The Beginning Farmer

Okay, so I mentioned briefly in my last post that there was one minor incident in the chicken pen. On Thursday morning (the first morning we had the chickens) I woke up early to move the pen and get ready for work. I went out and found that the pen was heavy and that I had to really lift to get it to move any. So, as I was lifting I noticed a few hens trying to escape, but I was always able to get it down before they got out … until this girl decided to escape!

Yep, this little girl took off running towards the neighbors backyard … which I might add looks a lot like a nature preserve with tons of bushes, shrubs, etc. I lost her and knew that I wasn’t going to catch her by myself so I went inside to get reinforcements (a.k.a. Becca). We went out and I took off down the railroad track waking up every dog along the way! Finally, I gave up and decided that she would have to try to make it back to the yard on her own if she survived. When I was just about back to our yard I noticed her in the undergrowth of the neighbors yard. What ensued was about a twently minute chase all over the yard, up and down the railroad ditch, and back and forth across our back fence! In the end Becca was the one that was able to make the catch … with our big northern pike fishing net!!!

So, what did I learn? Number one: I need to find a better way to move the pen. Right now I am moving it sideways which is much easier, but I think I will add some wheels to the heavy end to make things easier. Number two: Chickens can and will run away if they get a chance! Number three: It’s a good thing that I got up early to move because I needed the extra time to catch my runaway.

Ahh, the life of the city dwelling wannabe farmer. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to go check out some Dexters in Carlisle. Maybe I will find the beginning of a herd???

When I posted my last entry I put a little note at the bottom about hoping to be able to post some chicken pictures soon. Well, soon can sooner than I expected! On Monday my dad called to tell me he was on the way to my uncles with the trailer so he would drop off the wood that I needed to build the pen. He showed up Tuesday afternoon and after unloading we were talking about his plans. That was when I found out that he would be driving through again on Wednesday afternoon. We immediatly decided to have him bring back our chickens which meant we only had about 24 hours to build their home! So, between soccer practices and my work at church we got the main parts of the pen done in time to house the chickens. I haven’t finished the nest box yet, but they are in their new home and hopefully we begin giving us some eggs. We have six of the lovely ladies!

Here are some pictures of the pen building process. I used mostly salvaged materials to keep the costs down and designed something that is somewhat movable. I need to do a little work on the move ability part, buy you can read the next post for those details!

Over the past few months in my research and reading I’ve been thinking about having a grass-finished beef herd as part of my farming operation. If I was going to have cattle on my farm (you must remember that my farm doesn’t exist yet!) then wanted to have cattle that could fill a niche, forage on pasture well, and be easy with calving. In my research I came across the Dexter breed which is an older breed from Ireland that didn’t come to the U.S. until early in the 20th century. Also, they are a smaller breed of cattle with cows/heifers toping out between 650 – 800 or so and bulls/steers sometimes going a little higher. The beef is supposed to be especially tasty, but just as importantly to me they are great foragers and realitvely easy to care for becuase they are such a hardy breed. Another interesting thing about them is they really are a tri-purpose animal. Dexters can be used for milking, for beef, and even as a draft animal.

I am planning on going to visit a few breeders who live in my area to take a look at their herds and learn some more about the breed. Also, my dad and I have been discussing the possibilities of beginning a small herd on his farm to learn, test the waters, and get a head start on things if this is a direction that we can eventually follow.

I continue to be excited about farming possibilities and I am trying to learn as much as I can. Soon I would like to have some plans and goals for our farming adventure posted and hopefully we’ll have pictures of our backyard laying hens and their movable pen soon!

P.S. Here are some links to Dexter Cattle Associations
American Dexter Cattle Association
Pure Breed Dexter Cattle Association

pinky FREE PAGE nudes

It has been a long time since I have last posted a blog entry here. I have not given up on the farming dream, nor have I stopped reading, researching, or planning. In fact I’m doing just as much as I can, but things have been crazy with my jobs and at our house. I’m still holding down the fort (kinnda) at the church, soccer has started, and both of those lead to less time at home. Still, I’m reading as much as I can and we are planning on getting some chickens for the backyard soon. Remember, reading is good … doing is better!

This year for Valentine’s Day my lovely wife gave me “Small-Scale Livestock Farming” by Carol Ekarius. I had finished You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise by Salatin and I was beging to go through a bunch of technical-type information that I received from my uncle until I started the Ekarius Book. It is a great book that gives you lots of basic and detailed information on things such as fencing, paddock design, simple vetrinary skills, marketing, and financial planning. I like how the book is layed out and how the author goes into detail on many subjects. One of my favorite parts of the book are the farm profiles sprinkled throughout the different chapters. These give real life experience of farmers doing the things that the book describes. I love seeing that this is possible!

Lately I have also been researching cattle breeds looking for traits that would be good for grass farming on a small scale. Things that would be important to me are: good foraging ability, small calves and mothers who birth well, marketability as a minor or heritage breed, the ability to deal with Iowa winters, and possibly a smaller size for the smaller farm. So far I have found the Dexter’s to be something that I would like to look at more closely. Also, it is a plus because there are a few people that have Dexter herds in my area of the state.

So, there is a short update of what is going on in my farming mind … the rest of my mind is consumed with family, church issues, and soccer!

I believe that is the exact quote from my uncle. I agree with that completely, but for now it is winter in Iowa. Even though the snow is not falling this year there still isn’t anything going on at our city lot except some thinking, dreaming, and maybe a little planning.

This year I had placed quite a few farming books on my Christmas list only to have my uncle loan them to me when we went to visit one afternoon early in December. One of the books that I picked up that day, along with a whole file of binders and articles, was “You Can Farm” by Joel Salatin. I began reading it and now have almost completed all 500+ pages so I thought I could share a few thoughts that I had.

Mr. Salatin has titled this book, “You Can Farm”, but I believe he is also trying to point out that possibly you can’t farm. Not because it isn’t possible, but because maybe you and your family aren’t willing to make the sacrafices needed to make a living full-time on the farm. He brought up many points that made me think and I spent quite a bit of time sharing things with Becca and mulling things over in my own mind. I go through phases where I believe I am able to sacrafice and then others when I doubt that I could do it … but, in all honesty I believe we are already making many of those sacrafices to be able to have the ministry we have and keep Becca at home with the children. A simple life is just the path we have chosen … as long as I can control my knee-jerk purchases!

Another nugget that I have gleened is the importance of not starting out in a hole. Mr. Salatin encourages beginning farmers to find an older farmer to work along side of or to rent land from. He is a firm believer that you don’t need to buy your farm with the perfect barn and buildings in order to consider yourself a farmer … in fact he believes the exact opposite. This one is difficult for me to swallow, becuase the dead end gravel road farm with the nice house is one of the things that I have really wanted in my life. But, I see the business sense behind his point of view and it has really impacted all of my thinking and brainstorming.

Finally, I think the biggest thing that I have taken away from what I have read so far is that you do just need to be doing it! Just like my uncle said, “Reading is good … doing is better!” It is easy for me to come up with excuses of why I can’t farm or try to make money from farming practices (I live in town, I don’t have time, my neighbors won’t like it, it would cost too much, I don’t have the right tools, and on and on and on), but if I really wanted to do it then I would make it possible any way that I could. So, now as I have been reading I have been trying to think of ways that I could “farm” right where I am with my 1/4 of an acre of grass (1/2 of which is under a canopy of leaves). If I really want to become a beginning farmer I need to start my “doing” right now.

I’ll let you know more of my thoughts later…

One of the things that I enjoy very much is reading. Whether it is a great historical novel, such as the Jack Aubrey series, or a 18th century journal I love to read it. Usually you will find a few different books or magazines in my night stand, but lately there has been a subject matter other than the normal history or Christian books … Farming books, magazines, and articles have made their way into my reading library. With Christmas coming just around the corner I put together a list of a few of the books that I would like to tackle next. SARAH MCDONALD NEWLY SINGLE kelsey asbille nude Most of them come from Joel Salatin because he has written very candidly and to the point on the subect of small scale farming, but there are a few others that look to be interesting also. So, here is my list of light reading…

Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin Amazon

You Can Farm by Joel Salatin Amazon

Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin Amazon

Making Your Small Farm Profitable by Ron Macher Amazon

All Flesh is Grass by Gene Logsdon Amazon

And then for a practical approach from the past…

Five Acres and Independence by Maurice Kains Amazon

Those are some of the one’s that I have picked out from the research I have done. I hope to be able report back with some more information soon!

IN OTHER NEWS ::: I finally received my new boots. I had ordered a pair of Georgia Boots, but a seam on the tongue hit my ankle at the wrong angle so I had to fork out a little more cash and buy the Wolverines. All in all I am pleased with them so far and hope they will last.

I was able to live a little farming yesterday. Nothing big or special … more like, “social farming”. My family and I traveled up to my Uncle’s farm for a plow day. As you can tell from the picture it was a little cool … and a little snowy. I had a great time plowing with his 1955 Minneapolis Moline UB Special pulling a three bottom plow. The UB is a 48 horsepower tractor according to the Nebraska Tractor Test. My Dad, my Uncle, and my Cousin all were out their driving MM tractors (all of which were my uncle’s) because that is our families brand. My Grandfather ran a MM dealership in Nevada, IA in the 50’s and it has been in our blood ever since. My dad also has a MM M5 down it his farm. Other neighbors were there with their tractors also and we had a great day plowing.

In other farming news … I plan on attending a agricultural seminar this December over in Davis County through the county extension office. The seminar is called, “Diversiying into fruits and herbaceous perrinials”. It will cover strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and grapes. I believe it will look into selection of varaties, disease, and pest control amog other things. I’m looking forward to this as it will be my first “class” dealing with some potential “crops”! I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes…

This is a question that was posted on a message board that I read every few days (Homesteadingtoday.com). It is also a question that has been on my mind recently. Of course there is an easy answer to this question … yes, there is money in farming! But, the bigger question for me is whether or not there is enough money in farming to cover your production costs and provide for your family?

According to statistics I have read in magazines and on the internet small farms are experiencing somewhat of a comeback in the United States these days. But, how many of these farms are providing the bulk of the income for the farming families? There are many part-time farms or hobby farms out there opporating on a small scale, but how many small scale farms are producing and bringing in enough to provide a living for a family on the farm?

These are some of the questions that I am researching, thinking on, asking about, and just plain day-dreaming about. If you want to see what some other people think about the answer to this question you can follow along with the discussion at Money in Farming? at HomesteadingToday.com

This morning as I sat at my desk early in the morning at the church and contemplated the fact that I was the only one in this large building a question popped into my head. Why farm? A while ago when I was working and talking with my uncle he told me that I should not try to become a farmer just because I felt like that was the only other thing I could do. Sound advice from a sound mind with many years of experience on the farm and helping beginning farmers. So, this morning as I sat in a fake leather chair, facing a computer monitor, and all alone in an empty church I pondered that question… Here is what I came up with.

Positives:
1. The opportunity to live and raise our family in the country a little further from the hustle and bustle
2. The ability to work together as a family unit each day
3. To continue the family tradition of farming and hopefully the history of small farms
4. Self Management = Independence
5. My love of the outdoors and hard work outside

Negatives:
1. The cost to return ratio can sometimes be troubling
2. Long hours through out the year in many different weather conditions
3. Volatility of markets, harvests, and livestock (a farmers livelihood)
4. Self Management = Lots of pressure for a someone supporting a family
5. High amount of start-up costs
6. Lack of certain skills and knowledge
7. Higher risk of failure than some other jobs
8. Leaving a comfort zone

As I put together this list I realized a couple of things. First of all I found that it was easier to find negatives than it was to find the positives (as you can see by the lists). But, that really wasn’t surprising because in times of quiet reflection I am pretty good at finding the negatives. The second thing I realized is that most of my reasons for wanting to farm could be considered, “romantic” reasons and my reasons for not farming were rather practical. So, is it bad that I want to farm for “romantic” reasons? Well, yes and no! I’m sure that doing things because it feels good or right can get you into all sorts of trouble … especially financially. But, I am also sure that we need to follow our hearts at times, and that there is nothing wrong with being a good old fashioned romantic at times. I would like to farm because of the lifestyle. I would like to farm because of the history. I would like to farm because of the connection to the creation. I would like to farm because others before me did and they loved it despite all of the stresses, pains, and troubles.

Just a few thoughts from an early morning in an empty church…