The Beginning Farmer Website is Moving

Please check out 

www.thebeginningfarmer.com

for the new website!

We are very excited because we are in the process of updating and upgrading The Beginning Farmer Blog which began all the way back in 2006. Although the new website doesn't look much different just yet there are many exciting things coming beyond just a new look. Of course there will still be the archive of over 800 blog posts spanning 7 years, but in addition to The Beginning Farmer Show we will be adding all sorts of new content. We can't wait for you to see all of the new stuff!

From The Beginning Farmer's Wife

If you are a Beginning Farmer Show podcast listener or blog reader and are itching for more farm updates or thoughts on setting up a beginning farm, you can now follow The Beginning Farmer's Wife on Facebook, where I will have additional personal peeks at building a family farm, along with posting notifications of when my new Beginning Farmer's Wife blog posts come out.

Since I'm not the speaker that Ethan is, you'll be hard pressed to get me on the podcast, but I will try to share my thoughts and perspectives through my blog and Facebook page. :)

~Becca
The Beginning Farmer's Wife | 

TBF 042 :: 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Farmer, Hoop Building Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

With Christmas only one week away I thought it would be fun to share some gift ideas for the beginning farmers in your life (or the future farmers ... or lovers of farms!). The items on this list are mostly in the $30 or less range with only a couple of exceptions. All of the items are available on Amazon.com (the links are affiliate links and help support "The Beginning Farmer Show"), but many of them can also be found at your local farm store or hardware store. The other thing you may notice about the list is that it is mostly focused on a gift list for a farmer in the colder winter climates. Mittens are a great thing for a farmer in Iowa, but not so much for a farmer in Georgia ... so ... if you live in the warmer climates I would love to see your suggestions for those last minute Christmas gifts.

10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Beginning Farmer (or Future Farmer or Lover of Farms)

• Stormy Kromer Cap -- A winter cap to keep you warm all winter long.
• King Corn DVD -- The first film that I came across that really made me think about farming in the United States.
• Leather Mittens -- On a cold day I will take mittens over gloves all of the time.
• You Can Farm by Joel Salatin -- The first farming book that I read.
• Headlamp -- Short days make for much work after dark and this is a tool that I use everyday.
• Chain Saw Chaps -- $60 chaps are cheaper than a hospital trip everyday.
• American Meat DVD -- Another film to checkout this winter to be encouraged about agriculture in the United States.
• Small Vice Grips -- I carry these everyday and use them more than expected.
• The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon -- A great book for winter reading.
• Utility Folding Knife -- Great for those projects that don't need your good knife.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 042 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 041 :: 7 Winter Farming Lessons, Pioneer Farming, and a Hard Lesson Learned

One of the things I say about our farm (and it's on one of our t-shirts that we have for sale) is that we are doing "Pioneer Farming". The reason that I say that is because we have sort of built this farm from a blank slate that was basically a prairie and a little bit of woods. It almost felt like we were out there homesteading just like the Iowans that came before us, except that we had a few benefits that they didn't have ... things like gas, electricity, power tools, chainsaws, tractors, trucks, cement floors in our house, and other little things like that. But, as this winter starts off with a little more cold than usual I am reminded of our first winter on the farm five years ago and I'm thankful for just how far we have been able to come. I was also reminded of my childhood reading of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, The Long Winter and her tales of a horrible winter spent on the plains of the Dakotas in 1880/81. After pulling out our copy and reading some of her memories I think our first winter wasn't so bad after all ... that was really some pioneer farming!

Nevertheless I do have some tips for handling winter on the farm, especially when it comes to livestock ...

1. Don't bring livestock to your farm for the winter if you aren't ready for them.
2. High quality feed for your animals is a must.
3. The combination of cold and wet can really be the worst.
4. Water hoses can freeze even if you think you completely drained them.
5. Windbreaks or shelters out of the wind are very important for your livestock.
6. Know your neighbors, because you may need some help this winter.
7. Have a good winter fence (preferably not electric unless you have a plan for shorting).

What are your favorite online resources for farmers? Comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 041 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 040 :: 8 Great Online Resources for Farmers, Hoop Building Progress, and a Hard Lesson Learned

I talk a lot on the show about the importance of getting out there and learning from other farmers because there is so much knowledge to be gained from those real life experiences. But, there are times when your life just dictates that you can't get out there and do some on farm training. That was my case when I began this farming journey and I scoured the internet looking for resources that would help me along the way. The great thing about a lot of the links and resources I found was that it came from famers who were doing great on-farm research through comparing systems, feeds, structures, and so much more. I found links to videos, research bulletins, articles, spreadsheets, and so much more that gave me some of the information that was useful to a beginning/dreaming farmer. On today's episode I share "8 Great Online Resources for Farmers (Beginning or Experienced)"

Links Mentioned in This Episode ...

• Practical Farmers of Iowa Resources
• These Niche Pork articles are awesome
• Practical Farmers of Iowa Farminars 
• Dan Wilson's Farminar is probably my favorite
• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
• Pastured Poultry Production and Profitability Webinar
• MidWest Plan Service
• A-Frame Hut Plan
• Cornell Small Farms Program
• Whole Animal Buying Guide
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
• The "Bulletins" section has some great information
• Beginning Farmers
• Farm Business Plan Section
• The Beginning Farmer Center
• Ag Decision Maker

What are your favorite online resources for farmers? Comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 040 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 039 :: How Long Until Full-Time Farming, Farm Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

How long will it be until I am able to be a full-time farmer without the need of any off-farm income? That is a question that I have heard quite a few times in the past five years of being a beginning farmer and writing and talking about it on-line. It is a very valid question though, and even one that I have thought about a lot during this farming journey. There are two important things to think about though when you are looking at that question though I believe. First of all I think it is important to realize that a majority of farmers in the United States have off-farm income, and secondly sometimes people who want to be farmers don't always want to quit their job in town. That is the case with me at this point in my life. I very much enjoy my work in town and it is something I could see myself doing for a very long time, but that doesn't mean that I don't think we could make the farm go full-time. There are some limiting factors to think about though ...

• Mortgages can be killer and be something that holds you back from farming full-time.
• There are a lot of expenses that are variable depending on your family situation. For example in our family health insurance is a huge expense ... bigger than the mortgage!
• How much capital do you have to spend and live off of until the farm starts making money. You know the old adage ... you gotta spend money to make money.
• And on, and on, and on!

On today's episode I take some time to answer a listener e-mail all about that question ... How long until I become a full-time farmer. I do my best to answer the question, but in the end it seems like a non-answer. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. If you were starting from zero how long do you think it would take you to get to full-time?

Links Mentioned in This Episode ...

• Pigs Raised by Paul Willis for Niman Ranch (one of the Niman Ranch founders)
• TBF Episode 37 :: Alternative Feed For Pigs
• TBF Episode 23 :: Beginning Farmer Equipment List
• Joel Salatin on making $60,000 on 20 rented acres for pigs
• Watch the documentary "American Meat" for free this week only!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 039 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 038 :: Farm Marketing Diversification, The Traveling Farmer, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Diversification is one of this "big words" when it comes to the small-scale farming community. On our farm we raise pigs, chickens, cattle, sheep, and rabbits on the pastures and in the woodlots. Part of the reason we raise such a diverse amount of livestock is because it is just plain fun, but it also because there are benefits for our farm and land by being diversified. The animals work together and compliment each other in a way that build organic matter in the soil, helps with parasite control in the livestock, helps increase the fertility of our pastures and woodlots, and they even help us manage our woodlots and control erosion! That is not the only type of diversification on our farm ... lately I have been thinking a lot about diversifying our marketing in order to help the farm grow and protect our farm from little hiccups that may occur along the way.

Right now the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market and our whole/half hog sale are absolutely the top of our marketing outlets, but as we slowly grow our farm we are finding and researching different places and ways to sell our pork, poultry, and lamb. Of course we have a new Meat CSA that will begin in January, but there are also a couple of other ideas that may become part of our marketing toolbox.

Links Mentioned in This Episode ...

• Niman Ranch
• Raising Pigs for Niman Ranch (Protocols)
• A Video About Paul Willis (one of the Niman Ranch founders)

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 038 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 037 :: Alternative Feed For Pigs, Hoop House News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Food, water, shelter ... those are all pretty important things when it comes to raising animals (or people for that matter), and they are also things that I talk about a lot on the podcast. But, it seems like the most expensive and difficult to figure out sometimes is feed ... especially when it comes to pigs on my farm! There is always a struggle to get the feeders set so that the pigs have to work just hard enough to get feed, but not too hard. There is the question of how much feed value they are getting from the pastures and woodlot. And, of course there is always the question of organic ... non-GMO ... or conventional feeds. With all that in mind I'm also always looking for ways to get the feed costs down and keep the efficiencies of raising our pigs up ... it is a fine line.

That is why the e-mail I received from Claudia about organic and alternative feeds for pigs caused me to think about so many different things. Questions like these have been running through my head all week ...

• How can I switch over to organic feed and keep my costs down? 
• What plants should I be planting in my pig paddocks?
• Is non-GMO most important for me now ... or organic ... or a certain price point and doing the best that I can with the feed?
• Should organic feeds cost as much as they do?
• Why am I so confused!?!

Claudia posed a great question, and while I do have a lot of thoughts on the subject I'm not sure if I have a lot of answers. Because of that I'm including some great links below to articles and research reports about a wide variety of hog feed alternatives. In fact I saw one even mentioned potato chips ... I would strongly disagree with that option though!

Alternative Pig Feed Links ...

• Feeding Trial: Succotash Swine from Practical Farmers of Iowa
• Alfalfa as a Feed Supplement for Finishing Hogs from Practical Farmers of Iowa
• Barley Versus Corn Based Hog Rations from Practical Farmers of Iowa
• Barley-Based Hog Ration vs. a Corn Based Ration from Practical Farmers of Iowa
• The Natural Farmer "Hog Production Alternatives"
• Alternative Feed Ingredients for Swine Rations
• Designing Feeding Programs for Natural and Organic Pork Production
• Small Scale Pastured Hog Production from GrassWorks

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 037 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 036 :: Listener Questions, Farm Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Projects have slowed down a little bit lately on the farm because of a some rain lately, but that doesn't mean that we haven't be getting a lot accomplished! This past weekend we held our first ever on farm class and it was a day that we enjoyed very much. I am very passionate about the farm and about the values we have that impact how we run the farm so it is always great to share some of that passion. Hopefully those that were able to come and enjoy the day were able to get a "peak behind the curtain" of life on Crooked Gap Farm. We tried hard to give a realistic picture of the decisions that we have to make and the ups and downs of starting a farm business from scratch. I will say though that we were very much blessed by those that came and learned a lot from everyones experiences that will help our farm going forward. Stay tuned because I think there will be more farm classes in the future!

On today's episode I wanted to take some time to answer some listener questions that have been coming in lately. Here are the topics that I will be talking about ...

• Breeding and raising Katahdin sheep
• Selecting beef breeds for a grassfed farm
• And, a question about our house

Links and Books mentioned in this episode (some of the links are affiliate links) ...

• Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin
• Grass-Fed Cattle: How to Produce and Market Natural Beef by Julius Ruechel
• Comeback Farms by Greg Judy
• No Risk Ranching by Greg Judy
• Acres USA Magazine
• Graze Magazine
• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 036 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 035 :: Farmers' Market Thoughts, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

It is the time of year when I feel like I can breathe a big sigh of relief. There is still plenty to do and I don't feel like there will be any less going on in our family life or our farm life, but it does feel like we can at least check one thing off the list ... Outdoor Farmers' Market Season is done! I wanted to take a little bit of time today sharing some of my thoughts on this past market season, which was our best by far, and what some of the good things and the bad things were. There are always things that I would like to do better and while I feel confident in the workflow of making transactions with customers I do wish I had a more visually appealing display to draw in potential customers. I also spend some time talking about the importance of having diverse products at the market in order to reach as many customers as possible, and of course how thankful I am for all of our farm friends that support us week and and week out during the market season!

I also spend a little bit of time talking about an interesting quote that I stumbled across from Joel Salatin this past week which interestingly enough fits perfectly into a discussion about farmers' markets. The basic takeaway from Mr. Salatin's comments was that you would be better off spending time marketing in other places than spending your Saturdays tied up at a market. While I will say that not all markets are created equal and I do think we have the best market out there for farmers and for customers I will also concede that I don't completely disagree with what he says. If you would like to listen to the whole interview and specifically his thoughts on marketing check out the links in the list below. In fact I greatly recommend you listen to that episode ... especially if you are a young or beginning farmer!

Links mentioned in this episode ...

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project
• Crooked Gap Farm Class :: "How Do They Do That?"
• Permaculture Voices Podcast Episode 015 Show Notes
• Show Transcription of Joel Salatin's Interview

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 035 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 034 :: I Don't Know How to Farm, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

While we were in the middle of the summer and I was busy mowing and raking hay, taking care of the farm, and doing the farmers market (as well as a few other odds and ends) I thought maybe things would slow down in the "off-season". Well, we are getting closer to the theoretical off-season and I have to say that I don't think things will be slowing down that much! I'm choosing to be encouraged by that though because on many levels it means that things are working ... and when they are working it means good work! On today's episode I spend a bit of time updating the various happenings on the farm which include both good and bad things ... which is life on the farm. But, I also wanted to take some time to answer a question that came in on e-mail from a young man with an interest in farming.

Last week I received an e-mail from Barrett who basically said, "I have wanted to farm since I was ten, but I don't know how to farm". That statement that I related to on so many levels that I just felt like I had to share some thoughts on the subject ... because there are plenty of times still where I think, "I want to farm, but I don't know how to farm"! My answer can simply be summed up by one word ... Apprenticeships! Knowing what I know now if I could go back to the time when I was 17 and getting ready to enter college there are a few "apprenticeships" that I would have included in my summers, weekends, and free-time in general. There are so many "hats" that a farmer wears each day and if you can go into your farming journey with at least a little experience in each of these "hats" then I think you have a leg up in the game!

Here are the apprenticeships I would consider ...

• A Farm - This is the obvious one, and it is very important. Work on a farm ... any farm ... even if they don't do everything how you would do it, because you will learn a lot!
• A Mechanics Shop - It doesn't matter if it's a tractor shop, a car shop, or a mower shop ... a background in mechanical things will help any beginning farmer.
• A Welding/Metalwork Shop - I don't know how to weld and this is one of the things I most wish I knew how to do ... it literally could save me thousands of dollars over the life of the farm.
• A Meat Processor - You may never have your own on-farm official processing facility, but the knowledge you gain can help you not only in your processing for your own use but also in marketing and working with customers.
• An Electrician/Carpenter/Construction in General - There is always something that needs to be built, plumbed, or wired on the farm. Having the knowledge on how to do it ... at least the basics ... will always help.

I'd love to hear your thoughts ... what apprenticeships would you recommend to a young beginning farmer?

Links mentioned in this episode ...

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project
• Crooked Gap Farm Class :: "How Do They Do That?"
• BTU's of Firewood

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 034 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 033 :: Preparing for Winter, Farrowing Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

This past Sunday when I walked outside to head to church I was mildly shocked to see my windshield covered with frost. Not that it was too early for a frost, but rather because it really hadn't been forecasted and I was still basically in summer mode mentally. That chilly reminder did quickly bring into clear focus though the reality that winter will be here before I know it ... and I don't have any wood cut/split/stacked! Besides making a big woodpile there are plenty of other things that need to be do to get the livestock and their winter quarters ready. I have been spending a lot of time the past few episodes talking about my plans for the hoop house (winter housing for the pigs), but there is still plenty to do for the chickens, guineas, cattle, sheep, and rabbits. On todays episode I'll share what my winter plans are for each species and then talk a little bit about the difficulties winter brings to the farm ... and even a positive or two that I can take away from the winter season!

Links mentioned in this episode ...

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project
• Crooked Gap Farm Class :: "How Do They Do That?"
• Cobett Energy-Free Waterer

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 033 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 032 :: A Crooked Gap Farm Class, The Farm Crawl Recap, and a Hard Lesson Learned

With the Farm Crawl behind us for this year we are very excited to announce our new farm event coming up on Saturday, November 2nd 2013 called "Crooked Gap Farm :: How Do They Do That?" Hosting an event like this is something that we have wanted to do for a long time, but no we finally feel that we are at a place in our farming lives that we have some great information to share and a lot to talk about on our farm. If you have ever wanted an in-depth tour of the farm, the chance to ask detailed questions about our farm enterprises, or wanted to see up close how various things on the farm work then this is the perfect event for you. This event will give you a "peek behind the curtain" at Crooked Gap Farm and we will take time to answer as many of your questions as we can to the best of our abilities. Check out all of the details below ...

Cost :: $65 ages 13 and up ... $20 ages 4-12 ... age 3 and under Free

What Will the Day Look Like?

• 9:00 Am until Noon -- Intensive farm tour of each of our enterprises
• Noon until 1:00 PM -- A Crooked Gap Farm lunch featuring our woodlot raised Hereford pork
• 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM -- A frank discussion of beginning a farm from scratch and balancing your family, that job in town, and of course your farm dreams
• 3:00 PM until 4:00 PM -- A look into Ethan's toolbox ... what books, articles, resources, people, websites, and more does he utilize in this farming journey
• 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM -- Your chance to ask that question that you've been dying to ask, or we can even head back out to the pastures and take a little closer look at certain things
• 6:00 PM to until we're done -- A Crooked Gap Farm Supper and lots of connecting and discussion around the tables

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 032 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 031 :: Milking and Freezers and More, Farm Fun, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Micro-daries, cheese making, milking Dexter cows, and keeping our Crooked Gap Farm pork/chicken/beef/lamb frozen. Those are all topics on todays episode of The Beginning Farmer Show. Thanks to a great question from Scott in Minnesota I spend some time talking about why we aren't milking on the farm right now, and why it could possibly be an enterprise in the future. The biggest hang-up I have is the capital costs needed to do an enterprise involving milk or cheese for sale. Scott also gave me a great suggestion about using a walk-in freezer instead of our current set-up of a multitude of upright freezers. I think this is a great suggestion on many levels and I will be looking into it very closely this winter ... I hope!

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Website
• Bob-White Systems
• Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery (A Dexter Micro-Dairy)
• Farm Crawl

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 031 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 030 :: Hoop House Announce Part Two, Farm Crawl Frenzy, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Deciding that a hoop house was the next big step that our farm needed to take to continue down our path of sustainable growth was not any easy decision to come to. Right now our farm only has three permanent pieces of infrastructure: our house, the equipment/winter shed, and our perimeter fencing. The size of hoop house we are planning to build would make it the biggest structure on the farm and of course it will be a serious capital investment. It is important to us that this building fits into our values when it comes to the farm and raising livestock ... and being sustainable to our family financially, physically, and emotionally. That meant a lot of discussion, question, planning, scrapping of plans, and so much more. On today's episode I wanted to spend some time sharing some of our thoughts on the plans and how we came to the conclusion that we needed this building.

Besides all of that hoop house planning we still have this little event coming up called The Farm Crawl. That means hundreds of people will be touring our farm and we need to clean up for company. It makes for a long list of projects, but a very fulfilled feeling when it is all said and done. Finally, in the "Hard Lesson Learned" segment of today's show I talk about that old woodworker's adage ... "Measure twice, cut once!"

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Website
• Hoop House Episode
• Choosing You Breeding Stock Episode

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 030 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 029 :: The Crooked Gap Farm Meat CSA Announcement Episode

Click on the image to check out the
new Hoop House website!

A Hoop House, a Meat CSA, the Soap Club, and More...

This is the big news that we have been hinting at for a while now. We are very excited to tell you about our plans for expansion of the farm with the construction of a hoop house, our new Meat CSA Subscription, the Soap of the Month Club, and how all of those things fit together!

After much research, we have decided that in order to produce more hogs and build sustainability on our farm, we need to build a hoop house.  This hoop house would allow us to increase the number of hogs we raise out, decrease the number of hogs we bring in, and provide a comfortable place full of deep bedding and natural lighting for this greater volume of pigs to wander in and out of during the winter while they wait for spring, summer, and fall where they will reside in the larger pastures and woods. To check out our new website detailing our project, visit www.CrookedGapFarmHoopHouse.com.

The biggest hurdle we face in putting up our hoop house is the capital expense. We are excited, however, about the new offerings we have available to not only provide our customers valuable products, but to also help us raise the needed funds.

Meat CSA Subscription:
This prepaid membership will allow you to receive pre-assembled shares of our meat products to be enjoyed on a regular basis throughout the year. This is the perfect opportunity for those who don’t have freezer space for a whole or half hog, who like to cook with a variety of meat cuts, and who don’t want to try to beat the crowds at the Downtown Des Moines Market to get those prime cuts which sell out so quickly.

There are three levels of our Meat CSA

• Full Share :: $1400    
  24 Shares Delivered Twice a Month - 216 lbs of meat and 24 dozen eggs
• Half Share :: $775
  24 Shares Delivered Twice a Month - 108 lbs of meat and 24 dozen eggs
• Quarter Share :: $400
  12 Shares Delivered Once a Month - 54 lbs of meat and 12 dozen eggs

If you are interested in more information about the Meat CSA Subscription check out this link.

Whole/Half Hog Purchase:
We are offering the opportunity to purchase a hog upfront for us to raise out for the summer/fall of 2014.  The majority of the cost of your hog will be paid upfront, allowing us to bring in additional Herefords from a trusted farm and providing the funds needed to grow them to market weight. Once your hog is ready for processing, the remaining balance will be due, as well as the locker processing fees. The upfront purchase price of a whole hog is $375 and a half hog is $175. If you would like to purchase a whole/half hog please e-mail us.

Soap of the Month Club Membership:
As a member of our “Soap of the Month Club”, you will receive pre-selected bars of our Farmcrafted Soap mailed to you throughout the year for personal use or to give as gifts.  This soap is full of natural emollients which leave your skin feeling unbelievably soft, smooth, clean, and moisturized. It's “A soap so wonderful, it doesn’t need to be scented!”

• Full Membership ::   $150 / 24 bar
  2 bars of Farmcrafted Soap mailed once per month
• Half Membership ::   $75 / 12 bars
  2 bars of Farmcrafted Soap mailed every other month

You can learn more about the Soap of the Month Club here.

Additional Opportunities:
For additional ways to support our project we also have a limited amount of Crooked Gap Farm T-Shirts available and information on how to be a Hoop House Backer.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House
• The Beginning Farmer Show Episode 24
• Crooked Gap Farm

TBF Show 029 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download