December newsletter part of announcement
Lori Anne Lau
winter. We went thru all the sheep and determined which ewe lambs
would be sold, which would stay in our flock, and which mature ewes
had health issues that needed addressing. The ewes were vaccinated
to
prevent viruses that cause abortion and treated for internal
parasites. We also brought all the sheep to the town farm in mid
November. We also brought all the young calves and yearling cattle
to the farm here at our house. The mother cows and bulls will winter
at the Meadow farm. John snow machines or cross-country skis in
every
couple of days to replenish their feed supply. John has also made
several trips to move all of our temporary panels and corral panels
into town. We need them to help us sort the sheep and cattle over
the
winter when we need to treat animals, or when we need to sort them to
take some to the butcher.
Our newest (used but new to us) tractor “got very sick” back in
October requiring a trip to the repair shop in Preston. We finally
have it back, as well as a bill that is over 1/5th of its purchase
price. Thankfully John has been able to open our road enough to get
the tractor out to the meadow farm. It is our best tractor for
dealing with the deep snows we get there. I was getting worried
about
how we would manage to feed the cows all winter without it.
We very much enjoyed having my younger brother and family, as well as
John’s family, here for Thanksgiving. Between my sisters-in-law and
I
we managed to make a dinner that had components that were both
familiar and that were safe for those with wheat and dairy allergies.
Becca really enjoyed spending nearly a week with her cousins (ages 6,
4 and 1) and aunt and uncle. I think they really enjoyed their visit
and the kids turned into avid sledders while they were here. Our
niece ended up with strep throat when she got home, but so far none
of
us seem to be infected, thankfully.
I spent a good chunk of last week getting to, attending, and getting
home from the Idaho Farm Bureau Annual Convention in N Idaho. It was
extra special since it was my first time attending as county
president. I realized I am one of what may be just a few that loves
discussing Farm Bureau policies. I wish the “House of Delegates”
went
on twice as long as it does. I guess that this is another one of my
crazy traits. One of the highlights of the trip was learning that
John and I had won a 6 day trip to Washington DC in early March. We
were one of 5 couples to receive scholarships to attend. We’ll get
to
see Mt Vernon, meet American FB staff, place a wreath at Tomb of the
Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery, visit the Dept of Agriculture, visit
with Congressional party, tour the Capital and White House and more.
The major challenge will be to find “critter sitters” to take care of
our livestock. I’d love to tack on a few days for additional touring
but we’ll see if we can be away for extra days. If we can stay
longer
we might try to somehow get the kids back there for those days so
they
can benefit from the trip as well. I am really excited about this
trip. It may mean rearranging some livestock harvest dates, delivery
trips and lots of prep work to be able to leave the farm but it will
be so worth it.
We are just now beginning to think about Christmas, in between all
the
chores and end of the year work that also comes with December.
Hopefully I can get my act together and manage to pull off a fun and
memorable holiday. We will be joined by my Step-mom’s family and
then
just after Christmas by my other brother and his family. It will be
great to meet Kathy’s family and wonderful to see my older brother
again. It will be bittersweet in some ways as Ian and family will be
moving to Tasmania in February. My sister-in-law hails from
Australia
and wants to raise their family there. I guess we will know where
our
“vacation funds” will be used next.
We thank all of you that have supported us over the last 7 years! We
hope this Holiday Season is full of fun times and creates great
memories for you and yours! See you in the New Year if we don’t see
you on the 17th!
Please don’t hesitate to let us know how we can improve our products
or services.
Thank you for your continued business!
John, Lori Anne, Tommy & Becca Lau
Lau Family Farm, LLC
Grass-Fed Beef & Lamb...A Natural Choice
PO Box 337
Soda Springs, Idaho 83276
208-547-3180
loria...@laufamilyfarm.com
www.laufamilyfarm.com
1Bringing the flock to the corral in order to move them to the town
farm
2Tom in early Nov when we were "mouthing and bagging" the ewes and
deciding which lambs to sell. He is "hiding" so we can get the sheep
to start going into the chute to be checked. It was incredibly windy
this day so we all wore goggles to keep the dust out of our eyes.
3 ewe lambs in the chute...we selected 40 ewe lambs to become moms on
another farm