The Accidental FarmerLearning how to farm on the fly

Crude, but effective.

This year we went from growing food for ourselves with a bit left over to growing food largely for others.

After honing our skills for several years we made the jump and upped production of hogs, chickens and turkeys. It was not without its challenges but we pulled it off. Twelve pigs, 17 turkeys, 100 chickens and 10 lambs kept us busy for much of the spring, summer and fall.

Now that it’s almost over, looking back on the year gives us much to be thankful for. In no particular order, here are the highlights from our year of farming.

1. We had 10 lambs born in February, 8 of them premature. I spent days living in the barn but managed to save all the lambs and ewes. It felt harsh then but feels good now.
2. We were given a Maremma guardian dog that proved to be a handful. She ate 2 chickens in her first 2 weeks and wanted to play with the sheep instead of guard them. A firm hand and consistent treatment has brought her around.
3. We learned a lot growing 12 hogs to market weight. The most important thing we learned is that we can do it.
4. Meeting other farmers and exchanging help, information and supplies has helped us feel like we don’t have to learn everything by making mistakes, but still make them. A phone call to the right person can save hours of frustration and anguish.
5. Deciding to make the jump and apply for farm status and a farm slaughter license so we can legally sell our meat and not have to worry about a knock at the door. We’ll be able to openly sell our products instead of doing it on the down low.
6. 

   Blackie with Dave Good inspecting our work, post surgery.

   Random acts of kindness; the gal who showed up with a bag full of sutures, scalpels, freezing and syringes when we really needed them and came to the barn to give advice like a seasoned professional; the guy who picked up our pigs from Alberta and would only accept gas money for his troubles; the vet who answers his phone while on his sail boat and dispenses timely advice; friends and neighbours like Bob Crutch and Dave Good who arrive to help at a moment’s notice when all hell breaks loose.

7. Our ewe, Blackie, who was attacked by two dogs, is a week from being let out of the barn which is truly amazing. We figured she was dead but never gave up on her.
8. My veterinary skills have improved. When Blackie got attacked, I learned how to suture. I may not meet the standards of the Veterinary College but made it work.
9. Our new chicken coop is finally completed and our layers are in. It has been a long haul but our gals are out of their cold, dark, disease infested coop and into the lap of luxury.
10. Coming to the realization that we need help and can’t be all things to all animals, fruits and vegetables. Next year will see the construction of a small residence on the farm for farm help. I missed Taj Mahal this year when I had tickets because we couldn’t find farm help. When everyone left me home to go see the show, I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to be a farmer.

It hasn’t been an easy year but with what we’ve learned, we’re looking forward to an even more productive year in 2012.

I wish a Happy New Year to all the inthekoots members, staffers, bloggers, lurkers and anyone who calls themselves a farmer. May your New Year bring new challenges and help you learn things you never thought you needed to know.

It started in early May.

After laying out the footings, I promptly buried my bobcat to within an inch of its life trying to dig them. Apparently, it was too wet.

It was a source of some aggravation and a sore spot until it was pulled out. Looking at it made me grumpy. Really grumpy.

It took a month before I lined up a large excavator parked down the road to come do the deed and finish the digging properly. Others with smaller machines offered to help but I envisioned something like the old woman who swallowed a fly with a line of successively bigger equipment buried in the mud.

Once the holes were dug, it was still too wet to pour footings so things sat for another month.

In July, the footings got poured and the framing began.

Automatic Chicken Door

In early summer, I wore gum boots and a rain slicker. In late summer and early fall it was jeans, t-shirt and straw hat. In winter, fleece tights, multiple layers, down coat and warm woolly hat.

It was supposed to be done by the end of September and then October and I couldn’t stand to see it run into the New Year. I hit the ground running in late November and blew out my back picking up a coffee cup. Three weeks passed before I could move like a normal human.

On December 19^th , my birthday, Dave Good came and helped me celebrate by priming the inside of the coop. Us farmers know how to party.

Over Christmas, my brother-in-law Duncan became an unwitting accomplice. On Christmas Eve Day, we painted. On Christmas day, we finished the wiring. On Boxing Day, we put down the lino and the following day, the entrance ramp, roosting stand and automatic door. We moved feed, water, laying boxes and finally, chickens.

Rebar roosts

I fear I may have overdone it but my tendency as the builder is to look towards its deficiencies, things I might improve. It still lacks a sound system, high speed internet, motion and light activated sensors, and live video feed.

Next I need to remove the steel roofing from the old coop and burn it down. Beyond being deeply satisfying on a personal level, we can’t have our hens running back to their slummy roots at first chance. Old habits die hard.

I get a 3 month reprieve from coop matters until next spring when I get to finish the other half. Granted, the foundation and floor assembly are in and it will be un-insulated with minimal wiring but still.

The remaining section will be used for meat chicken and turkey production in the summer and fall and needs to be done by late spring. The structure also needs permanent water and power which will go in next summer or fall along with cedar shingles for siding that have been taking up space in the hay loft for far too long.

It needs some tweaking but the birds are in and I can do something else with my spare time.

It’s time for some winter projects. Things like applications for slaughter licenses, farm status, farm identity card and farm plates for our farm vehicles.

At the top of the list of projects is rewarding the farmer and for this farmer, it means loading my sled, tying on my skis and heading for the hills.