I have come to the realization that it is time to reboot the farm! Not that everything that we have been doing for the past twelve years has been bad, but rather there are some changes that I realize need to be made and in making them I think we are going to end up with Crooked Gap Farm v2.0. It's sort of like a Grand Re-Opening, or Church Re-Plant, or Version 2.0 of the farm. The core of the farm is going to be the same. We are still going to be all about raising great pasture raised meats,...

Let's talk about chickens! We've raised meat chickens off and on for about 10 years now, and it has never really been our strong suit. But, the demand is there and I would really like to increase our meat chicken production ... like really increase it! There is one problem though, well actually three problems. First of all we have settled on the Freedom Ranger breed for our meat chickens (although I'm open for suggestions because it still isn't my favorite ever). Secondly, I am totally...

Now that you know the large collection of things that we have on the farm I want to share some of my thoughts on what needs to head down the road, what needs to be added, and where I am the most confused! It has become obvious to me that one of the tractors needs to go, and in a perfect world it needs to be replaced by a skid loader that would be able to perform quite a few important tasks on the farm. Also, an addition to the shed is something that is at the top of the list once we can get...

I'm just going to be completely honest here. I have forgotten most of what it takes to post a podcast episode since it has been such a long time since I have regularly released episodes! With that in mind these "show notes" are really just going to be a link to the show if you'd like to listen on-line or share your thoughts on the Crooked Gap Farm Inventory that I detailed in this episode.  If you do make your way over to this post though I would love to hear what you think about the...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! Hey there! This is a BRAND NEW EPISODE of "The Beginning Farmer Show"!!! I'm not sure when the next one will be, but for now this one is here and I'm looking for direction when it comes to the show. If you have any good leads or ideas of farmers that you would like to hear on the show please let me know by clicking the link below and reaching out through the Facebook page. Check out The Beginning Farmer Show on Facebook! As always, I want...

That means this episode is all about the livestock on the farm ... how they've been handling the summer, what I've been doing with them, and whether or not we still have a farm period! Hopefully you enjoy the show!

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! It is story time! Plans were made, forms were formed, rock was moved, compactors were used, rain came, snow came, everything became muddy, even more rock was moved, concrete was poured, and in the middle of the night the concrete was covered with plastic/tarps/straw. Actually it sounds pretty easy when it is summed up in one long run-on sentence! Honestly though, it was a big week on the farm to get everything ready for concrete and...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! With Christmas coming up before we know it (and possibly putting an end to my concrete dreams) I thought it would be good to share my Top Ten Gifts for the farmer or aspiring farmer on your list. I've tried to diversify the list a bit with some tools I use on the farm, some tools that are important to the farm, a couple of my favorite books, and even some podcasting tools! One thing that I noticed as I made up the list was that it has...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! This past week was "one of those weeks" on the farm! A hydraulic line exploded on the tractor, but thankfully my cousin was able to fix it. We dug in the water lines into the hoop building, but I am beginning to realize that the concrete is not going to happen this year (that is my fault). To top it all off though the tractor started acting up again, and this time it seems that the probably actually may be caused by a much larger...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! Do you know the greatest thing about The Beginning Farmer Podcast/Blog? It is YOU of course! Two episodes ago I flipped the tables, and instead of doing my typical "question and answer" show where I attempt to answer listener questions I asked the questions. The responses you sent in and shared on concrete, turkeys, walk-in freezers, pig pastures, and show content were AWESOME and full of great knowledge. If you typically just scan the...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! We physically survived The Farm Crawl, but it was a bit mentally taxing. The day was beautiful, the farm was in great shape, we had a good selection of pork for sale, and the people were awesome! There was one down part though and it is what made me a bit mentally taxing ... the numbers were down (both from a sales and attendance standpoint). I am extremely thankful for everyone that was able to show up, but was a bit thrown by the...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! Our farm has been a farm for eight years now, which I suppose means I have been a farmer for eight years as well. But, I don't want anyone to think that I'm still not "The Beginning Farmer" ... sometimes it seems the more I learn about this farming art the more I feel like a beginner! With that in mind I've always tried my best to share the ups and downs because I know that I learn from my mistakes, so hopefully someone else can learn...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! In many ways our farm began before the farm even began. I was reading books, talking to farmers, dreaming dreams, and making plans. All of that lead to me thinking I had it all together before I even stepped foot onto what would eventually become Crooked Gap Farm. If you've heard me talk about the beginnings of the farm before you will know that in my mind the centerpiece was going to be Dexter Cattle raised for beef. It should be noted...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! Earlier this month I was able to take a long drive to northwestern Iowa and visit Seven W Farm during their Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day. This was the second field day at the Wilson's farm that I have been able to attend (along with watching their Niche Pork Webinar from 2009) and I am very thankful they are willing to open their farm, and share their experiences! Seven W Farm consists of 660 acres, seven Wilsons (plus kids),...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! More questions have rolled in from our Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day, and the folks at PFI have even put up a blog post that recaps the day. The great thing about the blog post is that it contains a lot of audio from the event, so if you weren't able to make it to the field day you can at least listen (now that I mention that I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing). On today's episode I'll be fielding questions about...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! Over the past two weeks we have hosted well over 100 farmers and farm fans out to Crooked Gap Farm! That has meant a lot of time getting the farm ready, preparing food, and planning the tours and talks. In the end though we love the opportunity to share our farm with other farmers, and more importantly ... learn from other farmers! Even though I love to talk and I love these types of events they do make me a bit nervous right before...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! Changes are often difficult to make, even if you love change and moving forward. I find it difficult not so much because I don't notice that there are things to change, but rather because I become stuck in the rut or, even more often, I am overwhelmed by the steps of the needed change. As 2015 came to a close though and our family and farm embarked on 2016 it was painfully clear that there were changes that needed to be made on the farm...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! My career as a "beginning farmer" has always been as bi-vocational something or other. Along with trying to learn how to farm I've been a youth pastor, worked at a farm store, helped out at another farm, and currently I'm loving my job as pastor of Christ's Church. But, wearing all of those hats as well as the hat of husband and father has made things less than ideal at times (or most times). For the most part I've tried to just push...

Subscribe to "The Beginning Farmer" YouTube Channel! What happens when The Beginning Farmer disappears for months on end? Well, actually lots things happen! Just recently I've been to Arizona to talk farming and finances, we've been making small square bales of hay, a new building project is in the planning stages, and of course we've even made some time to take the boat out (yes, we are a boating family now ... more about that in future episodes). Basically, what I'm trying is that it...