Why we Farm

Knowing YOUR farmer is an important part of the farm to table movement, an important part of the dining experience. The think is, it is the 21st Century and despite social media, websites, and brief interactions at the market it is sometimes hard to really know them. There are posts about the good things farmers do and posts about what they should be doing. This happens in most industries, think about the teachers that educate your children. Most are honorable and hardworking individuals that sacrifice for your kid but you can talk to a parent at a board meeting or hop on Facebook to find all the things teachers SHOULD be doing, generally by someone who never spent time in a classroom.

I also find that if you have never raised livestock or grew a garden some customers have a hard time knowing what questions to ask. Which makes the conversation difficult to navigate.

So let’s start with our WHY, why we started and why we continue to reach for the next goal. Thinking back, I don’t know when exactly we decided this was the life for us. I think it was Gary’s fault, he has worked for several farms though the years. The kind of people that take care of their own, fix enough tractors or help in a pinch enough times they feel the need to feed you. That comes in the form of Beef, pork or feeder calves. It becomes a way of life, genuine wholesome hard working people feeding their community.

The Gardening and canning part of the homestead was more my fault. I went through a difficult time after having our last child and I was looking for something to help heal my soul. So the first garden was put in the ground, we don’t do anything half way so it was to big for our little family of 3.5 (Anna was a baby) so the process of figuring out how to preserve my bounty rather than give it away became our focus point.

So the question of why we do the extra work to feed our community and participate in the AG industry still isn’t answered with the above homesteading story. The thing is, it is a lot of work. It was not something that was passed down to us through family ties like many producers, it was something that we choose and fight for. Gary has many skills and my Resume includes a Master’s Degree so we have other choices but we always came home eager to start our chores and cook REAL food at the end of the day.

Nothing Brings People Together like Good Food!

The thing is, we enjoy our farm. Our evening strolls around the pastures, the challenge of the never ending to do list that require his inner McGauver, the excitement of chicks, the relief of another successful harvest, the people at the market with like-minded goals, and the customers that invite this little farm to their dinner table. It is a simple thing but it is everything! So maybe it is in our genes, but I think it is in the full bellies and full hearts because nothing brings people together like good food!