Market Pigs and New Digs!

Wednesday was a big day here!

In the morning we took the pigs to the butcher.  That's right folks, it's harvest season!  Mary and Jerry were very well-behaved....

Usually, we all go on this annual trip-but I told Rick we couldn't really take another day off of school for something so trivial.  To my surprise, he called in a substitute!  Mom came over and facilitated the boys while they worked on their lessons.  Rick and I took the "littles" with us, and it was a nice break.  We're so thankful that the hogs were healthy and made it to harvest without incident.  We are very fortunate to have home grown grass fed beef, chicken, turkey and pork.  Although we're taught to store up our riches in heaven, I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm storing some up in the freezer.....

And....

The cows moved into the new barn!  As I waited for them to exit the parlor and come into the barn,  I took a deep breath and thought about how far we have come.  The past 11 years have not always been easy, but they were so full of joy.  Some of the best memories we have are from some of the most challenging issues we faced.  Good times, indeed.  Nope, I wouldn't trade or change any of it.  God's timing is perfect, and "slow and steady wins the race".

I took some video of the cows entering the barn.  They're like kids on Christmas morning!  It's the same as the first day of grazing in the Spring, with the running, jumping and mooing as they check out their new surroundings.  If you read this blog via email, and you want to see the video, you will have the visit the blog page itself at faithfamilyonthefarm.blogspot.com .

Video:

 

 



So, we'll cross "build a new barn'' off the list.  Occasionally I say to Rick (in terms of the farm and our future) "now what?" and he says "...now we enjoy it!!!"  I'll let him win this discussion-for now.

-Terri

Off the Farm

One of the most challenging aspects of dairy farming is maintaining that delicate balance between work and family.  Living where you work creates special challenges.  Where many people leave their place of employment and go home, we technically are always "at work".  Many aspects of the business are handled in the house, including finances, phone calls, record keeping and meetings.

So just when do you quit working for the day?  How do you convey the message to others that you are no longer "at work?"

We make quite an effort at keeping certain parts of the day for family time.  This does not mean that we are always doing something fun with the family. This means the time is spent doing something that benefits  the family. Examples would include church, meals, laundry, housework, schoolwork, or time reading or watching a documentary with the kids.  This takes quite the effort to carve out this time, and sometimes it just doesn't happen.  We have spent many evenings hauling hay, paying bills or going back out to finish chores.  The trick is keep the big picture in mind and not let that become the new normal.

Even more difficult than carving out our own time, is conveying the message to others.  People know that we are here.  Even if we are "off" it is assumed that we are available for anything and everything farm related.  One very cold and snowy Sunday afternoon a couple years ago, three men showed up to look at the parlor.  We stalled at the door.  We said "its Sunday.....we just put in a movie....chores are at 3...." but they just wouldn't budge.  They said they could look at it themselves.   Trying not to be rude,  Rick put on his coveralls.  Our parlor and milk storage is no different from other food production businesses.  I doubt other businesses would let people wander around whenever it suited them, without an employee or owner present.  This is just one example.  There's salesmen, evening phone calls....

We've figured out that to really be "off" you have to be absent.  Removing ourselves makes us immediately unavailable, and only available to those who have our number (like our hired team members and family).  It also allows us to not be distracted by unfinished work that we see every time we look out the kitchen window.  Ultimately we would like to be able to be off and home at the same time.   This will go on the list of goals, with the steps needed to get there. Until then, I'd like to share what we did on our last weekend off.

Mom watched the kids (Thank you, Mom!!), our team members milked the cows (Thank you!!) and Rick and I stayed in Pentwater at the Hexagon House.  It was an excellent stay! Matt & Sandy, the Innkeepers, were wonderful people who are obviously in their element with the B&B business.  The breakfast was very tasty, the coffee always hot (and available), and the conversation intriguing.  The house was warm, comfortable and clean, with many amenities to enjoy.  check it out:

Hexagon House



We browsed antique shops, went biking, walked out on the piers, watched movies, enjoyed a bonfire, visited 2 state parks and the Frederik Meijer Gardens. All in 48 hours!

Thanks, Matt & Sandy, for a wonderful stay!

-Terri

Resiliency

Resiliency:
1: The ability of a body to regain its original size and shape after being compressed, bent or stretched.
2: An ability to recover from or adjust easily to change or misfortune.

Farmers are some of the most resilient people I know.  Over the years we have been witness to or made aware of serious situations that have happened to farmers that may have compressed, bent or stretched them.  Whether it was their wallet, their heart, their physical endurance or their faith, they somehow seem to recover, although I would never call it easy.  For some reason farmers have an ability to see a very small light through a very narrow tunnel.

We know of farmers who have had barns burn, crops fail and cattle drop dead in the parlor after eating a rare poisonous plant.  We've watched droughts and floods age farmers well beyond their years.  We've had neighbors lose family members or employees in farm accidents. We've lost friends ourselves.

Many people have said to us "I don't know how you do it".  We don't really understand this, because we're not sure how not to do it.  How many people do you know that stay in the same career for their entire lifetime?  Are you still working in the same field that you were in after college? I am. Literally.

I'm not sure what keeps these farmers going sometimes. Whether its the next milking, only 12 hours away, or the next calving, only a couple months away, the next crop....maybe we just don't have enough time to even consider quitting.  I mean, you just can't stop milking the cows.  You wouldn't leave that standing crop in the field.  Somehow we are called to a level of responsibility that is above and beyond and involves things that just keep growing.

Last week there was a horrible freak snow storm in the Dakotas.  Tens of thousands of cattle were lost in the storm.  The storm came in much worse than predicted, and the cattle were caught off guard far from home.  The West does not operate the same as the East.  Ranches are gigantic in size with herd numbers sometimes in the thousands.  It takes days to move cattle from pasture to pasture, not mere hours.  The storm was surprising to so many people, but was is not surprising is the reaction, both positive and negative.  The comments made on some of the articles, obviously by non-ranchers, are offensive. The actions taken by other ranchers and those in the agricultural community are more than heart warming.  Here's a great blog post in response to some of those questions people were asking. When you have the time, it would be worth it to read it.

Questioning Cattle Deaths in South Dakota

News article with pictures:
Rapid City Journal

If you want to help (or be encouraged by people who are):
https://www.facebook.com/pledgeheifer

God gave me this verse today:
Isaiah 40:28
Have you never heard?

Have you never understood?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of all the earth.

He never grows weak or weary.

No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

29He gives power to the weak

and strength to the powerless.

30Even youths will become weak and tired,

and young men will fall in exhaustion.

31But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.

 

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.