple more dents but would survive and keep on running – it’s a beast! Visually – well to put it mildly, it was a little beat up looking. It has a number of dents in the body and rust/holes on the back wheel wells, the dark blue paint was peeling, and rust patches were growing. The brush guard on the front and the dented fender on the back were showing a lot of rust as well. I had sprayed spots all over it with rust-stopping primer trying to hold back the corrosion.

          I took it into a local auto painting/bodywork shop to get an estimate to put it back into shape. The guy very kindly told me it wasn’t worth it. The bodywork alone would be ~$10K and then ~$6K to paint it – much of the current paint would have to be sanded away down to metal and redone from scratch.

        I think the he felt sorry for me, I was pretty disappointed. The value in the truck is the engine – that year and type of diesel engine will last to over one million kms, it’s the body that wears out. We kept on talking and he instructed me on how to paint it myself. I had also done quite a bit of research on the internet as well so it wasn’t a completely new idea. Armed with all this theoretical knowledge I purchased Tremclad gloss white paint, a few sizes of rollers, sandpaper, and thinner and started in. Sometimes not knowing how much work is involved is a good thing. Otherwise, I would never start a big project – like a dairy or a gelato business.

  Three days later (having to fit in my sanding, washing and painting sessions with the regular chores and keeping out of the direct hot sunshine) I think I have done a good job. I have had lots of experience painting in the house, my mother like to redo the room colours every other year or so – so I can tape, prep, and paint rooms fairly well. I have also dabbled a bit in refinishing furniture, just for fun. I think the basics are fundamentally the same – prep the surface, tape everything you don’t want painted, keep everything clean, follow instructions and don’t rush. I also realize that the prep takes 2 to 3 times as long as the actual painting itself. I think there is a life lesson in there somewhere – to be successful you need to plan and prepare three times as long as the job will take. Something like that.

           It looks pretty darn good. I still need to get a couple special rollers or foam brushes to reach areas I just could not get to but I am happy with it. So from a big blue truck with rust spots and gray primer spots all over & a burgundy canopy it has become a big shiny white truck with a shiny white canopy. Couldn’t and didn’t take out the dents and I am looking to get wheel well covers that will hide the rust. This truck “extreme makeover” happened for under $200 – and time. Always seems the way, to save money you have to spend time. There is probably a life lesson in that statement as well.

 

          It’s all about learning and trying new things. How does saffron/raisin gelato sound?

 

Maple Bacon Gelato??? More on Flavours

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 
Flavours

          Boy do people have many ideas for flavours for our gelato and some are very different. How does Maple Bacon sound? Peanut Butter gelato? Pumpkin Pie?

           Traditionally gelato is fruit flavour with perhaps some wine or liquor in it. I feel that I am somewhat of a purist and want to produce flavours that are in season and available locally. Not to say that there isn’t great bacon around, it’s just not appealing.

           One venue that I want to work with local chefs on is making custom gelato for their restaurants. I have tasted lavender ice cream at the Kingfisher Restaurant (it was a few years ago). It went very well with the meal and had a lovely cleansing finish. I wouldn’t want to eat a whole pint but in that time and place with that specific meal, it was lovely. Perhaps a savory gelato or mango/tamarind.

           Local chefs may have specific ideas, flavours they want to have, and we are more than willing to experiment and make a goat’s milk gelato that fits the bill.

           I am having lots of fun experimenting with different mixtures and flavours. A bit more sugar, a bit less, more lemon juice or less, more fruit, different  processes to the fruit to get the best flavour and texture. I think our friends like taste testing as well.

           Statistically the favorite ice cream flavour is vanilla - almost 40% of consumers want vanilla. I think chocolate and maple walnut are next and then strawberry.

 

We plan to offer a local maple syrup with local walnuts in February/March of 2013. There are a number of makers of big leaf maple syrup on Vancouver Island. For a long time we were told it was impossible to make syrup from the big leaf maple trees that grow in profusion on the Island. Seems some people didn’t listen and have turned making syrup into a business – even the government and tax assessment office are now recognizing “sap-sucking” as a legitimate farm product. The different between Eastern sugar maples and Western big leaf maples is the percentage of sugar in the sap. Eastern trees have 3% sugar in the sap while Western has 2 % sugar content. What it means is that it takes more cooking to evaporate the water out of the sap.

 Walnut trees grow well in our climate. We have a young Carpathian Walnut in our orchard. It is about 15 years old now and over 20 feet high and wide. The number of walnuts has increased steadily, starting with four nuts when it was around 7 years old. Last year was very poor with a long cold spring – not many nuts or much fruit set. This year looks much better.

          We will be offering WILD NETTLE as an interesting and novel flavour when we start selling at the farmer’s markets. We are wild harvesting stinging nettles, making a tea, making a syrup from the tea and adding it to our yummy French custard base (sans sugar). It is fresh and green and a bit tart and tangy. Make sure you try a sample!

Recipe Research 2012

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              Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 Recipe Research

       Some of the most fun I have had with starting up this new business is making up recipes. I started out with a great book put out by Ciao Bella – they have had a successful ice cream/gelato business for many years and the book has a number of recipes and explains some of the reasons behind it.

          I’ve also spent hours on the internet doing research on gelato recipes (I love the internet; it’s like having a massive library readily available). The science behind gelato is absolutely fascinating as well – the changes to the taste and texture as you increase/decrease each ingredient is amazing. In addition, the process of freezing and delaying the freezing is very complicated.

          One of my challenges is there are not many recipes using goat milk. I found a couple recipes and have used one for homemade ice cream for a couple years now but gelato and ice cream are different.

              Making commercial gelato calls for pre-made syrups. Well, they really look like hair gel but we can call them syrups. Most commercial places use plain old cow milk from the grocery store (in bulk sometimes). Some commercial gelato stores make their gelato flavourings from scratch but it’s not that common. Most still aren’t using any type of high quality milk.

I had wondered how they got the pretty colours – its food colouring. Natural and artificial but it’s added to perk up the product. I don’t have much confidence in the safety of most artificial food colouring, over the years more and more have been pulled from use as carcinogens or allergens. Even a “natural” colouring can be suspect. You need to ask yourself how the colour was extracted, what process was used. Bet there was nothing natural about that.

          There really is no one definition of what is in gelato either. Some have added cream while others only use milk. Some gelato has added eggs others don’t. I followed the Sicilian gelato recipes and we use organic chicken eggs and organic cornstarch. The egg adds a bit of fat and helps make everything smoother, the cornstarch adds thickness without changing the flavours.

          The use of chemical emulsifiers and stabilizers is rampant in commercial ice cream and gelato. Even some of the people making gelato at home use the bean extracts, seaweed extracts, and gums that seem to have to be used in commercial gelato/ice cream to make it any good.

          Well – YUCK!

          We don’t use them and we won’t use them.

          It goes back to the question of HOW these extracts were made and what chemical process has gone into the making of them. For example, to get corn oil from corn; the corn is ground and then treated with the chemical used to dry clean your clothes (xylene I think). The rest of the processing is to take the poison out.

 

So make an informed choice! Read your labels, be cautious and eat LegatoGelato!

Goat Milk - handle with care

LegatoGelato

              Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 

Handling with care

          Milk is a complicated product and it is a delicate product as well. At our dairy we are very careful when handling the milk and very clean to prevent any kind of contamination.

          Goat milk is different in a number of ways from cow milk. The fat molecules of goat milk are smaller than cow and are much more delicate. This is one of the reason goat milk is easier to digest but it also makes it more of a challenge to keep it intact and flavorful.

          A big difference between using store bought processed milk and using our homegrown milk is our milk is not altered or supplemented. What comes from the goats is what makes our awesome gelato.

 I don’t know how many of you realize but when the dairy sends its cow milk to the plant, it undergoes a huge amount of processing. The milk is received, chilled, stored, pasteurized, and then taken apart. The fat, solids, and proteins are extracted, and whatever else has value is removed. Then to make whole milk the components are recombined in the correct amounts.

          All of the commercial ice cream recipes use this principle to construct their ice cream. You take x amount of 18% milk fat plus y amount of milk solids and so much liquid milk at 3.5% fat level, add glucose and sugar, flavours/chemicals and then all those weird gums and beans… Not very appetizing to me. It might taste good but it’s not very wholesome.

          I really believe that for food to be healthy is has to be less processed and less abused. Every time you manipulate a foodstuff, you change or degrade it. We carefully handled our milk.

We use bucket milkers, no long plastic lines carrying the milk to a big tank. Our milk goes from the goat down a 6-inch tube to the stainless steel milk pail. When the pail is full, it is carefully poured & filtered into a 12 L white food grade bucket. Then the bucket is placed into a tank of water set at 1-4° C. From there we drive a load of buckets to the dairy processing plant, carefully poured into the pasteurizer, mixed with the fruits/flavours, heated, and gently pumped into new buckets. After chilling overnight, we pour the mix into the batch freezer and 15 minutes later, it is gelato.

          The most agitation the milk receives is in the batch freezer and it churns the milk & flavour mixture slower than a dryer rotates.

          Our milk will vary in its components throughout the year, following the natural cycles that change with the seasons. We will follow the seasons and offer flavours that fit and take advantage of the wonderful local fruits and flavours that are available on Vancouver Island.

          I can promise you that it will be smooth and luscious, and a real treat.

The Best Goat Milk in BC

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          Smooth Taste…Island Pace

 
The best goat milk in BC

 

Snapdragon Dairy – Karen & my dairy – claims to be the best goat milk in BC. Moreover, I do not think we are exaggerating at all.

           Every dairy in BC, cow milk, goat milk, sheep milk, or buffalo milk is required to send in milk samples every month. The testing is at the big milk laboratory in Abbotsford. Each sample has to have a maximum level of bacteria and a maximum level of cells per milliliter.

With cow milk, machines do the testing and the number of cells in the sample is very useful information for the dairyman. The way a cow/cow’s udder makes milk is different from a goat or sheep. If the numbers of cells increase, it means that an infection is brewing and the dairywoman can get on it and treat for it.

 

Goat milk undergoes the same cell count via a machine but because a goat udder produces milk differently, the cell count is not as useful. Scientific research has established that many cells in the milk do NOT indicate infection or bacteria – it is just a component of the goat milk.

 

Goat milk is tested for bacteria by actually putting a swab of milk on an agar plate and incubating it for 24 hours. The numbers of colonies of bacteria that grow are counted and that becomes your test result.

 

          Five thousand (5000) colonies is considered excellent – keep in mind that these are a mixture of bacteria, healthy good bacteria and maybe some baddies but that’s not what is being tested. If your score is 50,000 you must test again in 1 week – sometimes this can happen if part of the milking machine was not cleaned properly but it is not good enough. For 7 months in 2011 and for every month (so far) in 2012 – Snapdragon Dairy is scoring one thousand (1000) – 5 times better than excellent!!!

 

          I don’t know what other goat dairy’s are testing but from the comments from the provincial inspector I don’t think anyone else is hitting the 1000 mark month after month after month.

 

          That is why I can state with all assurance that our milk is the BEST in BC.

           Plus it tastes just great and Karen & I have been drinking it raw for 17 years!