Wed, 26 June 2013
Have you ever asked yourself the question, "What in the world am I doing?" From time to time that is a question I have asked myself on this farming journey, and this past week was one of those weeks where that question kept bouncing around in my head. It wasn't the first time that I have tried to answer that question though ... way back in October, 2006 I wrote a blog post simply titled "Why FARM?" You can click on the link and take a ride on the way back machine if you would like to read about my positives and negatives of that question. Keep in mind though as you read through that post that it was one of my first posts ... I wasn't even close to farming ... and I was just a kid compared to the old guy that I am now (or something like that).
If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail. 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 start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). 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 ...
TBF Show 016 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records)
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Wed, 19 June 2013
Anyone who raises livestock and produces more than their own family can consume will at some point have to consider how they are going to sell their products (or even how they will barter it). For many small-scale direct marketing livestock farms the question then becomes are the going to only sell whole/half animals, only individual cuts in some sort of retail setting, or a combination of both. In our case we do almost an equal amount of whole/half sales and individual cut sales when it comes to our pork, but in the future I would like to see that scale take a major tip towards mostly (or even only) selling whole and half hogs.
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 start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). 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 ...
TBF Show 015 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records)
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Wed, 12 June 2013
If you are a beginning farmer like I am there are plenty of things that can be intimidating. I mean if you're raising animals for the first time ... managing breeding for the first time ... raising crops for the first time ... marketing for the first time ... and so much more, it can be very intimidating. Then you have to factor in ol' Uncle Sam and the rules and regulations for selling meat off the farm and in retail settings. Those can be very scary if you don't know what you are doing ... and when we were starting out it meant many phone calls to various governmental organizations. 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 start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). 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 ...
TBF Show 014 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records)
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Wed, 5 June 2013
Just because another farmer in your area sells many of the same products as your farm and farms in a way that is similar to yours does not mean that you need to look at them as competition. What would happen though if instead of seeing those farms as "competition" we saw them as partners in farming, marketing, and our community? On our farm and in our community we have experienced a lot of benefits from building relationships with other farms in our area ... even if we could be considered "direct competitors" with them.
In fact I'm so thankful for our farm friends I want to give a shout out to them today!
In the farm update section of this episode I spend some time talking about the rotational grazing going on at Crooked Gap Farm right now. The cows are moving everyday ... the sheep are moving everyday ... the chickens are moving everyday ... the rabbits are moving everyday. It is great to see the livestock moving across the pasture grazing, fertilizing, and generally being happy cows, sheep, chickens, and bunnies.
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 start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). 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 ...
TBF Show 013 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records)
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