Catch up on the latest here at Moose Run Farm below! And don’t forget to share with a friend!

It has been a great summer so far on Moose Run Farm! But as we head into the second half of August, the tips of some of the leaves on the swamp maples are just starting to change color – a reminder that autumn is not as far off as we imagine it might be, and also that I need to take time to write our Summer 2026 newsletter!

Summer 2026 has been challenging but good here on the farm. Days have been filled with rotating animals to new pastures, haying, adding soil amendments when able, taking care of TURKEYS, and fixing equipment!

‍ ‍PASTURE ROTATIONS:

‍ ‍We have been rotating the steers and chickens around to different pastures, allowing for the provision of fresh feed and forage for the livestock, as well as conserving our resources for the dryer months. This year saw average to slightly above average rainfall in June and July, which really helped us to have steady growth in the fields. Our 2 biggest steers went to be processed in late July, which also helps to free up some available forage and increase the length of time between rotations onto each paddock.

‍ With the help of a grant from Sullivan County Conservation District, we converted an approximately 1 acre stand of dead/dying pine trees into a new pasture.

We are excited to add this 1 acre into our rotational grazing system soon. However, it has been a challenge to get seeds started this summer, due to intermittent rain, and a very low pH reading in that new pasture (acidic soil). We have been working to correct this and get a nice stand of pasture growing, but it takes time! We are very thankful to Sullivan County Conservation for their support and help with this project. Without their funding, we would have had to postpone this pasture build at least a year! For more information on their program, please see the following link: https://www.sccdnh.org/

HAYING:

We had a generally good first cut of haying this year. We started a little later than we planned, and did not start mowing hay until June 8th (it did SNOW on May 30th!). Volume was up this year over last, and the quality of the hay has been good. We were able to successfully hay Farnsworth hill fields for the first time, and that was a big blessing! We have made more hay in 1st cut 2026 than all of 2025! There were a couple days that the weather did not cooperate with us, and we ended up baling some pretty wet hay one day from Farnsworth hill. But, as with most things in life, everything is a learning experience, and you gain experience with each step!

EQUIPMENT:

We did have a couple equipment failures this year while haying. We had a broken drive sprocket in the Vermeer baler, and a broken cam bearing/cam follower/bent arm for the KUHN hay rake. We also got a couple flats on our tedder at the worst possible times, and identified some maintenance items with the haybine that needed to be addressed. So, before we start in on 2nd cut, we are working to make the needed repairs, and make sure our equipment is up to the next hay cutting! We had to borrow my uncle’s New Holland baler in order to finish up 1st cut, as our baler was awaiting parts to arrive. We are thankful for the support of other caring farmers around us that want to see us succeed!

The John Deere 3150 we added to the fleet has been an excellent fit for us so far. It does very well handling heavier implements on the steeper terrain, and has increased the safety of our haying operations significantly. Although it was a big investment and a challenging deal to organize, it has been an excellent tractor for us so far and we are really thankful for it!

Vermeer baler looks really nice… after it has been washed with the heavy thunder shower you see retreating over the horizon!

SOIL AMMENDMENTS:

We were able to get more hay than ever before off of Unity this year, and thanks to a new access ramp the landowner installed, we were able to get a load of wood ash into that field! Tomorrow I am going out to spread it, and then hope we get some good rain before we do a late year 2nd cut in that field. We spread what compost we had on Farnsworth hill after 1st cut also, providing valuable nutrients and organic matter to further stimulate vigorous hay growth through natural means!

The International 4700, AKA “Green Bean” moving 4 bales and the haybine home over hilly NH terrain!

TURKEYS!

We have a LOT of turkeys this year! We usually raise about 45-50 pasture raised turkeys that we sell as fresh thanksgiving feast turkeys every holiday season. This year we have 83!! This is due to a couple factors, but largely poor planning on my part….. ask Sandy for more details! But, if you are interested in reserving a Thanksgiving Turkey from Moose Run Farm this Thanksgiving, it is not too early to get your name on the list! Please reach out to us through info@mooserunfarm.com , and let us know what size turkey you would like, and provide your name and best contact! Our turkeys range from 12-32 lbs, and come professionally processed and packaged – ready to roast for your family Holiday feast! Price last year was $5.50/lb, and I do not expect that will change as grain is about the same as it was last year. Let us know if you are interested!

Left to right, there’s Dozer, Dalen, Dahlia, and Dexter! These 4 are the new calves for 2026

‍ ‍

Thanks for taking the time to read our summer 2026 update!

And thank you for supporting Moose Run Farm!

SUMMER 2026 NEWSLETTER!

Thanks for taking the time to read our summer 2026 update!

Spring 2026 Newsletter!