Our Chickens Take a Fieldtrip

Posted by Sarah

Wagner Farm was invited to visit the Kohl's Childrens Museum last Friday.  They have an egg hatchery exhibition and wanted our staff to talk about adult chickens.  Carlin and Mary Beth, donned in period clothing and a bird on each arm, spent the afternoon delighting folks about the Wagner Farm poultry flock.  Kids giggled with delight when our hen started clucking, and our rooster just about fell asleep in Carlin's arms.  Both our staff, and our birds, had a great time.  Thank you to the staff at Kohl's for having us visit your museum!

2012 Draft

posted by Todd:
While some of you at might have been watching the 2012 NFL draft we had our own version at the farm.  The 4-H kids in the swine project used their years of experience to weight the strengths and weaknesses of each of the pigs.  Then they drew numbers and and got to go in the pen and make their selections from the available animals.  There was anticipation, excitement and celebration as the kids picked their project pigs. This year they will be showing 10 pigs at the Lake County Fair. 

Making dust

posted by Todd
As a farmer, you just feel better when the spring work starts.  This week Jeff and Andres have been spending some time preparing the fields with a nice covering of manure.  I'm sure our neighbors enjoyed sharing a property line with a real working farm.  I have to admit, I love it.  The smell of manure, tractor exhaust and dust from the freshly worked ground.  That is springtime.

Silo skin

posted by Todd

SVI exhibit design sent some new pictures of the progress they are making on the silo. The original boards are being applied to the three steel sections.

Worth her weight in milk

posted by Andres

So, I’m sure it has been blogged about how Lilly, the 4 year old Holstein is back for another season as the Wagner Farm milking cow. We were all very excited for her return because she is a beautiful cow and most of the time really well tempered. If you have been by the farm since her return and watched a milking (4:30 every afternoon except Sundays) you may have noticed that the question and answer sessions while the milking machine is attached have gotten a lot shorter. The reason for that is Lilly’s milk output. She is currently giving anywhere between 15 and 35 lbs of milk per day, and that’s between 2 milkings, and believe me, the surge machine does not take long to get the apx. 10 lbs per milking and therefore does not allow me much time to answer all your questions. So now the real question, why is her output so low? There is no simple answer to that question but a multitude of factors. I am going to try and explain the main factors that play into her low output. The first factor is a change in diet. Up at Golden Oaks, where Lilly spent the winter, she was eating a high output TMR diet (Total Mixed Ration or better known as Silage) which is formulated to help in milk production. This high output diet means that the cattle up there can be milked 3 times a day. Here at Wagner, Lilly is on a mainly grass diet with a ration of feed to help in her milk production. With this diet we cannot expect her to be outputting like she was up at Golden Oaks but, it is enough to keep her producing. The second factor, which I believe to be the main cause, is the fact that Lilly has been milking since the birth of Daisy (the all white calf at Wagner) 14 months ago. For those of you who aren’t familiar with milking schedules, that is about 4 months longer than ideal. Once a cow gives birth and starts producing milk, she is ideally milked for about 305 days (or 10 months). The timeline starts when she freshens (gives birth), then, she is milked for about 4 months at which point that cow is bred again. Hopefully the breed takes and she is then milked for another 6 months. After that time period the cow is dried off so that she can put her energy into the calf during the last trimester of her pregnancy. Once she gives birth again, the cycle repeats. On smaller dairy farms the farmers usually try and time it so that the cow is dry during the winter and they therefore do not have to milk when it is cold outside. Not true for larger dairies which can have a birth a couple times a day. Unfortunately, Lilly did not take in the last few attempts to breed, so the answer is to keep her producing and continue to try and breed her. The reason for that is that if she is dried off before she is bred, she will just eat and get fat, and a fat cow has a harder time taking to breed. Another factor that affects production is temperature. Although not a factor right now, you can see a decrease in production if temperatures get really cold or really hot. Apparently, Wisconsin had a substantial increase in milk production this past winter compared to the last few years due to the mild winter temperatures that the Midwest got this last season. So, I am going to go ahead and apologize if you come by the farm for a milking and I don’t get around to answering your questions. Besides, the kids’ questions always get answered first, so if you are dying to know something have them ask…

Oink

Today the 4-H pigs arrived at Wagner Farm. We now have all the pigs and sheep!!

The Bobcat Comes Out to Play

posted by Jen

Hi, I'm Jen, and I'm the community garden plot programmer for Wagner Farm. I'm busy contacting our plot gardeners and getting ready for the garden's planting season. A big step in the process is roto-tilling the garden beds. Jeff recently took the Bobcat out to cut through the existing grass and till it under. This is the most exciting step to me -- getting to see the soil that will be home to 89 garden plots this summer. Todd and Jeff plan to till the garden plots several times before the garden is officially opened to kill weeds and fluff up the soil.

Worms, Cobwebs, & Manure

Posted by Allyson

 

Volunteers haven’t been afraid to pull up their sleeves and get their hands dirty this week! From cleaning the barn to sprucing up the beds around the Heritage Center, volunteers have experienced slimy earthworms, dusty cobwebs, stinky manure, and more. On Wednesday and Thursday, Sue, Paul, and Joyce continued weeding the beds around the Heritage Center, pulling out crab grass, cutting back some of the plants, and laying down wood chips to hopefully thwart the weeds from returning.

Beth, Connie, Sue, Mallory, and Mike were all here early Saturday morning to help Todd give the barn a good cleaning before spring and summer get under way. Talk about a dirty job – Mike Rowe would be impressed! Between knocking down the cobwebs and sweeping out the stalls to hosing down the floor mats and power washing the walls and floors, there was plenty of work to go around. Todd and I had only planned on the job taking a couple of hours, but it ended up taking a good 4 or 5 hours to get the job done. Fortunately, Beth and Todd were able to stay late and finish things up so that Andres could bring the Isabella and Daisy in for their grain at supper time.

Egg Farmer Speaks to Volunteers

 Posted by Allyson

Back in October, one of our volunteers, Jack, suggested that I contact the American Egg Board since they are headquartered in nearby Park Ridge and try to arrange a speaker for one of our upcoming volunteer meetings. After things slowed down a bit last fall, I contacted the AEB and was put in touch with Ashley, their Industry Communications Director. Ashley worked very hard to line up a speaker for our quarterly volunteer meeting this month, and on Wednesday night, we were joined by Sean Delano, Director of Sales at S&R Egg Farm in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

Sean graciously spoke to a crowd of more than 30 volunteers and staff about modern egg production and farming practices. The farm where Sean works is a third generation family-owned and operated egg farm with nearly 2.5 million chickens, producing as many as 2 million eggs per day for families throughout the Midwest! The farm has grown from 12,000 chickens in 1958 to over 2 million today and continues to provide consumers with farm fresh eggs (typically eggs are processed, packed, and ready for delivery within 24 hours of being laid) from chickens raised according to strict animal care and dietary standards (hens are fed an all-natural vegetarian diet - no hormones, no antibiotics). They even have an automated animal waste removal system that turns chicken manure into organic fertilizer. Look for CHICK MAGIC the next time you visit your local lawn and garden store!

We are very appreciative of Ashley’s efforts to arrange for Sean to speak to the volunteers at Wagner Farm on Wednesday and very grateful for Sean’s willingness to give so generously of his time and share his expertise with us. His presentation was by far the highlight of our National Volunteer Week celebrations.

Ag Day 2012

Posted by Sarah

Each year we have the opportunity to work the Cook County Farm Bureau to host Ag Day.  This year, almost 700 kids from area schools visited Wagner Farm over two days to learn about all things ag.  Students rotated through 7 different stations that taught about soybeans, pigs, food products, horticulture, farm machines, and corn.  By far the most popular station is where the kids get to dress their teacher up as a cow as they learn the various body parts of a bovine.  Thanks to all the staff and volunteers from the CCFB for their help and enthusiasm-we had a fabulous two days!

Celebrity Sighting at Baconfest

Posted by Allyson

One more note about Baconfest that Todd forgot to mention...  While we there scoping out the food and festivities, someone pointed out a reporter with a camera crew in tow.  As it turns out, the reporter in front of the camera was Ali Fedotowsky.  Ali isn't a celebrity in the bacon world, but she is a celebrity to reality television enthusiasts who watch ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.  Since then, she's moved on to hosting NBC's new travel show 1st Look.  She must have been filming a segment for a future episode while we were there since she kept smiling and posing for the camera after each bite of bacon. Once we figured out who she was, Cassidy and I managed to catch her in between takes and get a photo with her.  (One of us is admittedly a fan.)  Although I went to Baconfest hoping to maybe sight a famous celebrity pig, meeting Ali still made me "squeal" with excitement.  There's always next year to meet Miss Piggy or Babe!

WF outing to Baconfest Chicago

posted by Todd

On Saturday a few of us decided to make the trip down to Chicago to check out Baconfest 2012. Imagine 55 restaurants serving bacon inspired dishes. By the time we are about half way through some of the guys were claiming to be having the "meat sweats". The offerings were amazing. From BBQ pork ribs wrapped in bacon to the burger topped with pork belly one table was better than the last.

Sprout Sighting

Posted by Lindsay


Thanks to the tireless watering efforts put forth by Todd, Jeff, Andres, and Christine, the grass has finally sprouted on the western side of the Farm. Hopefully soon this whole area will be covered in green grass.

Wagner Farm Among Reasons to Love Glenview

Posted by Allyson

I visited GlenviewPatch.com recently to check on a few upcoming volunteer events that I listed on their calendar and stumbled upon this article, “10 Reasons We Love Glenview,” by GlenviewPatch contributor Lindsay Roseman. Much to the delight of the staff here, Wagner Farm is number three on the list and the Glenview Farmers’ Market is number ten. The Grove, another beloved facility of the Glenview Park District, made the list, too! See the rest of their picks here.

The Silo is Standing

Posted by Sarah

Our exhibit design company, SVI, called on Thursday with some exciting news-our silo is standing! Lindsay, Rob and I immediately hopped in the car, camera in hand, to see this in person. Upon entry into the warehouse, I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. It's so tall! I realized that my reaction is the exact one we are hoping our visitors have when they walk in and see this giant structure standing up in the Heritage Center. The unveiling is getting closer and we are so excited for everyone to experience our new exhibit!

Gardening & Greeting

Posted by Allyson

Things have been busy around the farm lately with the installation of the new silo exhibit, completion of the land grading project, and start of school programs! Volunteers have been keeping busy, too, caring for the kitchen garden and interacting with visitors on the weekends. The clear, sunny skies the past couple of weeks combined with the unseasonably warm weather have made for the start of both an early planting and an early visitor season.

This past weekend, Zac and his job coach Jon greeted visitors in the afternoon and also took some time out to clean the windows in the milking parlor to help keep them smudge-free. Last week, Paul and Andrea tilled in the manure from the horse pasture that was spread in the kitchen garden at the end of March and planted a variety of different seeds – Blue Prussian peas, Karina garden peas, Sugar Ann snap peas, spinach, kohlrabi, beets, and pole beans. The heirloom Blue Prussian peas were a gift from another volunteer and avid gardener, Bob. Look for them in a few months climbing the west fence on the north end of the garden.

The silo gets a hat

With progress here happening at a fast pace I thought I would share today's accomplishments. SVI has mounted the silo roof to the section that will be placed at the top of the structure. The visual is amazing to see.
Rob and Andy are hard at work placing the new wood beams that the deck will be placed on.

The silo skeleton

posted by Todd


Here is an update on the silo exhibit construction. SVI has made the first steel ring of the silo. There will be three rings that will be stacked on top of each other to form the internal skeleton that the original silo wood will be attached to. This of course is not the method used to build a real silo but because of how we are anchoring it to the floor and how we will be accessing the interior we had to strengthen the overall structure. When SVI has the three rings completed they will be able to bring them to the farm in sections and then place them one on top of another.

The Beauty of Spring

Happy Easter from Wagner Farm!

Seed and Sod

Posted by Lindsay





Even though the grading is finished, the orange fences twisting through the farm are still up protecting the new sod and grass seed. Sod has been placed over the east side of the lawn and grass seeds were used on the west side. With sprinklers running daily we are hoping to have the Farm back to normal with fresh green grass soon.