Thinking 2010?

a post from Karen.... I'm getting a lot of flack for not posting. It's winter, and I know that things are as quiet as they will ever get so I am trying to make time to reflect on the year ahead and set some goals and put some plans in place (and I should make the time to put a post on to track said reflections). We are approaching some big decisions about our land that we own and the land we are slotted to start leasing next year. When we looked for farms we had a 35 acre plus wish list, wanting to graze, looked at places with good pasture potential. It was a huge struggle to find a place with good soil and topography, fencing, good outbuildings and a livable home. That we could afford that is. When we saw this place, we were smitten, but it was less acreage than we imagined and we had lots of questions... "Are we just going to have a rural home and be happy?" or do we need to make it working farm. How will it feel to make our farm dream on mostly leased land and what if it disappears from us? We won't have any control in saving our farm or saving farmland if someone with deep pockets wants to buy it for a mcmansion. We had a lot to think about when we decided on this place, but it felt right and we are so grateful that we have some good soil, good outbuildings, a cosy home, and a great community. Fencing, well, that is taking a while. But it will happen!

I think as we go into our 2nd full season, we know how tired we can get trying to maintain our careers and invest our time into the farm and our family and ourselves. I feel it's important somehow to make the farm productive and to reclaim farmland in sustainable practices. We have learned that we don't have unlimited time and energy and have to be intentional in the projects we take on and the choices we make for the farm. I'm trying to get to the root of my 'impulses' knowing that I can be impulsive (compared to my ever planning and researching mate) and wanting to be clear in what I want the farm to be and what kind of farmer I want to be. For instance, I really liked our turkeys and really am driven to have heirloom turkeys again. Red is quite opposed. Her strong feelings became solidified on a certain afternoon when the hens and tom had pooped all over her radio, pecked at the oil marker we used for marking hogs, knocked down the insulating layer that we used for the broilers brooder, and had to be chased for the umpteenth time from the waiting jaws of our birding spaniel who had claimed far more turkeys than I would like to talk about. We ran up direct costs that were something around $80 per bird. We gave the other surviving (at least until slaughter) ones to friends and family and enjoyed on our own Thanksgiving the one that had lost a wing in the processing facility. I appreciate that at first glance, it was not a successful venture. But the poop that frustrated Red so much, and the foraging and roaming right into prime spaniel territory, is exactly why I want turkeys again. I like that they forage, and find food out of green things, and crawling things and flying things that would otherwise be pests in my garden. I like how nutrient rich their manure is and how on pasture, it's put right where you need it. And I LIKE that heirloom turkeys will take longer to finish, even if it means hanging out longer to wreck havoc at Prairie Fire Farm. I like the idea of cultivating systems that work together to make slow food. I love seeing how curious and active and funny turkeys are and feel a duty to make sure I put some out on fresh pasture and offer some alternatives to factory-raised meat. I appreciate that folks might care enough to pay folks like us enough to make it worth the trouble they might cause! And I also know we can't make this work if they really do cost us $80 a piece. Trying to see how we can keep costs down, contain them enough to keep them safe, and find a model that is sustainable is my challenge. It has to be a good enough plan that I can convince my partner that it will work. And I have to be brave and creative enough to give it a go and find the time in my schedule to make it go well.

We are planning our next herd of pigs and excited to get setup with improvements every time. We're organizing our garden plans and will soon be ordering seeds. We are thinking about where we want to be in 5 years, 10 years - so not a lot of answers but lots of good questions. We're not just sitting back in our 'rural home' but are making it productive, no matter how many acres we end up with.

We're going to MOSA in FEbruary to help along our dreaming and planning and 'figuring' to see if we can make the farm vision work for the long run, to recommit to the possibility of a working family farm, and to network and find others trying to make it happen too. Should be a good start to the 2010 season. And this year, we have a tractor, some hog houses, lots of great folks who like what we're doing and are enjoying the end result of our labors, and a few lessons under our belt.
And I've got a bookmark filled with heirloom turkey poult sources. And shhh... I'm wondering about ducks. I hear they can be great weeders in the garden.;)