Spring 2021

Spring is a time of growth, and at Bramleigh this year, there has certainly been a lot of growth and development!

We started the season feeling tired, worn out, deflated and demotivated. We are likely not alone in this - after 18 months of the pandemic, everyone is feeling this way with all emotional and financial reserves being depleted. With still no guests in the guesthouse, both long term cottages empty and trying to catch up after the damage of the rioting and looting in July, some days it felt like we were playing in overtime, trailing a dozen points behind, with no way of catching up.

Our stubbornness kept us plodding!

Suddenly, with quick succession, we were blessed with some new opportunities that have kept us going and ensured another season. Opportunities and growth do not come without learning and mistakes and flipping hard work, but hopefully worth it.

The first opportunity

The first of these came from a member of our Midlands Regenerative Association who visited our farm earlier in the year. As a regenerative cattle farmer and retired vet, he appreciated our efforts but realised the shortcomings we faced without cattle in the system, and the impact of leased grazing. He offered us a loan of 27 cattle & associated equipment to graze in high density rotational grazing to regenerate our veld, and assist in the management of our pasture. Last year, with our chickens building fertility at a rapid rate, we spent many hours mowing our pastures to keep the grass in a growing, nutritional state. This was a waste of so many resources! Then when our neighbour’s free range cattle would come across, they would make a bee-line for the delicious, nutritious regrowth which actually led to overgrazed pasture. With our own cattle, we can control their grazing and they will close the loop on our systems - graze, behind the chickens and fertilise the grasses to continually improve the grazing, while also being the start of our beef enterprise - watch this space! So far we have really enjoyed the cattle. They have been easier to move and manage than chickens, a lot less time intensive. We feel so honoured to be invested in in this way, and this show of faith has certainly boosted morale!

The second opportunity

Through this investor, we were connected with a local farmer who is emigrating. He was looking for a new home for his beloved goat herd, but in a way that they would continue to be part of a regenerative system. He also approached us, offering a loan. We were terrified to take on two loans as we have always remained debt free. Loans are precarious, but loans with livestock with are something else! In the end, an agreement was reached and we became the proud owners of 20 ewes, their babies, a ram, and an Anatolian Livestock Guardian Dog, Rex. We touched on this in our Winter blog, but now we have the actual experience to write about.

The many stares of goats! Such inquisitive things!

We were extremely excited! This had been our dream to have a herd of goats for the longest time! The boer goats arrived two weeks later, actually before the cattle, during the dog days of winter, when food is scarce. They joined our Kalahari Red X Saanen goats that had just begun to kid, many having twins, so their feed intake went through the roof - a lactating goat can consume 4x their usual intake.

Boer goats are notoriously difficult to adapt. We hadn’t anticipated feeding another 21 goats, some with kids, some pregnant. We bought in feed and bales, began rotating through whatever grazing and shrub we had available. We struggled with feeding these goats, struggled through parasites taking advantage of weakened does after birth, orphaned and miscarried kids. It was not a good start to our experience with taking a loan, and the weight of it was heavy on our shoulders! We knew in time to come that it would be a huge boost for our farm but we had to get there first. We kept reminding ourselves how grateful we were for the opportunity, and kept plodding. Our lack of experience was painfully apparent. And when dealing with livestock, the guilt of inexperience is heart-wrenching. It really kicked us, and took a lot out of us.

Rex, stressed by the move, attacked many goats as he tried to settle into a new herd, tried to get our old goats disciplined, and settle himself in a new place. And these injuries also resulted in losses. We were inches away from throwing in the towel, thinking we had made the worst decision in our time at Bramleigh so far!

But through perseverance and a lot of prayer, we got through to the spring rains that brought green grass again. The goats began to recover, our heart-rate could slow to a panic again. They began grazing happily. They moved down to graze after the laying hens, and browsing the new bramble shoots, keeping them at bay. Now, looking back, we are so immensely grateful for the learning experience! We would probably do it all over again.

Growth can be painful!

Andre and Rex having a bonding session - Rex has his select friends. The rest of us can beware!

The goats finally enjoying some mixed green grazing & browsing.

The Third opportunity

The third opportunity came in the form of a partnership with a local sheep farmer. He was looking for somewhere to raise his sheep, specifically in a regenerative way. Having been connected through social media, we seemed to know each other well when meeting in person. With a direct market for lamb sales, we could certainly work together to expand our offerings and customer bases as well as a combined labour force.

Running a “flerd” is the ultimate in parasite protection - flock-herds combined - flocks of sheep and herds of cattle act as dead-end hosts for certain parasites thus sanitising the grazing area for each other. On top of this, they graze very differently meaning a better grazing result by running the two together. They do not compete for grazing with each other, and the presence of bigger animals is a predator deterrent for the sheep.

Partnerships always have many kinks to work out. We have been so grateful for our staff who have jumped in to help us work these out so willingly, and go along with every crazy new idea we present!

The Fourth Opportunity

This process started many months ago, easily a year ago when we sent an email to regenerative and organic farmer, Bertie Coetzee of Lowerland Farm in Prieska. We discussed buying nonGMO maize from him, but also how he runs his intern and volunteer programmes. Fast forward - he has been toying with the idea of setting up a pastured poultry operation on his farm and wanted to send some guys to us for training! Nervously, and excitedly, we accepted the opportunity to welcome Otlotleng and Elvino to Bramleigh Farm for 8 weeks to be with us for the duration of a batch of pasture raised broilers, from Day-Old to slaughter. At the same time, they would get into the swing of things with pasture raised laying hens, and experience of what it takes to run and work on a small farm, direct marketing, packing and deliveries to REKO.
With 2 full time farm staff, these interns meant a double work force for us which was very exciting and meant we could tackle many of the labour intensive early spring tasks that would otherwise have taken most of the season to slowly chip away at. It was also a very good learning opportunity for us to be in a teaching position and to evaluate our practices. It was an intense time but so rewarding and so helpful. The help came in just as we needed it!

pastured poultry

Spring is always a challenge for our pasture raised broilers with some hot days but also cold nights, or cold fronts that still roll in. Our Salatin-style pens, now going into their second season, have lessened these challenges and kept the broilers comfortable throughout.

The layers continue happily pecking along. Our older hens are moulting which is a stressful time for them, resulting in a slight drop in egg production while their energy goes into feathers. While they don’t look so great at the moment, they continue to forage happily and healthily in the sunshine.

Other developments

We started an online store! Our hope is that this will make our products more accessible with easier payment, realtime stock management and delivery options, as well as open the door to new additions.

We took the plunge and began delivering every second week to Hillcrest and Durban. Hopefully this will make our products more reliably accessible to our customers and growth can come from that. It is always a challenge for a small business to stretch out - will we have enough products? Will we have enough orders to cover the delivery fee? But we look forward to what comes of this new development.

We launched our first merchandise product - branded coolerbags!

Thomas and I picked up the baton and have continued with the vegetable garden, hoping to make it more sustainable this season. Gardening to a schedule is not easy with a busy baby but we try our best!

forest raised pigs

Our second litter of piglets were born in early Spring to First Time Mommy - Black Betty. She has been a very protective mother to her five BIG piglets! They recently moved out of their nest and have begun rotating through the forest with their parents until weaned. We are expecting their cousins to be born any day now!

Production space

We took another leap and moved our production space! Originally our production was in a loft space but as we grew, we spilled over into a carport area. It was not ideal having eggs and freezers in the open so we decided to move it into another cottage, attached to the main house. Another pro is that being attached to the main house, this cottage has three phase power for running production machines, as it used to be an old wood working studio.

The change has made the space easy to access but it is also a very cold space, not ideal for guests, but ideal for storage. We set up a huge open plan freezer space and egg packery, as well as a separate bakery space and separate kitchen space. So far it is working well. A work in progress as we settle in.

The move into our new space has inspired some new products - bacon & oregano crackers, sliced salami, and the return of some old favourites - lemon & thyme flattie, smoked chicken, and broth. We’re keeping this space busy!

Trying to spend some time soaking in the beauty of the Spring days, as a family, and watching Thomas experience his first Spring. It really is rejuvenating to watch a baby discover things around him!

There’ve been the not-so-fun things too like septic tank issues in one of the cottages, tenants leaving, repainting, and thatching repairs. But who wants to hear about that!

So all in all - a very busy and productive start to the season, replete with challenges, growth and learning!