≡ Menu

There was a time when I saved up all my extra money and bought rock star gear. I had electric guitars (still have one for sale if anyone is interested), I had multiple bass guitars, I had amps, I had heavy speaker cabinets, and I even was putting together a modest set of recording gear so that I could record the next great song. I played shows for 10’s of people and for 1,000’s of people (at least once or twice) and I thought about taking the whole music thing to the next level … at least I wanted to …

But, I just don’t think I was cool enough for the rock star gig. So I thought to myself … surely I’m cool enough for the professional bass fishing gig! I started trading out some of those bass guitars and amps for fishing poles, lures, reels, more lures, more poles, and more and more and more lures. I began reading Bassmaster Magazine and clipping out the articles … I knew what all the hot lures were just as the were becoming popular … I wanted to be a professional bass fisherman! I wanted to fish and talk fishing and sell fishing and be outdoors … at least that was the plan …

Then came the farm … my guitars are out of tune and tucked away in a closet … the only two amps I had left are at my mom’s for storage … my stash of lures and rods and reels sit about ten feet away from me collecting dust and catching spider webs … none of those things are relevant for what I’m doing right now and what I want to be able to do. But, there are times that I wonder …

Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t just give up on the farming dream. I know the statistics for new business start-ups are very dismal (and that is what this farm is), so sometimes I wonder if I’m just one of those many businesses that are just prone to fail for whatever reason. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to come back after work and sit down for a leisurely meal or a quick bit of yard work. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t just sell it all … get a small house in a small town near a lake and just work for the weekends …

Please don’t think I’m complaining … I’m just wondering … But, the reality is that I want to farm. I want to make the farm go and be as profitable and sustainable as possible and I want to throw myself behind it one hundred percent. Maybe someday I’ll look back at the farm as one of those phases or dreams that just never materialized (like music or fishing), but right now I feel that if I look back at the farm and see it had failed it won’t be because of lack of effort.

:: A Positive Note :: As I read over what I just wrote I realized it was kind of a downer … so let me just end with this thought … if I’m going to be a farmer I’d like to bring a little rock star influence into the world of farming!!

{ 9 comments }

Mechanical…

I think (or at least I hope) that everyone has their “thing”. You know … the “thing” that they are passionate about, that they enjoy doing no matter how challenging, and that they can really wrap their minds around. For some people it is art (music, painting, sculpting, video, etc.), for some people it could be baking/cooking, for others it may be writing, some will find communication to be their thing, and some people have the mechanical “thing” down. Of course there are many, many, many other “things” that people are passionate … knowledgeable … and skilled at, but that is a sampling at least.

Me … I think my “thing” is talking. Ever since I was a preschooler my “thing” has been talking (I had the time-outs and detentions to prove it). Now, I’m not saying that being a talker is a bad thing and it surely has a place in the type of farming and selling that I do … But, sometimes I REALLY WISH my “thing” was being mechanical! Because with the type of farming that I do and the type of money I have to invest in infrastructure it would be nice if I could do a little work for myself every now and then. There are to many times I find myself just standing and looking (trying to figure out how to do something) instead of actually doing … and too many times what I’m trying to figure out how to do is rather simple!
Case-in-point … right now my tractor is absolutely giving me fits. I understand that this is just all part of owning a 50 plus year old tractor, but at the same time I wish it was working like a charm! Currently my starting is going bad (and has been for over a year) … my PTO (which was fixed last summer … for a few months at least) is not functional … and just recently a cylinder went to pot on my loader rendering the tractor immovable until I get the loader off (which had me standing and looking last night). Eventually … hopefully … I will get it all straightened out, but in the meantime I’m standing and looking and wishing I could find a great mechanically minded person willing to barter with a guy that is very talkative …
That’s life at the Crooked Gap …

{ 3 comments }

Doing it Right …

Blogging has unfortunately been pushed towards the back of my work load lately, but I have been bouncing around a lot of things that I would like to write about … one of those things was this topic …

From the beginning of the farm (and to be honest even before the farm was owned) I have been going and going and going and trying to attain my perfect farm. Often that has meant that I just head out and get what I … only to fully realize that I am not quite ready yet for that particular animal or venture yet. Actually, now that I think about it … it’s not that I don’t realize I’m not ready, but rather that I don’t care that I’m not ready and that I think I can just push on through it anyways.

It was that kind of thinking that had me start out with a cow and a calf over an hour away at my dad’s and then eventually end up with over a dozen cows and calves at my dad’s and then eventually bring that whole bustling herd to the farm before I even had a perimeter fence up yet. It was that kind of thinking that saw me bring up a load of sows that actually had one farrow in the trailer … and … well … you get the idea. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and sometimes I just think I can do more than I really can.

This spring I have actually been doing a good job though. I don’t have things set up nearly like I would like them to be and I’m not close to as far along as I thought I would be. But, I’m not doing things half way. I’m not running the pigs out into the woods in a paddock that will only keep me from doing it right … I’m not just turning the cows out all willy nilly with out a plan … I’m not raising meat chickens yet (which is something I very much wanted to do).

No, this spring I’m doing things the right way. It is taking more time, but hopefully in the long run I will see a difference for the better … that is the idea at least … I’ll let you know how it works out.

{ 3 comments }

Out To Pasture …

If you follow my Twitter you will know that I finally got the cattle out on pasture the other day. Obviously I would have loved to make it happen sooner, and plenty (or all) of my neighbors have had their cattle out of the winter lots for quite some time … But, I didn’t want to sacrifice my pastures just for the sake of getting them out on the grass. The fact of the matter is that at this point my pastures don’t take off like the ones around me, but they are beginning to turn around and with careful management they will be where I want them to be … careful management just takes patience sometimes.

My greatest fear was getting them out on the grass before it had a chance to get going and then just running spots as I worked my cattle through the rotation. Because I held off (and because we have had some good growing weather recently) I think I will have a better summer and hopefully a long fall of grazing. I started the cows off down in the bottom where the grass is growing the best and then I am going to work them along the edge of the woods next, which is actually outside of my perimeter fence. As you can see from the blurry picture above it is green and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

After just a few movements though (four to be exact) I am so glad to see things working out just like it does in my mind. When I move them into the next paddock and look back at the one they were previously in it looks like it was bombed with manure and there practically isn’t a piece of grass or clover that hasn’t been pooped on … eaten … or trampled. Now I just need to get the chickens following behind … oh … and figure out what to do with the sheep …

{ 1 comment }

My Pasture …

Whew … first of all let me say that it’s been awhile since I have taken/had the time to sit down and write … even for a few minutes. A couple of weeks ago I started getting busy and then last week up until yesterday I was doing my civic duty … jury duty … and it was very time consuming because on top of jury duty I was also continuing to work at the town job to help keep the finances from taking a hit. Thankfully everything finished up yesterday and I’m hoping I can somewhat return to a normal schedule.

I just wanted to take a moment though and give an update on my pasture because a question about it popped up in the comments awhile back. First of all let me share the background … This will be summer number three of grazing the pasture and hopefully the first with a whole seasons worth of multiple moves per day. The first season was what I would call “unmanaged grazing”. At that time I had no perimeter fences so I just moved the cows around in large areas as there was need and as I could put up fence. The second year I did finally get the fence up and I rotated daily (for the most part), but not as many moves per day as I would like. Now I’m into year three and hopefully I’ll be apply some changes based on what I’ve learned … hopefully …

The thing is though … generally speaking the pasture has not improved as much as I would have hoped. As I’ve mentioned before this land spent at least 14 years in the Conservation Reserve Program and had a pretty weak stand of native grasses along with plenty of brush and bare spots. The warm season grasses that were growing are tough to graze early in the season so I haven’t been able to get my cattle on grass as soon as I would like (such as this year … they still are eating hay). Last year I no-till drilled seed on about 10 acres, but the spring was so wet that I could never get out and mow down the weeds that were taking over my new seeding. The result is that my alice white clover seems to have taken hold fairly well, but the grasses really did nothing!

So, that is where I stand now. Things are not at all where I had expected or hoped they would be, but I can see small changes here and there and I do have hopes for the future. One thing that I will continue thinking about though is some seeding in hopes of jump starting things a little. I was just disappointed with my last seeding try …

{ 1 comment }

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

If you’ve never seen Mr. Smith Goes to Washington I suggest you check it out. Me … well, I’ve seen it but I believe I may need to give it another look because I’m headed to Washington D.C. early this summer on behalf of Practical Farmers of Iowa. I will be going as part of a group of beginning farmers from at least ten other states to speak with members of the House and the Senate about the issues faced by beginning farmers. I believe my focus will be with the politicians from Iowa. I’m very excited about the opportunity if for no other reason than to share the story of the farm and how my farm has all come together.

But … I am nervous. Obviously I’ve never been around this sort of thing, but also I’ve never even flown! So, it will be a whirlwind three days of nerves, fun, and I’m sure tons of education. I will share more as the big trip comes closer and I learn more. But, if you have any Washington D.C. travel tips or other ideas I am always thankful for them!

{ 3 comments }

Grass Farmer?

As I was driving the tractor across the freshly turned (somewhat) black dirt spreading manure all I could think about was … what kind of grass farmer do I look like now! I was in the process of taking my pasture back to bare dirt in order to plant “king corn” … and I was enjoying it and getting excited about it! And, part of the reason I was doing it was because I just am not quite ready to kick the corn habit just yet. My cattle and sheep are grassfed only, but my pigs are still feed plenty grain and I don’t see myself ready or able to change that in the near future (all though I know there are farmers out there not feeding or limiting their grain fed to hogs). My pigs will be on the pasture and in the woods foraging for part of the diet, but they will also have my custom ration available to them and that is why the corn experiment is happening.

The other reason I’m pretty excited about the corn is because of my ditches. Yes, the ditches have me envious because there is much better forage in them than there is in my pastures. In my opinion 14 years of life in the Conservation Reserve Program did these fields more harm than they did good. After the field was entered into the CRP program it was seeded down with native prairie grasses and then left to nature … the problem is that 21st century “nature” isn’t like 19th century “nature”! Years and years ago when this land was originally in native grasses there were fires and large herds of animals doing their work … for the past 14 years this land just sat. The result was a lot of scrubby wood bushes that grew, lots of bare patches, and a dwindling stand of those native grasses that were seeded. Nature was not actually allowed to work and I think my pastures suffer because of that … but, that is a long discussion and I’m not ready to get into it yet.

No … what I am excited about is eventually seeding these areas back to pasture and watching them take off and see what happens when the cows and sheep and chickens are allowed to let nature work. That is what I’m looking forward too … and I’m sure my animals will be equally excited about it! Right now they are still in the winter area because my grasses have not started to take off yet … time and the livestock management will help heal the land … I need to find patience!

{ 1 comment }

Corn(y) Plans …

I think the corn plans are coming together … better than expected actually. Now I’m actually finding myself wishing that I had more room to plant, but I will just stop with the two small areas I have planned! I must think small right now and keep plenty of grazing areas, but in the future I hope growing some more of my own feed can become a real possibility. This season the corn will just be an experiment and an opportunity to do a little “play farming” with my cousin, uncles, and my grandfathers equipment. Here are the plans as they stand right now …

  • It looks like I’m going to be plowing up two areas totally around 4-5 acres. One section is a former winter lot, and the other section is kind of out in the pasture. Initially I wanted to use my current winter lot, but I just don’t think that will work out this year … I may end up seeding it and eventually using it for some sows.
  • As of this moment the smaller section is plowed and has been disked once. It will get another disking and probably hit with a harrow before planting. The larger section is in the process of being plowed and then it will go through a similar plan. I will be spreading some homegrown fertilizer on the larger section though since it will not be in the winter lot like I had planned.
  • Thanks to my cousin all of the equipment is here ore coming here. As I mentioned some of it actually originated on my grandpa’s farm years ago, so this is the third generation to be using it. The plow, the disk, and the planter are all here and ready to roll!
  • I have e-mailed back-and-forth with Laura from Abbe Hills about open pollinated corn. I think this may be my best bet for now because it isn’t too far away from me and sounds good. She has been helpful and suggested they shoot for 55º to 60º soil temperatures before planting (usually after May 15th). That is a good thing to know and gives me time to get everything done!
  • Cultivating after the crop is planted … Well, that is still in the planning stages but if all else fails my cousin will bring up his tractor and a three-point mounted cultivator. 
  • Harvest and storage … yeah … let me get back to you on that one … 

{ 2 comments }

What am I Doing?

I always want to take the time to write and I always have things that I would like to share, but I’m not always able to put pen to paper (as it were) and get my thoughts down. That was what has been going on over the last week … thus there have been no posts. It has been an eventful time though for me on the farm. The first lambing season is in full swing … a calf was born … the open-pollinated experiment is possibly coming together … and I’m beginning to look at different options and methods of feeding the pigs.

But, the thought that has been on my mind the most lately is this one … “What am I doing?” There are so many times throughout my farming day that I’m not sure what in the world I’m doing! I know that there was a point where I just needed to start “doing” instead of just reading all of the time, but sometimes I wish I was just still reading about farming and then sharing my opinions … the doing always has me more confused, confounded, and oftentimes frustrated. And even when I feel like I’ve made a major accomplishment I realize that in “farming reality” what I just did was basically just another ho-hum part of farming, not a major accomplishment.
You see … catching the calf to ear tag it, milking a sheep and helping her lamb figure it all out, disking and prepping the field for planting, making small repairs on the tractor, looking over and purchasing farm equipment, or wrestling a pig to the ground for a little doctoring … those are all pretty much normal things for most farmers. In many cases they are things they’ve been around their entire lives. For me … well for me each one of those things are a major accomplishment and at some point while I’m doing them I wonder to myself … “what am I doing!?!”

{ 5 comments }

The Six-Month Farming Plan (circa 1946)

While I believe a six-month farming plan (using the “off” months to still work, but at a slower pace) may not be quite as possible now as it was in 1946 I think there is some wisdom in the plan found in Success on the Small Farm. I know quite a few market garden/CSA’s in the area and the surely do have their SUPER BUSY seasons, but I also know that they are beginning to do more and more with season extension that may take those six months and turn them into eight months or more. Nevertheless here is the plan ::

“The plan offers six months of leisurely living and six months of hustle.

Basically, the Plan is this. The corp program is laid out so that cash comes in from early May through October. The program is also laid out so that the peak demands of the farmer’s own efforts are spread over the same season.

The best plan which the writer knows comprises a crop schedule of the following type: asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, sweet corn, melons, tomatoes, and squash. The asparagus starts in May; the last of the squashes should be sold in October. In between May and November are days of hustle, long hours of labor, perhaps surpluses for which a market has to be found, bad weather days when you’ll watch dollars disappear. But all this is part of farming. There’ll be rainy days when you’ll bless the Weather Man for giving you a day or two to rest tired muscles. There will be days when you’ll have to work 16 or 18 hours — but not too many of them.”

Thoughts?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

{ 4 comments }