" It's time to come in for supper and get cleaned up, Farmer John! My Mother's voice breaks through the sounds of my own thoughts, one hot August afternoon, as I munch on a freshly picked carrot. I was tending my little garden and at thirteen years of age and I was one odd duck of a fellow. I enjoyed gardening, picking berries, and I was always willing to help the neighbor use his archaic hand hay press to make hay bales for his market rabbits.
I always loved the idea of farming, even though I lacked a true understanding of the concept. I remember mowing the lawn and imagining I was a farmer cutting his hay crop and many other games....I know, I guess I was a lonely kid. Being the youngest of five, I was left out of the older group, and without any TV in our house, I was able to develop an imagination and a profound ability to day dream through the moments in life that I ought to have been listening. I somehow survived and managed to grow up but I have never really let go of the dream of farming.
I met my beautiful wife in July 2011. That was the first time she stole my heart, we were married by December. Drea is quick to smile, farm loving, kind, a loving mother and wife and one AMAZING homemaker! She is traditional in every sense of the word and enjoys milking her cow, making cheese, cooking healthy food for her family and snuggling our new little one. If I had to p[ick one word to describe her, it would have to be; Industrious, hard working, reliable, and organized....wait I guess I was daydreaming during Arithmetic.
Drea grew up with a passionate love for animals. And her parents were really supportive, I believe she may have tried at least one of every species with the exception of reptiles. She often speaks fondly of her Father surprising her with a horse named Sandy or asking her to clean out his car only for her to find a kitten in the back seat waiting for her. Probably her greatest joy was found when she got her first Pygmy goat...like I said, her parents were very supportive.
We immediately knew we wanted to "farm" and have pursued it passionately ever since. We made a lot of mistakes, we generally went by the rule of buying as much livestock as possible and worrying about the consequences later... we had no idea how to market our products, or even make a profit at all. Our management of the livestock and our understanding of its effects on our land and the responsibility that comes with animal/ land stewardship was really lacking . We made some big mistakes and we learned some invaluable lessons, all culminating in some valuable lessons and experiences.
Over our 12 years of marriage , we have owned several pieces of acreage and made attempts to farm but we were never able to get our life and finances in order to be able to climb out on the unstable limb of farming. The thing about farming...you cant farm responsibly while working full time. Some may be able to but in general ,over time, important details will slip by or you miss important moments that turn out poorly general results we experienced. As it concerns us ; Drea has her hands full with homemaking, home schooling, cleaning up after kids and her absent minded husband.
I have always worked as much overtime I could get my hands on in a desperate attempt to get on top of debt and expenses.
We finally realized that we would need to own our land, mortgage free, and be debt free. We are finally at a place in life were we can achieve that. We purchased 20 acres of virgin mountain land , built a cabin and set up our solar panels. We have been blessed and been able to nearly become debt free and we have gained the experience and knowledge required to farm full time....I think. I have to admit that I have my reservations....who quits a successful career to farm? Who gives up a healthy salary to make a living with four small children to feed ? I am one of those people! We have learned so much, and studied successful systems of livestock and land management, raising animals on grass pasture , and read nearly every book on regenerative farming we can get our hands on. We are currently honing our marketing skills and building relationships in our community. This is the time to do this! We are filled with excitement and energy and we are focused! Our plan is to produce Pastured Poultry, raised on non GMO feeds that have no corn or soy, Grass-fed and grass-finished lamb and beef, honey and beeswax products coupled with a large market garden to supply our friends and neighbors with healthy, healing foods.
I really believe that this is going to be successful with the support of our friends and neighbors and community at large. We are going to give it our best effort and enjoy our family based farm! Our hope is to get to the point that we can make about $30,000 as we will be able to support our family off of that income. Farming for us is a lifestyle; its about our family being together each day, working hard and learning new skills. We hope to have neighbors and other folks over to fellowship together, and teach others how to farm and manage agriculture. We hope to build and network a community were we can help supply food to our local community and build a local market for handmade products and services. I really believe that this is the only way forward and is necessary due to our present day state of affairs as a nation!
I know this has been long winded and somewhat of a ramble but I wanted to share some of our thought s and dreams. Now if you think I am absolutely crazy, pipe up in the comments! Stay tuned to hear more of my crazy ideas and thoughts! Whatever happens, our motto is Colossians 3:22- And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Master, and not unto men...
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