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We are moooving ...

12/14/2016

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I know I’ve mentioned a couple of times recently how excited we are for 2017 and all of the changes and opportunities to come. Well, things are starting to shake out and take shape, giving us some solid facts to share!

The title already gave away one of Brun Ko Farm’s major upcoming changes.

We are moving - a short 9 miles down the road. Yes, we will still be farming next year and god willing for many many years into the future! The ability to continue farming and also to be able to expand our farm are the exact reasons we are moving.

So, where are we moving to? We will be moving to NP’s homeplace just a few miles south of our current location. We will still be right on Hwy 173 which is very important to us as we continue to build an on-farm market and maintain our policy of welcoming visitors to the farm!

Why are we moving? Currently we are landlocked, meaning that we have no opportunity to expand beyond the 6.5 acres that we currently own. While we have drawn elaborate plans and developed detailed schemes to absolutely maximize the potential on our little acreage, it would have been a struggle to make a living here. Maybe not impossible but we would have always had our eggs in one basket so to speak as opposed to being able to keep the farm diversified.

Our second reason is access to water. We have a well that works great for our own household use and even for watering a few head of livestock. However, the well is shallow and would never support the 15 head of milk cows and the extensive washing needs of a dairy and creamery. We also discovered this summer that installing rural water was not an option for us.

All in all it became clear to us that we needed to look for better opportunities elsewhere.

Our new place - NP’s homeplace - will allow us the opportunity to grow into the surrounding farm land and also is the home to a beautiful, plentiful, deep well.

The second big change for Brun Ko Farm will come in June of 2017 when we welcome home a brand new, itsy bitsy, teeny tiny addition to the family. Although Baby P will seem tiny at first, I am sure that his or her impact on the farm and our lives will be anything but small!

With these big changes and all of the little ones that accompany them, it is impossible to pin down exactly how 2017 will look for us. What I DO know is:
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  1. We will continue to farm and sell vegetables, although possibly on a smaller scale during the transition
  2. We will maintain our beef steers, with our first beef being available late Spring/early Summer 2017 and we will continue to raise pork
  3. All baking is on hold - at least until we work through these times of transition! This is a tough one for me but we’ve had to choose where to focus time and energy this next year and the expected babe and the farm take priority
We are beyond thankful for all of the upcoming opportunities and all of the help and support that has been shown by our friends, family and community! We love this little community that we live in and are glad to be staying close by! We have had the most spectacular neighbors these past few years and thankfully by rural standards our ‘neighbor base’ really won’t be changing much at all!

We look forward to many more years of doing what we love!
Enjoy!
Brun Ko Farm
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Honey!

12/1/2016

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A couple of weeks ago, we finally harvested honey from NP’s first hive of honey bees. The first thing we did after removing the 'super' from the hive was to allow the honey to dry down a bit. If the honey contains too much liquid it can actually ferment in the jar! Once NP was satisfied that the honey was dry enough, we began the extraction! 

​We borrowed a hand crank honey extractor from a friend and turned it into a family affair with my parents pitching in with supper and some arm muscles ;) Before we could put the frames in the extractor, NP had to 'uncap' the honey comb using a sharp knife. With that step complete we were ready to start spinning!


The extractor is basically just a centrifuge. It holds 3 frames at a time and as you crank on the handle, the frames spin and the honey flies out of the honeycomb and drains to the bottom of the canister. From there it flows into a bucket with a filter to help remove any bee’s wax or debris.  With just 1 super (8 frames) to harvest, it went pretty quick and I didn’t hear any complaints about sore arms the next day!

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NP filtered the honey twice and filled the jars. Isn’t that beautiful?! Now to get some labels made up and we’ll be in the honey business ;)

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NP cranking the honey extractor!
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Honey!! The very first honey flowing out of the extractor! This bucket has a filter nestled in the top of it for the honey to pass through.
We didn’t have huge yields this year as the bees had to work hard building wax, making honeycomb, and growing the size of the colony in addition to collecting nectar and making honey. To be honest, with all of the extra work that a first year hive has to do, we were just happy that they survived. That we were able to harvest honey this year was truly the icing on the cake! Next year, this hive should be in good shape from a housekeeping stand point and the bees will be able to focus more on collecting nectar and making honey :)

Enjoy!
​Brun Ko Farm

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    Emily Paulsen

    Just a woman with a passion for the animals, the land, and feeding people!

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