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BrokenTap - we got several sections of soil tested (since we aren't positive which area will be the homesite yet) and we will need some lime with all those spruce trees around. Nitrogen and phosphorus were good, so at least I don't have to worry about those immediately (or ever if I compost properly). Selenium is very low, so if I get goats I'll need to make sure they have a mineral block.
Goats are a little less picky with regards to breeding, but restricting the buck is the best way to control that according to the local farmers. I checked with a sheep farmer down the road and he has been able to get his ewes to lamb in May by restricting the ram. We're still looking at winter grain supplementation to have healthy mamas and babies in the spring, but our Cooperative Extension agent says we should be able to get high-quality hay and at least one good harvest of grain with the our soil and all the sunshine. Thankfully, we don't have a lot of rocks if we avoid the few gravel bars. Getting all those stumps up out of the field will be some hard work though.
I don't like the idea of subsidies either, not because I don't think that farmers deserve to make money, but because if the government, banks and mega-agri-corps would just keep their greedy meddling mitts out of the system the farmers would be doing ok on their own. It really bothers me that "they" have systematically made farmers dependent on subsidies and loans and are now deciding to just take them away. Their greed has blinded them to the longterm implications of farm failings. This is one of the biggest reasons why I don't support a centralized food system and think everyone should go back to eating local and in season.
We are surrounded by Canadians obviously and it is sad to look across the border and see them able to survive on family farms with only 30 cows. I grew up in a barn where we milked only 30 cows and it was a peaceful life. Since1 person could do it all, it was just me and the girls...night after night. Well that and the radio playing.
In the big farm there is no peace. Cows coming and going, tractors, and yes lots of people to make it all work. Its bigger and we are no longer farming "poor" but it's not the same as that quiet little barn I grew up in.
As for the subsidies it makes a lot of farmers try to fit their farm around them...and ultimately around the farm bills. YOU CAN NOT DO THAT! Nope...no way...no how. The political machine is just too chaotic and fast changing where as farms take years to change.
I'm going off the Prosaic today though (just a funny expression as I really am not that bad). I talked with a wonderful woman whom I have made friends with, and her position as a local farm coordinator is pretty neat. Anyway locally there are some very good things happening in regards to wool. A scouring wool company is poised to start in my area, and some major wool marketing plans are in place for this state. So far wool has been costly for us...that being it's cheaper to dispose of the wool in the woods then it is to actually sell it. That is seriously about to change. It is one of those things. The Fed's will never help things much that is for sure, but maybe locally we can improve the situation.
But I figured out a way to help generate money to pay for all these silly stimulus packages...we install a toll booth at the capital and the white house and charge $10 a person to go through the door. With all these companies driving to Washington for individual bail-outs, maybe if we can say no to 1 in 10, and yet collect tools from everyone, we might be able to pay this off in 8094!
LOL - I think we need to enact a "hot air" tax for politicians... as I'm sure it's more than partially repsonsible for global warming.
Smaller farms are just more easy to manage and really do have the ability to have higher production (yield per acre) than larger farms, especially corporate mega-farms. I think it's sad that our financial system has taken all the joy and unqiueness out of agriculture. Farming shouldn't be endless hours of drudgery and stress, where you're little more than a technician. Farmers used to be stewards of the land are bring forth new life for us all... I'll just never understand why we Westerners stopped respecting them
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
I think it's sad that our financial system has taken all the joy and unqiueness out of agriculture. Farming shouldn't be endless hours of drudgery and stress, where you're little more than a technician. Farmers used to be stewards of the land are bring forth new life for us all... I'll just never understand why we Westerners stopped respecting them
I'm not sure I agree. In my case I worked on the small farm by myself for years and years, but there is no question it was endless work and far more difficult then the bigger farms because it lacked a lot of improvements.
I'm a farmer...so 18 hour days and 7 day weeks are routine for me...it was never the work that bothered me. Somewhere within all the work I found happiness. I think I enjoyed the small farm because it was simply quiet. But being stressful...oh yeah...big time. Even though I did not own it...everything that happened on that farm was my responsibility. Frozen water pipes to cows having issues calving out...it was all up to me to make right and efficiently. Anything can be fixed when enough money and time is thrown at it, but on a farm you have neither.
I think that is the biggest problem with young farmers today. They think they can buy a farm, have picnics out in the back forty while the cows graze merrily away and live this oh so free stressful lifestyle. That is not the case, nor has it ever been. I come from generations of farmers (13 to be exact) and thanks to written documents within the family, stress has always been a part of farming. You can see it written in their daily diaries and log books.
What I have seen in the past is a 7 year disillusionment. In about 7 years time, these young farmers get discouraged by the stress, the reality of working 7 days a week 365 days a year, and the constant worry...and get out of farming. It has become such an issue that to even be financed for farming here, you need 3 years experience. I agree with it because that at least shows the potential farmer has some sort of stamina.
As for Grass Fed Beef, organic farming and some of these other farming fads, it only causes downfalls that much more. The more farmers that get into these niche markets the more and faster they erode. Once these markets collapse...or the American food preference changes to the next latest and greatest food trend...will these farmers keep going at lower prices or the daunting prospects of reconfiguring the farm be too much? Here unfortunately history shows they move on.
My hope lies within next-generational transfers. It's true that a lot of family farms do not continue because youngsters do not want to work on the farm. But it is very narrow sightedness. There is ALWAYS someone in the family that wants to farm the family farm...but it just might not be a son or daughter.
...I think that is the biggest problem with young farmers today. They think they can buy a farm, have picnics out in the back forty while the cows graze merrily away and live this oh so free stressful lifestyle. That is not the case, nor has it ever been. I come from generations of farmers (13 to be exact) and thanks to written documents within the family, stress has always been a part of farming. You can see it written in their daily diaries and log books.
What I have seen in the past is a 7 year disillusionment. In about 7 years time, these young farmers get discouraged by the stress, the reality of working 7 days a week 365 days a year, and the constant worry...and get out of farming. It has become such an issue that to even be financed for farming here, you need 3 years experience. I agree with it because that at least shows the potential farmer has some sort of stamina.
As for Grass Fed Beef, organic farming and some of these other farming fads, it only causes downfalls that much more. The more farmers that get into these niche markets the more and faster they erode. Once these markets collapse...or the American food preference changes to the next latest and greatest food trend...will these farmers keep going at lower prices or the daunting prospects of reconfiguring the farm be too much? Here unfortunately history shows they move on.
My hope lies within next-generational transfers. It's true that a lot of family farms do not continue because youngsters do not want to work on the farm. But it is very narrow sightedness. There is ALWAYS someone in the family that wants to farm the family farm...but it just might not be a son or daughter.
You know, Broken Tap, I have found that to be soo true. So many folks right now are talking about moving to where they can be farmers, grow their own food, yet have NO idea of the work involved. I spend time on several forums (except in the spring and smmer, when I am mostly outside) telling people the truth about how hard it is. You can't just throw seeds in the dirt and hope that they come up with enough food for you to live on, much less sell. So often I see people giving up because it turned out that they couldn't do everything that they wanted, subsidies or not, and the stress has torn apart families that thought 'living a more natural life' would help their relationships. If you don't have a strong one to start with, you end up blaming each other because there isn't enough wood to last the winter, or this last season's late snows or heavy rains caused their crops to fail or the barn to collapse.
I do agree that grass fed beef is a niche market; but it shouldn't be (oh the wouldnts shouldnts oughttas of farming!). The ranchers here feed their beef on nothing but grass and local hay (and mineral licks), and have seen the prices drop. The cattle sales are commanding far less this year than last - from $147 for a 1600 lb Angus to $115. Add that up by the hundreds, and the cost of feeding, caring for, and inoculating them, and you have a lot of deficits already. And that's not even considering that most of these grass-fed cattle are being shipped to feedlots where they get the six-ten week regimen of grain, hormones, and additional antibiotics, and are still costing $5.00 + a pound in stores! The corporations will be snatching up more ranches soon, and overgrazing them to the dirt, decimating the land as well as the beef production. It will be a long-term cycle. "Little" farmers getting into this simply don't have any idea of the costs involved.
I want a horse but that is the LAST thing on my list, if ever. I have a three-year-plan of steady growth and controls in place for losses and profits - but can expand it to five years, if necessary. Yet every day that goes by I am more and more behind the eight-ball of what I want vs what I CAN do. Weather, costs, everything comes into play. People who leap up and buy a farm usually have no idea of costs, profits and losses, or how a changing market impacts them. If people are buying more soyburger for the next two years because it is cheaper, what will happen to all of that grain-fed beef? Will it wait two years on the plains for the market to pick up? Not likely, and not feasible.
I agree that farming is hard work and all responsibility lies squarely on your shoulders if you have a small farm without endless time and money. I do think that many people who try their hand at it have an idyllic view of farming and haven't done enough research. I don't think I'd be as confident in my decision if I hadn't worked on farms and ranches before. I expect the hard work, but also the enjoyment of it... unlike a corporate job, which may be less hours on the surface but less meaningful and enjoyable, too (at least for me). I know it won't be picnics in the meadows most of the time... but the few times when you can make it all worth it and you appreciate them more.
SCGranny...I agree with you, but in reading your last paragraph I feel compelled to tell you about an issue I struggle with A LOT!. That is something I call Paralysis by Analysis. You know, where you stop and think, cipher and decide and then either never get going, or jump right in anyway and the next thing you know, it was not as bad as you thought.
I did that last year with sheep. I waited 9 months to find the right flock (Scrapie Certified, white face, and cheap) and the whole time I thought I was going to have to spend a bunch of money on expensive 4 foot page wire sheep fence. In the end I found out two things.
1. 3 strands of electric fence keeps them in just fine
2. The fence companies drill it into people that you need fences that rival maximum security prisons to keep in sheep (and other livestock). (You don't)
I probably sound like I am counter-reacting what I said before, but maybe you see what I am saying. Oh I fretted about those stupid sheep fences. I even went to the NRCS and found a loophole that could have helped pay for these fences...but thankfully I found out I could get by with far less and build them as needed them. If the figures don't work for your horse then by golly don't go with one, but there is a point where we can plan ourselves out of things too.I'm thinking you are resourceful enough to make a horse work.
I still think having a farm plan ahead of time is the best time to do one. It forces you to think things through and then as opportunities come your way you can either jump at it, or wait. I had chances several times for free sheep, but each time I waited knowing the sheep that were available just did not match the plan.
I agree that farming is hard work and all responsibility lies squarely on your shoulders if you have a small farm without endless time and money. I do think that many people who try their hand at it have an idyllic view of farming and haven't done enough research. I don't think I'd be as confident in my decision if I hadn't worked on farms and ranches before. I expect the hard work, but also the enjoyment of it... unlike a corporate job, which may be less hours on the surface but less meaningful and enjoyable, too (at least for me). I know it won't be picnics in the meadows most of the time... but the few times when you can make it all worth it and you appreciate them more.
How true,and I think finding the right mate is key to the whole thing. I am not so sure I did well in that department, but for those that are wed and pull in the same direction...I really am amazed at what can be done.
"sigh"...I wish I could do more with my wife that is for sure. We have done a few farm related things, but this can be defined as 1 or 2 per year. I have been getting better at slowing down and only working 18 hour days instead of 20 , but I would sure like to stop sometimes, pull out that blanket and have a picnic in the back 40 with her. I sure do envy those people that have wives that can wade up to their ankles in cow poo, take a shower and look like they never step foot in the barn 2 hours later. But since she shows little interest in the sheep/cows, I can at least spend time with my daughter. She is only 2½ years old, but she has a deep love for cows and sheep even at this age. It comes from spending time doing things with them that you like.
All in all I got it good I guess, but for as hard as I work, I sometimes wish I had more, or maybe its, I wish I had the same amount of stuff as people who worked a whole lot less than me.
Awwww your daughter is adorable, and so are the calfs! I'm glad that she's showing an interest in the critters... hope she'll be the next generation of farmer!
I totally agree about the partner thing. If one person's doing most of the farm work while the other is off doing something else... there's no time left to be together and you aren't together while you're working either. I'm sure there will be time when DH & I are working at separate sides of the farm on different projects (as our skills and talents are different)... but, in the end, we'll both be working and knee deep in some sort of muck. The big chores we'll be doing together, so if we want to stop in the middle of baling the back 40 for a little , ahem R & R, we can
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, but I would sure like to stop sometimes, pull out that blanket and have a picnic in the back 40 with her. I sure do envy those people that have wives that can wade up to their ankles in cow poo, take a shower and look like they never step foot in the barn 2 hours later. But since she shows little interest in the sheep/cows, I can at least spend time with my daughter. She is only 2½ years old, but she has a deep love for cows and sheep even at this age. It comes from spending time doing things with them that you like.
