Another Busy Week Is Here....

No one ever said farming was easy, but one would think that we should be able to get some down hours here and there. Nope! Not yet. Good thing Nicole and I love doing it. Can't help but look forward to fall and winter, though. This week we have two new arrivals coming to the farm. We have our layer ducks that should arrive on Wednesday morning and our new LGD (livestock guardian dog) coming Wednesday afternoon.

Realizing the ducklings would be here soon, we went ahead and created a new paddock. We wanted to keep the ducks we have now separate and integrate our new duck layer flock down the road. This will make it easier having all of the ducks together and finding the eggs for sale or incubation. Also, there has been a little confusion with one of our drakes who thinks he can breed with the chickens. Perhaps one of the strangest sights I’ve seen on the farm.

Since we have tasted the duck eggs and found out how healthy they are, we decided to expand the production. (Nicole and I recently learned they have an alkaline base. They are sought after by cancer patients who are looking to eat alkaline based foods to help the body be an inhospitable host to cancer cells. Mason now eats his share of duck eggs!)

LGD Number Two....

We are picking up a little (not for long) Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Sheppard female to complete our LGD security system. Still, we are searching for the right name for her. We will probably have to see her first. See how she behaves and come up with something then. I think that when both she and Maddux are older, they will make quite a duo.

For the most part, Maddux has done quite well in his job.  He has had some challenges with eating a few chickens once in a while and sneaking in the hen box to steal a few eggs.  But I have to have faith that he will grow out of these bad habits with the right approach to consistent discipline and age (Rolling him on his back, grabbing the loose skin around his neck and tell him no in a stern voice while showing him the egg or dead chicken.  Similar to pack behavior with dogs - the alpha male will get the subordinate male on his back and grab his neck with his teeth when there are behavior problems within the pack.  This creates an alpha/subordinate type role so he knows I'm the leader and there are things he can and can't do.).

I really found out how intimidating Maddux can be a couple of nights ago.  I was filling up the waterers and had my back to him, when I turned around he was running straight toward the fence in my direction.  Teeth out, hair puffed, muscles ripped (Can a dog have ripped muscles?).  It scared me. Then I realized he was in protection mode.  There was a wild dog standing ten feet behind me and I didn't even hear him. It was near dusk and I could barely see him.  Thank God for Maddux - barking, growling, and sometimes looking to see where the chickens were behind him. I thought he would jump the fence.  He didn't, but I jumped in with him and the wild dog tucked his tail between his legs and bolted around to the other side of the paddock looking for a free meal.  Not tonight!  Maddux shadowed him from the fence until he was discouraged and left.  That dog should be glad Maddux was in the fence or he may have never run again.  Just - WOW!

Egg Production Nearing Peak...

Now that egg production is in full swing, we are pumping out nearly five dozen eggs a day.  That means we are washing, candling and grading nearly five dozen eggs a day!  Sales started out slow, but now we are selling everything we can produce and donating five to ten dozen a week.  It takes about an hour and a half to wash, dry, candle and grade the eggs, but I have to say seeing the fridge full of eggs with the 180 Degree Farm label is pretty cool.

Last But Not Least....

We've had roma tomatoes coming out of our ears. So we've made, what I would consider, the best pasta sauce yet! Tomatoes, peppers (mild and spicy), fresh garlic, thyme, oregano, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper - that equals yum. We've vacuum sealed and frozen most of it.  Love that vacuum sealer!  Makes it so easy to save foods and real easy to store after the bag has been vacuumed.

Too Much To Do And Not Enough Time....

I used to think, in years past, that we were busy way too much. Back then, we had a big garden, Nicole and I worked full time jobs, we spent 3 hrs most days in traffic, Camron had football, Mason had basketball and then there were other weekend activities, birthday parties, church and so on...

Nicole working on the poultry netting for a paddock move.

Welcome to 2010. We have a farm that Nicole works full time and part time (Does that equal a 90 hr work week?), I have my job plus I work part time (or all available time) on the farm, the kids still have their activities and all of the other stuff that happens in a typical week.

We are very thankful. We actually love farming and all of the hard, back breaking work that entails. I love the fact that my boys get to spend every day with their mother, learning about plants and animals, and what it means to help out on the farm. They get to see the struggles and share in the triumphs that we have every day. I think it is wonderful that they can play in the woods and just be out in fresh air, away from the TV and video games. They will have great memories and stories for their children and grand kids one day.

There are days we really look forward to more than others. CSA pickups are one of them. Nicole (and me on the weekends!) loves spending time with our customers. This, to us is the zenith of rewards for a job well done. We love listening to feedback, hearing our customer's likes and dislikes, giving tours (Camron's job now), explaining how we do things, our beliefs and how it affects the way we farm. There are not many highs better than that!

Still, with that said, we never are able to walk away from a day satisfied that we've completed everything that needed to get done. Sometimes we both feel we have way too many projects and not enough time or funds for that matter. That's life! We are blessed though to have Nicole's parents help us out nearly every day. They could easily not be evolved because of the labor intensive work or the heat and we would certainly understand. But I think that if you love farming, the beginning of hard work always seems to have its reward at the end. In this job, you see the fruits from the labor.

We are also being challenged or tested in other ways as well. We have, I think, one neighbor that is not happy we have a farm. This neighbor doesn't even live close to us, just in the same area a mile or more away. Yet, we are constantly picking up trash that has been thrown on our drive way, nearly every day. Nicole recently had to peel a pancake off our mailbox that this person had smashed on the lid. This, to us, is going over the line. What can you do? Set up a motion (wildlife) camera and take his or her picture in the act, call the police and let them deal with it. Maybe, but for now, we will just turn the other cheek. I think that is the hardest thing to do, but I think it will be a valuable lesson for the kids. As Nicole reminded me last night, the kids are always watching to see how you handle these type of things. That they do!

The Never Ending Story.....

Nicole and I had some great news....... The Coweta County Commissioners unanimously approved the ordinance and variance last night. This now paves the way for us to apply and have our own public hearing. This hearing will allow neighbors to come and speak in favor or against our having a farm off of Emory Phillips Rd. The board will then approve or deny our request at that specific location.

What is a little concerning is the perception of farming in the eyes of some folks within the community. I do not fault them for their beliefs, having obviously experienced some not so pleasant things to make them feel that way.  But for us, it will be re-educating the fine folks in our community about the right way to farm. The way God intended.

From talking to someone on the board last night, I get the feeling that a few folks think we will have a "chicken factory" or "2000 pigs” in a small confined area that could stink up a two mile radius. Fortunately, that is not the case. That would go completely against our beliefs. Certainly, if that was the case, there would be no reason for us to get into farming, because the "factory farms" already have a monopoly on that - unhealthy, drugged up animals, major environmental pollution and poor working conditions just to name a few.

The perception of our community is important to us. That is why we believe in transparency. We believe it is much more impactful for a customer, or a critic for that matter, to come to our farm and see what we do:

• See how we treat our animals with love and respect, believing that we are caretakers of Creation.
• See how rotational grazing benefits the animals and heals the land.
• See how smell is not an issue because the animals are moved daily, allowing the land to absorb and use the manure much more quickly.
• See employees who are happy and proud of the work they do.
• See a community that is tired of getting sick from the food they eat and want personal relationships with local farmers in order to know where their food came from and what was done, or more importantly, what was not done to it.

The message will get out there to the disbelievers. Maybe one at a time, but it will happen.

The other concern some have, is traffic. A few folks believe we will be dropping in a grocery store on our property with 200 parking spots. Again, that is not the case. We will have customers coming on to the farm to purchase food, but to think it will be a scene from the end of the movie "Field of Dreams" is just not realistic.

This is a very long road we have been on. For us, growing "clean", natural foods for our family, friends, neighbors and our community is just as important as teaching people how to do it.

A Call To Action.....

I encourage you to let The Coweta County Board of Commissioners (770-254-2601 ) know how you feel about local, sustainable, organic farming in our community. Sometimes, in cases like these, it is the loud minority speaking for the silent majority. After we have a scheduled hearing date, I would love to have the loud majority at the hearing, showing support for what we believe to be good and righteous. Thanks for your support.

Quote:

"We all find ourselves in situations that at times seem hopeless. And, we all have the choice to do nothing or take action."

~Catherine Pulsifer