You might be a start up farm if...

As my beautiful wife pulled into the yard the other day, after going to pick up more feed for the chickens, it made me laugh as I saw our little 4 cylinder car pulling in, fenders almost touching the tires, and the back almost dragging the ground as it strained to carry the 1,500 pounds of broiler feed that was in it!



I was hoping to be able to get 20 bags of feed, 50 lbs each = 1,000 lbs, but I did not expect the feed company to be able to pack 30 bags into that car. When your starting out you don't have all the equipment that would make things easier, like a truck, so you work with what you have.

I find myself so many times forgetting our Lords command, Luke 16:10 "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much."

It is very easy for me to always want the biggest and best thing that comes out. The newest electric poultry netting, the newest brix reading refractometer, a big truck to haul things in, more land, more this, more that.....after all aren't we supposed to take dominion?

It always my tendency to say, "well if I had "that" then I could really take care of things". But the fact is, if I can't be faithful with the 5-10 acres I'm on right now, then why should God give me any more land to work with? If I can't be a good steward for the chickens he has given me now...why should he let me have the equipment to handle more? If I'm not doing my best to raise my little boy to be a warrior for Him....why should he give me more children? I must be faithful in the least of things as much as I would be in the greatest of things.

I have just read a book about Stonewall Jackson in which his character and career were described and was greatly encouraged and convicted. Jackson was a man that was faithful in the least of things and God granted him the opportunity to be faithful in monumental things. In his daily life he was scheduled, punctual, orderly, regimented, disciplined, and followed the commands of God's word. It was the fact that he had already practiced all these qualities, with God's grace, that he was able to be the great military commander that he was. It was his lifetime before the war of disciplining himself that he was able to discipline other men and have the fortitude and faith to stand at the battle of First Manassas like a "Stone Wall".

Joel Salatin and his wife lived in their parents attic above the garage for 7 years when they first started farming. They were committed to excellence in what they produced and using the methods that were God honoring in their farming. Through their faithfulness in the little things, God gave them a national platform to be a spokesperson for the natural foods movement. But it started with them being faithful with little money, little infrastructure, little equipment, and a lot of faithfulness.





If we view things that we "have" as belonging to God, as we should, it doesn't matter if we have 1 cow, or 200 cows. It doesn't matter if we have 10 chickens, or raise 5,000 per year. It all belongs to GOD. It is the property of our Lord and we have been intrusted to take care of and be a husbandman for. We will have to give an account of how we have used every resource that the Lord has given us one day, and may we be found to have been faithful with little....whether or not God ever gives us much.

New life on the farm

This week on Friday the 16th our first calf, Brisket, was born!  (Brittney named him Brisket as he will one day be dinner, we didn't want to get to attached)  We had expected our milk cow, Truly, to have her calf for a few weeks now and didn't think she would wait this long but she did and God blessed us with a healthy bouncing calf. 

We have two of our sisters from Texas with us this week.  You can imagine their excitement to see a baby calf be born.  Aside from the usual "that's gross" or two they really enjoyed being here for it.  They are getting to play with little "brisket  and having a good time. 

Truly did great though the birth and I think she is going to be a very good momma cow.  We have run into a slight hiccup with milking her though.  In order for her to produce a lot of milk in the future we have to milk her utter all the way out every day from the start even when the calf can't drink it all.  If we don't she will adjust her milk production down to what the calf needs and there won't be much excess in the future when we get to drink it.  (you can't drink the milk until 7 days after the calf is born in order to get all the colostrum out)  Well, Truly was always very gentle when being fed in her head catch before she had the calf but she is not being so placid now, if you catch my drift.  We have had quite a few "kicking" episodes but she is starting to calm down.  A lot of it has to do with me not being gentle and fast enough as I am a newbie milker.   For those of you who have never milked...you will never need to work out your forearms again if you do.  Popeye....look out!  :)

The hardest thing now is getting her into the stall as she knows she will be locked in the head catch when she gets in.  I think part of it has to do with her utter being sore and swollen from just having the calf and we are hoping with a few days of milking she will calm down and realize that we aren't trying to hurt her.  So if you think of it....say a prayer that God will give Truly a heavenly Ritalin pill when she's in the head catch.  We like our arms in the non-broken position.  heh....heh. 

Little sleeping Brisket.

The more we farm....the more we love it!  God is good and we are so grateful that he has allowed us the desire of our hearts this far.  To him be the glory!