Life on Lone Oak Farms

Getting to KNOW YOUR FARMER…

Today it rained. So in my luxury of choosing when to go into work at my part-time job, I worked. When I heard one person comment to another "Did you order this rain?" I didn't miss a beat in proclaiming "I did! We need it!" It is frustrating as a person who farms to hear people complain about a rainy day when it has been bone dry and it is only March. I feel as if people are so far removed from knowing where there food comes from-or even more importantly, what it takes to produce it-that they don't know when we NEED rain.

The rain limited what I was able to do on the farm today, but I am not complaining. I have had to restrict my hen's opportunity to free range after losing two hens on Tuesday evening to what we believe were coyotes. I checked to see what time sunset was and let them out of their runs about 30 minutes before sunset. I sat on a bucket in the field to prevent the hens from reaching the wood line where the coyotes might be waiting. Darn! Those hens just love going into the woods and scratching through the decaying leaves to find insects. I felt badly denying them that pleasure. Fortunately, the recent rain has signaled the grass to start producing food so there was plenty of green to satisfy their pallets. While I sat there, I read a great article in the newest copy of Mother Earth News. By the way, it is by far the best magazine I receive. You should go to their website and read the article about the benefits of grass-fed beef. The article goes beyond the nutritional benefits and talks about how grazing would be so much better for the environment. Very interesting!

I had turned our Jersey cow, Jenny, out around 6:00 so after making sure the hens were returning to the coop, I went inside to get the milking pail. We still have Jenny's calf on her so if we want any milk, we need to separate them for awhile. Unfortunately, 2 hours proved not long enough and Jenny wasn't willing to let down her milk so this evenings efforts were fruitless-or should I say "milkless." We haven't sold the calf yet because my husband and I are planning a short trip and we didn't want to have to find someone to milk while we were gone. Dairy farmers have to be one of the most dedicated group of people I know. It is a shame that the price of milk has dropped so much recently. Agriculture is one business where you don't sell your product based on your costs. Someone else sets the price and then the government pays you to keep you in business. Makes no sense to me.

Before I left for work this morning, I did some preparation for a gardening program I am presenting at the Vineyard Church in Wheeling on Saturday. I guess more and more people are looking to grow some of their own food. Good will come from this economic crisis. I received another plant order today and spent some time doing work for the market. Then there are still the same responsibilities that everyone else has…making sure homework is done, fix dinner, fold some laundry, clean up the kitchen and of course, sneak in a little time with the granddaughters. Life is good.

Susan West
Lone Oak Farms