What Do You Want Them to Know?

I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about various jobs. In fact I can't count the number of middle school or high school students that have asked me what exactly I do all week as a "youth pastor". Farming seems to be one of those occupations where misconceptions exist, or even better, people just have a plain lack of knowledge about it. On one hand I could argue that this really isn't that big of a deal because people probably have a lack of knowledge about what a lawyer, doctor, or teacher does. But, on the other hand our entire country used to have a pretty intimate connection to the agricultural world so a lack of connection is a departure for our country.

Let me give you an example of that detachment. My mom teachers 2nd grade in an Iowa "city" of about 60,000 people. This "city" (it is a city by my standards) is the home of "Cattle Congress" and multiple John Deere manufacturing plants. But, when she teaches the "farm" unit to her students and brings in all of my toys it is like she is showing them a foreign world. Not that they should be intimately acquainted with all things agricultural, but these kids in a "city" surrounded by agricultural don't have any connection with the farm.

So, since I'm in the midst of reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and am in the middle of the section where Mr. Pollan spends a week at Polyface Farm I have had one question that keeps running through my mind. If there were just a couple of things that I could let the average food consumer know about farming and where their food comes from what would it be?

Would I want them to know about the care and work that goes into producing high quality food ... would I want to share with them about the difference in production practices that various farms are using across the country ... would I want them understand some of the food/farm policy that drives much of food prices ... what exactly would I want to share with them?

So, I pose the question to you. What are a couple of your main things about our agricultural world that you would like everyone to know?

Localvore ... is it a Good Thing?

(another late post ... but, there are only two more days of VBS!) I have to admit that I am a talk radio junky. Even as a high school student I would have talk radio on in the car as I drove around town, then when my friends would get in I would have to quick change it over to FM. Pretty much my radio flips between 1040 WHO and 1460 KXNO. I listen to Jim Rome, The Big Show (farm), Rush Limbaugh, Van and Bonnie (local), and Steve Deace (local) all depending on my mood at the moment. But, I like most talk radio ... except for Dr. Laura! I can't stand her voice for some reason...

Anyways that is a long introduction all to say that I heard Rush Limbaugh talking about "localvores" (or "locavores") on his show yesterday. This is not the first time I have heard him bad mouthing the movement, but this time I decided to write about it. If you have listend to Mr. Limbaugh for any amount of time you know what he is about (and I do agree with him quite often), but this time I think he is missing the boat on the "localvore" movement.

Basically he hates the idea because of it's ultra-liberal/enviromental wacko basis. While I do agree that much of the movement is founded on the idea of lowering food miles, cutting back on fuel use, curtailing the use of GMO's and pestacides, and so on I think there is a very strong open market/capitalist angle that should be talked about.

I must admit that the reason that I am such a big fan of the local foods idea isn't because of gas, oil, pestacides, factory farming, food problems, or anything like that. The reason I think it is such a good idea is because it just makes the most sense. I understand that you can't grow everything everywhere, but why not diversify your area the best you can and make the most of that. Here in Iowa would could provide a HUGE amount of our own food from the local communities and it would in turn open up more business opportunities for the people of the state. It just makes sense...

That is the line of reasoning I take when I have conversations with people about local foods, grass-fed beef, or anything else along those lines. Many of the people start talking about feed prices, gas prices, and other ecological reasons. But, I always turn it back to the idea that local, grass-fed, and small scale is the way the world was created. Cows have four stomachs for a reason ... a seven year crop rotation works great for a reason ... pigs have built in plows for a reason ... this stuff was created in a certain way for a reason!

I think being a "localvore" is a good thing. Sure there are plenty of energy reasons that it is, but just from an economic/capitalist/creation standpoint I think it makes the most sense for the animals, the consumers, and the farmers.

Your thoughts?

A Lofty Goal For a Farm

One of the readers over at the Epi-Log turned me on to an article/post from Grist.org (my first trip to the site). The post is by Tom Philpott and is titled, "Da yoots take over Maverick Farms". In this short post Mr. Philpott, who is one of the founders of Maverick Farms, talks about something they are calling a "farm incubator". There is a little video included in the article that mostly talks about CSA's, but there is also an interesting link to the Farm Incubator and Grower Program on the Maverick Farms website. This is what I found most interesting ... and a bit noble!

Basically they have created (or are refining/creating) an intensive two-year internship program that is hands on in planning, farming, marketing, and everything else. Then after the people have completed the program they receive help in finding land and building their own small-scale farming business. This whole incubator idea has been around in the business world for a while now, but it does seem like the perfect fit for the small-scale farming world.

I think this is a pretty exciting opportunity, but I don't think I'm going to be able to jump in a car with my wife and two kids and join in the fun anytime soon. Nevertheless, this "Farm Incubator" idea made me think ... shouldn't all farms (especially the outside-the-box and successful ones) be "Farm Incubators"? Maybe not every farm will take on interns, I understand that isn't everyone's cup of tea, but shouldn't they all take on this lofty goal of encouraging, preparing, and helping the future generation.

The fact that many farm kids left the farm in recent and past history has been kicked around a LOT on this blog in the posts and in the comments, so I won't go into it in too much detail. But, I believe we need to make sure that our small-scale family farms are just like this "Farm Incubator" program, except we can use our own children. As a father of two I want to pass on my love of farming, my passion to work outdoors, my satisfaction in working in God's creation, and my wonder in the beauty of the business and the workings of the farm to my children so that they can share in it also.

In order to do that I think we need to be deliberate in the steps we take to help our children. Get the involved in the work, not just from the age old, "there is work to be do so you better be doing it," standpoint. But rather from the, "you can have ownership and input into this," line of thinking. If we get our children involved, connected, and excited about what is around them on the farm then we can incubate the next generation of farmers! A lofty and noble goal...

"Only 2 Percent..."

It seems like lately I have been coming across a lot of quotes that have really made me think about agriculture in America these days. The latest quote that got me thinking was from an odd source, "AAA Living Magazine". In an article about the Living History Farms here in Iowa (great place) the author wrote, "Now in the United States, only 2 percent of people work in an industry related to agriculture. Even in heavily agricultural Iowa, only 9 percent of people work in that industry."

That really got me thinking ... especially since I had recently come across this quote from Thomas Jefferson, "I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural." When you put two and two together you realize that since only 2 percent of our nation is involved in agricultural pursuits our government is not virtuous. Wow, did I just say that out loud!

In my recent post, "Hog Farmers Feeling the Pinch" there was some good discussion in the comments about going back to more family farms instead of our reliance on the industrial farm model. If you take a look at the comments you will see that the feeling was that it could be done, but that we just had to want to do it.

Wanting to ... that has been something that has been coming up a lot in my ministry work with students. And, the conclusion that I have come to and that we have been discussing a lot is that we just need to begin the change. Instead of waiting for hundreds or thousands to join together in the change we just need to make the change now and then help encourage others to come along with us ... it's applicable in politics, it's applicable in faith, and I believe it is applicable in agriculture.

So, buck the trend and make your small family farm thrive. It will be difficult one all fronts, but it will help lead the change so that we can start inching up that pitiful 2 percent figure!

In Case You Didn't See...

"286,000 Pounds of Meat, Poultry Recalled by N.Y. Company" according to an Associated Press article that I read on FoxNews.com. This is just another recall in the American food industry and reinforces the fact that food recalls are becoming more and more common. Although there is one thing that makes this recall different than the recent Hallmark beef recall. The beef recall was because of handling of the cattle when they were still alive, while this one seems to be about contamination that could/did happen in processing.

The company Gourmet Boutique, that supplies a little food to Super Target stores, makes many different types of processed poultry foods (chicken salads, burritos, etc.) and it seems that the listeriosis bacteria that was found by the USDA entered the food in the processing step. Once again the USDA did help find the problem, but if 286,000 pounds have already made it to the stores one could say that it is a little too late. According to the article a recorded message that you get when calling Gourmet Boutique says that they have made "environmental changes" at their plants ... ahh, good to know that they made changes after they got caught!

This article isn't surprising, new, or even mind boggling because we have seen it all before, but it did make me think. Are we better off getting our food (particularly poultry in this case) from on farm processing or small abattoirs? This is a point that Joel Salatin has been arguing for quite some time now and he is probably on to something.

I am not sure how much poultry we are going to raise on the farm for selling because it seems like there are quite a few small farm/direct marketing poultry folks around here, but if I did I would seriously consider on farm processing. What do you think?

Oh yeah, I think I should point out that if you head of to the Gourmet Boutique website you will find that they advertise their food as the "natural choice" because they don't use preservatives.

Passive Income on the Farm

There was a short article in the March, 2008 issue of "The Stockman Grassfarmer" on passive income for the farm or the ranch. The article relates some of the experience of Gregg Simonds who has gained a reputation for turning around ranches that were losing money. The main reason for the passive income according to Mr. Simonds is because, "Passive income combats commodity volatility." Of course the main implications of the article are for ranches or larger farms and I small diverse farms are really planning to be part of the commodity market, but there is something that can be taken away from this.

Some of the passive income sources that Mr. Simonds used were gravel mining royalties (not going to happen on a 40 acre parcel) and cell phone towers (don't really want to look at that, and I doubt anyone wants to build one in the boonies). But, the main point of the article is about leased hunting. According to the article in areas like, "Texas, deer hunting leases can bring as much as $7 to $17 an acre and quail $12 to $20 an acre." In my part of Iowa some of those deer prices may even be higher because we are the home to a few world record bucks.

Mr. Simonds also goes on to say, "On many ranches, wildlife should actually be the centerpiece enterprise and cattle should be seen as a way to enhance the range for wildlife." Pretty interesting statement there, but again not very applicable to a 40 to 200 acre farm in Iowa. I the flip side there are a few hunting "ranches" in Iowa that are around 200 acres and up that focus on deer and pheasant with farming on the side.

Even though hunting, cell phone towers, or mineral rights aren't really opportunities I will be able to pursue on our farm I do like the idea of passive income, or more specifically non-animal/crop related income that is year round. I think one path towards having a successful sustainable small scale farm is finding ways to have income all year long, not just in the growing months or when you send animals to the butcher.

Some people obtain this year-round income stream by selling animals by the cut and finishing at different times of the year so they can have a supply of meat on hand. Others have added agri-tourism components to the farm that while they are somewhat seasonal do add year-round cash flow. On thing that I have considered if we did go the route of agri-tourism or something along the lines of a bed and breakfast is to work out lease deals with surrounding land owners. That would allow more land for things like hunting or wildlife watching. It would also help provide passive income for those farmers/land owners.

I believe some sort of year-round or passive income is an important part of a diversified farm. Joel Salatin may be a perfect example of this. While I do know that he could "make it" without any of his book writing or public speaking, I also know that it provides some year-round income and more diversification on the farm. Hmmm... maybe I need to write a book also ... Let's see, I could write about ... Oh, nevermind! I think I'll stick with something else. I have to many grammatical errors and to short of an attention span to write a book!

"Fatal Harvest"

**I am so sorry! I can't believe I did this, but I forgot to put up my post today. I wrote it last night, but didn't remember to get it up on the blog. Whoops!**

I have to give credit to Kelli of Sugar Creek Farm again for the link to this article. I don't know how she finds all of these great articles for her "Ag Speedlinking", but I'm glad that she does it! Anyways, the article that I read was titled, "Speaker at organic farming conference derides corporate agriculture", and written by Joe Orso for the La Crosse Tribune. The article stems from Andrew Kimbrell's keynote speech at the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Conference this year.

Mr. Kimbrell is the author of "Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture" and that was also the title and theme of his address at the conference this year. One thing that he said in the speech (according to the article) that really made me think was this, "What they never saw coming is you. They thought they had the future. They thought they had successfully taken the culture out of agriculture." The "they" he is talking about of course are the people involved in "industrial agriculture".

I have to admit that the first thing that popped into my mind was, "Do 'they' really even know we exist?" In my question the "we" are the alternative/organic/sustainable farmers of the world. Are they really concerned about losing market share to the small farms popping up around the country? I readily admit that I don't know the ins and outs of market effect, but are they noticing us?

My first reaction is no way! They aren't a bit worried about losing market share to a few farmers that sell pork or beef at the local farmers market, but then I started to think about it on a larger scale ... There seems to be a number of these farms beginning and growing around the country and while they may seem small when taken individually, but on the whole they can have an impact. And with some of the bad publicity hitting the airwaves more and more people are beginning to think about their food choices.

What does all this mean? Well, on one hand it really means nothing to me. I'll still do what I am going to do and market my farm the way that I feel will work. But, on the other hand I think it gives us something to be optimistic about. Maybe the big agri-businesses are thinking about the growing market share small farms are commanding ... if that is case we need to work together to open doors for the small farmer, educate the public, and produce a high quality product.

Make sure you read the article! It has some interesting stuff to think about. In fact I would love to hear you thoughts after reading the article.

Making Your Small Farm Profitable :: Chapter 5 Book Report

**Sorry about the late post today. I have been experiencing some problems with blogger and just realized that my post never made it up! Hopefully we will be back on schedule for our first thing it the morning post tomorrow**

"Weatherproofing Your Farm" is the title of chapter five in Ron Macher's book, "Making Your Small Farm Profitable". While there was plenty of information in this chapter that I have gathered from other sources it did contain a bunch of new thoughts on the subjects of weather and climate. Plus, I think the title alone made me think about the ideas of windbreaks and water in a totally different way. When it gets right down to it you have to realize that your weather and your climate greatly effects how profitable your farm is going to be. With that in mind if you can do little things to, "weatherproof" your farm you may be one step ahead in the game.

The chapter begins with a short overview of the effects of climate on the farm and of the importance of water to the farm. But, Mr. Macher quickly gets to the topic at hand, "altering your farm environment. The discussion begins with a look at shelter. According to the author, and I tend to agree, the best sort of shelter is three-sided, portable, has lots of bedding, and isn't overly tall for the animals using it. For most of the year (including very cold or warm times) animals will do fine without shelter, but in extremely cold and windy weather or possibly on a really hot day shelter does add to their comfort (although a three-sided building wouldn't probably make it warmer on a hot day). Besides a man made shelter tree groves or stands of cedar trees can also make a good shelter when the weather gets rough.

Conserving water is another important way to alter the weather on your farm according to Mr. Macher. Basically there are just a few ways to provide water for your farm ... you can wait for it to rain, you can use irrigation, or you can just save and conserve every drop of water that hits your farm. Waiting for rain and irrigation each have their place on farms across the country, but saving the water that hits the farm is probably the the most sustainable for the small farm. Ponds are one way to save the water that hits your farm. It is important to fence your livestock out of the pond, but ponds can provide water for your livestock through pumping or gravity. Plus, you can stock your pond to provide recreation or another income source. Cover crops also help save water by helping to control water and wind erosion. The cover crop will slow down the water as in runs down the field and give it more time to soak into the ground which always helps later in the season or in dry times. Finally, Mr. Macher talks about timing. When you plant your crops and work the soil is important to water loss. Whenever you have bare soil you are going to lose water through evaporation, so it is important to do these things in the spring when there is plenty of moisture available.

Much of the rest of the chapter discusses windbreaks and their role in creating microclimates on your farm. According to some University research a wind break will have up to a 40% energy savings for your buildings and farm. That kind of savings makes them impossible not to have I think! Plus, windbreaks of trees and bushes provide needed environments for the diversity of your farm. Another interesting concept that Mr. Macher discusses is the use of grain crops as windbreaks. Planting taller crops in strips with shorter crops between those strips will create a wind break that will benefit all the crops. For the small farmer thinking outside of the box like this is something that will increase sustainability and profitability (two very important 'bilities...).

Of course you can also extend your growing season buy using such things as greenhouses, grow lights, plastic covered hoops, cold frames, and so much more. Not everything will help everyone's profitability, but it is important for small farmers to find ways to at least lessen the effects of our climate and temperature. So, take a walk around your land and observe the climate and weather. Are their places that don't get the early frost? Places protected from the wind and weather that would make great calving areas? What does your farm have and need to alter the effects of climate and weather?

Making Your Small Farm Profitable :: Chapter 4 Book Report

Soil quality is one of the most important things for a small scale beginning grass farmer. If you doubt me, then check out the great comment from Kramer in this post, or just browse through any small scale farming book or grazing magazine for a few minutes. You soil is the basis for your forages which makes it the basis for the entire farm (if grass farming is your thing). It is something you should take into consideration when purchasing a farm or planning you farm. So, with all of that in mind I was glad to see a chapter in Ron Macher's book, "Making Your Small Farm Profitable".

Here is some perspective from Mr. Macher on the importance of your soil on the farm, "The foundation of your farm and your most important production tool is a living, healthy soil." With that in mind it is important that you know about your soil type, of which there are over 18,000 varieties in the United States. You can find that information from local agencies in your area, and I suggest that you do because there can even be multiple soil types on your small farm. It is just one of the puzzle pieces of knowledge when it comes to creating and maintaining good soil.

While soil type is important it is most important that you know what your soil contains according to this chapter. Three major soil contents in the US are sandy soils, clay soils, and loam soils. Your sandy soils are are going to be up to 70% sand and drain pretty well because the sand allows the water to pass through. The sandy soils don't contain a lot of nutrients because the water washes them away most of the time. The clay soils will contain at least 35% clay and they aren't very good at draining away water because they are so compacted. Just think of working with clay in art class ... when it was wet it was slimy and sticky and when it was dry it was hard ... that is like clay soils. Loam soils are the best to have in most situations. They contain a mixture of roughly 45% sand, 40% silt, and 15% clay particles which allows them to take some of the best characteristics of the other soils.

Another important aspect of soil management that Ron Macher touches in this chapter is the reality that our soils are full of living things ... and they should be! The living stuff in soils (such as insects, earthworms, bacteria, and fungi) do tasks such as aeration, fertilization, nitrogen conversion (into something that is usable for plants), nitrogen-fixing, and they contribute in decomposition which all helps create better soil. If we desire to increase the quality of our soil we need to cultivate all of these living things in our soil instead of hindering them.

Crop rotation is something that I have touched on in other posts, but this chapter includes a good overview of the idea and some of the advantages. Ron Macher also throws out a few different 5-year rotation ideas. I think this idea of a crop rotation really fits well with Gene Logsdon's idea of "cottage" farmers. Adding crops to the farm does add the need for more equipment, but it also adds a bit of diversity and provides the ability to be more self-sufficient in your farming ventures. It is something I think our family is going to look into, especially as we begin adding more poultry and pork.

Of course what conversation about soil quality would be complete without a short mention of the numerous benefits of rotational livestock grazing. Management Intensive Grazing or Ultra High Stock Density Grazing are all about creating quality soil and quality forages.

It is evident that Ron Macher knows his stuff, and while there is a lot of basic information that I find in this book that is covered in similar books I think his specific guiding principles that he mentions in each chapter really give the reader something to think about and process.

Making Your Small Farm Profitable :: Chapter 3 Book Report

Chapter three of Ron Macher's book, "Making Your Small Farm Profitable" isn't a very long chapter, but it is chock full of good farming principles. That is probably why the chapter is titled, "Some Principles of Good Farming"! The whole chapter is only seven pages long, but I think these principles give the reader (in this case ... me) a lot to think about and work through. As I thought about his post I just thought I would touch on a couple of them, but after skimming over them one more time I decided that I would just throw them all out there and give a couple of thoughts on each one.

So, here goes nothing...

• To be sustainable, a farm must be environmentally sound and socially acceptable. --Taking care of the environment not only keeps other people happy, but it provides longevity for your farm in future generations. It just makes sense! Also, by building a farm that is socially acceptable some of the generalizations and stereotypes about farmers can be busted.


• Avoid debt. --Do you want my entire financial knowledge ... it is summed up in those two words! I don't know much about money, investing, or creating wealth. But, I do know that being debt free seems like a good thing whether I'm farming or not.


• Keep costs down. --Kind of piggy backs on avoiding debt don't you think? But really, if I desire to have a full-time farm I am going to have to lower my costs and create great products ... it all goes back to thinking outside of the conventional realm of agriculture.


• Try for low inputs. --It's all about sustainability, the less inputs the more the soil benefits and the more the bottom line is helped.


• Do things on time. --This may be the key to any successful business! If you are going to have livestock, crops, and a farm based business you need to do your things like baling, weaning, and harvesting on time and in time (with the seasons).


• Plan your farm to minimize work. --This principle is about the physical layout of your farm. Is your farm set up to maximize your effort without wasting it. I suppose I'm not going to tear everything down, but it is important to look at your entire farm with workload and a plan in mind.


• Develop a system of production that balances farm resources and available labor. --Let me sum it up for you ... make sure you have enough time to run your farm! Don't bring in 60 cow/calf pairs if you don't have the time to work them, rotate them, or feed them in a timely manner. It does keep coming back to planning doesn't it?


• Keep good records. --I'm going to lean on my wife for this one. She is the record queen, just take a look at her 4-H records someday! But seriously, it is important to know where you money is going and coming. What you are feeding your animals and what they are returning. How your rotations are working, and so much more.


• Learn basic veterinary skills and tasks. --If you can do it then you don't have to pay someone else to do it. It is that simple!


• Learn carpentry, electrical, and machinery repair skills. --See above!


• Learn stockman skills, and keep gentle livestock. --Gentle livestock are not only easier to handle, but they gain faster, are more calm on the day you take them to be butchered, and generally make your farming life more enjoyable.


• Take good care of your buildings, machinery, and livestock. --One word ... Stewardship! Be a good steward of the thins that you are entrusted with. You land, your family, your money, and you stuff ... plain and simple.


• Have a good water system, and save ever drop of water that falls on your farm. --This doesn't mean that you have rain collection troughs everywhere, but it does mean that you take care of your soils and build up the organic matter so that it can absorb that much more water. Oh, and think about a watering infrastructure for your farm instead of just buckets and hoses (at least it is something to aspire towards).


• Maintain or improve the soil fertility. --This one keeps popping up lately. I'm going to have to spend more time researching and learning about the topic.


• Let the animals do as much feed harvesting on their own as possible. --Make the farm work for you instead of you for the farm. There will still be plenty for you to do even if you pasture your animals and stockpile forages for winter, so let them do some work also.


• Use crop rotations. --They do so much to help that I can't even cover it all. But, let me say that there is a reason that rotations have been done for centuries!


• Have 2 years' worth of hay and grain in storage. --If weathermen can't predict the weather what chance do I have of controlling it? It is a good idea to have stockpiled hay and feed. You might not have 2 years' worth, but building up a years worth is a good place to be.

Remember, these are my principles ... they are Ron Macher's principles. But, I think they are great basics and get to the core of what small scale farming is about and how it can be done. Do any of those really stick out for you?

Making Your Small Farm Profitable :: Chapter 2 Book Report

Boy, I really have some catching up to do. I'm actually way past chapter two right now, but I think it was worth it to take a break from my normal blogging drivel to have a great interview like we just had with Kelli of Sugar Creek Farm. But, I actually do have some thoughts on the second chapter of Ron Macher's book, "Making Your Small Farm Profitable." Overall it was a pretty interesting chapter that threw out some good basic information to consider when you are starting a farm.

It doesn't matter if you come from a farming background or have never lived on a working farm in your life, if you are going to farm you need to attack it with a plan. Just as it is with any business you can't just run out and start doing things without having an idea of your needs, skills, and goals. Much of this chapter deals with the evaluation of your resources. In the case of a farm resources means: capital, skills, labor, land, soils, water, location, climate, and equipment. I won't take time to discuss each one of those resources, but I will hit on a few that were especially interesting.

Of course when it comes to beginning a farm you need a certain amount of capital and skills, but you can be creative with those. Yes you need money to buy land, equipment, and livestock and it is important to have some skills (but you can learn as you go if you go slow enough) ... but, I thought Mr. Macher had some good things to say about the resource of labor. First of all, I believe it is important to realize that your labor is a resource. Mr. Macher wrote about thinking of labor in the terms of not just yourself, but also in the terms of your family. I believe one component of having a successful small scale farm, especially a full-time farm, is that it includes the entire family in the fun, livestock, and the work! If the family is going to be included in the labor "resource" than it is important that the whole family is on the same page. Also, in this section there was a very interesting table that gave average times of labor needed for different livestock and crops. The table comes from the University of Missouri and gives information such as: it takes 14.8 hours of labor per acre of alfalfa hay, 40 hours of labor for 100 laying hens, or 40 hours of labor for 1 sow producing 2 litters/year and to finish those hogs. I'm sure the numbers don't reflect everyone's experience, but it was interesting to see some averages. Looking at things like this will help you plan you labor and see what you are able to do.

Another resource that was interesting to read about was soil. I believe soil is something that the beginning farmer easily overlooks. Not that soil would be an end all of my land purchase, but that we need to be looking at our soil and seeing what it is all about and what it needs. In raising pastured animals you soil is really one of your most important ingredients. You need to the know the condition of your soils and the natural fertility that your soil has. If you stick with me through each one of my chapter reports I'll talk a little more about soil when I report on chapter four of this book.

The last resource that I want to touch on from this chapter is equipment. Not so much because it had a lot of new information, but rather because it brings back to the surface one of the main keys to sustainable family farming ... it is important that you don't look at equipment as your only tool. In fact what we need to be doing is thinking about how we can replace pieces of equipment with animals or use smaller more efficient equipment to do our jobs. Things like rotating crops in order to build soil quality, using animals to harvest our pastures so we don't have to make and feed hay all of the time, or use ponds as water sources for our livestock (I do agree with others that it is best to keep the animals out of the pond, but bring the pond water to them). Also, when you assess your resources don't forget that equipment includes more than just your machinery, but also things like your fence and buildings.

So far so good with this book. I think it will be a good addition to my farming library and will give me plenty to think about as we do our farm work and plan for the future.

Making Your Small Farm Profitable :: Chapter 1 Book Report

Earlier I gave you a little preview of the first chapter in Ron Macher's book "Making Your Small Farm Profitable" on this post. Today I'm going to give my full on chapter book report. As I mentioned in another post I have heard mixed reviews of this book, but I must admit that after reading the first chapter and browsing through the table of contents I'm pretty interested to see what I will find.

The title of chapter one is, "Deciding to Farm". On one had I have already "decided" to farm, but on the other hand it is never to late to change my mind! Really, this is a good overview of some things you need to think about as you make the decision to farm, and why people want to farm.

One interesting nugget from this chapter is a report on why people chose to farm. In the 1950's the top three reasons were: 1.) I like to work outdoors; 2.) It's a good place to raise my children; 3.) I'll always have a place to life and food to eat (Mr. Macher points out that isn't true if you have a mortgage). At the time the 14th of the 15 answers provided by most farmers was because, "it provides a good income". Fast forward about 40 years and you will find that the first three answers were similar as the 1950's survey because they were all about lifestyle, but you will also find that a "good income" moved up to seventh place. Mr. Macher writes that income should be your number one goal ... but probably that isn't why you farm.

The chapter also gives some definitions from the USDA, IRS, and the author himself as to what a "small farm" really is. According to the definitions small farms make up 79% of all the farms in the US today, so small farmers are not alone. In fact small farm numbers are one the rise (possibly because big farmers are having to become small farmers due to the rising costs of farming?). Mr. Macher also throws out some definitions for "family farms" and "sustainable agriculture". I think almost everyone has different view points on these terms ... so, I'm not even going to touch this!

Another interesting section of the chapter was the pros and cons of full-time versus part-time farming. Let me sum it up for you... starting out as a full-time farmer (no off farm job) is really hard and starting out as a part-time farmer gives you a little bit of both. Jumping in whole hog to full-time farming is especially difficult (put totally possible) if you don't have much experience or capital. And, I would say that having capital is really the key because you need money to begin things, pay for mistakes, and buy food for yourself as you get things going. If I had capital I would be all over it ... But, there is something to be said for part-time farming. In the words of the author you can, "have your cake and eat it too." Of course when you are part-time farming you often have to tailor your farming schedule around your "town job" schedule. Oh ... so much to think about!

Overall, I think the best thing about this chapter is that it makes you think. I have been doing a lot of reading lately about the process of farming. Things like raising livestock, managing pastures, choosing forages, and raising crops are really good to help get a sense of the practical knowledge needed, but really it is good to take a reality check from time to time and take off the romantic farming glasses. Mr. Macher throws out some good things to think about without trying to spell out a step-by-step process. It is important that beginning farmers work things out for their specific passions, desires, and reality ... I think this book will be a good reality check.

Remember to check back regularly as I will be posting a book report for each chapter!

The Contrary Farmer :: Chapter 10 Book Report

"Winter Wheat, Spring Oats, Summer Clover, Fall Pasture" ... that is the title of the final chapter in Gene Logsdon's book, "The Contrary Farmer". The main topic of this chapter is the role that small grains can play on the "cottage farm". As I have mentioned in other posts about Mr. Logsdon's book her runs a very diverse farm that includes livestock and a rotation of pastures and grains. Just as with the corn he isn't talking about large plots, but rather he plants smaller areas that he uses for hay and grains for his livestock.

Mr. Logsdon sees small grains as an important part of the contrary farm because they provide different sources of feed and bedding. If one crop doesn't work out then he likes to have back-ups ... that is the beauty of diversification. He spends extra time talking about wheat, oats, and hay in this chapter, but also touches on a few other small grains such as soybeans and rye. Each of these small grain crops has its benefits for the small cottage farmer that helps the farm ... if you have the right equipment (see last chapters report).

He likes the wheat because it can be planted in the fall which spreads out his work load and gives him the possibility of grazing for a short time in the fall on the new wheat field. While wheat is good Mr. Logsdon believes that oats is more important to the small farmer because it is higher in protein and other minerals and mixes well with corn for feeding. Also, the oats will provide you with straw that you can use as bedding. One interesting method for harvesting oats that he explains in this chapter comes Karl Kuerner, Jr. Mr. Kuerner lets his oat grains ripen just a little more than when you would regularly when making oat hay and then bales the oats. The result is bales that can be feed in the winter that includes oat grains ... either then animals eat the whole thing or they munch out the grains and the rest can be pushed in to their area for bedding (that sounds like something I would try for horses).

My Final Thoughts... All in all these last few of chapters on grain and farm equipment have really made me think about how I want to farm. While I'm not sure if I will be adding them all to my farming plan I believe it was good to look at things from the other side of the fence. Mr. Logsdon is really a "contrary farmer" ... he doesn't line up with the organics ... he leaves the pasture only stuff to the guys with more land ... and he is not anywhere near the conventional farmers. The reality of it is that if you are going to farm for a full-time living I think you need to think differently and this book has helped me do that. I would encourage you to check this "The Contrary Farmer," by Gene Logsdon ... especially if you are a "cottage farmer" who has other sources of income, but also is a farmer.

"Organic Transition" ... an article ...

Every once in a while I check out the articles and forums at NewFarm.org just to see what is going on. You may remember I posted a link to an article a few weeks ago about a beginning dairy farmer who was getting out of the business because he just couldn't make it financially.

Yesterday I came across another article about a dairy farmer on the site that dealt with his switch from a conventional dairy to an organic dairy. You can check out the article, "CASE STUDY: Transitioning to organic : Spring Brook Farm", but clicking on the title.

The farmer in this article is not new to dairy farming. In fact while he didn't grow up on a dairy farm he has been working no them since he was young. An interesting thing is that he went bankrupt on his first dairy attempt, but he stuck with it because as he says, "it is in his blood." The article deals mainly with his transition from a conventional dairy (medications, corn silage, etc.) to an organic dairy that sells milk through an organic dairy cooperative. Most of his milk goes to Stonyfield (no relation to our farm) for their yogurt.

After my post yesterday about the frustrations of trying to go against conventional wisdom this article was a breath of fresh air. He was able to make the transition with out too much trouble, and he is finding there is much more value in farming organically. He finds value in the way he is able to raise his cows, how he treats the land, and through the checks he receives for his milk. Basically, organic was a stretch for him ... it is something that looked good and is now working even better than it looks.

Here are a few quotes from the article that really hit home to me:

“I started out when I was 24 lost everything when I was in my forties, and started all over again with nothing when I was 44. I could go manage a farm for somebody else, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. Independence is a fierce part of it. I gotta do my own thing.”

“When I was a kid, and people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I always knew. I was driven,” Lyle says. “Things haven’t all been rosy. There have been a few detours, but I’ve stuck with it."

“I really don’t know why more farmers don’t go organic,” Lyle says, “especially small farmers who pasture. If you’re set up for pasture and you’ve got 50 to 100 cows, it makes more sense.”

You see, it can be done ... and in some ways if you are farming on a small scale you can do it better than the conventional farmers. Oh, the "it" I'm talking about ... I'm talking about supporting your family through the farm work and living and working together as a family.

Salatin vs. Avery Debate

**Bloggers Note: I write my blogs ahead of time now so I can post them first thing in the morning, but yesterday I posted a blog that was meant to be posted today so that's why the titles and writing seem out of sync. Just so you know.**

Okay... I realize I'm going a little heavy on the Joel Salatin information lately. I don't want you to think that he is the only guy out there and that I'm totally locked in to his systems and mindset, but he does write a lot and put a lot of information out there. I promise ... this post and the next one will be regarding Mr. Salatin, but after that I will hit some other sources or talk a little bit about some things happening around Stoneyfield.

I came across this DEBATE between Joel Salatin and Dennis Avery who was the director of the Center for Global Food Issues when this interview occurred in July of 1999. By clicking on the link you can read the debate between Mr. Salatin and Mr. Avery as the answer questions from callers on a radio show. It is a very interesting read because they come from two very different view points. Mr. Avery is a supporter of high yield chemical farming while Mr. Salatin is all about locally based farming providing for the area surrounding the farms.

I think the biggest thing I saw while reading this debate was the huge difference of world view between the two men. Mr. Avery believes that we need to rely on science and high production models in order to feed the word while Mr. Salatin believes we need to change our production models and mind sets. I believe we need to change our world views in general so I did find myself siding with Mr. Salatin on many points. I think this is the greatest exchange in the entire article and really speaks to the difference between the two view points:

Host Jeff Ishee: Dennis and Joel, it’s certainly been an entertaining two hours and a fascinating conversation. I had four pages of questions, and I haven’t gotten to a single one yet, and I’m bound and determined to ask at least one question. What role do you think that government should play, both on the farm, and in agriculture overall?


Avery: I think government should be a player in the research game, and I think that the government needs to be very aggressive in making sure that American farmers get the opportunity to help contribute to feeding a larger, more affluent population that we are going to have in the year 2040. That means eliminating the trade barriers and opening the playing field to everybody.


Salatin: Well, I don’t believe that we should have a USDA. Period. All it is, is collusion with the multi-national corporations, and they stack the deck and create all this scientific information that’s biased and prejudiced. We don’t get good research. I’ve watched it for forty years come out of the cow colleges, the land grant universities. Virginia Tech figures out how to kill a bug, and the environmental scientist group at the University of Virginia figures out what else it killed. That’s basically the type of research we have. So, I don’t think there is any place for the USDA. We’d be a lot better without it at all. Turn it into a free market . . .


Avery: But then you’d have only the companies.


Salatin: Ah! But I can compete with the company. But I can’t compete with all the academic fraternization that occurs with the collusion between the bureaucrats and the companies themselves. On equal footing, we’ll compete fine. Privatize it, and we’re in business.

If you read the debate let me know what you think. I really enjoy reading these sorts of things. While I completely believe that doing is better than reading there is only so much doing I can do when I live over an hour from the farm ... so, for the rest of the time I'm trying to prepare myself for the marketing of the farm and part of that is knowing why I do the things I want to do.

The Amish Neighbors

The rain today has me thinking about my dad's Amish neighbors. They planted five acres of alfalfa on our farm and it was cut on Wednesday. We haven't had good drying weather lately and this morning when I woke up it was raining. So, I thought of the Amish neighbors and their alfalfa sitting in the field ... in the rain ...

When my family moved to the area over 10 years ago there was not an Amish community. This group moved in about 5 years ago, with most of the original members coming from Wisconsin with lots of money in their pockets. They quickly raised the price of land in the area by offering large amounts to buy out people so the could live relatively near each other. It has been very interesting watching the Amish interact and live in their community.

On one hand we sort of regard them as a joke. The Amish in this community do very little farming or riding around in buggies. Most of them work some sort of construction job and have drivers that they hire to take them all over the place. In fact they have become so dependent on their drivers that they call them up when the only have to go a short distance. Which brings up another point ... they have phones ... not in their houses, but rather in little "phone houses" outside of their homes. It almost seems like the are marginally living the Amish way. When riding in the car they want to listen to Amish music, they buy the same junk food for their lunches that we do, and in this community they all have running water in their houses (no toilets though).

On the other hand though we have a lot of respect for them because of their community driven lifestyle. One example that I find very interesting is of a man who was having some serious financial problems. He wanted to start up a saw mill so we began taking out loan after loan after loan ... well, he had some problems with his partner so he decided to build his own mill a couple years later ... which meant he took out loan after loan after loan! One day we drove by his home and saw the beginnings of a large new building to house his saw mill. Two months later we drove by and nothing had happened on the work. I assumed that he had run out of money, but in reality the elders of the community had stepped in and taken control of his money. The community came together and paid off his loans and then the men (I believe there was three) that were in charge of helping him put together a plan for him to begin work before he spent any more money. Now, his new mill is up and going, and if the number of logs and the piles of cut lumber mean anything I believe he is going on the right path now.

This type of community is unheard of in our self-isolated 21st century world, but I have a feeling that we would be better off if we could take some advice from this Amish community. As my thoughts turn to building a small family farm that is profitable and provides a comfortable living for my family I realize that a community will need to be a part of the equation. I don't know how it will work out, but I know that a community will make life much better!

On another note... Bill Wilson of the One Acre Farm Blog sent me this LINK to an article by Joel Salatin that was original printed in ACRES USA. It is a very interesting article about promoting polycultures on the farm and I encourage you to check it out!

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 13 Book Report

I have to say, this chapter and the final chapter were probably my favorite of the entire book. The other chapters were full of interesting information, pasture ideas, and grazing plans, but the final two really hit at the heart of where I see our farming ideas going. Chapter 13 in Allan Nation's book, "Quality Pasture," is titled, "Multiple Species Grazing." Although the chapter is short it gives a nice overview of possible polyculture grazing and it's benefits.

The first option he writes about is sheep. I found this section especially interesting because my dad and I had just been talking about the possibility of bringing some sheep to the farm to do some clean up on old fence rows that need to be taken out or replaced. We were talking about the possible benefits of using sheep as our brush hog and workers and providing a bit of income also. But, Allan Nation mentions some other benefits of adding sheep to a rotational cattle grazing operation. Combining cattle with sheep cuts down on predator problems associated with sheep, they break each others parasite cycles, and there have been studies that show adding the two together increases the performance of both ewe and lamb weight gain while only slightly decreasing calf weight gain. This was encouraging for me and practically makes me want to jump in the truck and head up to the Colfax sale barn! (One other thing he mentions is the option to graze wool wethers, no need to go for weight gain)

Next he brings up the idea of pigs in the pasture. If you have read much of my blog lately you know that I'm extremely interested in this idea. One cool thing I found out from reading this chapter is that cow manure provides an excellent source of vitamin and mineral for pigs. It won't be the only source needed, but it is perfect because that will mean the pigs will be breaking up the cow pies and helping stop the parasite spread and speeding up the breakdown of the manure. There is a lot of great information about pastured pigs in this chapter (the Kerr Foundation research details being one), but since I have talked about pigs a lot lately I won't bore you with repeat information. I will say, that it is almost worth the price of the book for a beginner to be exposed to the ideas in this chapter. It just makes all the great pasture management information bonus!

The last animal he brings up is chickens. It is just a small section and he basically pats Joel Salatin on the back for the work he has done in this realm. I will say that reading it again from another source has practically sealed the deal for me. I now know that I'm going to be getting chickens for the farm next year whether my dad wants them there or not! I think the just add something to valuable to not have them (breaking up cow pies and eating the bugs), so I'll get some laying hens and just feed them a minimal ration ... no fancy laying ration. He'll get a few eggs if he wants, and I'll know that we are helping our pastures!

I believe combining animals so they work together for the pastures and the pocketbook is the only way to go. I realize right now we only have cattle, and chickens 60 miles from the cattle, but I also know that when we make the move to the farm we will start out diversified from the beginning. It may be diversified on a small scale, but it will be diverse so we can really learn what works best and see on a small farm can work! If you can't tell, this chapter really got me excited...

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!

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 11 Book Report

Last night I finished reading the chapter titled, "Baby Calf Rearing On Pasture," from the book Quality Pasture by Allan Nation. I will admit that just by the title this was a chapter that I was interested in because I knew that I was going to be raising our calves on pasture and I thought this would give some great tips for having pasture forages that would be beneficial for the calves.

In reality I would say that this is the chapter that I like the least of what I have read so far. In this chapter Mr. Nation talks a lot about buying in dairy bull calves in order to raise them on pasture and grain to obtain a large gain before slaughter. He also talks about raising replacement heifers for the dairy industry. While I agree that both of these ventures can be profitable in the real world (and he does back that up with farmer testimonials), I'm not sure if I agree with it in principle. In my way of thinking a lot of the things he proposes in this chapter go against the idea of a small family farm (which is what I desire Stoneyfield to be). He talks about the benefits of setting up a industry in the United States like the have in New Zealand where a master contractor handles marketing to find dairymen looking for replacement heifers and then sub-contracts out the growing of those heifers. It seems like that is taking control away from the farmer and placing squarely back in the hands of a business or corporation. Again, I do not doubt that it can work and be profitable if you manage your pastures correctly, but I do wonder at the principle behind it. In one way it sounds an awful lot like some of the vertical ownership farm that we have now days. You know, the ones where the farmer owns the land, buildings, and buys the food, but a company owns the animals. And, if you don't have the right land, right building, or right food they will take the animals away from you... It just seems like a system that would only slightly fix the farming problems in America not bring about a needed paradigm shift.

I realize that we are never again going to be a country full of family farms proving all the food needs for the surrounding areas, but I do believe that it is something we need to strive for. I believe we need diversified farms around our communities not single aspect farms like those talked about in this chapter. Maybe I am a little too idealistic, but I believe that is what we need to work towards.

So, did I learn anything in this chapter? Sure I did, I have more understanding of pasture management and how to make a highly nutritious pasture for baby calves. But, more importantly I believe it has made me think about the "business" of farming and how I would like to see that "business" working. At least in my case...

**The picture above is of a little calf from Cascade Meadows Farm located in Oregon. You can check out their website by clicking on their farm name.**