The Beginning Farmer

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

TBF 074 :: Beginning a Farm - Research, Forgetfulness, and a Hard Lesson

**As I transition to www.TheBeginningFarmer.com I am quickly realizing I'm not as web savvy as I had hoped! In the meantime I will be posting here as well for those of you subscribed through RSS ... and hopefully will have that fixed soon.**

"I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!" If you're used to waking up on Wednesday morning and finding a new episode in your podcast app you already know that this episode is a little late. But, on the flip side I was able to record an early morning episode sitting on the porch looking out across the farm. You can see the view from my "podcasting studio" on the right. One other thing you notice on this episode is a few more distractions that come from recording on the front porch ... distractions as in kitty cats and heifers on the loose. Hopefully though it gives you a small glimpse into the interrupted life of any farmer.

Beginning a Farm: Research

For most prospective beginning farmers the first stage is research. Anytime you are starting a new business, occupation, or venture most of us try to learn as much as possible so that we aren't jumping in completely unaware. That's the way it was for me at least. I read dozens of books, hundreds of magazine articles, countless blogs, and plenty of research papers. In fact I did so much reading that I'm not sure how much I was actually able to consume and retain! If I was going to do my "Farming Research Phase" all over again I would do it differently than I did over eight years ago. Here are my three steps ...

•Reading

The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon
Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
You Can Farm by Joel Salatin

•Connecting

•Doing

Sometimes (most of the time) it is important to just dig in and get our hands dirty. Find farm, almost any farm, and volunteer your time ... ask if they need a hired hand ... or even offer to pay for the experience (it's that important).
BeginningFarmers.org Jobs/Internships Links

:: Other Resources Mentioned in the Episode ::

It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show! I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with "The Beginning Farmer" and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ...

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

TBF 073 :: You Can't Farm, The Heat Wave, and a Hard Lesson

If you're like me you read the latest books, find the best websites, and listen to the greatest podcast about your topic and then think you can go from 0 to 60 in no time flat. Sure, maybe you understand there will be a learning curve or some bumps along the road, but all in all you think it is totally doable and totally doable in your own prescribed amount of time. In some ways that is how I was when I started my farming journey. I read about the people that were doing it. I talked to beginning farmers that were making it work. I thought I had looked at every possible angle! But, what I didn't do (and what I still don't do from time to time) is do a quick reality check and compare apples to apples. If I had done that I don't think I would have actually changed anything other than my thoughts on how long it would take to get from "Point A" to "B" and so on.

On today's episode I want to talk about just those sort of reality checks. Today you can find all sorts of great books, videos, and blogs talking about a great way to make a living on the farm. In fact you'll find links to some of my favorites below. But, at the same time it is important that you understand that just because "Farmer A" is making $50,000 per year on 1/2 an acre doesn't mean that you can go out and do it tomorrow. You probably can do it, and for some of you it may happen tomorrow, but more realistically it will take some time and learning to get to that point. That's why my show has plenty of "Hard Lessons Learned" and most weeks I have multiple lessons to choose from!

:: Great Resources for Those That Know They Can Farm ::

You Can Farm by Joel Salatin - This was the beginning of the rabbit enterprise
How Joel Salatin Nets 60k/year on 20 Acres of Rented Land! (Video)
Joel Salatin on "Part Time to Full Time Farm" (Video) -- I didn't mention this on the show, but I was there that day and there are a lot of great nuggets in this one!

If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five star rating and review (by clicking the link). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show.

Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with "The Beginning Farmer" and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ...

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

TBF 072 :: The County Fair, Farming for Kids, and a Hard Lesson

It's Marion County Fair week for us at Crooked Gap Farm. That means that we are extremely busy and that our children are the centerpiece of the farm this week (actually they always are, but you get what I'm trying to say). With that in mind I thought it fit perfectly to take some time on today's episode to a question from Lisa on Facebook. The questions was about getting kids involved on the farm and specifically mentioned age appropriate chores, and while we didn't dig into that completely I do believe we have a great episode because I decided just to go straight to the horses mouth. On today's show my son and I sit down in the show ring stands to talk about the fair, his projects on the farm, and what gets him most excited. Of course I have plenty of "proud father" moments throughout my interview with Caleb, but above all I'm excited because of how excited he is when it comes to the farm.

If you do have any questions for Caleb about his life on the farm feel free to send an e-mail or leave them in the show notes and I think I can convince him to come on again!

:: Some Books Caleb Has Read ::

You Can Farm by Joel Salatin - This was the beginning of the rabbit enterprise
Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett- Not about pastured rabbits, but still very helpful to beginners like us
ARBA Standard of Perfection Book - A huge help for the show ring

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

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

TBF 071 :: Guardian Dogs, Rotational Grazing, Agricultural Degrees, Updates, and a Hard Lesson

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How do you know it's time to rotate the cows? Can an agriculture business degree be helpful to the independent farmer? Are Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs good with kids and family? Those great questions (and more details) came in from listeners (all The Beginning Farmer Show listeners are awesome blossom) over the past week. Below you'll find some links related to each of the topics that I touch on in today's episode. Plus, if you listen to the show you'll get to hear me ramble (because I'm a bit stressed) about the county fair. More on that next week ...

:: Livestock Guardian Dogs ::

Livestock Protection Dogs by Orysia Dawydiak - The way more intelligent approach to train your LGD.
Livestock Guardian Dogs Website - Links to more articles than you can shake a stick at!

:: Rotational Grazing ::

Geared Reel for Polywire - In my mind a must have for rotational grazing.
Polywire for Rotational Grazing - Holds up in the weather fairly well and is easy to set-up and take-down. I don't have any connection with Powerflex other than I like their poly wire.
Grass-Fed Cattle by Julius Ruechel - One of many books that helped shape my rotational grazing ideals.
All Flesh is Grass by Gene Logsdon - My favorite farming author and small-scale implementation.
Quality Pasture by Allan Nation - If you want to get serious then get this book!
Comeback Farms by Greg Judy - In my mind this is the best plan out there if you want to follow a plan.

:: Agriculture Economics ::

I wish I had some great links on this topic, but I don't ... What are our thoughts? How can having a degree in Agriculture Economics degree benefit the independent small farmer?

Wednesday, July 02, 2014

TBF 070 :: Live from the Farm and a Hard Lessons Learned

Sometimes things get a little wild and crazy on the farm even when you think you have everything planned out. That has been the case on the farm for the past week or so (or actually the last six years if I'm completely honest with myself). We've had lots of rain and even some wind storms to go along with it. The storms caused some large branches and smaller trees to fall on the electric fence in the woods shorting everything out. The pigs that just joined the party in the woods last week found a small hole in the fencing that was exploited while the fence was shorted out. We have had some great publicity on the farm thanks to an article in the Des Moines Register. And, all sorts of other stuff has been popping up from 4-H projects to hard lessons learned.

I say all of that to say that this weeks episode is very unique for a couple of reasons. First of all it was recorded in the comfy (slightly breezy and cool) confines of the hoop building, and secondly I sat down to record with out any plan at all. You may notice both of those things come out in today's show, but hopefully there are also some diamonds in the rough.

As always you can follow along with "The Beginning Farmer" and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ...

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

TBF 069 :: The Fancy Farm Dinner, Inside the Hoop House, and Hard Lessons Learned

Hosting any event on your farm is always stressful ... hosting a farm cookout can be even more stressful ... and hosting a full on seven course feast on your farm with five chefs, a crew of kitchen help, professional servers, and more might even cause enough stress to drive you a little batty! That is exactly what happened on our farm this past weekend, and although it was stressful at times (and caused me to be a little nervous) it was probably one of the most satisfying and humbling moments I've had as a farmer. The crew that came out to the farm was beyond professional and passionate about what they were doing. All of that made for a wonderful event that often left me speechless. If you're looking for a way to say thank you to your farm friends, connect with new customers, or build a relationship with the chefs and food movements in your area I cannot recommend a dinner such as this one highly enough. Just be prepared for a little stress ...

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn.

If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five star rating and review (by clicking the link). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

TBF 068 :: Believe in Your Farm, A Hoop Update, and Hard Lessons Learned

The importance of believing in what you are doing on your farm, why you are doing it, and the value of what you are producing is central to your farming journey. At least that is the case with my farm! I've always been a person that want's other people to like me, and when it comes to the farm sometimes I can doubt my farming plan or my products when people are turned off by the price, the way we raise our livestock, or any other sort of craziness. Over time though I have come to realize how valuable the customers (farm friends) we have are, and also to realize that we won't have everyone as a customer ... just the best ones ;)

Today's show is a little bit on the disorganized side I'm sure as I was working with back-up recording equipment for the first time. Although ... if the sound quality wasn't too awful let me know because there are a lot of other things I could do with this set-up in the future.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

TBF 067 :: Adapt Your Farm to Your Farm, Farm News, and Hard Lessons Learned

There is a delicate balance when it comes to the relationship between water and farmers. If you're in the midst of a drought with no rain in site you are praying for rain, but if all it does is rain when you are trying to put up dry hay you are cursing the rain! There is one thing for sure though, you can't control when it will or will not rain so you'd better be prepared for both options. All of this is to say that this week I'm going to spend some time responding to a listener e-mail about water ... or the lack there of. I don't know if there is a silver bullet type of answer for the question, but I do know that I've learned a few things from the past two years of dry spells and there is one major thing I will do different if we are dry again for an extended time.

If you've been around the show for a while you know that I'm passionate about farming in general, but starting a farm and beginning farmers more specifically! A little while ago I received a great e-mail from a blog reader who shared what his plan for dipping his toes into the world of farming is. I thought he had some great plans so I wanted to share them ... plus, that e-mail in conduction with the e-mail about water got me to thinking. Thinking about starting farms, trying to be like other farms, the importance to collecting ideas and adapting them to your farm, and even having a farm that is an educational hub! If you have any ideas about farm classes you would enjoy I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Here are some helpful links from today's show ...

Farm Marketing Solutions

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

TBF 066 :: Farming Hard Lessons Learned, Farm Updates, and More

Life at Crooked Gap Farm has been pretty rough over the past week. Not that life still wasn't fun and enjoyable, but rather that it has been full of "Hard Lessons Learned"! Since the hard lessons are often the portion of the show that receives the most comments and feedback I thought it would be fun (or therapeutic) to spend some time sharing the happenings from the last week and the hard lessons learned from the ups and downs.

This week I have lessons from my desire to do everything all at once, updates on the hoop building (or lack thereof), news about fancy dinners, and the traveling life of a farmer. Most importantly though I take some time to talk about the lessons learned and some very important takeaways!

Here are some helpful links from today's show ...

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

TBF 065 :: How to Build a Chicken Wagon, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

In just over five years of farming I have now built four variations of a chicken wagon and each one improved on the failures of the ones that came before. Of course it didn't take much to improve on my first wagon which was built out of a great find from a machinery auction. On today's episode I wanted to take some time to talk about the design for this chicken wagon and why I decided to build it the way that I did. Below you will find a series of pictures showing my chicken wagon build at various stages along the way.

Here are some helpful links from today's show ...

Here are all of the building supplies needed for building my 10x15 chicken wagon.

We laid out the floor with our 2x4 joists and then placed the 3/4" treated plywood on for the floor.

The walls were built with studs 2' on center. I actually attached my steel horizontal instead of vertical like it normally would be so I had less cutting to do.align="aligncenter" width="300"]

One of the best things about this wagon was that I borrowed an air nailer from a friend. That made the framing process much faster!

An important thing to work on as you are framing the building is trying to keep everything square. That doesn't happen often on my farm, but that's why I always say "it's good enough for who it's for."

Here my son is working on the frame of our hinged roost, this will be great for when he needs to clean it out ;)

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

TBF 064 :: Farming Grants and Financing, Farm Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

First of all let me apologize ... somehow I got a little long winded in this episode. The subject of financing the farm is one that I'm passionate about and care about deeply because I not only want to see my farm succeed, but other beginning farms as well. So, when I talk about grants, loans, and other funding options I have a tendency to go on and on and on! What I do hope that you can take away from this episode though is a quick overview of some helpful resources when it comes to "finding money" and my passion for boot-strapping and saving like crazy to get the farm off the ground! As a little aside ... it seems to me that the farmers I interact with from day to day are the kings and queens of boot-strapping and getting by with less, so I would almost call it a required farming skill! Here are some helpful links from today's show ...

Practical Farmers of Iowa
Interview with Luke Gran of PFI (Part One and Part Two)
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (Research Grants)
F.A.C.T. Fund-a-Farmer Grant
PFI Savings Incentive Program
USDA Beginning Farmers Grants
NRCS Funding Opportunities
Farm Credit Services of America (FCSA) Loans
FSA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loans
The Beginning Farmer Blog Post "Why FARM?" from October 9th, 2006
You Can Farm by Joel Salatin (Great book about just going for it on the farm)

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

TBF 063 :: Overwhelmed and Farm Potpourri, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Check out that picture on the left ... that's me ... and that's the huge tractor that I drove this past week pulling a big huge wide field cultivator. The good news is that I didn't even hit anything, and I helped get the field ready for organic corn (but I'm more excited about not hitting anything)! On today's episode I'll talk about how I helped prep the soil for the Non-GMO corn I'll be using later this fall and then I'll dig into a "potpourri" of farming subjects. This week I'll be discussing (not so much answering) questions from three different listeners that left comments on our Crooked Gap Farm Facebook page. The topics include: Pink-eye in Cattle, "Pasty Butt", Livestock Guardian Dogs, and Dexter Cattle. Here are some helpful links from today's show ...

Vetericyn Wound & Skin Care (affiliate link)
Vetericyn All Animal Pink Eye Spray (affiliate link)
Apple Cider Vinegar (With The 'Mother') (affiliate link)
Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery
Livestock Guardian Dogs Association

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

TBF 062 :: A Spring Farm Tour, Life on the Farm, and a Hard Lesson Learned

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Fair warning ... this episode was recorded with minimal notes, no post production editing, and late at night (or early in the morning depending on how you look at it). I do believe though, that it will give you a good taste of what spring is like on Crooked Gap Farm these days. As you listen to the show you will hear about how I haven't finished the hoop building yet, how the pastures are quite where I want them to be, how the woodlots still need some seeding and fencing, how the chicken wagons aren't done, how the garden still needs work, and of course (as you can see from the picture above) how the sheep don't seem to care about my electric fence!

What I'm hoping you'll get out of this raw episode is a true picture of life on my beginning farm in the spring. This is a busy time of year on all farms and ours is no different, so we are just trying to keep our heads above water and accomplish as much as possible. And, if we can accomplish a little more than possible that would be nice too!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

TBF 061 :: Selecting Heritage Meat Chickens Part Two, A Rainy Farm, and a Hard Lesson Learned

I am very excited to have "Part Two" of my interview with Wesley Hunter of Providence Farm on the show today. On todays show Wes and I talk about some of the most important steps in raising a heritage breed chicken ... the eating and the marketing! There are challenges of course when it comes to raising meat chickens on pasture, but when it comes to your customers the most important challenge is the marketing and education. Wes has some great information about the results from his blind taste test and how some of the struggles associated with marketing a heritage breed (because they are different than most chickens found in the local grocery store ... in a good way). If you have any questions for Wes leave them in the comments below and he'll answer as best as possible.

Through the help of a SARE Grant Wes was able to do some great on-farm research comparing a variety of heritage meat chickens for things like feed efficiencies, dressed weight percentage, total feed consumption, and even an unscientific taste test. It would not be a stretch to say this is one of the best sets of episodes to date! If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below and Wes or I will take time to answer them. Helpful Links from Today's Episode:

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

TBF 060 :: A Major Farm Marketing Change, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Life on the farm is always full of difficult decisions. Sometimes they have to do with livestock, sometimes they are about projects, and sometimes there are even difficult marketing decisions to be made. For the past few months we have been working through the process of making a difficult marketing decision, and we have finally come to the conclusion ...

We will not be doing the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market this year.

This is a huge change in our marketing plan for the farm, and honestly it is very scary because for the past two years the market has been by far our highest grossing sales opportunity. But, with a full-time job off-farm and another farming job working for the neighbors I have been finding myself spread too thin to accomplish the work that I feel needs to get done. The lack of time because of the demands from my other jobs, along with less product availability than expected and a desire to involve the family more, has led us to the point where the market just needed to go ... at least for this moment. In today's episode I wanted to share a little bit about the thoughts we had while making this big decision and then what big changes this means for our marketing going forward. Sometimes you just need to dive into something ... and we are diving in head first this time!

Helpful Links from Today's Episode:

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

TBF 059 :: Selecting Heritage Meat Chickens, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

I have to admit that this episode (and the following episode) is one that I was very excited about doing for purely selfish reasons. I am super excited to have Wesley Hunter of Providence Farm on the show to talk about heritage breed meat chickens. This is a topic that is on my mind a lot because I just haven't been able to find a replacement for the birds that I was able to raise a few years ago. Through the help of a SARE Grant Wes was able to do some great on-farm research comparing a variety of heritage meat chickens for things like feed efficiencies, dressed weight percentage, total feed consumption, and even an unscientific taste test. It would not be a stretch to say this is one of the best episodes to date! If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below and Wes or I will take time to answer them. Helpful Links from Today's Episode:

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

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

TBF 058 :: Raising Pastured Poultry, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

The podcast is up and I'm excited to say that it is about chickens! But, the show notes are not up yet ... they're coming ... I promise ...

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

TBF 057 :: The Listener Mailbag, Farm Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

I am always thankful for all of the questions, comments, and encouragement that come in via e-mail or comment or even from the good ol' post office! Lately there have been some very good questions coming in covering a whole host of topics that I want to cover on future episodes of the show. Today though I wanted to take some time to answer three questions that have come in over the past couple of weeks regarding hay, finding pigs, and the big bad Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus. All great questions that deserve great responses ... hopefully some rambling from a beginning farmer will at least shed a little light on the topics.

Helpful Links from Today's Episode:

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail!

As always you can follow along with "The Beginning Farmer" and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ...

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

TBF 056 :: Pigs in the Woodlot & Pasture, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

On our farm we try to keep the pigs in the woodlots and on the pasture as much of the year as possible. Generally that means we move them out to the woodlots in March or April and bring them back up to their cozy winter accommodations in December. Over the past five years we have really come to love having pigs out in the woods (and from the picture on the right you can see they love it too), but raising them out in the open like that does mean we have to do things a little differently than if we were raising them on lots up by the house. We use electric fence, portable waterers and feeders, creative loading solutions, and so much more. On today's episode I'm going to share some of the "nuts and bolts" of our woodlot/pasture pig infrastructure.

When it comes to woodlot/pasture infrastructure for the pigs our main elements are fencing, access to water, feed, shelter, loading/sorting facilities, and of course the rotations that we do between paddocks. We haven't quite reached the perfect set up yet, but what we have reached is a workable solution that is semi-portable ... adaptable to different areas of the farm ... and seems to keep the pigs healthy and happy. If you'd like to know more about our fencing projects and what products we use check out the links below ...

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

TBF 055 :: The Big Switch to Non-GMO, New Calves, and a Hard Lesson Learned

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A little over a month ago in episode 50 of "The Beginning Farmer Show" I talked about a possible switch to using Non-GMO feed for our pigs and poultry. In that episode I talked about some of the research I did (a google search), and the fact that it seemed like you could find a "scientific" article to say whatever you wanted it to say. But, it was the beginning of the question for us and for the past five weeks or so I have been hashing things out in my mind, talking with customers, chatting with farmers who have recently made the switch, and just thinking about what my gut was telling me to do. To be honest this wasn't a decision that was a complete slam dunk for us one way or the other because there were a lot of factors to consider.

In the end though we have decided that the best step for our farm is to begin making the transition to only using Non-GMO feeds for our pigs and for our poultry (both egg-layers and meat birds). This will not be a quick transition because not only is there the issue of having access to the Non-GMO grains, but there is also the somewhat daunting fact that in order to do this we will have to use only pigs born on our farm. The transition will take some time, but in the end we think it is the direction we need to go for quite a few reasons on our farm ... some of those reasons will be the main topic of today's show!

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

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The podcast is up and I'm excited to say that it is about chickens! But, the show notes are not up yet ... they're coming ... I promise ...

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Wednesday, March 19, 2014