The Beginning Farmer

We had to go to the farm today to do some odds and ends. As you can see from the pictures there isn’t too much snow on the ground, but there was snow in the air while we were there. It is a blessing that the snow has melted off. Until the snow cover left we were having to feed four square bales a day to the Dexters, but now that they can graze a bit on the stockpiled forage we are down to one-and-a-half or two bales a day. Hopefully the Southern portion of the state will stay fairly free of the white stuff for the rest of winter.

While we were down there my dad and I discussed the idea of moving the steers out onto some tall fescue. We have probably 10-15 acres of fescue that hasn’t been mowed since last winter so there is plenty sticking up above any snow that comes. By moving the four steers out there we could save a bit on hay which would mean that we may not have to buy in any … or as much. Now, we just have to wait for a bit of a thaw so we can go put up a electric fence for them. In the future we are going to be stockpiling other areas of the farm with different grasses for winter use, but this is the first winter so we are really just starting to get the plans together.

One thing that I really wanted to do when we were down there is take a picture of our cow, Breagha. She was the only cow in our small herd that didn’t have a picture up on the on-line pedigree site. If you haven’t checked out our herd yet I encourage you to check out the link in the right column for the Stoneyfield herd. If you are interested in Dexters at all it is neat to read through the different pedigree’s … at least it is something I enjoy!

I must admit that every time I have a chance to spend some time working with the Dexters I become more and more impressed with them as a breed. They are just so easy to work with and so docile. Our herd doesn’t really have any interaction with people now other than when they are feed hay in the morning and watered … and that isn’t exactly a personal touch kind of thing. Despite the lack of daily handling they are very calm when we are out there working amongst them and I can usually entice them to come up and eat hay out of my hand. I am looking forward to being able to have daily interaction with them and handling them more often. If you haven’t already I encourage you to check out the Dexter breed!

Well, I wish it were as easy as going to the land store! You could just walk into the shop, find the aisle for good pasture ground, pick out a piece you like, and then walk up to the checkout counter … where they help you come up with a plan to pay for it. Yep, that seems pretty ideal, but totally unrealistic. Purchasing a land (or farm) is something that is on our mind right now, but knowing how to go about it all is something we need to learn more about.

With all of that in mind I read with interest an article titled, “Finding Your Place” from the February/March 2003 issue of “Mother Earth News” (not highly impressed with the magazine, but it was free). The article was written by the editors of the magazine who have the knowledge of 24 separate, “house-buying and property-purchasing escapades”. All in all it was a pretty interesting article, but as one would assume it dealt more with buying property with a house rather than bare land.

At this point we haven’t decided on exactly whether we need to buy a place with a house on it or if we can handle just getting the land and then building. We have a couple of positives in that our families have experience building and have offered to help, but that does seem a bit overwhelming at times. Another way to look at the question is this … what is more important, the land or a house? Because of the high land prices right now buying a 40 acre piece of land that has a livable house on it probably is out of price range, but if we could buy just the land and be creative in our housing (anybody living in a pole-building house?) maybe we could swing a 40 acre parcel … if the right one came along.

Those are just some of the things that we are thinking about … but, back to the article. Like any good magazine article they had “nine steps to success”. Some of them are pretty basic, but are worthy of repeating just because they are sometimes overlooked in today’s “I want it now” culture.

• Know your budget and stick to it.

-Like I said … that is a pretty basic rule, but in a culture where we want exactly what we want when we want it that is an important reminder.

• List your “needs and wants”.

-For us that is things like type of soil, lay of the land, amount of land, and other things. We have a clear vision of the direction we would like to go in our farming pursuit so it is important to find land (or access to land) that helps us obtain that vision.

• Most importantly, ask lots of questions.

-I think the reason this one sticks out for me is because asking lots of questions is something that I don’t do very well. I usually don’t like to waste the time or believe I already understand. But, when it comes to buying a farm I need to thank the time and I know I don’t understand it all!

That is just a sampling of some of their help points. They also mentioned things to check into when buying rural land. Things like: water (well or rural water) … sewage (does it have septic) … electricity (how much will it cost to get it there if it isn’t already) … and survey (are the boundaries clearly established). There is a lot to think about, because as the old saying goes: “This will be the biggest purchase you ever make.”

Do you have any thoughts to add from your experience or research? Anyone ever dealt with USDA loans (just heard of them and I don’t know much about them)? I would love to hear other peoples thoughts on the issue of land and farm purchases…

Farm goals and planning were the topics for chapter six of Ron Macher’s book, “Making Your Small Farm Profitable”. This seems to be a pretty popular topic in the small scale farming periodicals, books, seminars, and even blogs I guess (since I have mentioned it a few times). I think the emphasis on goal setting, building a business plan, and holistic management is one of the things that sets new smaller scale or un-conventional farmers apart from the bigger conventional farmers. Not that they don’t have goals or a business plan, but rather that it is more often based on what the neighbors are doing instead of what would work best for the farmer, the family, and the farm.

Mr. Macher takes a little bit different approach than some of the other books or articles I have read on the subject. Carol Ekarius in, “Small-Scale Livestock Farming” takes quite a bit of time explaining planning and management. That book, which I have read and will post some book reports on later, is full of the whys and hows and nuts and bolts of how to go about writing and planning. Mr. Macher gives a brief introduction on planning and goal setting and ends the chapter with some thoughts on achieving your goals and developing a farm plan. Sandwiched in between is a set of sample goals. I found it pretty interesting to read these hypothetical goals and his thoughts on each one. Also, he broke the goals down into groups of … “Long-Term Goals” … “Medium or Intermediate-Term Goals” …and… “Short-Term Goals”

I thought I would choose one from each of the sections that stuck out as I was reading. Remember these are not my goals … but they do make a lot of sense to me…

• Long-Term Goal: We are from the city, so I will work part time for a farmer, maybe on weekends, to learn basic skills and ask questions, questions, questions, so that I can gather an idea of what I want to do. I will work for free if necessary to achieve this goal.

-I think that is a great goal for the beginning farmer and I do it as often as I can when I go and work for my uncle and other family. That isn’t any better learning that doing around someone who does … or something like that

• Medium or Intermediate-Term Goal: I will purchase breeding stock, machinery, buildings, and such on as low-interest loans with 3- to 5-year terms.

-Debt sort of scares me like the plague … we have never had any, and I think we would be perfectly happy to live our lives without any. But, with that being said I know that there is a place for debt when managed and accounted for properly. I think one key to handling debt is to have a good set of goals and a great business plan in place. Not just a good enough business plan to convince the banker … but, something good enough to convince yourself!

• Short-Term Goal: We will figure in time for rest and recreation this fall.

-I think the reason that this one stuck out in my mind is because it is something that I’m not very good at doing. We have not taken a vacation or real break from my job in a long time … it is just something that has been difficult for me to do for many reasons. But, after writing about the “farmer burnout” article, and looking at my own life I think this is an essential goal for the small scale farmer … or anyone!

Does your farm have business plan (no matter how big or small)? Does your farm have goals? Were those goals put down as an entire family? All good things to think about, and questions I asked myself after reading the chapter.

There are a few things that I am really passionate about. Of course my family and my ministry top the list. Farming is at the top of the list also, but the next thing I am passionate about is history. I have always love history, even as a very young child. In fact I am most interested in pre-1900 American history with an emphasis on 18th century stuff. It is interesting though that my passion for history also spills over into my other passions. I love to learn about family history and how families lived and interacted throughout history, I am always looking at my ministry from a historical perspective trying to learn from the past and preserve the past … but, I really see my passion for history crossing over when it comes to farming.

Recently I picked up the book, “Harris on the Pig :: Practical Hints for the Pig Farmer” by Joseph Harris. This book was originally published in 1883 so it is over 100 years old. The thing that strikes me most is how practical the information is. But, I can also see that when it comes to pig farming our modern farmers have strayed away from this great knowledge of what just plain works.

What often happens in the rush to produce more and produce more quickly is that the tried and true … the history … is lost. I sort of mentioned this type of thing the other day when I talked about Gearld Fry’s article on keeping the heritage breeds. What has happened (and not just in farming) is that the younger generation leaves the farm in order to go to college. Many of this generation have gone and earned agricultural degrees or at least immersed themselves in the latest and greatest, so when they get back to the farm they feel the need to change everything. I think they feel they need to change because they think there is more money out there that they are missing … or maybe because they believe there is an easier way to do things … or even just because that is the way that everyone else is starting to do it!

But, for whatever reason they change the way the farm has been run. They begin to specialize. They begin to upgrade their breeds through crossing in order to have the highest production possible in the shortest amount of time (disregarding other factors such as cost and efficiency). They begin to move the farm away from a diverse entity into a mono-crop or mono-animal production plant. And what happens is that history, what has worked in the past for year after year, is forgotten.

Now, I will admit that I tend to the nostalgic from time to time … but, I do realize that there is a place for innovation. But, I want to see innovation rooted in history. Take Ultra High Density Grazing for example. I think it is safe to say that is an innovation that is starting to take off right now. And on the surface it seems like something new … until you pop in that old VHS of “Dances With Wolves”. They American Bison herds were doing Ultra High Density Grazing for years, they were just doing the paddock shifts themselves! Wow, now that would be innovation … cattle that did paddock shifts for themselves. There are many more examples of how farmers and people in other professions have taken a page from history to produce innovation, not just changed for the sake of change.

So, I would call myself a beginning farmer. I would say that I am striving to become a sustainable farmer. But, I think I would like to add that I am going to be a historically minded farmer!

I came across some interesting news today as I was scanning the internet today. It seems that Tyson Chicken announced a new product and label this summer. They new product and label is/was planned to be called “Raised without Antibiotics”. You can read Tyson’s press release by clicking HERE. Now, the reason I wrote “is/was” is that that was their planned label for the product, but now the USDA and Tyson have worked out an agreement to change the label name to, “Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans”. I have a feeling the words that start with lowercase letters will be in smaller print.

One side note is that Tyson Chicken considers the name change a victory. You can read a little bit about a lawsuit that was filed against them by clicking HERE. Tyson won because the judge noted that they had worked with the USDA to change the name.

Now, this news as all very relevant for the farmer and consumer alike, but I think there are a couple of key details that we need to take out of this whole deal…

First of all, if you take the time to read through Tyson Chickens press release you will notice that their main reason for doing this is because the customers were asking for it. So, the people do want better food … and … they are willing to pay more for it (because the new product will cost more than “regular” Tyson chicken). I see this is a large food company trying to play catch up. That doesn’t mean that small farmers are winning or even starting to win, but it does mean that the small farmers with their intimate connection with their customers can meet their needs and give them something that they are comfortable eating. Plus, if people want “antibiotic free” chicken that means that they probably also desire humanely raised chicken … we just need to let them know that it is out there! So, there is a bright side to this sad story.

Secondly, I think this proves (did this really need proving) that the government isn’t out there to help the small farmer. Like I said, I’m pretty sure everyone already knows this, but here it is again in black and white. What we need to do is work together as a body of farmers and consumers and then we can begin to effect change. Remember work together … farmers and consumers!

And finally, this proves that Tyson is producing chicken that has antibiotic impact our antibiotic resistance. Obviously many people already knew that, but once they start running ads on television and in the paper promoting their new product savvy farmers selling directly to their consumers can use it to educate people about real food, real relationships, and real local business.

Let’s face it … Tyson Chicken isn’t going away anytime soon (if ever) and I probably wouldn’t vote for a governmental law to shut them down (just look how well that works with the USDA as the enforcer!). But, I think we can use this disappointing news for our benefit if we are creative and bold!

Since I kind of have hogs on the brain right now I thought I would take some time today to give a little insight into my hog research. I have gone back and forth between purebreds and hybrids, but I am beginning to lean towards the purebred side of the fence. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to deal with another registered animal and the registry and mess that can come with it, but the more I think about it and the more I think about what my passion is I keep coming back to the heritage and smaller (numbers) breeds. One breed that I have been researching a lot lately is the Red Wattle.

Marian of Five Ponds Farm is the one who turned me on to Red Wattles. Five Ponds is the farm where we are purchasing our Dexter bull from and they just happen to raise Red Wattles. Before contacting her I had never heard of them. You can check out this LINK from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy if you would like to get a nice introduction … and of course check out all the information that Marian has gathered at this LINK.

The origin of Red Wattle hogs is sort of hazy. Most of the history that we know for sure points to the 1970’s and 1980’s and the wooded areas of Eastern Texas. That is where these red hogs that had wattles (on either side of their face) were found and brought back to the public. Now, that is what we know … there is some theories though. According to one theory (or maybe that is the way it is) the first Red Wattles came to the United States by way of a small island of the coast of Australia. The story goes that a wealthy Texan who liked to big game hunt had them shipped back to the U.S., but they never really took off because they were very lean in a time when lard was important to society. However we got them doesn’t really matter, what is important is that we have them now.

Although Red Wattles are very minor breed in terms of numbers they are really starting to gain some traction with chefs and food critiques around the country. They even won a blind taste test going up against Berkshires, Duroc, a Tamworth/Chester cross, Ossabaw Island, and a Sam’s Club special. It seems that they are starting to catch on all across the country, from Seattle to the Northeast.

So, Red Wattles are officially in the running for Stoneyfield. I would like to have a pigs that that are perfect for the family and an appeal for the white table cloth restaurants in the area. Do you want to throw any breeds into the mix?

**Today’s Picture comes from Five Ponds Farm website. They are raising Red Wattles and have some for sale from time to time so make sure and check them out!**

Okay, the Gearld Fry article wasn’t the only cool article I read on New Farm the other day. I also ran across an articled titled, “Customers seeking taste, type, integrity and terroir drive traditional pork revival” by Kelly Klober. Mr. Klober is the author of a few books, including “Dirt Hog” which I received for Christmas and will probably start reading after I finish the book I’m on now. The title really tells it all with this article, but it really is a good read. Plus, it is another plug for the heritage breeds.

The article has a quite a bit of information and gives a nice overview of some of the possibilities available for the small pig farmer these days, but I won’t take up the space to give you a blow by blow account of the article today … I’ll just give you some of my thoughts and encourage you to check out the entire article.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s my family was fully entrenched in the hog industry. At the time my uncle was running hogs in a confinement building along with some cattle and his row crops and my Father had hogs … well, he had hogs everywhere! We were living on an older farmstead in the Northeast part of the state with a couple of barns and various other outbuildings. We started finishing feeder pigs in one barn … then they spread to the second barn … next they made their way into the old chicken house which we added a wooden feeding floor too … and finally they were pretty much everywhere! Mostly we were buying feeder pigs and selling them when they finished. It was good money (although it was stinky work) for a time … but, then the bottom fell out of the market and the family was no longer in the hog business. Luckily we didn’t lose much other than a source of income (which is a big deal).

Well, I don’t know all of the details … but, after the market dropped things started to change in the hog industry. It hasn’t quite gotten to the point of the vertical poultry business yet, but it is on its way. At one time in this country every farm had some hogs just because they were considered a safe way to get a consistent return. That is no longer the case … unless you are doing something different.

Even here in Iowa (confinement capital of the world) people are beginning to desire something more from their pork. Our blogging friends up at Sugar Creek Farm are selling farm raised pigs and many other Iowa farmers are starting to tap into what I would call the “real pork” or “quality pork” category. In fact the PFI along with other organizations is holding NICHE Pork meetings around the state. People are trying different breeds (lots of Berkshire) and different methods in order to get back to the way pork used to taste.

I must admit that now that we have our cattle pigs and the pork that comes with them are pretty high on my list. In fact, they will most likely be the next piece of livestock that we purchase. The question is, “what do we get and why do we get it?”

Over the past few months I have mentioned Tamworths, Berkshires, Ossabaw Island, and other heritage or rare breeds. I also would like to add Glouchester Old Spots because I just found out there were a few breeding those. We need to have hogs on our farms that not only can tolerate the outdoors, but that can thrive in the outdoors. We need hogs that can “root” up part of their meals (root, hog, or die!). And, most importantly we need hogs that can become a sustainable component of the farm.

One of the many things that I do is coach high school girl’s soccer. I’ve been doing it for just at four years now and I enjoy it for many reasons. But, one thing that I have observed is that too many girls are focusing on just one sport. They won’t go out for soccer because they only do volleyball or they only do basketball, yet study after study has shown that when athletes aren’t out their competing in a diverse area of competition their sport of choice can suffer. Just think about when you grew up in a small town. The same people went out for every sport … just because! Well, that isn’t always the case even in the small towns today. People think they need to specialize to be successful.

Farming has fallen into that trap also. People are grain farmers, cattle finishers, dairymen, or pork producers … too much specialization. In order to get back to quality (just like our high school athletes) we need to have diverse farms that not only have a well rounded balance sheet, but that also produce a variety of foods. Pork is just another part of that variety!

Recently I came across a very interesting article written by Gearld Fry on the New Farm website. The article was originally published on his website, Bovine Engineering, and is titled, “Intelligent Husbandry of Primary Heritage Breeds Could be Our Key to More-Sustainable Farming and Food.” That is one super long title, but it is a great article so I will let it pass!

I believe the opening section of the article is an amazing representation of what is happening in livestock agriculture (and probably crop too) right now and you should probably read it and re-read it several times so it sinks in. But, the basic premise is that at one time our farms were filled with “truly functional family cows” raised by this generations fathers and grandfathers. Once the sons and grandsons returned from educational institutions they bring with them new “knowledge” about creating the perfect herd from a commercial standpoint. Oh, and they learn this knowledge from Universities that are funded by large corporations with greed behind their motives.

So, the son our daughter takes over and starts to implement change using the latest breeding techniques in animal sciences. They create calves that wean bigger and finish bigger and that produce more milk, but they also find that despite all of the vaccinations their cattle keep getting sick and dying for no apparent reason. With all of the inputs, work, burnout, and animal loss their farm becomes increasingly unsustainable…

I think this quote from Mr. Fry sums up best where we are right now as an agirculutral industry (maybe it is a bad thing to be considered an industry) and culture:

As it is, cattle—animals that in their natural state could normally stay fat and healthy on green grass and good hay, and nourish families with wholesome and healthy meat and milk as God intended —have been steadily transformed into what has become a starch-dependent, mongrelized production machine that produces food that tastes like cardboard and causes heart disease and numerous other health problems.

At one time farmers and ranchers never or rarely had to give any sort of treatment to calves while still nursing … not so today. At one time twice yearly worming wasn’t even on the radar … not so today. At one time cattlemen breed for sick-free cattle who could produce instead of super producing cattle who rarely weren’t sick. In the words of Mr. Fry, “My friends, this should not be.”

The rest of the article goes on to tell more about the faulty system that we are operating under in today’s livestock world. I think this is a must read article for any farmer who believes that their farm should and can be sustainable.

In the article Mr. Fry mentions that there were 8-10 breeds of cattle that were adapted to various environments across our country. I think he raises Devons, so I assume that would be on the list, but I wonder what else. Maybe he mentions on his site or maybe some of you have some guesses? Let us know what you think.

In the meantime, check out the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy to learn more about our heritage breeds that are in danger and consider a breeding program that takes advantage of the genetics that our forefathers perfected over years and years … not just the ideas of 50 years and research funded by animal medicine companies.

**As you may have noticed from the picture above I suggest Dexter cattle. They may not work for everyone, but the do fit the definition of a dual purpose home cow!**

As I was flipping through my January, 2008 issue of “The Stockman Grassfarmer” I came across an interesting article titled, “Your Ranch Is Not Sustainable If It Leads to Personal Burnout”. The article is written by Greg Judy who is also the author of the book, “No Risk Ranching”. Mr. Judy also practices high density grazing with his cattle and has had some great results … you can read more about high density grazing on this post and this post.

But, back to the topic of the article. Burnout is something that I am keenly aware of, particularly because of my work in ministry. I know there are many careers out there that have high rates of burnout, but it seems that people in ministry deal with it quite a bit. So, when I saw the title of the article I was very interested (I’m always reading articles about burnout in ministry).

Prior to a grazing conference South African grazier Ian Mitchell-Innes took a walk with Mr. Judy through his pastures. Mr. Judy relates in the article that Mr. Mitchell-Innes had lots of good advice about high density grazing, but the most shocking thing he said was when he was question on his overall thoughts of the operation. He told Mr. Judy that what he was doing was not sustainable because at that time he was running three different herds and grazing systems. The very next day the three herds were combined (except the bulls) and their work load was cut by two thirds.

This just supports what others such as Joel Salatin have said about the importance of maintaining a single herd at all costs, but even more importantly it brings up something else to think about. What about burnout for the part-time farmer or the beginning farmer who is also holding down a town job? How can a person in that situation combat burnout?

First of all, as was the case for Mr. Judy’s farm it is important that you let the animals do the work. On his farm one of the reasons that they were running three herds was because their land was spread out of a large area and the thought/cost of moving the entire herd around. Well, they don’t have to be trucked around … what they did wouldn’t work every, but they just walked them down the road and stringing wire on either side to keep them going the right way. Management Intensive Grazing is another way to make the animals work for themselves … so is selecting for easy calving cows and sows that don’t lose any piglets.

Secondly, I think it is important that your farm (whether part-time or beginning) is a family operation. If you are able to work together as a family when you are farming then it will seem less like work and less stressful to the entire family. But, the family has to be completely on board.

Third, there needs to be a passion. If you are going to hold an off-farm job and run a working farm it is important that it is a passion not just a source of extra income. When something is a passion you are less likely to get as frustrated (notice I said “as frustrated”!) than if you didn’t really care one way or another. Also, a passion to farm will help give you the energy to work and research and study so that you can be the most efficient.

Finally, I think it is important that we don’t get in over our heads. Many beginning farmers these days don’t have a complete farming background. They are passionate about it, their family is behind it, and they are motivated by new ideas in grazing, crops, and more … but, they don’t always have the hands on experience. For those people (ME!!!) it is important that they don’t bite off more than they can chew. Take steps, make plans, and attack things slowly so it doesn’t hurt as much when you slide down that steep learning curve!

Here are a couple of quotes from the article about how much the changes have impacted the Judy’s …

“In the future we will grow more grass, better grass, more animal impact, our soil microbes will explode, our ground litter accumulation will benefit, our water catchments will increase, and our labor has been slashed dramatically.”

“We now have a life”

“We now have time to think, monitor results and time for leisure.”