The Seed Was Planted

It all began when I was a young girl. My grandparents were not your typical grandparents. Granma & Granpa raised pigs for the freezer and chickens for eggs and meat. I remember when Granma would tell us kids to go pick out a chicken for dinner and she would quickly cull the chosen bird. Cousins would come back to her home with rabbits or quail they hunted and Granma would quickly cook it up. Granma was the only one I knew who canned food. She used one of those scary pressure cookers to process Granpas favorite salsa. Granma is no longer with us but she taught me to take on life like anything is possible.

It was not until I was in the 5th grade that I raised my first farm animal. I am blessed that I have parents who let me raise Suffolk sheep for 4H. It was then I learned all about breeding and raising sheep. My ewe Jenny gave me triples her first lambing, all rams of course. I was there from the moment Jenny was bred to the time her rams exited the auction ring. I learned a lot and always looked back to my time showing my sheep at fairs and caring for them.

Now we have children of our own and the tradition of 4H was shared with them. My husband and I wanted to give our kids more then video games and life behind a screen. We wanted to teach them where their food came from and how they could grow and raise their own. We put in a small greenhouse and grew what we could under the desert sun. We already had chickens that were from my girlfriends dairy. We learned raising chickens from fluffy chicks to egg layers was fun! In 2016 we traveled to Oregon and started our herd with two Nigerian Dwarf doelings. The kids first 4H projects were rabbits for meat and show, and dairy goats for show. We no longer raise rabbits but we still have chickens and ducks for eggs and meat. We also have a tad bit more goats in our herd. Just a tad.

Since then we moved the herd cross country from Nevada to Missouri. The desert heat was staggeringly intense and we wanted more land to continue improving our small farm. We purchased a small patch of land that had a place for our animals to live comfortably. Far more comfortable than what they were used to. Now we are settling in and slowly, project by project, we are making positive changes to our herd and what we grown.

Our goats are loved and spoiled. We still have Elfin Acres MD Merry, our Original Goat who started our journey with us. As our herd grows so will our improvements to the farm. Everything we do goes back to the animals for their improvement. This year we cleared trees so we could put in a pasture in the spring. Next project will be a bigger barn for them, and the beat goes on…