The new barn's grand opening

Cutting the ribbon (west side of the barn)

As I mentioned earlier, we were thrilled to have the new barn completed in November 2012 - it still needs a few finishing touches here and there, but it has been a fantastic shelter for the cows during the rainy winter season.  The cows are still in the barn but should hopefully be out in the fields again soon - for each sunny day we have, the fields get a bit drier and the grass grows taller!

We held our ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 9, 2012, and most of the members of the construction crew and Jubilee's crew - as well as some other folks who have been so significant in the process of getting that barn put up - celebrated with us as we cut the ribbon and ushered the cows inside for the winter.

Feeding alley

The center of the barn is the feeding alley, where bales of haylage (fermented grass) or hay (dry grass) are set out for the cattle.  The herd was divided into two parts (based on age, etc.); each part of the herd has a loafing area and eating area, where they have access to the haylage through a panel of stanchions.  Around 275 of the haylage bales that we've fed to the cows this winter were baled from grass here at Jubilee. 

Moo!

The loafing areas in the barn are carpeted with straw every few days.  Rather than removing the old straw and manure, we continually add layers of fresh straw on top of it; this method produces a wonderfully rich manure that will later be spread on our fields.  The cows are an integral part of the fertility of the soil throughout the entire farm.

I should also mention that building this barn in a flood plain was a big challenge - a huge pad of dirt had to be built up and leveled, and then the concrete foundations for the barn could be poured.  The final concrete pour was on August 21, 2012, and Farmer Micah got to put his footprints and a handprint in that last layer. :)  (For more information on flooding concerns in our valley, please visit the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance).