A Goat Podcast

I'm off to begin laying the floor this morning ... one of the things that we will now get done with our extra time ... But, since I have posted about goats from time to time on this blog and because I have seen them listed a lot lately in our local advertisers I found this podcast from WHO Radio's, "The Big Show", very interesting. In this podcast from their daily radio show Ken Root interviews a couple that raises goats just about half-an-hour east of me. They seem to be very knowelegable when it comes to Boar goats.

Enjoy, and feel free to throw out all of your goat thoughts...

LISTEN HERE

It's a Blog'iversary on "The Beginning Farmer"

"I am going to use this web log as a journal of my journey into the world of farming. I hope that it can be a source of information for other people that have the same dream that I have (full-time farming). Since I do not have any immediate family that is currently involved in farming I am looking into the potential of alternative farming that does not take as much land as conventional Iowa row crop farming. Some of the ideas that I am researching are berries, cut flowers, pastured hogs, free range broiler chickens, organic eggs, sheep, and goats. I want to have a diverse group of farming endeavors in order to have things producing income at all times of the year. I am not looking for a hobby, rather I'm looking at farming as a full-time job.

That was the very first paragraph of the very first post I made on "The Beginning Farmer" blog two years ago today. Since then there are been 362 additional posts (including today's) and for about the past year I have been committed to posting Monday through Saturday. Along with all those posts there have been hundreds of comments (I'm actually not sure exactly how many, but I know there are a lot). These comments have given me a lot to think about as you all have asked questions, shared your experiences, questioned my ideas or thoughts, and encouraged me countless times!"Even though I am two years further along, what I wrote in that very first paragraph still holds true for me. I continue to post six times a week because I want to chronicle this journey of ours and hopefully share some knowledge, experiences, and information with others that have similar desires as those of my family.

What really makes this blog great though is not me. I think this is a great blog because there are people all over the country and the world who share, debate, joke, and encourage all of the people who choose to read these words. In fact that is what makes communities great ... people willing to share and encourage others with their own experiences.

If you have stuck around for a while and read many of these posts ... thank you! If you have stumbled across the blog and have just been following a long for a little while ... thank you! If you subscribe and find my ramblings in your e-mail inbox daily ... thank you! And, if you have encouraged me and others through your experiences or lessons from the farm (this is a reminder for everyone to become involved in the commenting) ... THANK YOU!

P.S. I've been saving that picture for a while waiting for the right time to really make fun of myself. Becca snapped that shot this past winter when we were trying to get a picture for the Epi-Log. I wasn't quite ready when she took the picture!

Goats, Cattle, and Worms

There is another article in the Stockman Grass Farmer this mouth touting the benefits of grazing goats and cattle in combination. The article by Dave Sparks (a DVM) is titled, "Goats and Cattle Together Complement Each Other and Reduce the Need for Worming". As usual in this publication the title really spells out the entire article, but the research from a field test in Oklahoma gives graziers one more reason to look at diversified grazing.

The field study in Oklahoma is using a 200 acre plot of land divided into three tracts that have similar forage quantity and quality. All three of these areas were stocked by live weight according to the estimated amount of forage in them. One plot was stocked with just goats, another with just cattle, and the final one with cattle and goats together. The article doesn't say how the livestock was managed, but I would assume a rotation with goats following might be the best management method.

Results from the study were very much in favor of combining the two animals. The goats alone group had several deaths because of parasite infection (goats have a problem with worms because most breeds come from desert areas much different from the Midwest). The cattle alone group were fine, but here pasture had a much taller growth of the browse type plants the goats ate in the other plots. In the combination group there was no death in the goat herd and they goats required 23% less individual worming.

Information like this does make goats look pretty appealing. I believe the biggest barrier to farmers getting into the growing goat market is the fact that as Americans we don't know much about goats. We don't know much about cooking them, eating them, or marketing them to the various ethnic groups. But, if the benefits for the cattle, the goats, and the pastures are this great it might be time ot figure this thing out.

The Global Food Crisis and Small Farms

So, what is the deal with the food crisis? Is it real ... is it something that can be fixed ... is it just a scare tactic made up by certain groups ... is it caused by our growing ethanol industry ... what exactly is the deal?!? This current/impending food crisis is something that I'm hearing a lot about lately on the news and in the blogging world. People are talking about it because of the food shortages in third world countries and because of the rising food costs here in the United States.

Yesterday I ran across the video below on one of the blogs I frequent. It looks like I'm a few days late posting it, but it was still an interesting video because it features the head of Compassion International talking about the food crisis. I love what Compassion does and have supported it various times, but I'm still curious about the food crisis ... is it something new in the third world countries, or has it been around and the same for quite a while.



The other thing that pops into my head when I see news reports on the food crisis is what small farms have to do with a lack of food. Should we have more small farms? Should the small farmer sell/rent their land to bigger farmers who can farm "more efficiently"? Can the small-scale farm make a large impact in a food crisis?

Those are all questions that I don't really have concrete answers for, but I would be interested in hearing what you take on the matter is. One way I do believe small farms can help the problem is through organizations like Gospel for Asia. This organization offers us opportunities to buy farm animals (chickens, rabbits, goats, etc.) for people in developing places so they can produce food for themselves and for sale. This is an organization I love to support and think they have a great model!

Found This Video on Meat Goats...

I was bouncing around some of the agricultural websites that I check from time to time when I have a chance when I came across an interesting video on the ATTRA website. It caught my interest because of THIS POST where I wondered about the possibilities of meat goats. The video below comes from a segment on "This Week in Agribusiness" and deals specifically with marketing. You can watch the video below:



I think there are lots of good things to think about in that video ... both positive and negative. Marketing goat meat is going to be more difficult that beef or pork, there is no doubt about that. But, I do think it does deserve consideration ... maybe not on everyones farm though. After watching that video clip and doing the small amount of research that I have done I think one of your biggest deciding factors is going to be your location. How close are you to a large enough ethnic market, and are they looking for goat?

From that ethnic market I think you could expand into other direct marketing opportunities, but I think it is important to have a good place to start. As I read in one of the articles I stumbled across only 50% of the goat meat consumed in the U.S. was raised in the U.S. That is a staggering number considering the number of farms we have and the way goats graze and forage.

Their foraging and grazing ability is probably one of their most appealing things to a grass finishing farmer. Because you can have goats follow cattle and not decrease your number of cattle they make an ideal addition to the farm. They break the parasite cycle and they eat different types of forages ... even the lovely (YUCK!) multiflora rose.

I'm not sure if meat goats are an option that I am going to pursue heavily at this time (maybe sheep are more along my lines), but I do think they need to be in the discussion and this video gave me some things to think about.

Do you have any more thoughts on goats? I would love to hear from people raising them or that have eaten them. What does it taste like? Are they easy to raise? How big and strong are your fences!?!

Thinking About Fencing...

Lately I have been thinking about fencing. Despite all of the snow on the ground I know that spring is going to be coming soon and with it there will be some opportunities to do some fencing projects that are needing to be done. But, in the world of fencing there are so many options that sometimes I'm not even sure of where I need to begin and what I need to be looking at. I thought I would just open it up for discussion and see what a variety of people think.

Basically our fencing needs will break down into two categories. First of all we need to do some permanent perimeter fencing. This will be a combination of replacing some old fence between us and a neighbor and putting up some new fence along the road. The second fencing need will be interior fencing for Management Intensive Grazing (electric and easy to move).

When it comes to the perimeter fencing the choices range from 4 or 5 strands of barbed wire, to woven wire, to woven wire with 1 or 2 barbed wires on top, and even to 2 or three strands of electric (I saw that on a pasture walk last year). One thing that we have to keep in mind is the variety of livestock that we will be running on the farm. Anything from our Dexters, my families horses, sheep, goats, or pigs could be on the farm so we need something that will work for all of the above. Also, cost always needs to be considered in these types of situations ... what gives you the most bang for the buck?

For the interior electric fencing the options really break down into posts and wire. There are so many posts out there from fiberglass ones with 3 or more wire hooks, to step in re-bar posts with plastic insulators, and even steel step in posts with a pig tail on the top for the wire. Obviously we need something that goes in and out easily, but also works for our short cattle (Dexters). Also, does it matter if the calf can walk under the wire? What type of wire is also an issue. We could use the inexpensive steel, the slightly more expensive aluminum, or the most expensive poly-rope or wire. Here price is a factor, but ease of moving and longevity is also very important.

So, what are you using? What works for you? I would love to hear from anyone who is doing MiG about their interior fencing. I would love to hear from people that are just thinking about it, but have ideas! Basically I'm putting out an appeal for help :)

Eight...TEEN is Enough?

The past couple of days have been pretty eventful around here. Well, I guess they haven't been as eventful around here as it the past couple of days have been eventful on the road! Late Monday morning I was finally able to get away and pick up SGF SANT Hershey. You may remember reading about when the deal was finalized way back in THIS POST, but because of mechanical problems, schedule problems, and weather problems I had not been able to get down there yet! But, now he is home ... along with a cow and heifer!

The traveling actually started on Saturday when I drove up to Dan Butterfield's, of Grandma's Dexters, to pick up a bull calf and two cows that I was going to deliver to Steven in Southern Missouri (you may recognize the name because he comments from time to time). So, late Monday morning I headed out of town and swung by the farm to pick up the trailer and Steven's cows. The driving was uneventful (except for a traffic jam in St. Louis) and so was the unloading (even though it was slightly muddy and 9:00 PM). It was great to finally be able to put a face to the name and chat with Steven and his family. They have some pretty cool things starting up down there so it was neat to see what was going on.

After that I headed on my way to Erik and Marian Van Beever's Five Ponds Farm (with a break for sleep). I arrived there and also enjoyed putting a real live face to the many e-mail conversations we have had. It was neat to see their diverse livestock ranging from sheep and goats to Dexters and of course their Red Wattle Hogs! Of course I picked up Hershey while I was there, but I also had decided to bring back a bred cow and heifer calf they had for sale (Gigi and Tinkerbelle). Hershey looks as great in person as he did in the pictures and I'm looking forward to seeing him mature this summer. I am also pleased with the prospects of Gigi and Tinkerbelle bring to the herd.

So, now there are eighteen Dexters roaming (not so much in the snow I guess) Stoneyfield! If you are scoring at home it adds up like this: 8 cows ... 4 heifers ... 4 steers ... 1 bull calf (to become a steer) ... and of course, 1 Herd Sire!! Don't forget that we have at least three more cows we are expecting to calve. And to think, this started out six months ago as an "experiment"!

**The first picture above is of Hershey of course, and the second is of Tinkerbelle (calf in front) and Gigi (horned). Hopefully I'll be able to post some more pictures soon!**

Meat Goats ... Are They an Option?

Meat goats are something that I just haven't put too much thought into to be perfectly honest. I have seen plenty of articles and posts about them in magazines and on the internet (especially on homesteading sites), but I just never really considered them a viable market for my potential customers. And, I guess I didn't really look into them much because I don't know anything about meat goats or goat meat.

I decided to raise beef because I like beef. We have chickens because we love eggs and chicken. We are adding pigs because ... well, because you can't be a real Iowa farm unless you have them. But, meat goats that originated in Africa? I just didn't see that stuff in the Fareway meat case growing up.

With a growing immigrant population they may be something I have to consider. At least that is what I think now after reading an article by Dien Judge titled, "Iowa Farmers Adapt to Serve New Ethnic Markets". According to the article many Iowans who are raising the Boer goats are selling them directly to the consumer in areas where there are larger populations of immigrants. There are also a few that are selling at local sale barns who in turn move them to a processing plant in Illinois. But, the quote in the article that really got me thinking was this, "Finch said that a market-ready meat goat will sell for approximately $1.10 per pound live weight, not a bad price for a livestock animal." It looks like the live weight for butcher animals is right around 100 to 120 pounds so there is some money there, now I just need to research the inputs.

The article mentioned that in Iowa we even have an "Iowa Meat Goat Association" so I checked out their website right away. They have quite a bit of good information on their site. After reading through bits and pieces of the site it seems that goat meat is rather healthy compared to other meats, and it is very lean. I'm not sure what the market is like for selling to non-immigrants, but the health aspect may be appealing. In fact there are over 200 members of the Iowa Meat Goat Association, so I'm sure there are people that can help me answer that question.

For me the biggest question becomes this. What do goats eat? No, they do not eat everything! But, that is not what I'm talking about. I mean what do they finish on? Are they being fed and finished on a strictly grass based diet or are they being fed grain supplements? What do the consumers desire, do they want pasture finished meat goats? These are some questions that I need to answer, but goats now are officially part of the discussion.

If you have in thoughts or information on meat goats make sure to leave a comment and join in the discussion!

Sugar Creek Farm Q&A Interview - Part 1

If you have been following the blog for a while you will remember that I recently did a question and answer interview with Tim of Nature's Harmony Farm (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). I found the interview very interesting and information and I know that others did as well ... so, we are going to take another stab at it! This time I have had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Kelli Miller of Sugar Creek Farm in Osage, IA. This was an especially interesting interview because they are from our state and because they have a pretty neat thing started. I will be posting two questions and answers each day this week (Monday - Friday) so make sure you check back each day.

The Beginning Farmer - Kelli, thanks so much for your willingness to tackle this. I'm pretty excited to hear from someone who has been working for a while and who lives in my general area! First of all could you give us a little background on how you came to Sugar Creek Farm? Why did it get started, how did it get started, and when did it get started?

Sugar Creek Farm - We both grew up on farms and always wanted to get back to it on some level. We wanted that experience for our own kids, of stewardship and responsibility for land and animals. In 2001 our oldest daughter was old enough to show a bottle calf at the county fair. My brother thought she ought to do that, so he bought 3 Holstein bottle calves and helped her break one to lead at the fair. After the fair they came to live at our house for the rest of the summer, since we had pasture not being used. That lit the fire under Matt and the next summer we bought 4 of our own Holstein bottle calves. Nevermind that our daughter didn't want to show one again (though she did show again another year.)

When it came time for vaccinations and castrating, I remember asking Matt if we had to implant them with hormones. I don't know if I thought it was a law, or what, but he said no we didn't have to. So we didn't. When you live in a very rural, traditional, commodity-farming community you have to be able to defend your ideals if you're doing something "different". So I started researching and thus began our journey into sustainable agriculture.

At first our only goal was to raise the kind of food we wanted to eat - animals raised on pasture without added hormones or unnecessary antibiotics, and organically grown vegetables. We figured we'd raise what we needed for our family and sell any surplus to cover costs. We started to build a beef breeding stock herd so that we would know how our animals were treated from birth to butchering. A year or so later we added pigs and chickens to our farm.

The Beginning Farmer - What does Sugar Creek Farm consist of (livestock, crops, etc.)? How did you end up with the combination of ventures you have on your farm?

Sugar Creek Farm - We have 12 acres and raise beef, pigs, and meat chickens. Up until this year we also rented 20 acres of hay ground. I think we ended up with those because that's what we like to eat! These are also the animals we enjoy raising. Matt has experience with sheep & goats and just doesn't enjoy raising them. Our farm is all in pasture, so we also purchase feed from our local elevator.
We also have a large organic vegetable garden but at this point it's just for our own family, not a business venture. Extra's are shared with friends and neighbors. But if one of our kids ever wants to try a vegetable business I'd sure let them!

**Today's picture is copywritten image by Kelli Miller of Sugar Creek Farm**

**Remember to check back tomorrow for part two**

Sheep on the Mind...

Lately I have had sheep on my mind and I've been trying to read and research a little bit about them. I don't know if my sudden interest has to do with my lack of knowledge on the subject or if it is because I have been reading "The Contrary Farmer" by Gene Logsdon who happens to raise sheep. But, whatever the reason is they have been on my mind as I think about ways to expand the farm, clean up some areas around fences, and control parasites in the cattle. My basic knowledge of sheep tells me that they can lend a hand in all of those areas.

The other day I went over to the ATTRA website to see if I could find some basic introductory information on sheep. What I found was an article titled, "Sustainable Sheep Production" (you can access and html version of the article by clicking on the title). As I said I was looking for a very basic overview and this short article is just that, but it did give me a few things to think about and process.

The first paragraph holds a couple of sentences that really support my current interest in sheep. The authors write, "Integrating sheep into a farming operation can contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of the whole farm." And they continue a couple of sentences later, "The relatively small investment required, and the gradually increasing size of the flock, make sheep production a good choice for the beginning small-scale or part-time farmer." This really got my attention because I keep reading about the environmental impact that sheep can have on the farm, whether it is by helping to break parasite cycles or by managing pastures. But, the second sentence was pretty interesting also ... after buying our Dexters (and soon a bull, but more on that later) I'm ready for something that is less expensive and perfect for the "beginning small-scale" farmer. One think that I would really like to learn more about is the market for sheep, whether it be the conventional or niche market. I have been told my family and neighbors that the sheep market is pretty good now, but what exactly does pretty good mean?

On the subject of grazing sheep and cattle together the article through out this tasty nugget of information, "...multi-species grazing with sheep, cattle, and goats is useful in increasing pasture efficiency. It has been demonstrated that grazing sheep with cattle can increase meat production by 24% compared to cattle alone, and by 9% compared to sheep alone." Those are pretty drastic increases when you also factor in the possibility of more income with the added livestock. Also, I remember reading recently in Mr. Logsdon's book that you can keep one you and her lamb(s) for each cow/steer/bull you currently have without increasing your acreage. If you can sell for a profit I don't see why you wouldn't add sheep? Or, if you can sell and break even it may even be worth it when you combine the pasture management and parasite control benefits...

The rest of the article is pretty informational also from the basic, "I don't know anything about sheep," point of view. It briefly mentions the use of three strands of electric wire for fencing and the benefits and possibilities of pasture lambing and culling for good lambing ewes. One thing that I would like to research more deeply is breed/cross selection (besides how to raise them of course). The article has a short section on breeds and the authors state that in the U.S. four breeds make up two-thirds of the sheep. But, are those sheep well suited to pasture lambing and pasture living? I don't really know ... I do know that a large amount of the sheep raised in the U.S. come from rangelands in the West, so maybe those would have traits that are more adapted to living in the regions with less precipitation. That being said, as I have mentioned before I'm not ready to add any other purebred livestock as much as I would love to have heritage breeds. One breed association is enough to deal with!

I would love to hear from anyone with experience raising sheep ... especially if you are in the Midwest. Also, below are a couple of links to threads on Homesteading Today dealing with books about sheep and shepherding.

Good Sheep Books For a Beginner

Sheep Book Recommendations and Reviews

Nature's Harmony Farm Q&A - Part 2

Yesterday I posted the first part of my question and answer interview with Tim from Nature's Harmony Farm. Today is round two, so dig in and enjoy! Also, I'm going to ask a few follow up questions. If you have any you would like to ask, just comment in the post or shoot me an e-mail.

The Beginning Farmer - What are some of the sources you used when looking for your land?

Nature's Harmony Farm - Our criteria were to be within 2-3 hours of Atlanta and to have at least 50 acres. We used online resources extensively, such as landandfarm.com, etc. We knew that we would have to generate some income from home and not have traditional jobs, so we looked at income opportunities such as getting into real estate, etc. We looked into that because everyone says that you can’t make a living just in farming. In the end, we decided to commit ourselves to farming and to find a way to make a living in it once we’re up and running. That requires us to direct market to consumers and restaurants, handle the meat processing and retail cuts and run the farm like a business. That was something that I did understand.

The Beginning Farmer - Do you have an overall plan for your farm as far as livestock, products, or management systems? What are they?

Nature's Harmony Farm - Our plan is to mimic nature as closely as possible. That achieve that, there are three things I want to focus on. 1) a multi-species animal environment, 2) a multi-species grazing environment, and 3) no artificial inputs into those environments.

1) Nature doesn’t raise just one animal. To achieve our goals (which include improving nutrient cycling, increasing topsoil and decreasing parasite loads) we could not have just cows, even if we wanted to. We have to have chickens (or birds) to follow their grazing patterns. It’s nice that a lot of people want farm fresh free range eggs and pastured poultry, and we will attempt to fill this need. But, really, we don’t have a choice. We have to do this to accomplish our larger environmental goals.

2) In our part of the country, lots of people grow Coastal Bermuda or another mono-culture species of hay. Mainly this is for horses. Closer to us, most farmers grow another mono-culture crop, cotton. While I appreciate that and love cotton T-Shirts it’s not exactly the best thing for the soil and requires TREMENDOUS inputs. I’m not interested in advising others what to do, especially people who have far more farming experience than I. However, to meet our objectives, we needed to NATURALLY encourage the growth of a multi-species grazing environment. Largely, this is accomplished by frequently moving animals to fresh grazing areas after they’ve uniformly grazed down the previous area. This is accomplished via portable electric fencing. Before you ask “how is using an electric fence mimicking nature?”, I’d like to suggest that the electric fence plays the role of the predator in nature. It keeps the grazers mobbed together for protection, and keeps them moving. We mimic that behavior.

3) Grazers have thrived LONG before our celebrated chemical creations of the past 60 years. There is nothing that traditional farmers put on their crops that I want in my body. Is it easier to add chemicals? Sure...there are times I’d love to reach for RoundUp. But there are other ways. One way is to mix the animals. Just as we feel the need for chickens to follow the grazers, we feel the need to mix sheep with cattle, as they have different grazing preferences. We may even add goats, although I think we may not need to. Another way is to manage the rotations so that the weeds don’t have a chance to shade out grass and inhibit growth, but rather are mowed down (by the grazers) which stimulates their growth and thickens the sward. Over time, other plant species come back and the goal of a multiplicity of plants should be accomplished. When it is, the animals will be able to thrive, and we’ll all be happier. All it takes is some patience and the ability to get out of the way.

Another thing we believe in and that we think is sorely missing is complete transparency. Anyone is welcome to visit our farm and see exactly how their food is being raised and what they are eating. We have nothing to hide, everything to share and lots to learn.

The Beginning Farmer - What are some of your short term goals and do you plan to work off farm for a while?

Nature's Harmony Farm - We will work off farm some for one year. Actually, I’m not sure we have to, but agreed to get the farm going, market some products in 2008 and commit ourselves full-time to the farm thereafter. We have already had more requests for product than we will likely be able to fulfill in 2008. So, why aren’t we fully committing ourselves to the farm? Because we must resist the short-term temptation to just “sell product”. I could probably sell a lot of grass fed beef next year, but if I did and culled too many cows, then how would I establish the size herd that our land needs for the above mentioned goals, and to supply the demand that will come in 2009 and beyond? We have more flexibility with pork and chicken, given the size of litters and/or length of time to harvest, so we’ll probably emphasize those products more this year. But it is important to keep in mind our larger ecological goals and not give in to the temptation to make a buck. I mean, if we were all about “making a buck”, I would have stayed in the corporate world.

**If you would like to read part one of this interview click here. Also, don't forget to check back next week for some follow up questions.**

The Farm Crawl

Sorry for the late post today, my brother-in-law is home on leave from the Navy and we had a chance to come up and visit him today. But, I did want to relate a few thoughts from my afternoon yesterday.

Yesterday was the Farm Crawl in Northern Lucas county and Southern Marion county (right in our area). You can check out the details of all the farms by clicking on the link, but basically there were five farms to stop at. A goat dairy, an apple orchard, a pumpkin patch, a CSA/Market Garden, and a farm that is in the process of getting everything up and running (they have a market garden, turkeys, pastured eggs, hay, and mules). The event ran from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, but with church and everything else I only had time to stop at three places so I picked out the three I was most interested in.

First I stopped off at the goat dairy. They milk 12 goats in their new milking facility. The building has space for the goats to come out of the weather, a small milking room with a milking machine and a platform, a milk handling room, and the certified kitchen where they make the cheese. It was a very nice building and an interesting operation. They had some nice looking goats and some very nice fences! I wish I could have chatted with them about the possible profits of their business because I don't know all the ins and outs of the dairy business. I do know that they sell their cheese to people at the farmers market and through area businesses. One thing that turned me off a little is I did over hear that they had over $80,000 invested! Nice operation though...

The next stop I made was at Blue Gate Farm. The are market garden, CSA, pastured eggs, and honey farm and do business through multiple channels. A couple things about this place. I really appreciate the work they do there and everything looks really good. They have very nice gardens, honey bees all over the place, a high tunnel for growing, and some pasture raised laying hens. But, I did realize that this probably isn't the direction that I would like to go. I will say that this is probably the way to be the most profitable on the smallest area of land. The highlight of my stop at the Blue Gate Farm was the fact that I bumped into a Dexter owner there! In fact, I met Dan Thomas of Hazybrook Dexters whom I had just spoken to on the phone a couple days before. We are planning on going over to check his operation out in the next week or two, but it was great to talk Dexters and here some of his experiences and successes of raising Dexters. I'm looking forward to seeing his cattle and chatting with him about his bulls.

The final stop was at Coyote Run Farm. I probably enjoyed this one the most. I had a bit of one-on-one time with one of the owners of the farm and he was very candid with me and answered all of the questions that I had. Right now they are raising a market garden that they sell at the farmers market and through other places, pastured heritage turkeys, hay, mules (sort of), pastured eggs, and cut flowers. They seem to be making some money and they weren't totally spending away everything they made. They have hopes of adding some beef and other livestock to the farm once they get some of the pastures back in order. I would like to go out and work with them sometime to have some more time to chat and gain some experience.

All in all it was a great day, despite the rain, and I learned quite a bit and was encouraged by seeing farmers working towards profit in small family settings!

Sugar Creek Farm / New Links / Updates

I try to spend a little bit of time each day researching farming, reading about farming, practicing farming (doesn't happen as often as I would like), or planning in my mind and on paper. I that I have come across quite a few neat blogs and websites that are very helpful. One blog that I have been checking out a lot lately is the Sugar Creek Farm Blog. Sugar Creek Farm is located about three hours north of where I live here in Iowa and I have enjoyed reading about their work. They are doing a lot of things that interest me so I have found a lot of good information reading back through their blog. You can check them out by clicking on the link above or by looking at the links section on the right. (The image pictured on the right is their logo)

Another link I have been looking at lately is the Farm Crawl website. The Farm Crawl is an event that I heard about through the PFI. On October, 7th from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm five area farms will be open to the public for tours, questions/answers, and sales. These farms are all within about 15 minutes of our town so I'm looking forward to checking out something very local. You can click on the link above or on the right to get all the details, but I'm really interested in checking out the goat dairy, and the 110 acre farm that is being rebuilt to profitability through great farming practices!

Another blog I check out often is, Northern Farmer. They are located in Minnesota and have a love for farming, faith, and family. I have enjoyed reading many of their posts and I encourage you to check out the link if you find this blog interesting.

**UPDATES**

Just a couple quick updates. First of all I mentioned a few days ago that we were going to pick up some new Dexters to add to our herd. Some of you may be wondering why I have posted pictures of them at their new farm ... well, that is because they haven't made it yet. In order to move livestock from state to state you are supposed to have a certificate of health for the animals and the vet wasn't going to be able to check them out until this coming Friday. Because of this we won't be going down until Saturday, which will be fine because we are going to make it a fun family trip. Look for new pictures of our herd next week. Secondly, I have added a few links and rearranged a bit over on the right side, so check that out.

And, finally ... the main reason that I'm running this blog is for my own benefit. I'm a sort of a visual and thinking learner, so it helps me digest information if I can write it down and check back through it from time to time. Since I was going to be writing it down anyways I decided to put it out there for everyone to check out. As you have noticed it is mostly random thoughts and links to other information that I have found useful. If you enjoy reading this blog feel free to pass it on to others who you think would enjoy reading also!

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 7 Book Report

Yesterday I finished chapter seven, 'The Competitive Edge -- MIG', in Allan Nation's book "Quality Pasture". I found this chapter very interesting and informative and will probably have to reread it multiple times so I can digest all the great stuff! I'll just run down some of the highlights of this chapter.

Mr. Nation begins the chapter talking about some of the benefits of Management Intensive Grazing. Of course one of the biggest benefits is the higher stocking rate and pasture gain that you can get from having a MIG system in place. But, he also quoted Keith Milligan, of New Zealand, on his list of benefits. Mr. Milligan adds that MIG produces, "a better return on total investment, a lower labor input, a general conservation of the environment, and a much increased sense of peace of mind for the grazier." I think everyone will find these benefits appealing! Just so you know the experts believe MIG could raise your per acre production by 20% to 40% or higher if you can be flexible with your stocking rates according to the season.


He mentions some of the critical things for MIG: subdividing you pastures by geography, having access to clean water, using portable electric fencing, stockpiling forages for late fall/winter/early spring grazing, and spring pasture management to reduce damage to the pastures. He admits that this is a very rough and quick overview of MIG, but it is a great starting point to some of the more technical aspects. I think one of the things I learned in this chapter is that MIG is more than just moving your cows from chunk of grass to chunk of grass.

I'll leave you with this little chart from page 128 of Mr. Nation's book Quality Pasture. This list gives some different enterprises and average returns per acre. Very interesting stuff and made me think about my possible center piece operation.

Goats :: $50-200
Beef cow/calf :: $50-200
Pigs :: $150
Beef stocker :: $150+
Beef finishing :: $200+
Ewe lamb :: $400+
Dairy sheep :: $500+
Lamb finishing :: $1000+
Dairy beef :: $1000+
Pastured poultry--
eggs :: $30-50
meat :: $1000+
Seasonal grass dairy :: $900-2000

So, there is some food for thought! I do like the last three sentences of the chapter, "As Burt Smith said, 'The best way to learn to swim is to get in the water and start splashing around. Nobody ever learned to swim by just reading a book about it.' Are you reading to make some waves?"

Hmm... am I ready to make some waves? I think I am, but what will my next step be?

The Very Beginning...

I am going to use this web log as a journal of my journey into the world of farming. I hope that it can be a source of information for other people that have the same dream that I have (full-time farming). Since I do not have any immediate family that is currently involved in farming I am looking into the potential of alternative farming that does not take as much land as conventional Iowa row crop farming. Some of the ideas that I am researching are berries, cut flowers, pastured hogs, free range broiler chickens, organic eggs, sheep, and goats. I want to have a diverse group of farming endeavors in order to have things producing income at all times of the year. I am not looking for a hobby, rather I'm looking at farming as a full-time job.

Some of the biggest questions that I am facing now are in the realm of finances. How much capital will it take to get started? How much cash-flow will be needed, and where will it come from as we start? How much can I expect to make with certain crops or livestock? And, how and to whom will I do all of my marketing? As I find answers to these questions I will post my results and thoughts. Also, if you have questions ... or even answers ... feel free to contact me!