November 2009

Winter is here!

November 30, 2009

This was the view from the shop as we were parking the tractor for the night. I am fondly remembering the 35° C weather of late September.

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Calgary Farmers Market Christmas Hours

November 30, 2009

Straight from the tabletop display, here are the Calgary Farmers’ Markets Christmas hours. Please do not forget that the farmer’s market is open for business for 2010 in the same location. The market reopens Friday, January 8.

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Wade’s Vision for the Future of Farmers Markets in Calgary

November 30, 2009

OK, maybe this sounds like a little more than a simple Farmers Market, but that’s what I think a true Farmers Market should be. It should be an institution and an asset to the city and its citizens. It needs to be the link between the rural lands where our food is grown and the [...]

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Swath Grazing on a Beautiful November Morning

November 24, 2009

What a beautiful fall day. I brought my camera out as I checked the cattle today at Hoven Farms and wanted to share a few pictures with you readers. These animals are ones that we are finished for slaughter. Right now they are only eating our swath grazing – a mixture of oats and barley [...]

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Farm Visit from the Eddie Burger and Bar

November 22, 2009

Last week, Joe, Megan and Melanie from the Eddie Burger and Bar came out for a visit and tour of the farm. The Eddie Burger has been using our ground beef for about a year. We are very proud to say that they use our beef in their restaurant. The visit started with a home [...]

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My Future Farm Store

November 21, 2009

If I was ever to build a farm store, this is what I would want it to look like. Isn’t that awesome? Heck with the farm store, I should buy it, insulate it,and move the family in!! Here is a picture of Lori and Monica underneath the loft. This is a horse barn so converting [...]

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AgriTrade 2009

November 21, 2009

Agritrade is a big agricultural trade show in Red Deer. Lots of heavy metal, lots of neat stuff to look at and dream about, and lots of stuff to look at and roll your eyes at. I like to go about once every two years. We are not a big iron farm, so it is [...]

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What exactly is Swath Grazing?

November 17, 2009

I have written a bit about swath grazing at Hoven Farms and some people are probably still not understanding what exactly it is. I brought out my video camera and put together this short video so you can see what I am talking about. Swath Grazing 2009 from Tim Hoven on Vimeo.

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Fall Blues

November 10, 2009

This time of year is a weird time. The Fall work is done and the your life kind of falls into a holding pattern… waiting for the snow that you hope doesn’t come until January. With the cold weather a few weeks ago, the leaves all froze on the tree and so many of the [...]

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Swath Grazing on Hoven Farms

November 5, 2009

Every fall we start our swath grazing. It allows us to feed our animals top quality feed over the non-growing season without starting a tractor. You can see the swaths of second cut alfalfa here. We just moved the electric fence wire allowing these cows to enter a new part of the pasture. They stick [...]