BN ACRES

12/17/2021

Timeline photos

09/19/2021

Hi everyone,
On Saturday September 11th, a vehicle drove through one of our main perimeter fences. They then chose to continue driving through our fields destroying more internal fences. This not only created more damage, but placed all of our animals at risk. The person then opened our barn lot gate and sped out of the driveway, almost running over Maxine.

This occurred around 9pm therefore it was dark. We believe this to be a GMC Sierra 2000-2006, light colored (blue, silver, grey, white) with round logo on door that we think was a tree trimming service. We have many pieces to the truck which can link it directly to it. The license plate began with ABJ.

Physical damage to the farm is over $5000. This does not include time and labor for repairs. We are offering a $1000 reward for an arrest.

This is in the Holly Grove area of Lexington at the intersection of Roy Lopp & Turner. He was coming from Roy Lopp.

Our number is 336 238 3939 or Jeff's cell @ 419 704 5107

Thanks for your help,
The Boyst Family

10/23/2020

Just a couple of hours more until we can ride off in to the weekend! Of course, on a farm the job is never done - just as Caden and Malaina are learning! Yep, that's Adam driving, too.

10/22/2020

Throwback Thursday! Duck Season is open in NC just as it was for Banks!

Did anyone else hate that laughing dog when you missed?

10/20/2020

In 2018 we branched out to include sheep on our farm. Did you know that sheep were one of the first domesticated animals on the planet and prized for their milk, meat, skin, and wool? Our ancestors began the practice of raising sheep sometime between 11,000 and 9,000 BCE!

10/18/2020

Hello, we've missed you! Another busy summer and successful season at the Lexington Farmers Market in the books. We have a fresh harvest and the inventory is updated on the website. You can order online and pick up directly at the farm.

With a full variety of cuts available we want to encourage you to try new things this Fall. Beef bones and beef knuckles are now 50% off! If you've never made your own beef broth or stock, now is a great opportunity.

www.bnacres.com/shop

06/29/2020

06/25/2020

Throwback Thursday to 2016 and Eleanore Jane, Dora's first foal!

06/24/2020

It's almost time to go pick all the fruit and we can't wait! What's your favorite?

06/22/2020

😂🐮😂

06/21/2020

Baby Reese enjoyed making a new friend yesterday

06/21/2020

Happy Fathers day from our family to yours (circa 1983)!

06/18/2020

Throwback Thursday to the mid 80's Summer vacation trips to the farm! Something was always in bloom in the garden and here are Jeff and Lindsay helping Banks pick some beans.

06/08/2020

Had an unexpected visitor today! Knew she would be coming soon but lost track of time. Welcome to the world Rati Kamadeva. You are named after the Hindu Goddesses of Love in a world that needs all the love it can find. From your first minutes on this Earth, and the steps you learn to take with all of your family watching - thanks for coming today to bring us some joy!

06/08/2020

It's Monday morning, let's not over do it. Here is a chicken.

06/07/2020

The new chicken tractor for the teenage chickens is roughly complete. A few more things to do: add perches, a bigger feeder, and a front support system to pull it from. I'll get some paint on it and the finish work to make it pretty like the brood coop this summer.
This tractor is only from the 8 to 16 week old chicks as they grow and become layers, which is why there is no nesting box. It can support 12-16 chickens by my math. By 2022 we hope to be able to produce over 500 pasture raised eggs a week in something about 10 times this size where the chickens will free range daily.

06/04/2020

to a year ago when Gwen was born just a bit too early in the cold season. Maxine Boyst decided it was easier to just bring her inside to feed her and live with her during the colder days and nights than it was going down to the barn to feed her.

Her little papillon, Tula, had an interesting bed fellow for a few days.

06/02/2020

Jennifer and Luca are here to help everyone learn about the bees! Let's see how we did on our bee anatomy yesterday.

1) The head. It's no different than most heads. It's the location of the brain and - which is 1mm cubed.

2) The ocelli - 3 of the bees 5 eyes! Bees can see on the UV spectrum but cannot see red colors - instead they see them on a gray scale. The UV spectrum helps them identify flowers to gather pollen from.

3) This is the compound eye, the other two eyes the bee gives them the ability to see both in front and to the side.

4) Antennae - This helps them pick up local wifi signals to use Google maps and find locals to sting. It also helps determine their speed and orientation during flight.

5) Mandibles - their jaws. These little things are designed to chop up wax and chew up flowers, as well as defense.

6) Proboscis - This is the bees tongue, but it's not a tongue. It can lap up nectar and also suck up that sweet goodness.

7) Thorax - This is the main body of the bee. Bees don't have lungs, they have spiracles which has a valve to control airflow. The thorax has 3 pair.

8 & 9) Rear and front wings - These wings can fold in to contract the bee when not in flight but can be hooked together during flight to allow easier flight.

10) Legs - bees have 6 legs which help them walk, clean themselves, and even hold pollen on the rear legs in the pollen baskets.

11) Feet - the little feet have tiny claws that grip and possess a sticky pad to help them adhere to surfaces.

12) Pollen Basket - the bees pack pollen on the rear legs that is held in place by little fibers of hair. It will mix with nectar to a paste allowing the bee to bring it back to the hive.

13) The abdomen - There are 7 spiracles on the abdomen which also connect to the trachea like those in the thorax. It also holds the vital organs of the bee, including the wax glands.

14) Stinger - The stinger is only found on female bees, including the queen. The worker bee, which is female, has a barbs which allow them to only sting once since the stinger becomes detached, thus fatal for the bee. The queen has a smooth stinger and can sting multiple times, but it is rare for the queen to sting.

Thanks for attending your Tuesday class, you all get an A+!

06/01/2020

A light hearted parody

Well, we cannot be serious all of the time and it seems as good of moment to do so as any - we made a bit of parody to what you might often find on social media. While, NAPA Auto Parts - NC/SC might like such a great salesman as this we do not think Jeff is seeking new work.

06/01/2020

As our little bee friends are out there buzzing around finishing up the bulk their harvests of nectar and pollen. We want to test your knowledge! How many of you can name all 14 of these parts? Challenge yourself to see how many you can get even if you are not a beekeeper!

The answers will be given tomorrow!

05/30/2020

Coming soon!

We can't wait to pull more of these from the hives and bottle up some of that goodness for ya'll.

05/29/2020

We wish a happy birthday to the matriarch of the farm, the real boss and our mom - Maxine Boyst

05/29/2020

Hi everyone!
We at BN Acres consider ourselves so fortunate to be able to provide our community with local grass fed beef & more. As with many other businesses, our ability to supply our product has been directly affected by Covid-19. We do not have a shortage of beef, however there are currently an inadequate number of meat processing facilities available to work at full capacity. As a result we are now experiencing much longer than anticipated wait times between harvests.
As such, we will be taking the month of June off from the Lexington Farmers Market.

The honey flow is just winding down and we will have fresh honey available at the farm or for pre-order drive through pickup at the farmers market. We still have a limited amount of cuts available, so please feel free to call the farm at 336-238-3939 with any inquiries. You can also go directly to our website www.bnacres.com to check our current inventory and place orders for pickup.

We will keep you posted throughout the Spring and Summer with updates.

Thank you and stay safe,
The Boyst family

05/29/2020

Out with the bees today! While we have sold out of almost all of the beef and lamb, the honey flow is just around the corner and we are booming! Get ready for the sweet, sweet honey!

05/21/2020

How fitting for today's ! Tossing it back about 30 years. ☔️

05/17/2020

Last day of the Spring hay season first cutting. It has to get done today before the rains come tomorrow. Enjoying a nice respite before hopping back on the tractor Jeff Boyst

📷 Jennifer Evans

05/14/2020

Mother's Day just passed and we happened to find this picture yesterday. This undated photo was taken in 1971 or 1972 of Nona Kennedy Everhart (1912-2000). She is the "N" in BN Acres.

Notice the wood in the box on the floor which is beside the wood stove in the right corner. The table is set up for supper. Does this take you back to grandma's kitchen?

“This brings me back to my childhood as the kitchen environment and atmosphere never changed in their house! I can smell the wood burning stove and the sound of floors as you walk. The many times washing dishes by hand while a portable dishwasher sat next to me and never used- to save water from the well and electricity. And the memory of Grandmas hugs and her smile!”

05/12/2020

This is an information packed post for you today, only fitting for the subject matter! You're about to learn a lot

Have you ever heard the saying "make hay while the sun is shining?" Well, the sun is shining! That means we are making hay and this is the equipment we use. The first picture is a New Holland mower conditioner, which like it's big brother in the next picture condition the hay by rolling it through giant rubber wheels. The 2nd picture, the discbine rotates it's cutters at 3,000rpm to cut the grass.

Once the grass is cut it will lay for about a day before the next piece (3rd picture) is used. This double basket hay tedder stirs the hay to allow the still damp hay underneath to be rotated to dry.

Once the hay reaches a moisture content around 25-30% it is raked up in to a windrow with the New Holland roll-a-bar rake where it will continue to dry just a little bit more.

In the last picture you can see the old square baler (NH 275, almost as old as I am) and the NH 630 round baler which bales the hay up for us to store until winter feeding is needed!

05/11/2020

Happy Mother’s Day! A beautiful day to celebrate all the amazing women in our lives!

05/09/2020

Shop Local Saturday!

We brought Mom home some strawberries from the ! We don't think she is going to be sharing any, not even with her favorite chickens so if you wan some stop by and see Will next weekend @ Parker Bros. Farms!

05/08/2020

Fresh air Friday! The week is over, stop and smell the roses.

05/07/2020

Throwback Thursday to 1984! Lindsay Elizabeth (age 2) and Jeff Boyst (age 3) feeding some apple chunks to the cows from our Happy Meals buckets!

This photo predates my memory - I never remembered a tree in the barnlot but do remember the molasses feeding tub my grandpa had.

What about everyone else? Do ya'll remember grandpa's farm? Does anyone else remember the buckets from McDonalds Happy Meals?

05/07/2020

Good evening everyone! We hope you take the time to check out the Lexington Farmers Market @ the Depot soon. For those wishing to do social distancing and avoid coming inside, please use the online ordering services offered by us and so many other vendors. It's fairly easy and new this year - and any one of our vendors you're interested in purchasing from will be glad to help you with any issues.

Just make sure you pay before you come to pick up and let us know the time you wish you come!

If you have any questions for anything at all, please let me know and I can point you in the right direction, even if its not about my farm or products!

https://www.bnacres.com/shop

Get your fresh, local food either way: Come inside the Depot (both doors open this Saturday!) OR use our Pre-Paid, Pre-Order Drive-Thru Lane. Order from participating vendors, then reserve your pickup time at https://www.lexingtonfarmersmarketnc.com/preorder

05/06/2020

For those concerned about the news of a meat shortage, this is a great summary. Our excellent Davidson County Agriculture Extension agent Sara Drake sent this to us.

Livestock piling up. Meat counters emptying...

Have you ever had your washer breakdown? It’s a real pain, and can cause a real issue around the house.

Finding someone to fix it is tough - skilled labor is hard to come by.

While you’re waiting, the laundry doesn’t stop coming. Everyone in the house keeps sending more your way. But without the washer - you’re stuck. There’s literally no where for the clothes to go.

Meanwhile, with huge piles of clothes stacking up on one side, clean clothes are becoming pretty scarce. Everyone in the house is wearing their jeans multiple times and getting nervous as they watch their underwear drawer slowly empty out...

This is what’s happening in our meat industry right now. Instead of washers and laundry it’s packing plants and livestock.

Many packing plants have been forced to shut down or run at lowered capacity because of Covid outbreaks and sick employees. Enough that it has created a massive backup on one side.

But just because the washer is broke doesn’t mean the animals stop coming.

Producers are doing all sorts of things to try and slow down animals getting ready and hold animals over longer. But the entire system - a system built to bring the fresh meat the consumer expects - was made to keep moving. And right now there is a massive roadblock.

We could talk for days about IF the process should work this way. And we should definitely have that conversation soon.

But right now, THIS IS the system we have, and the system we have to work with to get through.

Animals are lining up on one side while processed meat is becoming scarce on the other. You can understand how this leads to a devaluing of live animals for farmers at the same time consumers see increased prices at the store for meat.

President Trump has ordered the plants open, but there are still major hurdles to work through to make that happen.

In the meantime, you might see and hear some scary things. You might see temporary shortages in the store. You might hear about animals being euthanized. You might even see proof of this on social media. (I’m sorry if you have to see that. It’s not easy for farmers either.)

Here’s what I have faith in:

1. Our livestock farmers are doing everything in their power to handle this situation as best they can. They are the very best at animal welfare and husbandry, and those values will guide them. There is no rule book for this.

2. The processors and the government have recognized the problem and are moving to get it corrected. Whether you agree with the current system or not, it’s the system we have right now and we need to work with it for the time being.

3. Food - safe, quality food - will get to the store.

In the meantime, panic and hoarding will not help.

What will?

Find a farmer to buy from. This isn’t possible for a vast majority of urban and suburban families, but if you can, take advantage of that now. This isn’t about fearing grocery story food (we are actually the farmers that raise some of that). It’s about alternative supply routes.

Pray. For our farmers who are hurting and struggling. Farmers raise animals to feed people - not to be discarded like waste. The emotional toll of this is real.

Pray for the people who have to work to keep the packing plants open. For the truck drivers, the grocery store employees. For our leaders, our government employees, and anyone making decisions. It takes thousands of people to keep our food supply accessible, safe and affordable. Pray for all those people working in uncharted territory to make that happen.

Finally, take a few minutes to respect the complexity of the situation and refrain from offering judgement that is unfounded.

https://www.uptownsheep.com/uptown-girl---a-working-farm-wifes-blog/empty-meat-counters

05/06/2020

Henry said get outside and enjoy the fresh air!

05/06/2020

Capturing A Swarm In The Apiary

We are in the middle of a swarm! Jeff just happened to walk down to the shed at the right time, which you can see in the still photo. The bees began to make a bee tornado as they erupted from their hive to take flight and find a new home. Between that flight and the new home they find a resting spot nearby. A good beekeeper can make one to lure the bees with a special spray mixed of oils and fragrances. These oils lured the bees to the post I sprayed Monday morning, after seeing their orientation flight Sunday afternoon and another local beekeeper having some good luck on a fence post. But, she (Misty Biros) has much prettier hives than mine.

All told about 20,000 bees left the hive with the old queen to let a newly hatched queen inherit the rest of the colony that stayed. A good swarm can be more and up to 30,000 - but very rare. You sure feel like there are a million in the air when you're standing in it.

As they built up on the post I put a pro nuc up which will serve as a temporary home to let them begin a new hive. This hive was also sprayed with swarm commander so the bees crawled and flew right in to begin their new home. Once the activity slowed down I moved the nuc to it's resting place for the time being until a 10 frame hive is erected in the same spot.

In a few days we will jump in, check into the hive and find the queen!

05/05/2020

Cinco de Mayo taco dinner with ground beef!

05/04/2020

Another Quarantine day of hard work done. Not bad for a Mondnesundaturday... What day is today anyway?

05/03/2020

In the middle of a Hero WOD .1008 noticed the cloud of bees!

The first photo is one of our bee hives post orientation flight. An orientation flight is performed to gain their bearings before they will swarm in the next day or two. Half of the entire hive will leave and fly around in a giant cloud of bees, if you notice in the video you will see and hear the black specks flying. That's roughly 20,000 bees to leave with the old queen as a new queen inherits the hive.
The bees will fill up on honey and pollen before their flight and cluster upon a branch or location nearby until a new suitable home is found by one of their scouting bees. Finding a new hive can take an hour all the way up to days. This is most unfortunate for the queen who will fast beforehand in order to lose weight and fly. Without doing so, she can seldom sustain flight for more than a few seconds. 👀 In the next few days we will hopefully be able to catch the swarm!

In the middle of a Hero WOD .1008 noticed the cloud of bees!

The first photo is one of our bee hives post orientation flight. An orientation flight is performed to gain their bearings before they will swarm in the next day or two. Half of the entire hive will leave and fly around in a giant cloud of bees, if you notice in the video you will see and hear the black specks flying. That's roughly 20,000 bees to leave with the old queen as a new queen inherits the hive.
The bees will fill up on honey and pollen before their flight and cluster upon a branch or location nearby until a new suitable home is found by one of their scouting bees. Finding a new hive can take an hour all the way up to days. This is most unfortunate for the queen who will fast beforehand in order to lose weight and fly. Without doing so, she can seldom sustain flight for more than a few seconds. 👀 In the next few days we will hopefully be able to catch the swarm!