This morning as I finished chores and watched the animals graze and finish their breakfast, I found myself reflecting on how this amazing life came to be. how as a child and teen I would have never dreamed that I would become a farmer. Remembering a time that my brother told me he ran into some of our friends from high school and that when he said I was running a small family farm business their jaws hit the floor.
I grew up hunting, fishing, and camping. And continue to do so as an adult with my own children. The dream to farm was my husbands and to say I was reluctant was an understatement. I had no real experience with farming or gardening beyond picking blueberries, raspberries and grapes at my grandparents house. I vaguely remember my grandfather having a large garden as a small child and helping him gather eggs. but I live by the motto of happy spouse happy house. we were going to make this dream a reality.
5 years ago we purchased our small farm and started this journey. I quickly realized that this life was addicting and so worth it. home grown veggies, and the quality in naturally raised meats was the only way to go. I find myself now frequently quoting Jesse Sowards from Roots and Refuge. "Store bought tomatoes taste like disappointment." We never were big on eating out and many times it was for a special occasion. After having our own raised chicken and pork the kids said we ruined going out to eat. Meat from a restaurant had no flavor and us adults noticed we did not feel well after eating out.
In 2016 we started our farm business. small at first, selling eggs, a couple pastured raised hogs and chickens. The past 5 years seem like they are a blur with how fast we have pushed the growth. we plan our lives around births, rain and harvests. Our conversations always seem to revolve around seed choices, harvest plans and ways to better our feed options for the animals. Our days are long, and the projects are never ending but very rewarding. I see we have tested our limits and stepped a long way outside our comfort zones. and you know what, in the end whether we were successful or failed we grew. The growth in our minds and bodies has been bountiful. The dream is thriving, and I will admit I was very apprehensive at first how we would do this. I especially have come to realize that pushing myself to the limits shows we have no ceiling. I watch our kids help with chores, gardening, butchering, cooking, field management etc. and glow with pride on how self-sufficient and competent they are in so many things. Now as they are in entering the beginning of young adulthood having these skills, work ethic and confidence will help them standout to employers and drive their success as adults.
It's amazing to see how we went from 6 laying chickens and 3 feeder hogs five years ago. To managing 30 acres of hay fields. producing all the hay we need for a year and selling out quickly of the overflow amount. Our small hog operation of heritage pork is thriving. We now have a wait list for pork shares and registered breeding stock. My laying flock is now at 45 birds to keep us in eggs. We started selling started pullets and breeding pairs of Muscovy ducks and French Toulouse geese.
As we begin planning for year 6 on the farm, I find our dreams and plans being on a grander scale. I dedicated myself to growth in my gardening success this year and look forward to finishing that expansion and growth for next year. Being able to offer heirloom organically grown produce to our customers. We have spent hours upon hours researching breeds and finding the right products we want to focus on. our motto or slogan is "growing food nature's way." This means working with the land and the animal, so everything thrives together and choosing breeds that historically thrive on natural raising practices. We are working to expand our breeding stock of Gloucestershire old spot hogs and have recently added Scottish highland cows. With plans to become a breeder for large black hogs which are very rare in the US. We currently sell out of our pasture raised pork and natural no chemical hay faster than we can grow it. We are adding more sows to our pork operation and just acquired 30 more acres of hay field. We are working to finish clearing and making more pasture space for our grazing/foraging livestock. Which will allow us to add heritage pasture beef shares. We also are focusing on offering classes and guidance to others starting out in their homesteading journey.
looking back now I can't believe I doubted this journey. I can't wait to see what the next 5 years of farming will bring.
I grew up hunting, fishing, and camping. And continue to do so as an adult with my own children. The dream to farm was my husbands and to say I was reluctant was an understatement. I had no real experience with farming or gardening beyond picking blueberries, raspberries and grapes at my grandparents house. I vaguely remember my grandfather having a large garden as a small child and helping him gather eggs. but I live by the motto of happy spouse happy house. we were going to make this dream a reality.
5 years ago we purchased our small farm and started this journey. I quickly realized that this life was addicting and so worth it. home grown veggies, and the quality in naturally raised meats was the only way to go. I find myself now frequently quoting Jesse Sowards from Roots and Refuge. "Store bought tomatoes taste like disappointment." We never were big on eating out and many times it was for a special occasion. After having our own raised chicken and pork the kids said we ruined going out to eat. Meat from a restaurant had no flavor and us adults noticed we did not feel well after eating out.
In 2016 we started our farm business. small at first, selling eggs, a couple pastured raised hogs and chickens. The past 5 years seem like they are a blur with how fast we have pushed the growth. we plan our lives around births, rain and harvests. Our conversations always seem to revolve around seed choices, harvest plans and ways to better our feed options for the animals. Our days are long, and the projects are never ending but very rewarding. I see we have tested our limits and stepped a long way outside our comfort zones. and you know what, in the end whether we were successful or failed we grew. The growth in our minds and bodies has been bountiful. The dream is thriving, and I will admit I was very apprehensive at first how we would do this. I especially have come to realize that pushing myself to the limits shows we have no ceiling. I watch our kids help with chores, gardening, butchering, cooking, field management etc. and glow with pride on how self-sufficient and competent they are in so many things. Now as they are in entering the beginning of young adulthood having these skills, work ethic and confidence will help them standout to employers and drive their success as adults.
It's amazing to see how we went from 6 laying chickens and 3 feeder hogs five years ago. To managing 30 acres of hay fields. producing all the hay we need for a year and selling out quickly of the overflow amount. Our small hog operation of heritage pork is thriving. We now have a wait list for pork shares and registered breeding stock. My laying flock is now at 45 birds to keep us in eggs. We started selling started pullets and breeding pairs of Muscovy ducks and French Toulouse geese.
As we begin planning for year 6 on the farm, I find our dreams and plans being on a grander scale. I dedicated myself to growth in my gardening success this year and look forward to finishing that expansion and growth for next year. Being able to offer heirloom organically grown produce to our customers. We have spent hours upon hours researching breeds and finding the right products we want to focus on. our motto or slogan is "growing food nature's way." This means working with the land and the animal, so everything thrives together and choosing breeds that historically thrive on natural raising practices. We are working to expand our breeding stock of Gloucestershire old spot hogs and have recently added Scottish highland cows. With plans to become a breeder for large black hogs which are very rare in the US. We currently sell out of our pasture raised pork and natural no chemical hay faster than we can grow it. We are adding more sows to our pork operation and just acquired 30 more acres of hay field. We are working to finish clearing and making more pasture space for our grazing/foraging livestock. Which will allow us to add heritage pasture beef shares. We also are focusing on offering classes and guidance to others starting out in their homesteading journey.
looking back now I can't believe I doubted this journey. I can't wait to see what the next 5 years of farming will bring.