The Renegade Farmer

(Not) Sweating Like a Pig

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:17:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife

Happy pigs on a beautiful summer day. What could possibly get them to leave these green pastures?

This would.

A nice wet, cool mud bath.

We've all said it before but when we did, we were lying. "I'm sweating like a pig" is one of those urban, I mean, rural, legends. Pigs do have sweat glands but they are basically useless. When a hog gets too warm he may release a tiny bit of water from these glands but it is not near enough to evaporate and cause him to experience the kind of cooling he needs to survive.

So what is a big fat boy named Mad Max supposed to do?

Well, he heads to the spa for a nice dip in the mud. Hog wallows are not just for looks on our farm, they are a life saving necessity. When folks call me on any given day in the middle of the hottest parts of summer and inquire "what are you doing?" I will often answer "watering the pigs."

They will then assume correctly, that I am filling water pans, but that is only part of the magic that is my job. I also stand for long periods of time creating fountains, water ponds and gentle showers for our swine herd. As I wet down the pigs and water runs off their chubby bellies and onto the ground, they will begin to scoop out the now softened earth. Yes, I could set up a sprinkler and walk away but a joyful ( and cooled off) pigs face is true beauty to behold.

In no time they and their buddies will create small ponds in which to wallow and bask. The mud and water serves more than just one purpose. In addition to cooling their hot bodies, it also acts as moisturizer to their skin and a quick suffocating death to external annoyances like fleas and ticks.

And you thought mud baths only made you beautiful.

The New Kid in The Milk Parlor

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 20 May 2012 03:46:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife

For years we've sold cold fresh raw milk direct to customers who come to our farm hoisting a gallon jug under their arms and wearing old jeans. Always they have secured raw milk from some other farmer but due to a recent move or the other farmers decision to cease raw milk sales or the person who used to get their milk for them doesn't have room in her Mini, they show up at our farm.

After a few minutes of conversation it is obvious they understand what they buying; a milk product that has never been pasteurized or homogenized. They found us through an Internet search, one that often started with REAL MILK.com or their local Weston A. Price chapter. They will also tell us anecdotal stories of how the milk has improved their health in the past. We show them how to get the milk from our milk tank, they give us money and we send them on their way.

But lately our new customers are changing. They show up in expensive shoes, matching workout clothes and they are grasping a dirty flour canister or even worse, a pasta jar with a cork lid and a few loose macaroni spirals stuck to the bottom.

They have come to buy raw milk, their first raw milk purchase in their life, and they are very excited. They are also misinformed. Some are not informed at all. With a little questioning it is evident they are not sure how they found us, they have not read any of my articles about raw milk, they think Weston A. Price is a new clothing store and they wrinkle up their entire face at the smell of real manure.

They are raw milk virgins and it's our job to train them... or is it? Some dairy farmers refuse to sell raw milk to these newbies, being concerned about the risk and liability. Others will sell it but with several papers to sign, claiming any GI distress is the complete responsibility of the raw milk beginner. Some farmers will only pour milk in the customers container AFTER the farmer watches the customer wash out the container on the premises.

It seems that raw milk has become almost as popular as The Book of Face. Formally consumed only by the purest of hippie folk, it is now showing up on the menus of high end eateries and at catered functions for Hollywood Stars. Generally we feel customers have the right to consume what we believe is an extremely healthy farm product and we will take the extra time needed to provide the appropriate education. But every once in awhile folks can take things a bit too far.

Not so long ago we had such a newbie call to set an appointment to buy some raw milk for the first time. But her "demands" were over the top. She wanted us to move all the cows on another part of the farm, far far away from the barn, so she "wouldn't have to see their sad eyes." We informed her that our cows and their HAPPY eyes would be right out there in the pasture where they always are and NO she could not buy milk at 11 pm after the cows had gone to bed.

Sometimes you just have to put your hoof down.

Yes Virginia, Pigs Do Eat Grass

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:46:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife

Often, my husband and I will give tours of our farm. We walk and talk and folks ask questions and we pet the livestock and step in...mud puddles and a good time is had by all. Not so long ago a woman walking with us was very silent during our little dog and donkey show, until we got up to the pasture which contained our 700 pound Red Wattle Boar named Mad Max.

Now Mad Max is rarely "Mad". He is one laid back fellow. Except when the situation calls for him to show interest and then he does. He has in fact shown enough interest to successfully father 22 liters and 199 piglets with his first breeding taking place at just 10 months.

Not too shabby for a three year old.

Was our visitor at all impressed with any of this? She was not. She was however, gobsmacked over the fact that he was eating grass. Yes Grass. Turns out her husband, who worked in a traditional CAFO, had told her that hogs only eat grain. never grass.

And here right in front of her, less than 3 feet in front of her, was the pig of pigs ripping out big hunks of grass with his stained green teeth. Rip-Chew-Rip-Chew-Smile. Not only do these pigs love grass (and weeds like Thistle) the plant material loves them. Their digestive systems are created for grass even though they are mono gastric (like us) and not ruminants (like cows). They will graze for hours, dig with their snouts, sleep for hours, graze for hours...you get the picture.

Even very young piglets will begin grazing, adding pasture grasses to their diet just days after birth.

But the term "graze" isn't quite right. It's more like rape and pillage but in a good way. That wide flat nose on the end of a pigs snout is not just a sign of beauty. It's an extremely efficient tool for pushing, lifting and moving tons of earth. Under the dirt is all the good stuff. Grubs and worms, larvae and ants, roots and bulbs and all that old pottery that has been hiding underground for decades. Many homesteading farmers are not raising their pigs on pasture entirely, no grain at all with great success.

We still feed grain to our hogs but far less than most, instead allowing them large pastures to roam in 3 seasons of the year and supplementing with organic hay in the winter. Recently we turned several hogs out with some of our cows. After a five minute staring contest they all went on with their business, one species eating the tops of the grasses. while the others ate the top and middle and bottom.

In addition, pigs on pasture do a great job of loosening the soil and aerating it for another planting. The dirt they consume while munching provides added iron and other minerals. The meat produced by a pastured hog is anything but "The other white meat." It is a deep pinkish red, similar to beef,.moist and tasty with just the right amount of fat.

Pigs on pasture. It's a very good thing.

Herb Walk May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Love) — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Hello Renegade Farmer Friends!
I hope all is well in your world this fine May day.
I've been busy plotting, planning, and planting herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Some went into containers, others into existing flower beds and raised garden beds; and I even have seeds and seedlings planted in a new front yard garden that we created last month. I am having all kinds of renegade farming fun these days!

I took a walk around and snapped photos of some of my herbs so I could take you on a little virtual herb walk. As you can see some are just getting started- from seeds just sprouting to small seedlings planted in the ground. The lavender, rosemary, sage, rue, and roses have settled in happily and are growing and blooming where I planted them last fall. Some of the container herbs have put on new growth and I look forward to taking cuttings for new plants very soon. Next on my agenda is removing (or covering up) all of that ugly red mulch you see in some of the photos (It came with the house, and I'd just as soon not have it there. I prefer something much more natural.) I also have to construct a trellis for the Cardinal Climber I planted for the hummingbirds.

I planted Tulsi basil and patchouli for the first time this spring. Both are well
on their way to becoming new favorites for me. Tulsi makes a delicious tea, and
patchouli smells oh so good. I hope they grow well here so I can have a
bountiful harvest of both herbs.

What's growing in your garden these days?
What tasks or projects are on your calendar for the month of May?

Are you growing any 'new to you' herbs or veggies?

I'll be back soon with more photos from my gardens and just maybe
a Kitchen Adventure recipe or two for you.
Until then, I wish you Blessings & Bliss,

Catherine

p.s. For more of my herbal ramblings, visit me at Still Room Herbs.

Letting Mother Nature take the reins – harder than I thought.

noreply@blogger.com (inhale, exhale - it's good for you) — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:30:00 +0000

For the last 25 years or so my method of getting a new batch of baby birds has been to put in an order with a hatchery and then wait impatiently for my box of little chirpies to arrive at the post office. Then a month or so of monitoring heat lamps, cleaning increasingly poopie feed and water pans and trying to keep the bird dander and shavings dust down to a minimum. Always fun in the beginning and a pain in the butt at the end.

This year I decided to just let Mother Nature do the work. Frank, our Black Spanish Turkey and his four Lucy’s (we call all the girls Lucy) have been doing enough happy dances in the back yard to make me believe that each and every one of those eggs would be fertilized.
I read up on nest boxes for turkeys only to learn that they pretty much do their own thing and generally are not interested in pretty man made nest boxes. In the meantime they were dropping eggs every where in random places around the yard. Some veteran turkey raisers posted that they collected the eggs and put them in one spot as if to ‘suggest’ to the girls that they should all lay in a particular spot – and they did! We started seeing a collection of eggs all in one spot in the coop but none of the girls would sit on it.

Then one guy posted that he just made random piles of tree limbs and twigs and the girls seemed to like that. So I chopped down a small Leyland cypress and hauled all of the limbs into the small coop with barely enough room for the girls to get in or out of the pen. Presto! Not only did they start laying clusters of eggs in and around the limbs but two of them started sitting on them. A couple days later the remaining two hens were discovered in an old tool shed where they had been depositing eggs for almost two weeks.

A couple of interesting (at least to me) notes here:

Turkey eggs are not meant to be kept warm for the first 10 days or so. Apparently nature intends for the moms to go wandering off – sometimes back to dad for another joy ride – and then only start sitting on the eggs when she has laid 13 + eggs.

The male turkey will (and Frank did) stomp on the eggs if he can find them. So we put Frank out side the poultry yard so that he did not have access to the hens or the eggs.

A couple of times the hens exhibited behavior that can only be described as ‘desperately hot to trot’ so we let them out in the main yard with Frank. They all immediately got down to the business of procreation and then went back to the gate to be let back in the poultry yard.

So now we are back to the nest sitting period. 28 days of the girls sitting on their nests. They don’t appear to eat, the food is not touched, the grass in the pen has to be mowed twice because they are not eating it, I change the water but it is the same amount as before. And I worry,…. and worry. They only way I can tell they are alive is because they blink.

We did have one episode of excitement when a snake wandered into the pen to eat eggs from a fifth, abandoned, nest. Lucy left her nest and went after it. When it tried to escape it hit the electric wire. Zap – peck – zap – peck – zap – peck and so it went until I came home at 1 a.m. to find the poor snake and the pissed off mom. Unfortunately I had to kill the snake, it was never going to make it out of the tummy full of eggs/electric wire/hen pecked tail predicament it was in. After that everything went back to business as usual.
Then a day or so later the babies hatched! Again I assumed I MUST be needed in some fashion or another. One nest was 3 feet off the ground and I was certain that the babies would fall to their death or die from starvation or dehydration. A friend told me that baby birds eat the yolk of the egg right before they hatch and they can live off of that for three days. Really!? How cool is that? I did cheat and put very shallow pans of water and food in the nest area; they never touched it. Within two days they had all fallen out and were following Mom around the yard eating bugs, slugs and green stuff.

In the meantime one Mom stole the babies from the other Mom and then hers hatched and neither one could keep up with which one’s babies were which. Some escaped and ended up with Papa Frank and he was very gentle but protective when we came around.

So, all in all, we were really not needed for anything. In the wild the hens would have been able to hide their eggs from the male and would have found their own underbrush areas for nests. So we were really an unnecessary part of the equation. The hardest part was just staying out of their chili and letting them do what they know how to do.

Non-Homogenized Milk: A Good Option

noreply@blogger.com (NatureGirl) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:24:00 +0000

by Leslie Pincock aka Idaho NatureGirl

Please keep in mind that this article is opinion and not hard fact. It is presented for educational purposes and is in no way intended to convince anyone that this is the only way, but I put it out as something to think about!

Photo Source:Reedsdairy.com

For quite a few years, I have been purchasing my milk from a local dairy. And do I mean local. The dairy's main office is but a mere mile from my home. Those are some local cows. I like buying local and I like the fact that I can see for myself how Alan treats his herd.

Recently some major changes have occurred at the dairy that have caused me to do a little research for myself about homogenization after receiving a customer service letter from Alan stating that they "have been researching hundreds of studies that indicate...non-homogenized milk is better four our bodies and our health." The letter quotes Mr. Robert Cohen, Executive Director of the Dairy Education Board, who himself wrote in an article titled Homogenized Milk:Rocket Fuel for Cancer, "Homogenization is the worst thing that dairymen did to milk."

Homogenization is a process that is used by dairy farmers to prevent or delay the natural separation of the cream, or fat, from the water in milk, thereby producing a more uniform consistency in the product. During homogenization the raw milk is mixed and forced through small holes until the fat breaks down into smaller pieces. The result is fat that is more evenly distributed through the milk and will not separate and float to the top. Most folks like the uniform texture and consistency of homogenized milk, quite frankly, I think, because we are used to it.

So, why choose non-homogenized milk? Good question. According to Mr. Cohen, these smaller fat cells that are produced during homogenization along with some milk proteins, bypass normal digestion and are fed into the bloodstream instead, possibly contributing to coronary disease. Mr. Cohen also points out that hormones often given to dairy cattle are then also delivered into the bloodstream as well. I am fortunate that my local cows are guaranteed rbST free, so this is not an issue with the milk that I purchase, but does give us something to think about when buying milk from dairy cows who may be treated with synthetic growth hormones.

In the end we have to make our own informed decisions about everything that we put into our bodies. I can tell you that I do like the flavor of the non-homogenized milk, and mixing it up is not really a big deal. It is more natural and much closer to the way that the milk comes from the cow. I appreciate that, and I appreciate having a choice.

Meat Label Jargon: Real vs. Hype

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:20:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife

Just three decades ago buying a package of meat was a fairly simple deal. The package might state "Ground Beef. One pound" and a price. Rarely would there be much else to confound the consumer. Today the story is far more complicated. Caught between the farmer who wants to share his products with the public and the Mega-Farms who want to capture market majority, the consumer is inundated with terms and jargon so massive and confusing, one almost has to shop with a dictionary, an attorney and maybe...a list like this.

I put the following together for a small farmer group I belong to and thought it might help each of you wade through the common labels now seen on many meat packages. Some terms are legitimate while others are completely fabricated. So who can the consumer believe? Your best bet continues to be purchasing as much of your food locally that is reasonable. Knowing your farmer, visiting your farmer, supporting your local farmer is the best way to ensure you are eating decently raised food.

So, Good luck and may the Farce be with you!

All Natural Applies only to processing and indicates that no artificial or synthetic products have been added. The legal definition does not have anything to do with how the animal was raised. “Natural” feed may or may not have antibiotics or other additives.

Beyond Organic A fabricated term that is not substantiated by any certifying group. Farmers who use the term often state they meet the organic standards (as they perceive them) but are not currently certified organic. If used on meat labels may be subject to fine by the NOP (National Organic Program)

Cage Free Term not substantiated by any certifying agency. Implies animals (often poultry) are raised outside of cages. Animals may or may not still be raised in very crowded indoor conditions just without individual cages.

Free-Range Another term not substantiated by a certifying agency. Implies animal is outside but does not indicate in what conditions (pasture? Dirt lot?) or for what time frame each day.

Grass Fed Currently a voluntary situation. Any farmer can call his meat” grass fed” Two agencies do certify grass fed farmers. USDA grass fed is least stringent, requires that beef animal is forage/grass/pasture raised its entire life, no grain but allows antibiotics, hormone and pesticide treatments. The American Grass Fed Association (AGA) is stricter. Same as USDA but in addition: PROHIBITS antibiotics, hormones and pesticides.

Heritage Animal Considered being a rare and endangered livestock. A purebred animal. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) responsible for majority of Heritage Breed Registrations, Breed identifications and public education.

Humanely Raised Third parties such as the Animal Welfare Association and Humane Farmed exist to audit or certify farms. The label wars against overcrowding, early weaning, and denying access to pasture to name a few.

Local No legal definition. Implies the farm or producer lives within 50 miles of the consumer. Some Chicago area restaurants consider Livingston County products as “local”

Natural See All Natural definition above.

No Hormones Added Generally another marketing scheme as it is illegal to use hormones in the raising of poultry and hogs in the US anyway. Still allowed for beef production.

Non-Confined Implies animals are not in a feed lot situation however some farmers feel as long as their animal is not in an individual cage they are “non-confined”

Organic The most controversial and highly regulated agricultural term to date. Through the USDA, the National Organic Program (NOP) regulates, inspects and certifies farms, businesses and their products. The organic standards number over 200 and must be met during annual inspections in order for a farmer or his meat to be labeled “organic” or “certified organic” Most well-known standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, herbicides or anthelmintics (worming agents). Instead, only approved organic treatments may be given to livestock. All meat products must also be processed in an approved Certified Organic Locker in order to use the organic label. Uncertified farmers who label their products as organic are subject to fines and penalties.

Pasture-Raised Again, can be a nebulous term. Not regulated by a certifying agency. Implies the animal is raised outside on grass a large majority of its life. The organic standard for time on pasture is 120 days per year minimum.

Sustainable Most widely used term in farming today. Not regulated by animal agency and therefore any farmer can use however the legal definition by the USDA for “Sustainable Agriculture” means

An integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will over the long-term:

Satisfy human food and fiber needs.
Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agriculture economy depends.
Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.
Sustain the economic viability of farm operations.
Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.

NOTE: This list was compiled for educational purposes only and should by no means be considered a complete or legally accurate document. The individual farmer is responsible for contacting their county, state and federal agencies for specific laws as they relate to the labeling of meat products. The author suggests starting with the USDA department of Agriculture http://www.ams.usda.gov

A Good Friday Farmhouse Fest!

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:36:00 +0000

Hello Folks! It's been awhile, but we thought we'd start out our Farmhouse Festivals again!

If you're not sure how to add YOUR blog to the fun--check out all the details HERE

In the meantime, enjoy our little blog hop, below, and a Happy and Blessed Easter to all!

Tribal Horse Designs

Beyond Vagabond

Somatic Cell Counts...Why you should care.

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 23:33:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The MIdlife Farmwife

Raw Milk is very hot...even though it is best served cold, unless you are making hot chocolate and then hot is OK.

What I really mean to say before I was distracted by my own self, raw milk is very popular . Folks are talking about it, arguing about it, protesting about it and sadly being arrested for selling it. Either the government is telling you you'll be dead 10 seconds after the vile stuff passes through your esophagus burning a path of destruction as it goes, OR the health food fanatics are telling you raw milk will grow back your amputated limb.

We believe it's health benefits are somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. We also believe the choice to drink raw milk should be an educated one, not an emotional one. Do your research, read the blogs, scan the studies, talk to your nurse practitioner, doctor, chiropractor, mail lady and then...

Check the Somatic Cell Count.

If you are buying raw milk directly from a farmer you should understand that the Somatic Cell Count is one method of assessing cow health, and healthy cows produce healthy milk. Just because it is legal in some states, like Illinois, to sell raw milk doesn't mean every dairy farmer SHOULD sell raw milk. I know it is the thin, wockety limb I crawl out on, but...some farms are not clean enough to be selling raw milk. There I said it. ,

So if you want to buy and consume raw milk you need to do a little work. Spend some time at the farm. How much manure are cows standing in ? How often is the barn cleaned? How clean is the lot where cows eat? How often (if ever) do you see them on pasture. The more grass time the better.

Look at the cows themselves. Some manure on lower legs is to be expected. Coating their bellies? Not good. Do they seem to like their farmer? Do they come when he calls? Do they approach him when he or she enters the pasture? Do they wink at you? Cows that wink are happy.

What about the tank room ? The floor should be clean (unless you are visiting during milking time and traffic in the room is high), the hoses you use should smell good, not like old milk and the milk tank should show a temp of 42 degrees or less.

Then you need to ask the farmer about his Somatic Cell Count . Somatic cell count (SCC) measures the white blood cells or leukocytes and is an indicator of the quality of the milk. The number of somatic cells increases in response to pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, a cause of mastitis or inflammation of the cows udder.

Generally a lower somatic cell count indicates better animal health and most state guidelines for Grade A dairies require that the SCC shall be not more than one million (1,000,000) cells per milliliter. Some require less than 750,000.

Our herds last SCC was 160,000.

When we were a Grade A Dairy with the state of Illinois, our milk was tested regularly but when we told the state we only wanted to sell directly to the consumer, not through a middle man milk company, they told us Bye Bye. They said they no longer would even consider us as a dairy and took us off all their lists. They refused to survey us anymore.

Fine by us.

We began surveying ourselves, following all the rules even though not required to. And we have our milk regularly tested by an independent lab in Peoria.

We would like our SCC to be lower and we will continue to strive for that, but 160,000 still makes us happy. We attribute the low results to cows being on pasture where they are "exposed" to fresh air and soft dirt. We also feel strongly that our herds 100% grass fed status has improved their health overall. In addition we do a very very risky thing that few dairy farmers do anymore; we allow visitors to the farm.

There is this odd belief in the conventional dairy that to keep your animals healthy you have to greatly decrease their exposure to anything harmful, including humans. Visitors to these farms must wear booties and gloves and sometimes even jackets and masks. We, on the other hand think it better to built up our cows immune system (through organic feed and real earth for beds) thus giving them the ammo they need to fight off common bacteria.

Its the same reason we allowed our kids to play barefoot in the sandbox and eat cookies that have fallen on the floor. We don't cry about spilled milk but we sob over wasted cookies.

So, if indeed you have made that decision to drink raw milk ask your farmer about his Somatic Cell Count. It is not the ONLY way to ensure that you are drinking milk from healthy animals but it is a great place to start.

Lard...as a beauty treatment ?

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:48:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife

Lard. One of those four letter words that rarely brings about pleasant thoughts, unless you are a cook, or a Maitre-Savoneur ( French for Master Soap maker)

Well, I don't know about "master" but I do know I love soap AND lard. Imagine the sheer joy here on South Pork Ranch when I discovered the two shall meet. About 18 months ago I started making soap. I always loved the feel and smell of the handcrafted bars you could find at specialty shops. Around the same time we started raising the critically endangered Red Wattle Hogs who not coincidentally, have a fair share of lard themselves. Ironically, it is rumored that the main reason the Red Wattle hog lost favor in pioneer times was due to its lack of lard , making it NOT suitable for soap making.

I'm thinking that our own Red Wattles are just better endowed in that area due to raw milk we feed them from our dairy. I'll bet in pioneer times, the family cows' milk went to small children rather than being "wasted" on a mere hog.

In order to preserve the breed we feel people must eat them. Odd but true, because if folks develop a taste for the magnificent meat the demand goes up as will the population. And because on our farm we feel the best way to show respect to our meat animals is to waste as little of their products as is necessary, we use the Red Wattle Lard to make soap.

Not just any soap, but a fantastic, hard and long lasting bar of soap. To make lard soap its best to use animals raised as close to organic as possible. Any chemicals fed to these fine creatures will be stored in their fat and affect the quality of your soap. In addition, the higher the quality of the fat the more moisturizing it will be for your skin.

Making lard out of pig fat is not difficult but can be time consuming. I use the crock pot method as it best meets my tendency towards slothdom. When we bring our hogs to the locker, I'll ask our butcher to save the fat in 5 pound bags which are frozen. When I'm ready, I'll thaw the fat at room temperature and then chop it into 1-2 inch pieces. I throw enough in my crock pot to fill it 3/4 full and turn it on low. Every hour or so I will stir it and over 4-5 hours I will have a container of liquid fat. I'll pour it into another bowl using cheesecloth to strain it, allowing it to cool and harden, usually overnight.

I'll then keep it covered in the frig until I'm ready to make soap. Soap making is a long, detailed process and best learned by watching other soap makers, taking classes or thoroughly reading one or more of the many books on the topic. It can't be safely taught in the space of one blog post. Once you've learned the basics of soap making, you can substitute lard for all or part of the hard oils (like Palm or Coconut) called for in your soap recipe.

The final product can be as simple as the basic lye soap your grandmother made (but much gentler due to the science of lye calculators) or as luscious as one I made recently combining lard with 4 other oils, several essential plant oils for scent and purified bamboo charcoal powder for color.

Lard can even be used to make a wonderful shampoo bar which will leave your hair soft, full and great smelling. giving a whole new meaning to the term "Fat Head."

For more information about Donnas soaps email her at opies99@gmail.com

Growing the Candy Plant

noreply@blogger.com (inhale, exhale - it's good for you) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:04:00 +0000

I just love bringing a child into the garden and showing them how to identify food and eat it right there on the spot; for most children now days this is a totally foreign experience. Children have such a short attention span that there are a couple of criteria that must be met in order for this to be successful.

1. Prep time has to be short – a quick rinse garden hose to take off soil.

2. Chemical free so as not to worry about whether plant has been sprayed lately

3. Pleasant taste; a sweet carrot, apple or berry will keep them coming back – a mustard leaf, not so much.

My favorite plant of all is the Stevia Plant (Stevia rebaudiana). It takes a little convincing to get a child, or even an adult for that matter, to take a green leaf and put it in their mouth. Then the expression of wonder as they experience the super sweet experience of Stevia; I think I enjoy watching them more than they enjoy eating it.

I have always had ‘issues’ with sugar. I keep a bit of raw sugar in the house for baking but prefer to use local honey for sweetening – but even that can sometimes get me feeling out of sorts. Stevia does not affect my sugar levels and while not confirmed it is believed that Stevia may even lower blood sugar levels. I don’t count calories but if you do you’ll be happy to know it has zero calories.

Stevia is super easy to preserve. Just hanging the leaves upside down in a dark, dry area is sufficient to dry the leaves. This year I have a dehydrator so I plan to use it, on the lowest heat setting, to dry more at one time. Add the dried leaves to tea or grind the leaves into a powder for use in other foods and beverages. Stevia is POWERFULLY sweet so you will need to do a little experimenting and taste testing.

Why grow your own when just about every store is now carrying Stevia?

Additives: Soon after Stevia hit the mainstream stores everyone wanted to jump on the band wagon and sell it cheaper than everyone else. If you read the ‘naturally sweet’ label you will find that virtually EVERY single product on the market contains some sort of additive in addition to stevia.

Expense: Pure Stevia is expensive, when you can find it – but the plants I just bought were just over three dollars apiece and will provide numerous cuttings throughout the growing season.

While I prefer to Buy Local I cannot find stevia plants anywhere except the big box stores. The link below does provide mail order sources for plants.

For growing tips and more information about Stevia http://www.stevia.com/Stevia_article/Growing_Your_Own_Stevia/8077

Pardon Our Dust!

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Hello Folks!

You may have noticed lately a bit of a revamping here. As usual, I'm the culprit. We're doing a whole lotta reconstruction around here--gearing up for more excitement, as you probably are, too, with the coming of Spring.

We're looking to get ourselves a bit organized (call it "Spring Cleaning," if you will), and that means a slightly better look, and easier ways to find the articles that interest you!

If you look at the top of this site, you'll notice a few new tabs at the top. We're still busy trying to get all our ducks in a row, but feel free to browse through previous articles and other news you can use. We hope to have new features and festivities, all in the name of bringing farming to as many people as we can!

Plus, we'll have more contests, more ways to participate and we look forward to our radio show season later this year.

So stay tuned here for all sorts of farm mayhem!

Many Thanks!
Zan & The Renegade Farm Crew

The Renegade DAIRY Farmer

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 04:14:00 +0000

By Donna OShaughnessy AKA The Midlife Farmwife

13 years ago when my husband and I started our Grade A Dairy, folks gave us funny looks. We had not come from dairy families. We had not inherited our dairy. Statistically, licensed dairy farms had decreased from 131,509 in 1992 to 87,527 in 1999* the year we began. We had strong knowledge of what it means to run a dairy (my husband had worked for other dairy farmers for over a decade) and yet, we still bought a farm, built a barn, and filled it with cows.

Why?

Because it was my husbands dream that's why. He always wanted to own his own dairy farm and run it his way. So, we did. Each of our cows were given a name, all of them had distinct personalities and my husband enjoyed being his own boss. Some days it went well, but over time our dairy farm turned sour. We liked what we did but hated the low pay dairy farmers often received for the 24/7 commitment. Since milk prices were set by beurocratic folks out of touch with real farmers, our milk checks were often far below our milk expenses.

More and more small dairy farms around us began closing their doors. Dairy cows were slaughtered for the families freezer or bought up by the Megafarms. From 1999 to 2009 licensed US Dairies decreased by ANOTHER 32, 595 farms.* We considered the same course.

Frustrated, we explored organic certification. It was a good fit with our beliefs about holistic, non-chemical and humane care of our herd, and 10 years into our lives as conventional dairy farmers, we transitioned. Organic certification further improved the health of our cows and our land but unfortunately made no difference in our milk checks. We were a small farm in an area of very few dairy farms and NO other organic dairy farms. The organic milk companies felt we were too small to mess with, not worth the gas needed to pick up our milk.

And still all around us and in our own state of Illinois, more dairy farms bit the dust. But instead of following the trend we came up with something virtually un-"herd" of in the dairy world, the removal of Mr. Middle Man. Two years ago we started selling our milk ONLY to individuals who came to our farm, jug in hand. We showed them how to get the milk from our tanks and then we charged them FOUR times the amount the conventional milk company had been paying us. We weren't being greedy, we were just getting our income caught up with our expenses for the first time in years.

Our customers were happy because our charge for a gallon of milk was still HALF what they were paying for organic milk in the store. Plus, the raw, 100% grass fed milk they bought from us was less than 24 hrs in the tank, more often only out of the cow 6-8 hours before it ended up in their own refrigerators. We had enough money to pay our bills and our customers had found a place to buy the product they wanted for far less than they had been paying for milk sitting on the shelves for days and days.

Were we geniuses ? Rocker Scientists ? No. If we were we would have come up with this solution much earlier. We're just a couple of farmers who, when they found themselves with their backs up against the wall...took their small dairy business in their own hands.

Our cows, and nearly 100 raw milk customers a month, are glad we did.

* as reported in Hoard's Dairyman March 10, 2012 www.hoards.com

The Dollar an Hour farmer

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:27:00 +0000

A funny thing happened on the way to filing this years taxes...we made a profit.
It's quite the shocker. After leaving my over 3 decades long nursing career, 16 months ago and coming home to work full time on the farm, we expected bankruptcy. But we did it anyway. We felt that to call ourselves sustainable, we needed to put our money where our mouths were.

"Our money", specifically was $70,000 worth of salary and benefits. In order to replace that income, the income we had grown accustomed to having, ( and sadly, spending) I would have to work extra hard to build our farm business and earn the right to work at home. In my head I had to earn it, it's a Catholic thing.

So, sitting in the tax mans office a few days ago, watching him add and subtract, deduct and itemize, enunciate and depreciate, we were elated to discover at end of year our bottom line (income minus expenses basically) was $8000! Our first feeling was sheer joy. We managed to support ourselves and our farm, on our farm income alone. We managed to pay all our bills due. We managed to pay off some debt. We manged to feed ourselves AND our animals. We felt giddy with accomplishment.

Then we did the math.

Follow along, it will great fun. $8000 divided by two farmers is $4000. Divided by 52 weeks is $76.92 per week divided by approximate work hours of 80 per week (about 11 hours a day which is fair since some days are shorter and many are longer) equals .96 cents per hour.

Yup, we each earned simplistically speaking. 96 cents an hour this past year. In addition there was no health plan, no paid vacation, no sick time, no company Christmas party. The last time I made that little I was 10 and delivering the Chicago Tribune on my blue Schwinn with the dual back baskets. Suddenly all the hot air came rushing out of our balloons.

Really? We got up early and went to bed late for just 96 cents an hour? We risked lawsuits from possible illness related to consumption of our milk and meat for just 96 cents an hour? We wrestled with live animals that could kick in our brains and break our bones for just 96 cents an hour? We shoveled manure, spread manure, smelled like manure for just 96 cents an hour?

Yes, we did.

We also were given the tools to teach our grandchildren about life and death and the intense protective nature of female livestock all for free. We were gifted with outdoor weather of brilliant sunshine, soft rains, warm breezes all for free. We were blessed with the kindness of other farmers, the loyalty of our customers, the encouragement of neighbors all for free. We were granted time for walks and talks and serious balks that only couples who farm together usually receive, all for free.

We also learned the most valuable lesson of all; that a farmers "worth" should never be measured by something as meaningless as 3 quarters, two dimes, and one copper penny.

The $10 Hot Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:39:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:37:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (inhale, exhale - it's good for you) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:47:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:26:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:12:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (NatureGirl) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:16:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:58:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:02:00 +0000

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.

Group Therapy

noreply@blogger.com (Donna OShaughnessy) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:53:00 +0000

Across this magnificent country of ours, millions of farmers are doing their best to make a living at what they love most. Sadly though the distance between the ends that must meet in order to survive has been expanding. Reason being...too many of us are trying to do it all by ourselves.

The solution may very well be in the formation of groups such as The Stewards of The Land. located in Fairbury, Illinois. http://www.thestewardsoftheland.com/index.htm Founded years ago by Marty Travis and his wife Kris, the group's main focus was in their own words

To create, maintain, and support the family farm, to help them become and remain sustainable and profitable, and to provide the same opportunity for future generations.

To provide fresh, healthy, chemical-free foods of the highest quality - directly to the tables of those who have a deep sense of appreciation for the connection to the land. We are committed to a sustainable future for our families, our land and our communities.

The group's first membership consisted of just 3 farmers and they sold their wares that first year to one local grocery store. Over the last decade the group has grown to 25 farm families who last year sold 1.2 MILLION dollars worth of fresh produce, meat, flour and grain to 130 restaurants in the Chicago area, an active summer farmers market as well as the one original local grocery store.

But the 1.2 million sold is only part of what is amazing about this group. In order to set and reach such lofty goals you need hard working folks with hoes and shovels bigger than their own egos. Folks who are mutually committed to raising good food and then making it easily available and affordable to a multitude of chefs in a very large urban jungle. Chefs who in the past were restricted to buying generic food from the large conglomerates, meaning that much of the food served had traveled on average 1500 miles before being presented in your favorite dining establishment.

But when the founding members contacted a few chefs years ago they were delighted to discover that the chefs craved decent food to serve as much as the farmers wanted to grow honest chemical free food and history was made. At this moment the entire group is ramping up (literally as one farm grows hundreds of pounds of ramps every year to meet the chefs needs) for the spring growing season.

Chefs are included in this planning and given a "wish book" containing seed catalogs where they can choose the variety of vegetables they desire. From there the group will discuss which farm will be growing which item on that wish list. Once the vegetables are ready for the season to begin, a list of items available is faxed to 130 restaurants every Friday. The chefs respond by Sunday, the farm members are notified and frantic picking and packing occurs on Monday and Tuesday. From a 50 mile radius farmers then migrate to Spence Farm where all the produce is accounted for, tagged,packed, invoiced and placed in a large cooler overnight.

The next morning, Wednesday of each week, a large Van is crammed to the ceiling with boxes of freshly picked tomatoes, cucumbers, corn etc...and the groups two founders, now turned advisory board members, drive to Chicago and personally deliver the restaurants extremely tasty produce to their back door.

It's an exhausting process for all the farmers involved of which we are one, but so worth the benefits returned. Relationships have been built between farmers and chefs and their families which have lasted for years. Farm children have learned how to take a garden from seed to plant to fair market price. Chefs have left the security of their businesses, traveled to our farms and learned first hand the effort it takes to grow and harvest wheat which is made into the flour from which they make tortillas for their cafe. The learning curve has been immense for all parties.

In our group many of our members must work with limited time, acreage and resources. Several have young families and off the farm jobs. On their own it would have been nearly impossible to accomplish all that has been mastered as a group, a farmer run group which is proud to be known as The Stewards of The Land.

Farmhouse Fridays In Effect!

noreply@blogger.com (Zan Asha) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:16:00 +0000

Hello Folks!

It's Friday, which means another edition of Farmhouse Friday! Click the link HERE to learn how to join in our blog-hop! It's fun, easy, and is a great way to meet new bloggers!

In the meantime, enjoy THIS WEEK's Farmhouse Friday

The Midlife Farmwife

Beyond Vagabond