Join Team Grazeway!

Dig those shoes out of the closet!

We are happy to announce our plan to sponsor runners and walkers again this year in 5ks throughout the surrounding area.  We had a great time last year coming together to support and encourage one another as we strive to meet our personal goals.  Some of us are seasoned runners/walkers and some of us are beginners-everyone is welcome!

Our intentions in sponsoring participants is to help people get or stay healthy and active, while honoring God and using the abilities that He gave us to serve and be present in our community.

Here's the plan:

1.  If we sponsored you last year, we will sponsor you one time at 1/2 price this year!  If you need a different shirt, we can order one for you (at your cost) or you can trade/borrow from another team member.

2. If you would like to join us for the first time this year, we will sponsor you (pay your registration fee) for one 5k and provide you with a team shirt to wear during the race!  We are initially sponsoring up to 20 new team members.

3.  Anytime you wear your shirt for a 5k other than the runs specified below, we will donate $5.00 to our local county 4-H program.  Like all organizations, funding for 4-H has been cut drastically.  Children, from many diverse backgrounds learn important life skills from 4-H, and we want to see the program continue.

4.  Many teammates get together to do other 5ks throughout the year-this is a very supportive team!  Just having another teammate to run/walk with makes it twice the fun!

5.  We would like to only place one order for the shirts.  This makes it much easier for our printer, and is more cost effective than multiple small orders.  You can view the shirts on the farm's FB page from the link in the upper right hand corner of this page. Some notes on shirts:

*Women's sleeveless runs small and is very fitted. Order one or two sizes up.  This is a moisture-wicking performance material.
*Women's with sleeves runs small also, but is not quite as fitted through the stomach area, although not as baggy as a t-shirt.
*Men's performance shirts fit like a normal t-shirt.
*Men's regular 100% cotton t-shirts are also available for anyone who does not want a performance fabric type shirt.

Please have your shirt order in by June 1st (style and size).

Sponsored 5ks
All runs can be found at playmakers.com from the events/calendar tab.

1. Elsie Dairy Dash-We're right back where we started!  This is a flat, fast accurate 5k-great for a beginner and those striving for their PR.  Come back out again this year to see if you can improve last year's time!  July 11th 2015 7:30am. If you interested in this run, go to playmakers.com and click on the events tab. Next, click on the calendar tab. Find the Elsie Dairy Dash under July, and open the race info. Print off the paper registration, fill out, and send to me no later than June 15th.  I will then send in all forms and payment at one time.

2. Farm to Fork 5k-Will you run for food?  Try your foot at a trail run through Agro-Culture Liquid's research farm north of St. Johns.  Proceeds from this run go to the Greater Lansing Area food bank and FFA Scholarships.  This is a great local race for a great cause. August 29th 8am. If you are interested in this run, please go to playmakers website, click on the events tab, and than the calendar tab.  Choose August, and then the Farm to Fork run.  Print off the paper registration and send to me no later than July 31st.  I will then send all forms and payment.

We may add a third race as our budget allows.

There are many great 5k events happening right now!  Looking ahead, some that we may sign up for and other Team Grazeway members are excited about include:

Saturday, April 25th: Superhero Run, Walk or Fly! St. Johns. benefits court appointed special advocates for children.

Saturday April 25th: Memorial Healthcare's Steps For Courage, Owosso. benefits a local cancer support group.  This has both a timed 5k run and 5k walk.

Saturday May 9th: Heart of the Trail 5k, St. Johns. Benefits local organizations.

Saturday May 16th: Miles for Smiles 5k run and timed 5k walk, Lansing.  Benefits children who need help with the cost of dental care.

Monday May 25th:  Hubbardston Memorial Day 5k, Hubbardston. An old favorite of ours, and only $15.00!  Benefits the Hubbardston community center.

2014 Farm to Fork

2014 Dairy Dash

You CAN afford a vacation!

It is important to rest.  In the Bible it says:

Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

Hebrews 4:9-11 9So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

Psalm 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.


When you live where you work, it is difficult to truly rest and find separation from work and life.  We find that to fully be out of the work mind set we have to leave the premise.  To get re-charged, rested, refreshed, and rejuvenated, we cannot be looking out the windows at all the work that needs to be done.

When I talk about vacations, sometimes I get the response of "must be nice!" or "wish we could go!" and the truth of the matter is this-you can!  Our vacations are not thousands of dollars, and they are always paid for before we come home.

Here's some tips to plan affordable, fun vacations.  Remember we're a family of 7.  Think how much cheaper you could do it for a family of 4?

1.  Travel off-season. This is easily the most important aspect of affording vacation.   One of the reasons we love homeschooling is that we can vacation in the off-season and avoid all the spring-breakers, and the competition for overnight lodging.

2.  Ditch the hotel.  We can no longer stay in a hotel unless we rent 2 rooms each night.  This costs us more than $200.00..a night!  Now, we either purchase unused time shares from skyauction.com,, or we rent a vacation rental from www.vrbo.com.  Skyauction often has travel certificates for sale.  This year, for $250, we got 7 nights in a 5 star condo/resort that sleeps 8 in February (off-season, remember) and 7 nights in a 4 star condo/resort for $450 in March (closer to spring break=more money).  Either way our per night cost are $35.71 and $64.28, for a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen!

3. Use that full kitchen!  We save a ton of money by having a kitchen and cooking most of our own food.  I have handled this is many ways-from precooking meat at home and assembling crock-pot meals, to bringing just the meat and milk from home and going to the grocery store as soon as we arrive and get settled.  We laugh a lot because I am a rewards member at the Kroger family of stores, the Jubilee family of stores, Food Lion...you name it, I have the card.  This also allows you to use your eating out money for a place that may be a little more special or unique than McDonald's.  When you eat out, remember the lunch menu is always cheaper than the supper menu, drinks are way overpriced (water for everyone) and its often cheaper for little kids to split an adult meal instead of ordering off the kids' menu.

4.  Do your homework!  Before you leave, check the area's travel websites for free activities, coupons, and always ask if there is a family pass to any attraction that you go to.  We are members at our local science center.  With this membership, we also receive reduced or free admission to other science centers across the country.  We also look for State parks, historic monuments, etc.

5. Pack light!  Most vacation rentals have a laundry room available, many of them with starter packs of soap.  One year, when we went to Memphis, we took a Car-Pak on top of the van, full of stuff.  This really decreased our gas mileage, and it was noisy.  Now, I make a list of the absolute essentials, starting with the baby items: Stroller, play pen, baby gate, etc.  Only bring enough diapers and wipes for the travel day.  They have plenty at the store.  Clothes are later on down the line.  We often only bring 1 pair of pajamas and 2 outfits each, and use the washer & dryer daily.

Clothes for 5 kids in ONE suitcase!

6. Entertain In!  We don't have cable television at home, and most of the time (unless noted) the vacation rentals do.  We'll throw a pizza (okay, 2-3) in the oven, or pop popcorn, and watch a movie or old TV shows (like the Duggars) that we don't get to see at home.  For Rick and I, getting to sit and laugh with the kids is great. At home, there is always something to work on-even in the house!

7. Bring Cash...or be VERY good at setting your limit.  Decide ahead of time how much you are going to spend on eating out and attractions.  You will know how much everything is going to cost because you did your homework.  Use cash.  If you stick to your plan, you will not bring home extra debt on the credit or debit card.  We put any money needed for highway tolls in a separate envelope, because we think it's nice to be able to get home (LOL).  On travel days, if we eat at fast food restaurant (often I pack sandwiches and fruit), I give each of the older kids $5, and the little kids $3.  If they want anything more than that, they have to pay for it themselves.  Often, on the way home we eat leftover snack type items.  Cash also allows you to say to them "We only brought enough money for (attraction). If you would like to do (other thing) you will have to pay for it yourself."

There are some downfalls to this plan. 

1.  When you travel in the off-season, not all attractions will be open.  The weather might not be what you dreamed of.  I think that's what retirement is for.

2.  You may have to take the kids out of school. Before you quit reading, consider this-3 or 4 days of missed school is not going to ruin your child's adult life.  Sure, the schools do not like it.  Try not to be gone on count day.  My parents took all 4 of us out for a week to go to California with the National Farm Bureau group.  Were the schools happy? No.  Did we make up the work? Yes.   Did we all turn out fine? Yes.  Were we in the running for an attendance award? No. Disneyland was SO worth it!!

Many people also tell me that they cannot afford to take any time off of work. Unless you have already been absent because of illness or family tragedy, you really can't afford to not take time off.  Without proper time to rest, your quality of work will be mediocre at best.  Remember, when we go on vacation, we have to pay extra people to do our work...but we still go.  It is a non-negotiable expense.

With some small changes and an investment of time into planning, you can afford to take a vacation! 

We hope you have a great trip!

Nothing Works Unless You Do!

Rick informed me that 806 gas would need a new clutch soon.  He asked if I wanted that done before or after vacation.  He was really asking when it would cash flow the best.  I said anytime would do, but he should know one thing.  When vacation time came, I would be going, no matter what-so if there was some sort of equipment failure, and he had to stay home, I would still be going.

 

The parts arrived the next week. :)

 

To put a new clutch in the 806, it first has to be "split".  They actually separate the tractor into two pieces.  In a nutshell, they take the tin off and support the tractor in the appropriate places.  Next, a series of 10 bolts are unscrewed.  At this point the tractor is split, and you can separate the two sections.  Amazing, right? 10 bolts hold that whole thing together!

 

The bell housing is exposed and they can replace the clutch.  Its been 14 years since we put a clutch in this tractor, and we replaced it with an improved version.  We have a good friend who helps guide Rick along in these projects.  It is much easier to do them at home in our own shop than take the tractor to the dealership.

 

 

 

Tin removed; jacks in place; un-bolting begins

Rick cleans up the flywheel, where the starter hooks up to start the tractor. The new clutch goes through the center.

Two pieces!

Pressure plate installed! The clutch is in between the flywheel and the pressure plate.

Done!  Rick was also going to replace some gaskets and seals while he had it in the shop.

 

Rick said the other tractor (806 diesel) would need a new clutch too, but he was going to wait until March to replace that one.  Its hard to think about spring planting and haying, but now is the time to prepare for it!  Everything needs to be ready to go when the fields are.



***

 



Earlier this year on facebook I shared a photo of a new chore chart system.  I got the idea from pinterest, of course.  The link to that is here.  I did not have time for staining, painting and distressing of wood, so I simplified the project some.

*Family means working together*
I used a clear poly over a plain old board and stick on decals and letters to make the project faster.




The kids will start with the tags (business cards created using Avery templates and covered in clear contact paper) on the board, then move them to the hangers beneath the board as they complete them.  When they're done, they see an encouraging "Great Job!" card.  The cards to the far left are for extra points as Rick and I think of tasks we would like help doing.  The cards on the right are chores not done each day.


 

Rules and Point Chart.  Each task carries a point amount which is tallied each day.  They can earn "opportunities" like Wii time, movies, etc.


 

Another version of this type of chore board has the quote "nothing works unless you do".  That is very true for the person responsible for facilitating the points and assigning the daily chores.  The success of this new system depends on the kids about 10% and me the other 90%.  I'm going to do my best!
Stay warm!
-Terri

Farmer's Day Off

Last week, Rick and Kid #1 took a day off.  What do farmers do on their day off?  Most likely something related to farming.  This time it was the Ft. Wayne Farm Show.  For many years now Rick has made this annual trip with some other seasoned farmers.

A day off constitutes not having to work during daylight hours, so Kid #1 helped with morning chores before they left.  He did an extra day of school during Christmas break to make up for being gone.

This year I sent the camera with them.  Along with oodles of pencils, notepads, and little gadgets, they brought home a couple of snapshots.

While they did this....

I did this.

One of our team members and I did afternoon chores.  I had a sitter for the other kids, and we all enjoyed the change in pace from our regular afternoon schedule. 

Saturday night we had a great time at the Friends of 4-H dinner.  This annual fundraiser is planned, organized, and hosted by volunteers (read :4-H parents) and is always a lot of fun. Along with a excellent meal there is entertainment, games, and a silent auction.  It is so much fun to see your former fellow 4-Hers compete against each other in silly competitions...it takes you right back to fair. So take heart current 4-Hers: if you can't beat them now, there's still time!

We went home with some neat items from the auction including some movie tickets, a food stand gift certificate, local honey, and some tools.  All very useful items-and none of them will clutter up the house! Win!

These next couple of weeks will be spent doing normal chores outside, prepping for dry-up, and finishing up all the business related tasks involved with self employment.  I'm happy to say we've got our balance sheet, cash flow projection, 2014 inventory, CSP records, and W-2s done!  Now onto 1099s, our tax appointment worksheets/summary, and finally getting a year end summary to the bank. If there was one month I would trade Employer for Employee....it would be January!

Happy Tax Season!
I think I'll start planning MY day off! :)
-Terri

The Results are In!

This morning we had our annual herd check.  The vet comes out and checks the cows to see if they are pregnant.  Today we had Nick, and we had a great time.  Yes....herd checks can be fun.  We checked 118 cows (117 of ours & "Bessie") in about 2 hours.

We use a highly sophisticated system of boards and barrels and make the vet walk the plank.  This was actually Dr. Mike's idea a couple of years ago.  Before we checked them from inside the rail, guiding one cow in at a time.  The plank is much faster!

 

 

If you didn't know how a veterinarian checks a cow...you do now.  Most of the time they can tell how far along she is by feeling the size of a particular artery inside her.  If she is not that far along, they can also use their ultrasound.  They see the ultrasound picture on those glasses Nick is wearing on his head.  It's pretty interesting!

 

 



We keep record of how far along each cow is in the "blue notebook".  Here, the blue notebook is equivalent to Dairy Comp 305.

All of our breeding records are right here on this one sheet of notebook paper.  We record each cow's name under the correct column, which range from 4 months to 7 months.  We also have an "open" column.  This drives some producers nuts.  They think we ought to use the latest software program, and know exactly which day each cow is due.   Being a mother 5 times over, I have never given birth on my exact due date....cows don't either.   All we care to know is that the majority of the cows will calve in April and May, with some stragglers in June.  If you flip this page over and view it like a bar graph, you'll see that we will have some late March calves, a whole bunch in April and May, and about 15 or so in June.  Perfect!  We don't even care which cows calve when, just as long as the majority calve in the "window".   We also take note of when we put the bulls in (June 30th 2014) and when we took them out (September 28th 2014).  We don't need a software program or a breeding wheel with stickers to know when the cows were exposed to the bull and when they are going to calve.  Either they get bred-or they don't.

6 did not! That is a great number.  We are quite pleased with this year's results.  Bessie, the cow we've been babysitting for Mom and Dad, also did not get bred.  I told Mom I would ship her for them (put her on their account at the stockyard) so Dad would not be tempted to give her another chance.....

I also took some other notes.  We had a whole bunch of cows that need ear tags replaced, and I kept track of how many cows the kids have milking.  This does not include bred heifers.
Kid #1: 5
Kid #2: 5
Kid #3: 2
Kid #4: 1

All of their cows were bred this year! They are excited and hoping for heifer calves.

Setting them up to Fail

Yesterday, someone told Rick that home schooling our children was "setting them up to fail."

Many people do not support home schooling, and most of the time comments like these roll right off my back and are not given a second thought.

Until yesterday.  For some reason, I let this comment clog up my brain the rest of the afternoon and into this morning.

Truthfully, failing would be saying that we are home schooling then not doing any schooling at all.

This person sited how we need to provide the children with more social interaction.  This is the most common anti-home-school argument.  It is also the one with the least merit.

When you see our list of our children's social interaction opportunities, you just might put us on the "hyper-scheduled" list.  Some "experts" feel that children should have no more than 1 extra activity per season.  So often I want to ask "So, which way do you want it, people? More or less?"

I'll use my oldest child as an example.

Kid #1
4-H:  One interaction per month-either a meeting, service project, or trip.
Music:  Two hour long lessons per month.
Swimming:  1 per week-when finished, replaced with another learning opportunity.
Church:  2 per week.
Field trips:  About 1 per month with the home school group.

These are just the scheduled items. This does not include time spent with other families for fun, time spent with cousins, time spent working outside with us and the hired help, or any interactions with the neighbors and people we do business with.

We are not locking these kids inside the house and not letting them see the light of day.  In fact, if we spend any more time away from the home,  we might not even be considered a home school.

Our kids interact with youth in their age range as well as adults.  They are exposed to different generations, backgrounds, and characters (to say the least!).  They are not confined to the same age group all day long.

This reminded me of when we put together our plan for this farm.  Less than a handful of people were supportive.  Most everyone else said "You'll never make it".  I reminded myself that I did not listen to those people then-I knew our plan would work.  So I'll try to not let this bother me now.   From the list of options concerning our children's education, we've picked home schooling.  Later on we may or may not pick something else.

If I had the chance to ask this person in what areas he thought our children were going to fail, I would.   Would it be work? Relationships? Personal development? Are any of us perfect in those areas, or do we fail from time to time?  Every time one of my kids slip up as an adult (they will) is it going to be blamed on the home schooling? Really?

Be careful how you judge people and the decisions they make.  Rick did not tell this person that they were failing their own children by sending them to school.  We realize that there are many different ways to get from point A to point B, and there may come a time when we pick a different route...they may too.

I couldn't help it...

I'll take the dirt road...

...going right through our farm.

Last week we constructed our cow lane. Saying we "re-constructed" our cow lane would be incorrect, because that would make one assume that at one point we had constructed one, when in reality, we only put up the fence and did nothing with the actual lane.  So, we finally know the answer to the question "how long can a start-up farm go without constructing cow lanes?" .....12 years.




Looking to the South, towards the farm, you see the original lane on the left.  This year's by-pass is on the right.  All the spring rain made the by-pass necessary, just to get the cows to the barn.

Here, you see even the by-pass getting bad.  We knew we would not be grazing this section of the farm next spring if we did not fix this.
 

This was Rick's emergency fix so we could leave the farm and go get that bale unroller.  It rained just prior to our trip, and this was unpassable.  (looking North from the barns)
 

What a waste of pasture!  This picture just makes a grazer's stomach churn.

First, the dozer took off the mud and topsoil from the original lane. 

 

We rolled out an 8ft wide layer of geotextile cloth.  The cloth keeps the gravel and crushed concrete from sinking to China. On top of the cloth is a layer of gravel.

 

On top of the gravel is a layer of crushed concrete.

 

Each layer is packed with a roller.

Rick and I, with help from the boys, framed up pads for the water tanks to sit on.  The white tube is protecting a water hydrant that we plug into with a hose hooked on the water tank.  We'll back fill around the drinker pads with clay and soil, and replant those areas.  The cows will stand on the drinker pad to drink.

 

Ta-Da!!!  If it only went that fast.  A predicted two day project turned into three.  We did two half days of school and took the third day off.  To finish this project we will replant the by-pass areas of the pasture back to grass along with the area around the drinker pads.

 

I'm sure you noticed the increase in the price of the milk and butter you have bought at the store.  For various reasons the price of milk is up, and I am glad to share with you the ways we have been trying to be good stewards of the additional income.   By fixing the lanes, our cows will be less stressed and cleaner, employee moral will be raised and we will be relieved of some of the effort needed to maintain the quality of milk we strive for.  We are always careful and intentional when the price of milk is up. We tithe accordingly.  We pay bills, put money into savings (for dry time and taxes), then work on project(s), and finally pay off debt.  We look at it as an opportunity to use the high year to prepare ourselves for the lower year that usually follows.  I told Rick it seems as though God has provided financially for the abundance of repairs we needed this year (up 60% so far) so next year, with potentially lower prices, we will be okay having already fixed those things.  Its just as (or more) important that we not waste God's blessings when they come in abundance...and always be thankful.