Dear Friend of the Farm,
Bluebirds, Redwing Blackbirds, and Killdeer have returned to the farm, and some of the south-facing slopes are showing a hint of green. The land is starting to dry out now and we'll be spreading manure soon.
Signs of spring are also in the calf barn. We currently have 14 heifer calves born in February and March, with a lot more to come. With the new crop of calves we're seeing more of the Shelburne Explorers 4H'ers as they choose calves and heifers to take to local fairs this summer.
Looking ahead we should be putting animals outside by the end of April. Both the cows and the dairy staff are looking forward to getting out of the barns and out onto pasture after a long winter.
Sam Dixon, Dairy Manager
News from the ewes
In the Farmyard, it's been a banner year for lambs: 79 in all. Come see them at our Leaping Lambs & Shear Delights family program this Saturday, April 18, or watch them on this WCAX-TV video. And don't miss Eva Sollberger's "Stuck in Vermont" v-log in Seven Days, on the shearing clinic we hosted last weekend. It's great!________________________________________________________
Barnes at the Barn
“It was fantastic to see so many kids who probably wouldn’t otherwise get to be here chasing chickens and feeling really at home."-- Denise Foote, Parent & Parent Involvement Coordinator
It was standing room only for the 71 students and their families on the bus from Burlington’s Old North End to Shelburne Farms for Maple Open House. Inspired by the first grade’s study of sugaring and its recent field trip to the Farm, families from the Lawrence Barnes community just wanted to enjoy the sugarbush, farmyard, and spring. But for many of them, getting out here isn't so easy. So Shelburne Farms' Sustainable Schools Project hired a bus! Denise Foote summed it up, "People brought their own kids and their neighbor's kids, everyone had a great time.”
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Reaching farmers, educating children... hypnotizing chickens?
“In a world of bad news, this gives us hope for the future." --Jennifer & Tim, Workshop participantsOur educators Susie Marchand and Erica Curry just returned from Everdale Farm in Ontario, Canada where they facilitated a workshop for 21 farmers eager to connect children (and adults) to the food they eat. Despite "the worst weather I've ever had at a workshop," according to Erica, the enthusiasm was electric. "This group was ripe for the lessons, the sharing, the networking... It was definitely the start of something," she said. Though they look to us for leadership, the lessons always run both ways: Erica and Susie watched one participant "hypnotize" a chicken! Read a participant's blog about her experience.
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Kids who cook healthy, eat healthy
You'd have to conclude that after the 2nd Annual Junior Iron Chef competition March 28th. From Winooski to Wilmington, these students were serious about cooking and serving up fresh, healthy food.
Jr. Iron Chef VT is a an event planned by the Burlington Food Council as a statewide competition, fundraising, and awareness event for the Burlington School Food Project and VT FEED (a partnership of Shelburne Farms, NOFA-VT, and Foodworks). Read a first-hand account (and find the winning recipes) in this Burlington Free Press article or watch last year's video(also by Seven Days' Eva Sollberger).________________________________________________________
It's a wrap on sap
Our last day of sugaring was March 30, with a grand syrup tally of 60 gallons (that'll sweeten a lot of pancakes at the Inn restaurant!). If you never made it out to the sugarbush this season, you can check out this great video with our sugarmaker Mark Klonicke (2007).________________________________________________________
Shelburne Farms cultivates a conservation ethic by teaching and demonstrating the stewardship of natural and agricultural resources.
We are a nonprofit environmental education center, 1,400-acre working farm, and National Historic Landmark.