The Beginning Farmer

I found this over on Allan Nation’s blog:

“The Japanese government said agriculture is one of the few industry’s that could provide much needed jobs in the current economic environment and has earmarked $10 million to send 900 young, unemployed workers to farm training schools. So far, there have been ten prospects for each slot. Each candidate must write a passionate essay about why they want to be farmers to be considered. “

Mr. Nation’s post continues on to say that 2 out of 3 Japanese farmers are over the age of 65 and that one Japanese economist believes that if that trend isn’t reversed. Of course if Japan’s agricultural system goes like ours here in the U.S. they won’t need to replace all those farmers they are losing because the farms and everything else will get bigger. But, that is a discussion for another day (I don’t have the energy to think about it now).

What really hit me after reading that quote was the essay thing. If I had a 10% chance to getting the farming job and had to write an essay in order to secure the position that I passionately wanted what would I say?

Would I talk about the family that I need to provide money for (which may be one of the top things in Japan at the moment)? Would I discuss my love for the land and the food we eat? Would I make sure to touch on the importance of keeping food production in our own country? What exactly would I write about…

I think that thought is an interesting one, and probably it is even one that all farmers (or beginning farmers) should think about from time to time. One big thing of mine is that we need to work in our passions, so if I cannot be passionate about farming (and the way I farm) then I don’t think I should farm because I probably won’t be as successful as someone that is completely sold out on what they are doing.

My question to you … What would you write in your passionate essay?

I just thought I would give a quick farm update this morning before I head out for another crazy day. I have lots to catch up on at work today and then a Junior Varsity/Varsity soccer double header this evening. Should be a busy day! But, there is good news to report on the farm so I thought I would take a second to share a little before I hit the dusty roads to town.

The Pigs are Being Pigs: Really, that is about it. They are eating, lounging around, sleeping, and really not rooting up to much (which is nice). I really like the temperament of these pigs and especially of the sow. They had been worked with to a point and were fed daily by hand so they are used to people being around. I think they will make some nice pork!

The Cows are Being Cows: They are still in the “lot” right now eating hay because the fencing isn’t up yet, but the grass isn’t totally around yet either so that isn’t a huge problem. I have been toying with the idea of letting them out during the day into an electrified paddock to see if they will trample down and eat some of the tall grass … we will see.

The Chickens are Being Chickens: Really we only have three chickens right now and we only know where one is laying at the moment. But, since she is laying consistently we have enough eggs to get by. It is nice to see them out in the cow lot flipping over cow pies and digging around though, and that only serves to get me excited about getting more. Hopefully we will take a trip north soon (to my uncle’s) to expand the flock.

Blue is Back: I am happy to say that our “new to us” Ford 5000 tractor is back from the shop as of yesterday and I am ready to put her to work. It seems the folks at Belzer Equipment did a good job on the repairs and I know that they were very good to us on the bill. When it was all said and done they fixed the lights, put a new seal kit on the steering cylinder (the reason it went in), replaced the temperature sender, replaced the fuel pump, adjusted the pump timing, and a replaced a couple other small things. Between that and the engine overhaul I think we should have a pretty good tractor! I know there will eventually be something that wears out again, but at least we know we have some things fixed up!

Other than that, plans are going well for the various projects that need to be done this spring. We have the storm shelter deal all figured out and are just waiting for some dry ground, I’m waiting on a bid for our shed, fencing things are coming together (I just need to carve out some time), and we are enjoying spring days on the farm as a family (when we are all home together).

Today is my sons 5th birthday. It is incredibly hard to believe that he is turning five, but I’m sure that he will keep reminding me all day long (he is pretty excited about the day). One thing that I do know though is that I am very blessed to have him in my life and can’t imagine life any other way. In fact one major part of our move to the farm and the idea behind building a farm is because we want our family to experience all that the farm has to offer (everything from work to play).

My son is already a great helper around the farm. He helps water the livestock by turning on the hydrant, he helps feed the calves hay with me, he loves to carry wood, and he is the best buddy a dad could have when out doing chores.

With all of that in mind … I’m off to spend the day with my little guy … I’m sure he won’t be little for much longer!

I thought I would do a little promotion today after getting an e-mail from Tim over at Nature’s Harmony Farm. He has started a “Farmer’s Forum” (take the link to check it out) that is an online message board for those interested in asking questions, sharing ideas, and discussing various aspects of diverse farming (everything from sheep to marketing and processing). If you would like to read more about the idea behind the new forum check out this post on the Nature’s Harmony Blog. And, then go and check out “The Farmer’s Forum” and get involved.

I think it is a nice idea and I hope that it is something that will be utilized. Of course the best resource is always going to be face-to-face conversations and experiences with those doing the things you are interested in (and living in your area), but with the busy lives of so many beginning farmers (see yesterdays post) I think an online forum such as this one can be a great addition to the greater “community”. I for one am going to make a point to participate … and ask a lot of questions!

In fact there is already an interesting discussion going on over in the “Free-Range Pigs” section of the board about “Choosing Hardy Breeds”. For those of you that have been following my blog lately you will know that pigs are on my brain at the moment, so this is one that I will be following.

So, get over there and join the discussion if you would like!

One of the things our “Grow Your Small Market Farm” teacher told us at the beginning of the first class was that she wanted us to learn how to say “NO”.  Maybe it is learning to say no to lowering your prices, maybe you need to say no to adding operations to the farm, or probably you need to learn to say no to all of the outside activities.  I think I need to really learn how to do the last thing because I have found that saying yes often leads to time away from the farm and from the work that I need to do.

So, I don’t have much time for a post today because I’m blogging in class at the moment (this is what college kids probably do every day). This is the last class for the season, but we will meet together one more time at the end of the year to catch up on everything and learn about what has happened at the various farms throughout the summer. We aren’t done with everything yet though, our teacher will be meeting with us one time in the Summer to help us with a project related our farming business … we’ll learn more about this today.

With that said though, I need to get back to class. But, I do want to point you to the “Grow Your Small Market Farm” website and encourage all of you beginning or current farmers interested in growing your farm to check out this class. It is a can’t miss opportunity!

“Business success or not, Warren pledges to fight to the very end. This, he says, is more than about one individual’s business. It’s about the individual farmer’s right to obtain a better price for a better product. The battle, Warren asserts, is about everything from the future of American liberty and justice, to the health and well being of its people. “This isn’t about what we’re doing now,” he emphasizes. “It’s about where we’re going. It’s about providing better milk and a better future for our children.”

The above quote comes from the cover story on the April Issue of “Graze”. The article is titled, “Bringing Back That Old-Time Milk Flavor” and tells the story of Warren Taylor and his Snowville Creamery that produces grass-fed milk. Mr. Taylor’s plan is an ambitious on that included a brand new milk processing facility and a commitment to what he calls, “Same Day Dairy”. Things are off and running now and even though they have not met their sales goals yet you can see from the above quote that he is still serious about the idea.

What this article (and the above quote in particular) really made me think about though is what is our purpose behind what we do. Do we do things because we honestly believe in them and the goals and methods behind them, or do we just do things because that is the way that they are done in our society and we want to keep up with society?

That is a big question in all of my life at the moment and I think it is completely applicable to our farming ventures. Why have I decided to raise grass-fed beef? Why do I want to raise pigs on pasture and farrow in huts and larger pens? What is the point behind all of this direct marketing if I could just go through the markets that are already there?

There are many answers to those questions, but I think Mr. Taylor answers them pretty well in the quote above. It is about my values and goals. And, it is also about the belief that I can be paid a competitive price for the work I do on the farm. But, the main thing I want to remember as we work towards our farming goals is that it is not about me. If it was … well, then I don’t think I should be doing it.

I can’t say that I know much about R-CALF (which stands for, “Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund”), but while looking for something else on the “Big Show” website I ran across a post that said that they were offering an alternative to the NAIS legislation to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. Of course this piqued my interest because the thought of an alternative (especially if it is a good alternative) is something that I can get on board with. Of course I haven’t had time to scrutinize everything yet, but I will provide some links for your perusal.

• Here is the official R-CALF website. You will find lots of information on this site, including their “About” section.
• This is a link to the .pdf of their “Eight Point Alternative to NAIS“. On the surface it appears to add power to current rules and regulations instead of trying to fix a system by adding another completely confusing system on top of it. If that is the case then I could get on board.
• Any good organization will have a FAQ section. You can check out the R-CALF FAQ at this link … it says they have 12,000 members nationwide, not to bad for only 11 years of existance.
• And finally, this link will take you to a page of various media from and about R-CALF and their doings. It looks like there are some interesting articles to check out if you scroll down a bit.

Like I said, I would love to hear your thoughts on their alternative to the NAIS. Is this a step in the right direction?

You will notice that this is a fairly late post today. It was a busy morning that included a trip to check out some storm shelters … something that is important to think about during this season of the year! Since it is so late in the day I can’t take too much time blogging today, but I would like to share a link to a recent article from “Feedstuffs”, which is “a weekly newspaper for agribusinness”. The title of the article is, “Large-Scale Structure has Benefits,” and you can read it for yourself by taking the link above.

Here are a few of my favorite (I use that word loosely) quotes from the article:

• “ANIMAL agriculture’s structure has changed “dramatically” in the last 20 years as cattle feeding and hog and poultry production have transitioned to fewer but larger operations, but the change has benefited sustainability, producers and consumers, according to Dr. James MacDonald, chief of the U.S. Economic Research Service’s (ERS) Agricultural Structure & Productivity Branch.”
• “However, he acknowledged that the impact also has included decreased competition and intense concerns related to air and water pollution.”
• “As for size, he said the “midpoint” for a typical dairy in 1987 was 80 head, whereas today, it’s 550 head; similarly, feedlots went from 17,500 head to 35,000 head per yard, hog operations went from 1,200 head to 30,000 head and chicken complexes went from 300,000 birds to 600,000 birds.”
• “MacDonald said the fewer-but-larger trend also applies to packers/processors, with basically four major buyers of fed cattle, two to four major buyers of hogs and a handful of chicken integrators that contract production with local farmers. However, he said the marketplace has remained competitive.”

I suppose it is an interesting point and I guess I can’t really argue with many of the facts that are stated in the article. What can be argued though I believe is the suppositions that the article comes to … such as the statement that says large-scale agriculture is more sustainable. What do you think about this article?