The Beginning Farmer

Well, I managed to receive about 10 hours of sleep this weekend! The churches in our community banded together to host a 7 hour music festival on Saturday and let’s just say I was busy! But, it was fun and the local bands along with the headliners, Addison Road and The Afters, were awesome. Hopefully it will be a yearly thing, and hopefully I will be able to find other people (besides myself) to be the roadies! A box truck for the stage, one for the sound, one for the lights, and of course each bands gear … yep, that is enough hauling/setting-up/tearing down for one weekend. With that in mind (my lack of sleep), here are some bullet points from the farm.

• Today is our seventh wedding anniversary! It has been an awesome seven years and I’m looking forward to many more. Without the love and commitment from my wife our dream would not even be possible. I love you Becca…
• It is the 9th of June and we have already had 5 inches of rain for the month. And think, we are the dry ones compared to parts that have had 10 or more.
• The farm is wet, wet, wet! And since it is wet, wet, wet … not much has happened building wise. But, we are looking to get our temporary power in soon and our rural wanter line onto the property this week or next (depending on their schedule).
• The farm is now a used machinery home. We have the tractor, the haybine, the rack, my uncle’s plow, and the latest addition … our green (faded) barge box.
• Pending our pick up (once our temporary fencing is in place) we now have a Hampshire sow, a Tamworth boar (pretty excited about that), and their 5 week old offspring. We will have halves or wholes of pasture raised pork for sale fallish or so!
• Because of the above point we are going to put up a hog panel fence around our garden area (see point below). Hog huts and feeders are on the way once we go and get them.
• I plowed the garden are on what most resembled a dry day. It was sod … it was wet … my tires are old … it isn’t pretty … it is now something like a lake … but, it is somewhat done. The pigs will help a lot and then a tiller will finish it off. We hope to get some stuff in it for at least fall crops.

I’m tired, but Vacation Bible School is this week. I pray it goes well, we continue to make progress on the farm, and I get some sleep!

the picture above is from this weekend … that is the afters

This is a crazy weekend for me because the churches in our town are hosting a seven hour music festival. We had to set up a huge stage last night, we are about to go set up the sound and lights, and then we will be tearing down until who knows when …

With that in mind, here is a video with a few words from Joel Salatin. Enjoy…

Lately a few blog posts have led me to think about farmers and public perception. First of all I wrote a post for the Epi-Log titled, “What You Need to Become a Farmer“. The just a few days later I ran across a post titled, “Oh, you’re a hobby farmer!“, on the Nature’s Harmony Farm blog. Both of those posts touched on different aspects of public perception in regards to farmers and also about what other farmers think about new or unconventional farmers. I think this is something (just like farm appearances) that we need to be thinking about, so below are a few of my thoughts.

• That hobby farmer question comes up quite a bit in the unconventional farming world I would guess. I have heard it a lot along with the similar quote, “So, you’re going to have an acreage and stuff.” A common public perception is that if you are don’t what is the convention in the area than you are not farming, no matter how full-time or profitable it is.
• One thing that Nature’s Harmony does (and many other direct marketing farms) is encourage people to come to their farm. This will help with some of the “hobby farm” quotes, but it is important to remember that if they aren’t interested in your farm or the way you farmer they probably will never change.
• When I was working on the post linked above for the Epi-Log I did a little research and found that in 2004 52% of all farmers had off farm employment. So, logic would then ask … “are 52% of Americas farmers hobby farmers?”
• But, in that same post and others that I have written for Epicurious people have commented on how much the appreciate what the farmers do. This isn’t something that I hear very often, but maybe it is more common than I know…? But, what it does tell me is that there are people out there that care about their food and the farmers that produce it.
• Which leads me to my last thought. How do you get more people to care about the food they eat. Of course it is an education thing and that will only happen with some initiative from both the consumers and the farmers.

So, what can farmers do to help change the public perception (both from the farming community and the consuming community)?

I must admit that lately I have had a pretty short attention span when it comes to books. I don’t really think that it has anything to do with the quality of the books, but rather it has to do with the ebb and flow of my interests at the moment. I started out working through “Grass-Fed Cattle”, then I couldn’t find it one day so I switched over to “Dirt Hog”, and then last night I had pigs on the brain again so I decided to pick up “Small-Scale Pig Raising” by Dirk van Loon. This book came highly recommended by Walter Jeffries over at Sugar Mountain Farms, so I was really excited to read it.

This book was published in 1978 so some of the economical figures that it gives are a bit off and I think it could easily win the greatest cover ever award (see the picture above), but if the rest of the book is anything like the first two chapters I think I will enjoy it very much. It seems to be written from a very practical point-of-view and easy to read.

What I really liked about the first chapter was Mr. van Loon’s answers to the question, “Why Raise a Pig?”. His first reason was because they can be a low risk/short term investment into livestock. With my Dexters I have to wait a long time before they finish, a long time before they calve, and I have to pay quite a bit for them. But, with pigs I can buy them for less money and finish them out fairly quickly. Along with that there can also be lower costs in fencing and shelter. Mr. van Loon also mentions lower feed costs, but that may not be true at this point.

The second chapter mostly covers the wild pig and the emergence of the domesticated pig. It was just a short chapter, but it was interesting to read some of the back ground and differences between the two. Understanding a domestic pigs wild brothers and sisters helps understand what makes a pig tick and what their social structure can be like.

As I mentioned pigs have been on my brain lately so it was good to read the first couple chapters of this book, and they are shorter chapters so that is nice when the days are longer and we are so busy. But, the reason that pigs have been on my mind is because I have been searching high and low for some feeder pigs. I thought that I had some located, but it looks like that isn’t going to work out now … so, if you know of anyone in Iowa or Northern Missouri with some pastured pigs or even just outdoor conditioned I would be interested in hearing about them!

In each issue of “The Stockman Grassfarmer” there is a column called, “Women’s Work”. I always take time to read it, and it is always full of good information (not just for women). But, I have never taken time to comment on the column on the blog. Today that is going to change because I just read the article from the May, 2008 issue by Carolyn Nation (Allan’s wife). The article is simply titled “Appearance” (this could possibly be the shortest title ever in “The Stockman Grassfarmer”) and was a pretty good read.

In this article Mrs. Nation was specifically talking about clothing appearances. Not when you are out doing the chores, but rather when you are marketing, working at a farmer’s market, hosting farm tours, doing interviews, or any other public event. She relates many tips that she has picked up from other farmers and her own experience. Some of the things mentioned are … dressing like your customers, making sure your clothes are clean and spotless (who wants to buy food for a dirty person is the idea I guess), if you have employees having them dress alike (even simply) is a good thing, and of course having simple clothes with your farm logo.

I am all about dressing for success. When I worked at the boarding school I was hugely in favor of the transition to uniforms for many reasons, one being that it seems that many people just plain take themselves more seriously when they are dressed neatly. So, I do think it pays to look professional (but still farmerish) when you are out promoting your farm.

But, as I read the article my mind also wandered over to the idea of keeping appearances on the farm in general. How important is it that your farm fits the mental image of our customers? I think it is very important, but that doesn’t mean you need the white picket fence and big red barn. I believe the biggest thing is that things look neat, not that things look perfect.

I do not believe we need to have the perfect painted buildings and weed-free yard, but I don think that when a customer drives up to the farm they need to see something that makes the feel comfortable, that makes them feel safe. Remember, many of the things direct marketing farmers are using to market themselves relate to the relationships they can build with their customers. So, appearance does matter … to an extent …

It has been a really long time since I have posted a chapter report from Julius Ruechel’s book, “Grass-Fed Cattle”. But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading, rather it just means that I have been jumping around quite a bit from book to book or article to article. I’m not sure if it is just because I’m looking for certain information at times, if I just to care for this book as much, or if so much of what I have read so far in Mr. Ruechel’s book is a repeat of much of the information I have read in other sources. I’m going to say that it is the later of the reasons, but that isn’t to say that there aren’t chapters that I’m looking forward to … because there are!

Anyways, this chapter is titled “Grass and Grazing” and it takes time to cover things like the rumen, ideal grazing intervals, soil health, and even different grass variates and pasture renovation. Each topic covered is very important in the realm of grass-fed cattle, but most are ones that I have covered a time or two on this blog and that I have read about in other books. But, the last little section on pasture rejuvenation was especially interesting to me … mainly because that is a process that I am working through right now (and planning for).

Mr. Ruechel writes,

“Changing your grazing management inevitably improves old pastures, even without reseeding or overseeding (laying grass seed onto an existing turf) because it creates an environment that makes desirable plant species more competitive and restricts competition from less-desirable grazing plants.”

The other day while I was at my dad’s farm I found that to be completely true (and it is pretty cool also). For most of the time my family has owned our farm much of the pasture ground has been enrolled in the CRP program, but in 2006 and 2007 all of the land came out. While it was in CRP we weren’t allowed to mow the entire plot, but you could mow the fence line or a path (or something like that), so since my dad test drives lawn mowers he always keep the fence line mowed (or could you call it grazed).

Now we have the Dexters out on some of the CRP ground that just came out last year and I just want to say the grass is horrible! When it is about 10 inches or more taller it looks like a thick stand of grass, but once you clip it down to about 6-8 inches you can tell it is very sparse and doesn’t grow very well. We were told that it was fescue, but I don’t think it is. But, in the 5 foot area that was kept clipped for the past 5-6 years there is white clover, red clover, and three or four different types of grasses, and it is very thick and quick to recover.

This pasture improved because it was managed and we didn’t even need to buy seed or till anything under to do it! Now that we have the cows there we can have them do it for us (until some of them come up to my place to do the same thing). Of course at some point we may want to overseed some different grasses or legumes, but it is impressive what can happen when you let the pasture and the cows do their thing!

Even though soccer is over and weekly youth group meetings are on break for the summer the next couple of weeks (and probably after are going to be crazy busy). And since today is a rush, rush day I thought I would just take a couple minutes to give an update on the farm.

• If you follow along on my Epi-Log you may have noticed we had a surprise calf born on Memorial Day. She is a little dun heifer and is pictured in this post. It is great to have another dun calf this year and equally great that it is a heifer. But, it isn’t a perfect situation … you can read about it on THIS POST.
• I was down on my dad’s place yesterday doing some fencing and putting the cattle into a new area. I love to see them on fresh grass and it is pretty cool to see such a big herd (well, big for me). We are now up to 20 Dexters.
• The reason I drove down yesterday was to take my dad the baler I bought. We have about 20 acres of grass/clover hay down there that is ready to go as soon as the weather cooperates. Hopefully it will be soon!
• On Saturday I went and bought a barge box wagon. This will come in handy as we finish clearing out the old fence row, but the barge box will probably end up coming off of the wagon gear. Once the building is starting to take shape I plan on putting on a hay rack.
• Lord willing our building will start going up in three weeks or so. We still have some site prep to do and we need to get our drive and electric in, but it feels like we are getting closer

So, that is just a sampling of what is going on at Stoneyfield. Hopefully the work just keeps picking up in intensity as we start seeing more changes out at the place!

Even though I am going to be plenty busy on the farm this summer I am already beginning to plan my summer out around learning opportunities. When it comes to learning I am still reading as much as I can (not as much as in the winter), working with other farmers when I have a chance, and of course the discussion on this blog is a huge plus! But, because of the Practical Farmers of Iowa I will have quite a few opportunities this summer and fall to get out and see what other farmers are doing. Here are a few of the over 30 Field Days they will be a part of this year. Although I doubt I will be able to make it to every single one these are the top on my list.

• Grass-Based Organic Dairy Systems (June 21): This will begin at Radiance Dairy which is a 236-acre, 80-cow, grass-based, and certified organic dairy. They process and sell on farm which is pretty cool. I would like to attend because they will be talking about different watering systems and fly control among other things.
• Grass-Finishing, MOB Grazing, Next Generation (July 16): This one takes place up in Northeast Iowa so it may be more difficult to make it, but I would love to hear what they have to say about the topics of Holistic Management, MOB Grazing, and Generational Family Succession Planning. This event takes place at Herman’s Heartland Farm.
• Live Animal Evaluation (July 23): I cannot miss this one! It is only 10 or 15 miles away and will feature Gearld Fry talking about linear measuring and cattle genetics. This event will be at the DeCook ranch which also hosted a pasture walk last year that I attended. I’m really looking forward to this field day.
• Grass-Fed Field Day (August 13): Water systems, grazing summer annuals, handling livestock, and more are some of the topics that will be covered at this PFI event. The farm where the event will take place sells finished beef to Thousand Hills Cattle Company and direct to customers. Should be a informational day.
• Marketing Grass-Fed Beef (August 19): This is probably another one that I shouldn’t miss, and it isn’t too far away. A couple of interesting topics on this day will be a discussion of deworming with copper sulfate and sorghum-sudangrass for finishing cattle … along with marketing of course.
• CRP to Grazing (August 21): Since this is what I’m doing (even though I will be started by the time this day comes around) I would love to check out what they do. It is close by and will be covering some of the ins and outs using cost share to put in fencing and water systems.
• Monitoring Cattle Performance (August 27): This one looks interesting because it covers a wide range of topics (not just cattle). They will be talking about grazing summer and winter annuals, multi-species grazing, sheep, and poultry. It would be a nice event to attend.
• Farm Crawl (October 5): I attended this Farm Crawl last year and had a great time learning from farmers in my area. Someday I would love to be a part of this event … we will just have to see.

You can find all of these events (and more) on the PFI link at the top of this post. I know that I won’t be able to get to all of these, but these are the ones that look the most exciting.

You may have heard the news about the USDA deciding to allow 24 million acres of CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) to be used for hay and grazing after the early June wildlife nesting period. So, by the middle of June farmers and ranchers who have a portion (or all) their land in CRP will be able to use it for grazing and haying. The idea is that it will help ease the pain that the beef producers (high grain prices). Although the announcement was welcomed by many there are also plenty of people against it, and I’m not just talking about the hunters and wildlife people. You can read an article from the Brownfield Network titled, “Opinions vary on CRP haying, grazing decision,” by clicking on the link. There is also an audio report at the bottom of the page.

I for one am none too pleased! Especially considering the fact that I just spent close to $10,000 last week so that I could make hay on and graze the land that I already owned. I knew that was going to be the case going into the land purchase, but that doesn’t mean that I like it (you can read more on the CRP Buyout on this older post). My big problem … with a little bit of paperwork and a $75 fee you can graze or hay or both your CRP ground and still get your full payments! I think that is just dumb, especially after I just wrote my check to buy it out (although they would have to continue the program for 5 more years in order it to work for me).

Some hay producers in Iowa aren’t very happy about it either. One custom baler (who also owns 400 acres of hay ground) said on the WHO Radio Big Show yesterday that his phone has been ringing off the hook since this announcement came out. The reason for all the phone calls? They are coming from farmers who have CRP (or who think the hay prices will drop because of the news) and also have some hay ground. If they have a marginal stand of hay that isn’t as good as it could be they want to cut it and get it off the field right away so they can then come in and plant beans.

My states Ag Secretary Bill Northey didn’t think any thing like that would happen, but apparently he was wrong. So, let me break it down for you. If instead of just the 40 acres that I own now I also owned another 40 acres of pasture ground that I used for my cattle I would now be able to throw them on a dry lot for a couple weeks, till under my pasture and charge someone $150 per acre to plant beans, move my cows over to the CRP in the middle of June, still collect $85 (or whatever) per acre on my CRP, in the fall after the beans come out I can seed it back to some sort of grass, and over the winter I can feed some hay that was less expensive than the year before. Sounds like a pretty big deal … if you love your government spending lots of money.

Thoughts?