Farm School

That's what I'm calling it, anyway. Plans were finalized today for Mark to go to a 2 day seminar in Pennsylvania Dec. 4th and 5th. The course will teach about the business/financial aspects of farming. Grass fed farming, not regular farming. Better than organic. They also teach about rotational grazing, which types of animals to add and when, all the aspects of farming that we need to learn about to form our business model. Ryan is going to go too, and is very excited about this trip with his dad.

Then, Mark and Ryan will drive to Virginia and tour Joel Salatin's farm, and look at land. They'll leave here on Dec. 3rd, and return on Dec. 9th. Fun !!! I can't wait to hear what they find out !!!

Kindergarten !

Emily and Daniel have started Kindergarten ! My sweet children who move as one... Life is fun for this dynamic duo ! They are excited that they are actually doing school like their older brothers.

Happy Birthday !

Happy Birthday, Ryan! We now have a teenager ! Ryan is as tall (or taller) than I am, and his feet are bigger than my husbands. Yikes ! Since everyone still isn't feeling great, we ordered pizza, had cake and watched a movie. I'll be so glad when everyone is back to normal again. 13 years old....Wow !

What does Heritage mean ?

Heritage, in terms of animals and produce, means rare and old breeds/plants. The kind your grandparents grew up eating. They do best on pasture, and produce rich, tender and juicy flavors. Studies have shown that meat raised on grass is higher in omega-3 oils, are rich in vitamins and minerals, and contains less fat and cholesterol. Grassfed beef is also higher in cancer fighting Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Beta Carotene, and Vitamin E. Consider this : "within the past 15 years, 190 breeds of farm animals have gone extinct worldwide, and there are currently 1,500 others at risk of becoming extinct. In the past 5 years alone, 60 breeds of cattle, goats, pigs, horses and poultry have become extinct."
Why ? The answer is mass production. Nutrition and taste has been forfeited for profit.

The Plan

Our long term goal (hopefully within a year) is to move to a farm and raise heritage meat and produce. We've been learning about this for a year now. I guess you would call us grass farmers, since our animals would be raised on pasture. The ultimate goal is to be able to provide people with the option of buying food that not only tastes good, but is healthier than what you would buy in the grocery store. We still have a lot of work to do, as far as creating a business model. We are narrowing down the breeds of animals, and we think we will have beef, poultry, and pork. Plus eggs and a milk cow.
This dream started when we bought a half side of grass fed beef from a farmer. We had read about the nutritional benefits and were shocked. The more we have researched, the more shocked we became at what has happened to our food supply.
2 years ago, this was not on our radar at all....however, the more we learned and researched, the more we knew this is what we wanted to do.
Buying the horses was actually part of our preparation for this. We wanted to learn about big animals and feel comfortable around them. We've made great contacts, and people have helped us in so many ways with advice/knowledge/experience. We never would have met those people if it hadn't been for the horses !
So that's the plan, Stan.

Halloween

Happy Halloween ! This year we had 3 sick kids and one sick hubby. We didn't decorate, buy a pumpkin...nothing. But we did go trick-or treating. Hubby stayed at home being sick. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon around here !