Mon, 22 April 2013
Before moving to the farm I had a lot of ideas about what I wanted my farm to look like. As you can tell from the previous episode I read a lot of books, and after reading all of those books I thought I knew just want I wanted for the farm and how everything would work. I had done a bit of market research for the area, I had studied various breeds, and I had even began to purchase cattle before I even had to call my own! Now that I am almost five years of running the farm though I have found out that my initial plans are really what suits the farm or the farmer the best. All of that means that now I am headed a different direction than I had planned and that I’ve learned the need to continually evaluate things. Dexter cattle where what really made me interested in farming. We had researched grassfed beef after finding out about my high cholesterol and I thought instead of just buying the beef I might as well raise my own (at my dad’s place to begin with and then eventually an acreage of my own). What began as an idea to raise a cow and her calf eventually blossomed in my mind into a full-blown farm. After reading books like Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin and Grass-Fed Cattle by Julius Ruechel I was convinced that cattle could and should be the centerpiece of my future farming operation. Now my tune has changed ... I’m beginning to realize the real limitation of only owning about 20 acres of pasture even if my cows are smaller in stature and I’m also finding out about the intense competition for rental grazing ground. There is one other thing I am learning though that is encouraging ... my Katahdin lamb is a very popular thing at the farmers’ market and there are a lot of people interested in purchasing whole lambs.
TBF Show 007 :: 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) |
Wed, 17 April 2013
Over the years I've received quite a few e-mails from people wanting to pick my pea-sized farming brain. Usually when that happens I have two thoughts run through my mind ... #1 :: Have they ever read any of my blog posts, I even know what I'm doing half the time! #2 :: Don't farm ... it's not worth it! Thought number one is true no matter what ... and thought number two is something I only half mean. It's not that I want to discourage people from farming, but rather I think it is important to spend a lot of time considering what it really means to be a farmer. With all of that being said, I do love hearing from people that stumble on to the blog and want to ask a question.
Finally, this weeks "Hard Lesson Learned" has to do with that old adage ... "Don't always believe what you read." I'm not saying that all of those great authors I mentioned are wrong, but what I am saying is that all things don't work in all places and it probably would have been better if I would have tried to get some real world experience rather than just armchair experience!
As always, thank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to subscribe and listen to the show each week. I hope that I'm growing as a podcast producer and that as time goes along the show just gets better and better. If you do enjoy the show don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes (by clicking this link or the image on the left) or on the Stitcher App on your smartphone. For those of you that have taken the time to leave a review on iTunes ... thank you, thank you, thank you! It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!
TBF Show 006 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
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Tue, 9 April 2013
Making major purchases on your farm is always a necessary part of beginning a farm and expanding your farm in the future. But, they are not always easy decisions to make! Before you go out and drop your hard earned cash on that next great piece of equipment or structure you need to examine whether or not you even need this "next great thing" and where you are going to purchase this item. Just because you have a need for something doesn't mean that you need it. It may mean that you need to borrow one, rent one, or hire someone to do the job for you. There are times though when a purchase just needs to be made to move the farm along or make your work more efficient. If that is the case then you need to consider where you are going to make that purchase.
Where Do I Get What I Really Need?
Remember, the bottom line is that it doesn't need to look perfect ... it just needs to work perfectly (or close enough to perfect)!
Finally, 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 005 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
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Tue, 2 April 2013
On this weeks episode of "The Beginning Farmer Show" we dig into one of the most popular topics ever from The Beginning Farmer Blog ... Land! More specifically I talk about the posts ... "How Much Land Do You Need?" ... "Working On The Farm Layout" ... and even all a little about the post titled "Buying a Farm is Like Buying a House". Basically, when it comes down to it, access to land is one of the biggest obstacles that many beginning farmers have to overcome. Unless they are joining the family farm or working with a current farmer the only solution is to purchase land or rent land. There are just as many positives as there are negatives for renting vs. buying depending on what the goal and vision of your farm is. When it comes down to it I believe it is a decision that needs to be made on a case by case basis ... but, that doesn't keep me from sharing my thoughts on the subject! As always I will take some time to share some farm updates and delve into my hard lesson learned for the week. This weeks lesson has to do with bumps, bruises, and trying to over power pigs with brute force ... hint ... it doesn't turn out very well!
Finally, 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 004 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download
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