Dreaming

Jordan and I are sitting on the back porch, sipping home-brewed apple cider and looking out at our property - a modest homestead on eight acres next to a forest. A few chickens walk about the grass, picking at bugs and other tasty things they find. They're entertaining to watch - "Farm TV" they call it. I don't even miss cable. The sun is going down and they'll be in their coop for the evening soon. I'll need to latch the door to keep any weasels or foxes from stealing our food.

I finish my cider and tell Jordan I'm going to do the last round of chores before the sun goes down. I get up and my dog, a beautiful Llewellin setter, also gets up and accompanies me on my rounds as he always does. I head over to the shed to get food and water for the rabbits. We have several meat rabbits and a couple pets. I check and refill their food and water as necessary, and give them a few handfuls of dandelion greens. On the backside of the shed are two honeybee hives, and I take a moment to watch a few bees come in from the fields, legs full of pollen. 

I make my way over to our small barn and the goats greet me loudly in their run, ready for supper. I feed them and give them fresh water, and add some more hay to their bedding area. It's going to be chilly tonight - even summer nights in northern Minnesota get cold. 

On the other side of the barn is Officer Bacon, our big female breeder pig and her young ones. I fed them earlier when I brought out the day's kitchen scraps, so I just lay down some fresh hay and give the big girl a pat on the head. She's been an amazing mama, and while her young will be raised for food and sold, she'll always have a place here. 

I close up the barn and meander past the edge of the meadow toward the chicken coop. Wait, is there something out there? Someday soon there will be reindeer on this hill, but in the fading light I can make out the shape of a whitetail doe and her fawn. They're a beautiful sight, but I can't help but think of hunting this winter. We still have a few steaks in our freezer from Jordan's 8 point buck last year.

I check the chickens in their coop and everyone seems to be settled. They have plenty of water and food, so I latch their door and bid them good night.

Walking back to the house I pass the garden. Everything is doing well, though I make a mental note that I need to pick some strawberries in the morning for breakfast. Soon I'll have enough to sell at the farmer's market, but not yet. I pick one and eat it, enamored by the sweet, fresh from the earth flavor. 

Walking back up the steps I can hear Jordan inside playing a video game, but otherwise the farm is quiet. I call the dog, distracted by an interesting smell next to the deck, and he bounds up the stairs and comes inside with me. It's time to get some art done.

Why I Want To Farm - Part 1: Meat

What do you picture when you think of a farm? Do you see cows grazing on a hillside? Chickens pecking the ground between goats and sheep? Lush vegetable gardens and red barns? Or do you think of large factory farms with hundreds of chickens confined in large buildings that never feel grass under their feet, and pigs standing shoulder to shoulder in cages barely big enough for them to turn around?

I know which I prefer.

There are many different kinds of farms and many reasons to farm. One of my personal reasons for farming is simple - I don't want to be part of the problem anymore. 

I eat meat. No offense to any vegetarians out there, but science shows that our bodies are made to eat meat, and I'm generally not one to go against science (also meat is delicious). Unfortunately, at least here in America, people are eating an unsustainable amount of meat and that has caused quite a few problems. Factory farming is basically a necessary evil in order to keep up with meat demand. How that ground beef in your grocery store or sausage on your pizza got there is probably a horrible story (and not one I'm going to detail here - look into it). Aside from obvious animal cruelty issues, large factory farms are not sustainable and they cause a lot of environmental harm, and they're not going away any time soon.

Unless you always buy free range and organic meat, you're part of the problem. I'm still in that category myself, and like you when I bite into my chicken breast sandwich I try not to think about the animal it once was and the life it lived because it's an unpleasant thought. However, that's exactly why this problem exists.

As a society, people have a disconnect from the origin of their food. When you can buy everything you need to survive in packages from a grocery store, you rarely stop to think about where it came from and how it got there - you just cook it and eat it. Someone else took care of the rest. It's easier now, less to think about. Some would say it's better this way, especially the baby boomer generation. That's when convenience really took off and took hold. Unfortunately all those chemicals and additives are likely causing a lot of the illnesses and disorders we're seeing today, but that's a different topic.

The problem is we've lost an appreciation for our food. Once a year at Thanksgiving we come together and give thanks for our meal, but the rest of our days are spent opening packages and eating whatever looked good at the store (dat marketing). When you stop appreciating your food, you stop caring about where it came from, and that's what allows factory farming to continue. They rely on that disconnect.

I don't want to stop eating meat, but I don't want to be part of the environment-destroying animal-abusing problem our society has created. Right now buying organic is out of my price range, and I feel a little guilt when I eat meat I'm sure came from unsustainable farms (that's why ignorance is bliss - sorry if I ruined it for you too). Yet still even with that knowledge I eat it because I have for years and it's still relatively easy to take comfort in that disconnect. Old habits are hard to break, but I'm going to try.

I want to farm because I want to raise my own meat so I know exactly where it came from and can ensure the animals live a comfortable life, at least until harvest time. A lot of people have trouble when it comes to the idea of harvesting animals you raise yourself. My mom has told me she could never do it, that she would get too attached, and I wonder that about myself too. I've been hunting and fishing since I was a kid, and I still feel bad (and sometimes even say "sorry") when I have to whack a fish on the head to kill it quickly. However, I think the act is an important part of being a meat eater because it instills a sense of reverence. You become less wasteful. You appreciate that animal's life more because you took it, because it's going to sustain you. It places you back in the grand circle and you become part of something that's been taking place for generations, long before grocery stores ever existed.

Raising livestock for food is really just hunting without having to chase down the animal. The entire reason there are so many people on this planet today is because long ago people figured out that it was easier to keep and breed meat animals than it was to constantly chase them in the woods and fields. 

Breeding, raising, and harvesting chickens, rabbits, turkeys and maybe pigs for meat is not glamorous, but it is sustainable, economical, and it puts meat in the freezer that's way better and fresher than anything you get from the store. Instead of being part of the problem, I want to create my own solution. I want to farm.

The list

What I call "the list" is a series of plans and dreams for the future. This is a list of animals I hope to have (both pets and livestock), as well as the plants I intend to grow. I will start small and continually work my way up to the larger critters and homesteading goals. I have not yet decided what breeds or varieties to keep in most cases, but as I do I will refine the list and change it as I see fit.

I'll go into more depth for some of these in future blog posts.

Animals

What I have now: 

Cat (back in MN) - Willow
Rats - Raven, Misty, and Poe
Boa constrictors - Orion, Kitty, Tiamat, Desert Ross, Legacy, Phoenix, Bacon, Hera, and Luna

Corn snake - Nathara

What I want:
Dog - Llewellyn setter, for grouse hunting
Cat - Siberian
Skunk 

Chickens
Turkeys

Rabbits
Bees

Goats

Long term goals:
Reindeer (yes, reindeer)

Plants

What I have now:
Rosemary
Strawberries

What I want:
More cooking herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
Lettuce and other greens
Tomatoes
Carrots
Broccoli
Potatoes
Peas
Cucumber
Onions/Chives
Rhubarb
Squash and zucchini
Pumpkins
Apple trees
Raspberries
Currants
Gooseberries
Blueberries

Long term goals:
Berry farm


Ultimate farm goal: Sell produce and farm products at the farmer's market, breed and sell animals, grow and provide much of my own food for myself and my family, and live a life close to nature and in tune with the seasons. If possible, someday I would love to run a small bed and breakfast at the farm as well.

It's a big list, but I know each and every one of these things is attainable if I work hard and stay focused. Big things are coming!