The Beginning Farmer ... Goals 2009

Yesterday I reviewed last years goals and how well I did on accomplishing them. All in all I would say that I did a pretty fair job on last years goals, and I know for sure that we are further along the farming path now than we were a year before (buying a farm and all). But, as you look over my goals for this year and compare them with last years goals you will see a bit of a difference ... basically this years goals are bigger! And, I guess they are a bit more physical in nature. I still plan on reading as much as I can and consuming all the information possible, but there is just a lot of physical work that needs to be done on the farm. So, here are my goals.

1. Fence in the Farm: This one has to be done there is no way around it. And, it needs to be done as soon as possible. Once we start moving into spring I'm going to get a jump on the exterior fencing because I know that it will take awhile with soccer coaching going on. But, hopefully with the help of some friends and neighbors we can knock out about 3/4 of a mile of fence in no time.
2. Put up a Shed: I'm about "this" close to getting this one done. Really, we just need to pull the trigger and go ahead with it because I have the plans picked out and the location picked out. If we can just make sure we have the money picked out we are good to go. In case you don't remember, my plan is to put up a 24x32 (or something) building with 10 ft. side walls. It will have clear span trusses and will be open on the front. Off the back we will be a 14-16 foot lean-to in order to have some extra room. Hopefully we can use a building like this for a little bit of everything.
3. Become a Better Mechanic: I can vividly remember my dad encouraging me to sign-up for auto mechanics class in high school. Unfortunetly I can also vividly remember not doing it because none of my friends took that class. Now that I have an old tractor I'm beginning to wish I had those skills! So, this year I would like to learn my way around the tractor a little more and get that girl really working on the farm.
4. Become a Builder: During 2008 (with a LOT of help from friends and family) I became a house builder. And while a bit of the house stuff is spilling over into 2009 I hope to become a builder of many things this year. I would like to build a rolling hen house, a woodshed, a water wagon, and so much more. I'm actually looking forward to this type of building though because their will be a little more tolerance for things that come out crooked.
5. Share Farming With My Family: The greatest thing about our farm is that it isn't just my dream, it is actually something that we have all grown to love and appreciate. This year I want to continue to share the farm with my family (extended family also) and help instill the values and joy that can come with farm life. It is my prayer that our farm is a blessing for all of our family and all that come and check it out.

There you have it, goals for 2009. As I glance back over them I see a lot of work and learning, but really ... I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Beginning Farmer ... Goals in Review

Last year on the first day of 2008 I took some time to write out some goals for the farm. You can check the link to see what was on my mind last year, but all in all I think I did fairly well considering our circumstances changed drastically when we decided to buy 40 acres and build a house! Today I thought as we take the first step into 2009 I thought I would take a look back at my 2008 goals and see how I did. Then tomorrow I'll share with you the goals that have been kicking around in my head for 2009 ... they are quite a bit different than last years!

2008 Goal #1 - Read Six Farming Related Books: I'm not sure that I made it through six complete books, but I did come pretty close this year in the reading department and I'm sure if you counted in all of the magazine articles I read that it would exceed my goal. This was a good goal for me though because I broadened my reading a bit this year and I feel that I really started to develop my ideas on many subjects.

2008 Goal #2 - Begin Rotational Grazing: Yep, I probably failed miserably at this one, but it mostly has to do with the fact that most of the cattle spent the year at my dad's still. We did end up make five different pastures that they rotated through, but the results weren't that great. Once the fence gets up at the new place it will happen this year.

2008 Goal #3 - Add Another Dimension to the Stoneyfield Livestock Operation: I can easily check this one off of the list because we added the pigs. Everything hasn't gone as smoothly as we would have liked, but what does? In this coming year I wouldn't mind adding some hair sheep, but we really need to focus on getting everything else up and running first.

2008 Goal #4 - Expand Our Backyard Laying Operation: Thanks to the city of Knoxville this one was nixed very early on in 2008. But, then we moved so it was all good. We haven't actually added any birds yet, but we are thinking about getting some laying hens from an Amish egg guy. He is rotating out the flock and you can get them for 75¢ each. I can't argue with the price on that one.

2008 Goal #5 - Build a Stoneyfield Website and Expand the Blog: I think I can say check and check on this one. Thanks to the help of my wife's cousin we now have a website and in a way I expanded the blogging by writing over at the Epi-Log (even though my time there is done).

Check back tomorrow to see what goals I have on the brain for 2009, and I pray you have a blessed and wonderful beginning of the year with friends and family!

What Are You Willing to Sacrafice...

This post may be more along the lines of a philosophical post rather than an informational post, but it is something that I have been thinking about quite a bit as we discuss, dream, research, and plan for our hopeful move to farming. Right now my family (wife and two children) lives a pretty frugal life. We don't eat out much, we don't eat prepared foods, my wife is a very frugal shopper, we don't have extravagant things or clothes, and we keep track of our spending very closely so we know where our money is going. Besides that, we really try to keep our "stuff" level down. If we are bring things in we try to move things out that we don't need or used (sometimes we sell, sometimes we give, and sometimes we donate). In the long run we believe that will save us money, space, and frustration. Basically we are always looking for ways to save a little here and a little there.

By the worlds standards we may be a little "overly frugal" or cheap! Because of our watchful eye we have been able to stay out of debt and able to save money each year. But, we are always looking for ways to cut corners because we know that in order to get to the farm we will need to sacrifice. Sacrifice is something that my generation doesn't always handle too well. I will be the first to admit that I was raised in a pretty comfortable life. We were no where near wealthy, but my family sacrificed so that I could have a lot of the things that I desired. That is the case for most of the people in my generation and now that we have reached adulthood we don't really want to go through the same stages that our parents went through.

Oftentimes we don't realize that our parents spent time living in small houses or not ever eating out because all we remember was our nice three or four bedroom house and weekly pizza take-outs or eating out. But, if we are going to be able to reach our dream of farming we are going to have to make sacrifices now and as we truly begin the farm.

So, what are you willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to scale back the "American Dream" lifestyle (probably a good idea no matter what you want to do)? Are you ready to simplify your life by not purchasing or hording as many "things"? I believe you will only be able to reach your goals if you sacrifice. In the coming weeks I am going to be spending some time putting together some goals for they farm dream in the next year. In doing that I'm also going to have to spend some time thinking of sacrifices that I can make to reach those goals.