In our radio interview last week I mentioned that I have decided on a new name to describe the type of farming we are doing. The term that I came up with is "Pioneer Farming". But, if I'm going to be throwing around that phrase then I better be defining it and giving some reasoning behind it. First of all the reason that I decided that is the term that I want to use is that so many of the other terms being used now are so ambiguous and encompassing (of course now that I think about it so is the word pioneer). I can't say that we are organic ... we may be kind of natural, but really what does that mean ... and we are only sustainable if by sustainable you mean grass-fed (because financially we aren't quite there yet).So, I decided we needed a term that fit us and what we are doing. I came up with "Pioneer Farming" ... Not because we are doing something different or new (we really are trying to take what others are already doing and have done and adapt it to our place), but rather I choose that term because I think it describes what is going on out here on these forty acres. We are trying to scratch out the farm from nothing but our saved money, hard work, help of friends and family, and the grace of God. We came to this farm much like the pioneers of generations past would have ... with nothing but a bit of a dream and a desire. And, in order to make it work we are going to have a lot of that pioneering spirit!
Like the pioneers we are going to have to fight and struggle to make things work, and we are going to have to keep looking forward and trusting in what is possible. We are going to have to think outside of the box and even leave the beaten path from time to time. We're going to have to work with what we have even if there is something out there that might work better. And we are going to face many struggles that may seem insurmountable at times.
If we make it through all of that ... then maybe we can come up with a different term to define our farm. But, for now I think we are going to have to stick with "Pioneer Farming".
