The $10 Hot Dog

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife





We have hot dogs.

100% grass fed, certified organic hot dogs. Made from beef whom have been outside the majority of their lives, on pasture with lots of room to run and nap in the sunshine and chew cud. These hot dogs come 8 in a package which is vacuum sealed with the appropriate USDA inspected, MOSA certified labels. Labels that include the wonderful ingredients that make them organic. Spices which include coriander, nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper with flavorings of cane juice, paprika, garlic and onion powder.

Each hot dog is 6-8 inches long , there are 8 in a package and each package weighs about 1.25 pounds. There are no additives. No hidden ingredients. No waste parts of other animals like chicken feet, goat lips or rice cereals. They are 100% pure beef hot dogs.

What would YOU pay for these ?

The good news is you will not have to pay $10.00 for a pound of our pure beef hot dogs. The reality however is, if you buy from us you will need to pay $8.50 which is just .49 cents less than a pound of our T-bone steaks, one of the finer cuts of beef. How can that be ? Well it's because of many factors.

The cost of organic hay, organic straw, fences, waterers, fuel to get the animal to the locker and back to our farm store ( a 70 mile round trip) are just a few factors. In addition, there is the cost of our annual organic inspection, the 40 cents per package for the vacuum wrap and the additional $2.50 per package for all the organic seasoning , curing and cooking done by the locker.

We struggle with the fact that we have to charge $8.50 in order to meet our expenses and still have a little left over as "profit" for all the manual labor involved in the 18-24 months of caring for a steer before he is big enough to be butchered. And yet, yesterday, when a customer came to our little store and my husband accidentally told him the price for the hot dogs was $10.00 for one pound ( because I had not yet put the new price on our price list for him to refer to) the customer paid that $10.00 without a single comment.

I guess that is what he thought they were worth.

Of course the way to decrease this price would be to decrease expenses. Instead of raising just 30-40 beef a year we could increase our numbers to 300-400 a year and eliminate pastures altogether. We could raise them all on a concrete feed lot like 9o% of all beef farmers do in the US decreasing the cost of electric fencing, pasture rent, and pasture seeding. We could drop our organic certification, feed poor quality hay and grain and cram 15 cattle on our livestock trailer , when going to the locker, instead of just 2-3, to save gas. We could feed our herd growth hormones to unnaturally increase their growth and decrease the amount of time we are feeding them

We could also call ourselves Oscar Mayer and be done with it.

Instead, we look closely at ways to decrease expenses WITHOUT compromising the quality of our meat or the humane care of our livestock. And regarding the customer who overpaid us the $1.50 ? We'll apologize and pay him back next time he comes in our store. We owe him more than just money, we also owe him a debt of gratitude that he would value our hard work so much. Its makes working long hours every day to raise good food, just a little bit easier.


PS. If it makes you feel any better, (I know it helped me) I did a little market research checking 20 websites, and discovered nationally that organic hot dogs average $8-$15 a pound. Imagine that

All New Farmhouse Festival Fridays!

Alrighty Folks!

It's Friday again, which means it's time for an ALL NEW Farmhouse Festival Friday!  If you'd like your blog to participate, it fun and easy (check out how to join in, HERE)!

In the meantime, enjoy this weeks Farmhouse Friday!

Strawberry Adventures

The Lamm Farm

The Midlife Farmwife

Growing Your Own Food Sustainably - During a Drought!

How do you ‘grow your own’ during a drought?  True sustainability cannot involve elaborate irrigation systems dependant on electricity, city water, or even well water for that matter: when the power is out, city water is rationed, and the well dries up then the plants (food) dry up too.  It appears that here in South Carolina we are headed for another drought this year as reported in today’s State Newspaper.

“The smattering of rain over the weekend and the nearly normal lake levels are deceiving: South Carolina appears headed for a spring and summer of serious drought.”

http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/14/2152331/drought-threat-rises-in-sc.html

Not to worry though – there is an answer – Hugelkultur beds.  I tried a mini version last year, during a drought and even in the first year, without any irrigation, it produced a good supply of butternut squash and beans both of which had been just haphazardly thrown into the bed when I constructed it.  I also built a very small approximately 3X4 bed at my neighbors house and it too provided turnips and some mustard greens with about an hours worth of care over the last year.

I don’t have a supply of logs or the equipment to move them so I simply put down cardboard on the untilled ground, right over the grass and weeds.  Next I put down a layer of fallen sticks and limbs, larger pieces of wood if I can find and carry them, and then cover with chopped leaves, grass clippings, compost or other kitchen trash, etc.  It is kind of like stew; whatever leftovers I have is what goes in the pot.  One good watering to get the pile started and a hand full of whatever seeds I may have a surplus of and then ‘see ya later alligator’ – I ignore it for a couple of months.  If I remember, I’ll check on it every couple of weeks or so to see if the dreaded centipede grass is trying to creep into the bed but other than that I ignore the whole thing.  Presto – it grows food!

The very narrow bed that I started early last year has now been doubled in width and this year I plan to do some more aggressive planting in that bed as it has matured and is ready for things like tomatoes, corn, peppers etc.

In dry areas the beds tend to work better at ground level or even sunken – your bed will originally be a bit raised but will sink as it decomposes.  In wet and heavy clay areas the bed might do better to be built very high and remain raised.  Check out the hugelkultur link below and remember nothing is engraved in stone; you can take the basic idea and adapt it to your own needs and supplies on hand. 

http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/  Happy Growing Renegade Farmers!

Why Farmers MUST Blog

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife


I have been blogging for nearly years. But enough about me. One of my goals this year is to get YOU the farmer to start blogging. Yeah yeah yeah, I hear you. "I'm too busy, I have better things to do with my time, I don't understand computers, I'd rather be pulling calves." The excuses are endless but today I want to tell you why you MUST.

But first a disclaimer. The idea for this post came from another post. A hardworking "Farmerette" in the South East of Ireland has a well done blog that I have been following for some time. Her post Why Farmers Should Blog nails the reasons farmers need to blog in order to save their farms. If you visit her blog you will note that Lorna, the blogs' author, is a busy mom, chef, writer, book reviewer, farmer and business owner, and yet she manages to squeeze in blogging. Be sure to visit her at http://irishfarmerette.com/why-farmers-should-blog/  Tell her I sent you.

But...I am not as sweet as Lorna, which is why the title of this post is  Why Farmers MUST Blog.
So, from across the pond, from the viewpoint of a pushy farmer babe in America ,here are my reasons:

1. If you depend on your farm for income, people need to know you exist. Wishing it will not make it so. Ads in newspapers cost big money. Ads on radio cost big money. Billboards cost big big money. Blogging is FREE.

2. Small Farms are nearly extinct. Oh sure we have new small farms cropping up all the time but the likelihood that they will still be around in 5 years is very small. Why? Well besides the financial issues, they get little emotional support and encouragement. Blogging generates feedback and encouragement.

3.Mega farms are worried about farm bloggers. In the past when laws were passed under the table and over our heads because we were buried with work, we had little recourse to affect change. But now we can voice our opinions, challenge the makers of ridiculous laws which benefit the large factory farms but bankrupt the family farm, confront our representatives publicly and inform others of actions that can be taken to protect our farms. Blogging is essential for the building of strong farmer relationships.

4. "Buying Local" is hip and popular yet many farmers complain that their own surrounding  community, doesn't even know they exist. Through regular blogging you can tell your neighbor what breed of pig that is they see in your field and why your baby pigs sometimes get loose and end up on the neighbors porch. (Sorry, we are really really sorry)  Blogging is informational.

5. Today's children are being rapidly removed from farms. Soon they will not even have grandparents who farmed. Blogging is a cheap and effective way to talk to kids about animals and show them pictures so at least they will know a cow does not have wings. (From time to time though our pigs have been know to fly. Usually on the same day my husband remembers to take out the garbage.)
Blogging is educational.

6. Although our farm is generally all sweetness and light there are days I'd like to load up all the animals in an Ark and send them down the river. With my blog friends I can share my frustrations over broken meat freezers, Boars who would rather sleep than procreate and crabby customers who complain about there being fat (of all things) in their bacon strips. I can post pictures that make us laugh and send words of praise to those who have done great things. Blogging is stress reducing.

7. So there you have it. The reason I feel farmers (or their wives or husbands or paid representative)MUST blog. I also think other professions should blog but I am not here to speak for the whole world...only the whole world of farmers. There are many resources to get you started. Start with any 9 year old in your family. Most of them have more than enough computer skills to help you. If they are too busy helping another geriatric member with basic 21st Century technology then I suggest these web sites. Remember: Blogging is fun.

          www.blogger.com
          http://wordpress.com/
          http://blog.com/

Farmhouse Fridays!

Hello Again Folks!

 Well, it's Friday, so another installment of Farmhouse Friday is here and ready for you!

If you'd like to add YOUR blog to our Farmhouse Fridays, it's fun and simple. Find out more about it HERE.

In the meantime, enjoy this week's installment:

Strawberry Adventures

The Midlife Farmwife

Beyond Vagabond

Make The Yogurt

I love yogurt and eat it everyday. I have been slow to jump on the homemade bandwagon here though. All of the homemade yogurt people that I knew or read had either yogurt making machines (which I am too cheap to buy and do not want to store) or had elaborate systems for making yogurt that involved blankets, heat pads, thickeners and multiple sometimes complicated steps. I was petrified to even try! But after receiving this book for Christmas, I changed my mind and jumped headfirst into the yogurt making fun! This recipe is easy and very hands off...nice for busy folk who don't like a lot of fuss and muss. Like me!



This yogurt came out tangy and thicker and creamier than any greek yogurt I have bought at the supermarket. I started with fresh 2% milk from my local dairy because that is what I had on hand. I wanted to to try it with the whole non-homogenized milk that they sell, but that will have to wait until next time.

You will need:
             1/2 gallon milk
             1/4 cup yogurt (store-bought that contains live cultures or homemade)

• In a saucepan over moderate heat, warm the milk until nearly boiling. Keep stirring it so it does not stick to the pan.
• Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm around 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Stir the starter yogurt into the warm milk and cover with a damp cloth. Now just find a warm place for it to sit overnight. Ms Reese reminds us in the recipe not to get hung up on the temperature of the warm place. I just left in in my oven with the oven light on and that seemed to do the trick.
• The next morning, you will have about a half gallon of yogurt. It will be thin at this stage, but if that is the way you like it, then eat up. If you like a thicker, more greek style yogurt go to the next step.
• Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set atop a bowl. Scoop the yogurt in and let it drain at room temperature for a few hours until it is the thickness you desire.
• Per the author's instructions, I save the whey and used it in bread, but it could just be discarded.
• The yogurt should keep for a week or so, but I do not expect it will be around that long!

It is delicious and rich and I think I will be making some more in the very near future. I guess this is a lesson for me to not be afraid to try new things...that is perhaps part of being a renegade after all!

Leslie is a self-proclaimed simple minded girl; raising 4 kids along side veggies and chickens all with the help of one entirely Hunky Hubby and blogging about it over at NatureGirl for no good reason.

The Big Red Barn

The "New" barn made of 80% old materials

Looks are deceiving. From the highway our barn looks big and red, from the road that runs in front of our house, a 1/2 mile from the barn , it looks big and red and shiny. From our back porch it looks big and red and shiny and solid. From a few feet away it looks...a little tired.

One wall sags a little. One door doesn't hang well. On the other side, the door frame into the milk tank room is showing some rot. The old girl isn't really that old but fatigue is catching up with her,kind of like it is with her owners, but still even with her wrinkles and age spots she is beautiful to me.

My husband built the barn nearly single-handed. When we bought our farm 17 years ago, the only thing standing in that spot was an old bunker silo, a concrete floor with two 6 foot high concrete walls. On the opposite end of our property, stood (relatively speaking) the farms original barn, over 100 years old.

It was in tatters.

Sagging and leaning in all the wrong places the only safe thing to do was tear it down, very carefully, which my husband did. Then with just a little help from our pre-teen sons, he rebuilt the barn over the old bunker silo. Old thick wood beam by old thick wood post he moved the pieces one by one to the new site and built a new barn of the recycled wood. With each rising of the old wood into new positions held together with newer stronger nails and screws, another livestock barn took shape.

The outside of our barn was built in 1997 while its'
"bones" originated in 1887

The project took months. Often my husband worked on it all day while our children were at school and I worked off the farm as a nurse. One day I came home early to find him standing in the upright bucket of the tractor, our one and only OLD tractor at the time, leaning precariously against one beam while trying to secure another beam in place. I flipped out.

He thought it no big deal since he had pretty much built the whole barn that way...with few tools, little help and tons of determination. I finally convinced him to at least take our cordless phone out to the sight with him so he could MAYBE reach it after falling to the ground and call for help...not that he ever would, call for help that is.

When  completed, the new barn was a showpiece, at least in my wifely eyes it was. On the outside it was sided with shiny new red and white metal ( which initiated the whole red and white candy-cane theme of all our farm buildings) but on the inside; all the charm and strength of the old barn and its 12 inch thick beams and wide plank floors, now given a whole new life.

The barn is huge and houses cows, hogs, chickens, ducks, a dairy parlor and a big loft filled with sweet smelling hay and sunny gold straw just  like the best old barns always did. And each time I have a tiny squabble with my farmer husband about something crucial like the garbage not being taken out (how stereotypical) or the fact that I over bedded the calves again (why just put down one bale when you can put down six?) I look out at that barn and am reminded about the marvelous man I married.

And then I take out the garbage myself.

All New Farmhouse Fridays!

Hey There Folks!

   It's Friday again, which means a whole new installment of Farmhouse Fridays! If  you'd like to involve YOUR blog in Farmhouse Fridays, you can find out how HERE (and, of course, email us to ask any questions you may have, as well!

In the meantime, enjoy this week's installment:

The Midlife Farmwife

The Lamm Farm

Changing The Face of Rural Towns

CHANGING THE FACE OF RURAL TOWNS
Guest Post
By Jasmine Reese

 In her last article , Zan wrote a heartfelt post about farming and how it’ll save the world. Oh, how right she is.

When we hit 7 billion human inhabitants back in October, agricultural, science and political communities screamed out in unison, “What in the world are we going to do?”

Interdependence has long gotten us into trouble, and that‘s an understatement; even now, we don’t think about what needs to be done. Saving Planet Earth, and it’s inhabitants, including humans, is as much an individual effort as it is a group, government and business effort. And sometimes even the simplest step toward this is what works best.

That’s why I am excited about programs like the USDA home loan. Rural development is nothing new. For years, the USDA has tried to come up with effective programs for farmers—not all good, not all bad either. However, we might be onto something with the rural guarantee loan for low and middle-income families.

Mind you, many of the participants of our loans are farmers. Non-farmers, however, people escaping city life and becoming just a tad bit more self-sufficient and closer to nature, have become a major focus of the program. The loan does not allow the borrower to make money from the property, so it’s not a farm business loan, for sure. The underlying purpose of the loan is to push people toward a more sustainable lifestyle.

With the loan, families can build chicken coops, gardens, and hobby tool sheds to support their family in a healthy, self-sustaining way. These homes are also appraised for quality and safety. Borrowers receive rewards for renovating their homes to fit Energy Star’s efficiency standards. Therefore, USDA Guarantee Loan homeowners save a bundle on utility expenses while promoting a less polluted environment.

And while these families are not adding to the sales of goods and services within farming, they are most definitely the consumer’s of said farm products, today. The local food industry’s sales have been some of the highest over the past few years, creating a multitude of farming jobs within that sector. Why? Because of people like USDA home loan borrowers who believe in a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

Rural dwellers not in the farming business bring money to local farmers. They did not move out of cities or suburbs to start a farm, per se, but to live cheaper, healthier and closer to natural food sources. Farmers would do well to identify and take advantage of this somewhat untouched market of consumers; I say untouched because the USDA guarantee program is still underused.

Obviously, persons profiting in the local food arena know their consumers and don’t waste time seeking them out. There are many who will NOT take advantage of the no-money-down USDA home loan because of negative perceptions of rural living. As Zan said, rural life is not a dependent walk in the park like the oh-so-convenient city lifestyle. It takes work to live in an area that has a store sometimes 30 miles away, or limited Wifi connectivity.

Weighing the benefits and costs for those who choose a USDA loan might be an easier task, although. The loan has many benefits, such as…

·    Cheap Utilities
·    No Down Payment Option
·    Low Interest Rates
·    Low Foreclosure Rate for the government loan as a whole (that means responsible borrowers and lenders. Makes sense. Rural living is all about responsibility, organization and self-sufficiency, right?)
·    102% Financing (including the Guarantee Fee)
·    No Cash Reserves Required
·    Continual development of rural areas including better access to technology, safer and low cost fuel sources, plus the innovation from new businesses creating jobs in rural areas thanks to USDA’s business loans).

Those benefits alone ought to get a person with even the slightest interest in rural and suburban living on the next train out of traffic, noise and smog. The loan application process and eligibility requirements are not too strenuous other than meeting financial and credit standards, and making sure your house of interest is in a USDA approved rural area (population below 25,000).

The USDA loan is changing perceptions about rural living one borrower at a time. Farmers and self-sufficient families are making a model for future generations to follow.

Jasmine Reese is a rural blogger intern for USDALoans.com a USDA approved lender of the Rural Guarantee Housing Loan. She is also a student of animal science in the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri.