The dream becomes reality

The story continues….. 

 Prior to buying the farm, we visited it a couple of times while the previous owners were still living here.  Grazing on the pastures were Dexter cattle.  These cows and bulls kept the pastures looking mowed and clean.  But three and a half months later, once we closed on the farm, the pastures looked quite different.  They were full of something called ‘pig weed’ or ‘spiny amaranth’ (I’ll have much to say about this at a later writing).  My first thought was “goats”. “We’re going to need some goats to help take care of this weed problem”.  So, I immediately did what anyone in today’s world would do.  I picked up my computer, got on the internet and started learning about goats.  I quickly determined that we did not want dairy goats because they would require milking twice a day (although I would love to have the milk) and neither Gary nor I would have time for that.  We both had full time jobs with long hours.  This is when I learned about meat goats.  I honestly did not realize that there were breeds of goats that were bred specifically for meat.  Did you know that something like 70% of the population outside of the United States eats goat meat?  I had no idea.

 

In North Carolina, Boer Goats, the most popular breed of meat goat, were easy to find.  So, after doing my internet research and visiting with the Agricultural Extension Agent here in Franklin County (who raises Boer goats) (she assured me the goats would eat the pigweed), we bought 12 goats.  Fortunately the farm had great fencing and shelters so we did not have much to do to prepare for them.  There were even sufficient grasses for grazing on the pasture so we did not have to worry much about feed.  So, here we were, goat owners.  Now what?  Over the next several weeks and months I spent a good deal of time reading books and searching on the internet learning about goats, what to do, and what not to do.  To my surprise, there is a large amount of valuable goat information on the web.  I also learned that the goat business could be a good business to get into.  So, the doors were opening on our first potential farm venture.

Within the first month of moving to the farm we attended the 4 County 4-H Poultry Show and Sale here in Franklin County.  There were lots of 4-H kids showing Silver Laced Wyandottes and another breed of chicken for which I don’t remember.  After the show the chickens were auctioned off.  We ended up buying 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes.  Again, we did not know a thing about raising chickens.  We carried the hens home in a cardboard box and stopped at Southern States to pick up some feed, feeders, and waterers for them.  We also looked for a book on chickens on the way home but were unable to find one.  So, when we got home I was back on the internet.  On the farm we had this big metal barn that didn’t really look like it was made for chickens but we decided we could make it work and the chickens should be safe in it.  We also had an extra big dog kennel (we have 3 big dogs and a small one that you’ll also get acquainted with along the way) so we decided it would be good to put the hens in the dog kennel inside the barn for a day or so.  We decided to let the hens outdoors after the first night and to our surprise, they went back into the barn and into the kennel every night after that until we built perches and removed the kennel.

We so enjoyed these three ladies (who kept eggs on our table all winter long) that four months later we had 25 pullets (this is what you call a young female chicken that has not started laying eggs).  And we enjoyed them so much that by May (3 months later) we had another 100 pullet chicks (yea, I think we were a little crazy).  The next potential farm venture in the making.  We had no idea what we would do with the eggs, and in that moment, it didn't really matter.  We bought a farm and now we had chickens and goats.  How exciting is that.  I spent the next several months on the phone with clients while I stared out my back window in total awe and amazement watching them. 

The goats were amazing.  They would spend the entire day roaming the pastures (covering what seemed like every inch of 6 or 7 acres at least 3 times per day), spending as much time at the fence line trying to get to the other side as they would grazing the pastures inside the fences.  During the first year they found every weakness the fences had and created some new ones.  We spent at least 3 or 4 days a month rounding up goats, mending fences (often securing them with a piece of cattle panel), and rigging gates so the goats could not slip by or under them.  Oh, and they loved to push their heads through the fence.  But, they had these fairly long horns that would get caught and they could not pull their head back.  I spent many mornings, breaks, lunches and evenings freeing goats from the fence.  I really began to understand why I had heard so many horror stories about why people could not keep goats.  After about a year and a half we borrowed a buck from a friend to breed the does.  This seemed to settle them down.  While they continue to challenge us from time to time in other ways (more stories for the future), the fencing seems to be holding them.  Three years later, I am still in awe when I look out the window and watch them grazing and roaming the pastures.

And then there are all those chickens.  This was back yard chickens at its grandest.   I had 100 chickens (pullets) in my back yard.  What a treat!  It was like watching a playground full of grade school children.  Only these girls were playing all day long.  They would spend the day digging in the soil, sometimes for bugs and worms, sometime for dirt bathing and who know what else.  They would run and flutter (sort of fly but not really) and hide in the weeds (we seldom mow to keep brush for the chickens and browse for the goats) and just appeared to be having a grand time.  But it was the socialization that really amazed me.  They would break up into groups, appear to have their little cliques, get into occasional fights.  It really did look like watching kids on a playground.

Well, as things would have it, by December 2010 I was no longer working at my consulting job.  While I’d spent years dreaming of having a farm, I’m not sure that I expected it to become a reality quite this soon.  So, I had to decide whether or not I was ready to be a full time farmer and more importantly, whether I REALLY WANTED to be a farmer, a full time farmer.   I could not imagine making any other decision.  And down the rabbit hole we went.  All I can say is, it’s a good thing I like learning “how” to do things and that I’m pretty good at the discovery process and figuring things out and that I have a really patient husband who is loving this as much as I do.  And it’s awesome the way other small farmers are willing to share their experiences and help along the way.  I’m not sure we would be where we are today without the help of good friends and the local small farm community.  I assure you I am not a seasoned or wise farmer (I have sooooooooo much to learn), but a farmer I am and I’m loving every moment of the journey.

Until next week…..

Ranell