Monday, October 24, 2011

Planting Wheat

It might not seem like a big deal to some, but the fact that I have planted our wheat is a really big deal to me.  My father in law has done all the planting for years.  I think Duane has got to plant a few times, here and there.  The fact that those two trust me with this job is an absolute honor to me! 

I have 46 acres of wheat in the ground.  One more field of about 30 acres will be planted as soon as the soybeans are harvested.  I hope it looks good in the spring!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Grass Fed Beef

The kids and I joined some friends for a lovely wagon ride in Kalmazoo.  I wish I would have charged my camera battery before we left, it was so pretty out with all the fall colors.  Along the ride we stopped to grill burgers and eat chips.  I brought my own ground beef for the burgers and some homemade salsa (Cherie's recipe).

 Everyone went crazy about the ground beef!  I guess it is what I always eat, so I didn't know others would rave about it.  George asked what the cow had eaten.  Because she was a heifer, she has been out on a big pasture with dry hay and some silage put out for her.  How ironic, my husband is always worried that if we raise grass fed beef it will taste funny.  We are eating grass fed beef now and never really thought about it.  His parents would eat the old dairy cows, I never do.  Not only did they always taste like the soybeans that they were fed back then, but they were old, run down cows (sick and used up).

Monday, October 3, 2011

Go Glenn! & Thank You Share Holders

Today I took our son to the hay field and taught him to run the self propelled haybine.  It is so cool to see your son become a hard working young man.  I have always tried to really instill a good work ethic, not just hard work, but high quality work.  He is such a runt for his age, which makes it even more remarkable to see him out there working like a man.  As always, I am just busting with pride!  Glenn takes every job so serious.  He knows that if he has any trouble, he is to stop and just call for help-his safety is the number one priority.

Today was also made special by the fact that my father-in-law is willing to let me bail all the hay we can.  Oh, he would have had it mowed sooner, but it would also have been chopped into wet haylage.  This is going to be bailed for dry hay for my new "grass fed" operation.  They have even decided to run the Harvestore (big blue silo) empty, moving away from feeding grain.  That is a huge victory for me and my share holders.  Having share holders has been the deal breaker for me.  Thank you for being a part of our farm!  I am so appreciative of the folks who are willing to go that extra mile (in some cases several) to get great quality food over convenient and cheap.  I am also grateful that so many people are willing to work with me as I strive to make a good farm great.   It is a long slow process, but with your support I will get us there.