The making of a bee keeper

Last fall, my son Nicholas told me about a bee hive that was being kept on his school's property by science teacher, Mr. Tom Becker. Nick had the opportunity to "help" Mr. Becker with the hive on a couple of occasions. Mr. Becker saw that Nick had a real interest in the bees and told him that he should apply for a youth scholarship being offered by the Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA). The IHPA realized that membership numbers had been dropping for some time and that they needed to do something to get more young people involved in bee keeping. So, they started the youth partnership program.

Nick filled out the application to participate in the program. He put it in the mail and we waited to hear if he would be accepted. It wasn't long before we were invited to attend the annual meeting of the IHPA in Marshalltown. It was there that we learned that Nick and 11 other youth from across the state of Iowa had been accepted into the program!

Nick received a hive body, bees, all necessary equipment (smoker, hive tool, veil and gloves), 1 year membership to the Iowa Honey Producers Association, beginning bee classes and was assigned a mentor to guide him through his first year of bee keeping! In return, Nick agrees to attend bee classes, keep a written record of his bee keeping adventure and present a final report at the IHPA annual meeting.


I think that one of the most important parts of the program is the mentor. Nick's mentor is David Hayes, of Prairie Creek Honey. David has graciously offered to help guide Nick through his first year of bee keeping. Being a beginning bee keeper can be a little intimidating. Having someone to guide you along the way and answer a beginner's questions is a great thing to have. I have to admit that all this has been just as exciting for me as it is for Nick. I have been attending the bee classes with him and am learning as much as he is. So far, it has been a lot of fun and I think this could develop into a lifelong hobby for both of us.

 The bees arrived this past Tuesday afternoon and with Mr. Hayes help, are now home in their new hives. Let the bee keeping adventure begin!

Nick opening the package of bees with mentor David Hayes guidance.

Putting the bees into the hive body.

Nick showing off his new queen bee.

Closeup of the queen.

Raw Milk in Iowa (round 3)

Iowans have been in a 3 year legal struggle over the consumption of milk. Raw milk to be exact. Funny that something as seemingly harmless as milk could cause such a ruckus.  This Wednesday, February 27th, there will be a joint hearing of the House Local Government Subcommittee and the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee to discuss HSB 131 and SF 77 (The Milk Bill). This bill would legalize sales of raw milk directly from farmers to consumers. Farmers could sell directly to consumers without being licensed by the state as long as they sold only on-farm or through delivery arrangements made directly with the consumer. The bills would NOT allow re-selling or sales at grocery stores (or farmers markets). If the subcommittee approves it, then it can go the full Committees, possibly the same week.

I am writing today to say that I am in favor of raw milk sales in Iowa. It is high time that Iowans have the right to decide what food to put in their bodies. I know that many people will tell you that drinking raw milk is not safe. Statistically, the risks associated with drinking raw milk are low. Why can't we drink a glass of clean, fresh, raw milk if we are so inclined? I feel that informed consumers should have the right to purchase raw milk if they choose to do so. If milk is properly handled, there is no danger in drinking raw milk. All fresh food needs to handled properly. We have come a long way since the early 1900s when milk pasteurization was used to fix unhealthy production and distribution systems. With today’s information, pasteurization is not the only way to produce safe healthy milk. The CDC reported three years ago that 3% of all the people in the U.S. drink raw milk at least once a month. That's about 10 million people. YET, IN THE LAST 1O YEARS, THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SINGLE DEATH IN THE U.S. THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO DRINKING RAW MILK. Iowa is one of only 18 states that does not allow raw milk sales for human consumption. Thousands of people around the globe consume raw milk safely. In my mind, the whole raw milk issue comes down to consumer choice. It is time that Iowan's are allowed to make this choice for themselves. 

It's an AgStravaganza!!!

This coming Wednesday, February 20th, our local Soil and Water District will be hosting their first ever AgStravaganza!! The event will be held at the Jackson County fairgrounds in Maquoketa from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Booths will showcase a variety of topics with information available on everything from rain gardens to rare breed livestock. Free seminars will be running throughout the day. Plus, there will be an indoor farmers market. Wickham Farm will be there with our red wattle pork for sale! Stop by and say hello. We would love to see you there!

Pumpkin Time

Most people visit their local pumpkin patch a few days before Halloween to pick out a jack-o-lantern or two. We wait until the week after Halloween and collect truck loads of the pumpkins that are left lying in the fields. Why? Because the hogs love them! The pumpkins in the picture will likely last the pigs well into December. I feed them by throwing a few to the pigs each day. They hit the ground breaking them open exposing the mouthwatering flesh and delectable seeds. The pigs come running and eat the seeds out first. Then they eagerly devour the rest of the giant orange orb's flesh. This morning, however, they were a little more difficult to break open.Temps were in the mid-20's last night.  They were froze up solid. No worry. The pigs can chew them open if they really want them. And believe me, they want them. It's just more fun for me to break them!

Where to put them all. This year's growing pumpkin pile.

Like most people, pigs like variety in their diet. They like it when we mix things up. You'd get tired of eating the same thing day after day, and they do too. The basis of their diet is a blend of locally grown grains that we have made up for us at the local feed mill. This provides them with the right mix of vitamins and protein they need to grow big and strong. They could easily survive on just this feed, but what fun would that be? During the summer months they get a little piggy salad bar with their main course (grain mix) by grazing the pasture. But with winter nearly hear, the grasses, field peas, rape, clovers and forbs (a mix of other plants most people call weeds) that make up our pasture are no longer growing so we supplement with hay. Yes, pigs will eat hay! In our never ending effort to product the best tasting pork at an affordable price, we are always on the lookout for feed stuff that not only will the pigs enjoy eating but will also make for great tasting pork! I strongly believe that a varied diet not only makes for a healthier animal, but also makes better tasting pork. 

Last litter of 2012

Our sow Betty farrowed yesterday. 11 piglets were born in one of the port-a-huts out in the pasture. I was a little concerned about these new younguns out there in the cold last night. Temperatures got down into the upper 20's. But that didn't seem to bother these piglets at all. I guess some credit has to go to Betty. She's proving herself to be a real good mother.

With much colder weather and snow just around the corner, we have not planned any more litters until April/May of 2013.

Hogs Ready for the Butcher

Whole and half hogs for sale

This summer we have been selling red wattle pork by the cut at the local farmer's markets--Maquoketa, Clinton and DeWitt, Iowa. Well, the farmer's market season is winding down so we are now offering whole or half hogs for the freezer. This is the same great pork that our farmer's market customers have been raving about all summer. Get your hog cut and wrapped the way you want and buy it by the whole or half hog and save some money while eating great pork. Because of this summer's draught, feed prices have raised some 30%. Raising pork prices can't be far behind.

Here's how it works.

• Once a butcher date is set we require a $100 deposit for a whole hog or a $65 deposit for a half hog. The deposit is due before the set butcher date. Currently we have butcher dates set for the Edgewood locker for October 22 and November 13. (UPDATE: the next available butcher date will be in early February 2013) 
• We will deliver your hog to Edgewood locker. 
• Once you have reserved your hog you will need to call the locker with your cutting instructions.
• After processing you will be responsible for picking up your cuts of meat and paying the locker directly for the processing of your pig.
• After the pigs are processed we will get the hanging weight of your pig from Edgewood locker.  We will then send you a final bill based on the hanging weight of the pig less the deposit.

Processing costs can vary depending on the cuts of meat that you get. A good explaination of this can be found at http://www.edgewoodlocker.com/meat-processing/how-much-meat-are-we-getting/how-much-meat3-1/

Meat from a typical half hog (from a 250 – 270 lb. live animal) consist of approximately:
40 Pork Chops-(1/2” thick)
2 Shoulder Roast (4lb)
12 Shoulder Steaks (1/2” thick)
1 Ham (15-18lb; can be cut smaller)
1 Rack Spare Ribs (2lb) (can be trimmed)
2 Hocks (can be smoked/trimmed)
8-10lb Belly (can be bacon or side pork)
6-10 lb ground pork/or ground sausage.

For a whole hog, just double this. Things like the heart, liver and tounge are also available. The fat can be rendered into lard, or have it ground by the locker so that you can render it yourself.

If you would prefer, we may be able to deliver your hog to another locker of your choice if it is within a reasonable distance of Maquoketa, Iowa. You can also pick up your hog here at the farm if you want to butcher it yourself. Live butcher hogs are sold for $1.25/lb.

For more information, contact us at wickhamfarm@gmail.com

New Guinea Pigglets, Red Wattles and Muscovy ducklings

Newborn Guinea piglets



Spring is the time of the year when there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to be done. Posting on the blog gets put on hold while I attend to all the other chores. It's not that the blog isn't important. It's just that there are farm chores that must be done... new pens need to be built, electric fencing has to be moved and planting has to be done. The list of things to do is much, much longer than this, but you get the idea.  Spring is also the time when new  babies are born here on the farm. Last week, we had our first litter of American Guinea Hogs. 3 boys and 2 girls. Today, another litter of 4 were born (2 boys, 2 girls). Our small herd of guineas is growing fast!

runaway piglets

The red wattle piglets are  now almost a month old. They will be weaned in a couple weeks. Man, they grow fast! Lately, their favorite activity is to squeeze under the fence of their pen and go exploring. My wife, Jane, calls them the runaways. They walk around in a pack exploring the cow pasture and the machine shed. But if something frieghtens them--a loud noise or a curious holstien steer, they bee-line it back to momma sow and safety.

Muscovy family

Even the ducks are getting into the act. Yep, spring is here!