County Fair

Pictures first & an outright endorsement of Sunny Farms Produce!! Kids eating their first corn for the season & we've downed many melons, peppers & what ever else we bring home. Great fresh, local produce from even better people! Stop by if you are in Othello or Sequim.

Back in the day I was a regular at three fairs. I remember my first year at WSU and my roommate insisted I was homesick because I went home every weekend for the first month. Well we weren't done with harvest yet and I had three fairs to go to! Things to do honey (she and I were not cut from the same cloth - or insert your own comment). Skip ahead (umm) 15 years and I'm not quite as regular of an attendee. At my class reunion this summer one of the gals was talking about taking her now husband to the Rockford Fair. He said nice park were is the fair. Yep, that's the Rockford Fair - love it!

I'm starting to look at the fair through the eyes of the moms not the showmen. Another one of those life perspective shifts I guess. Jeff took Molly to the Grant County Fair and she had a BLAST. They even rode an elephant. Then Jeff and I headed up to Cusick, WA for the Pend Oreille County Fair. We had been asked to judge the livestock. I signed up and told Jeff if he was available he could come to! Lucky for him we got spring pairs worked and pregged (100% preg rate on the heifers - cool!) the day before and between the two halfs of third cutting.

Jeff judged cattle on Thursday while I was the ring steward - when I wasn't talking in the corner. The first class was pee-wee showman. I 7 year-old, 5 year-old, and 4 year-old all with bottle calves. They were adorable! Jeff worked his way through the cattle and we came back the next day to do hogs and sheep. Everyone was so nice - no one yelled at the judges and lots of people came and thanked us for coming! Innocent by-standers jumped in and held sheep when one showman had multiple entries in a class.

So if you are in the area visit the Pend Oreille County Fair next year. Not at all commercial, wonderful people, cute kids, and a beautiful setting in a valley with mountains surrounding. I could dig one of the summer homes we saw along the river between Cusick & Newport. Maybe we won't visit in the winter though!

At home, Molly got to meet her Kindergarten teacher this evening. Fall bulls are headed to Othello tomorrow and working on planting alfalfa. One project after another.

Pride & Passion

WOW! Last weekend was a crazy, busy weekend that snuck up on me. Yet very memorable.

Friday was Grant County Farm Bureau's 2nd Annual tour for the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima. This year we got about 80 first year medical students and a handful of faculty. Our tour idea started out as a unique opportunity to proactively bring future medical professionals to farms in Grant County.

As farmers we sometimes forget how important it is to tell our story; how and why we do what we do. Our society is farther and farther removed from where and how their food is produced. Many other individuals and groups are more than willing to tell the non-farm public their thoughts on how we feed the world so we have to step out of our comfort zones and talk to politicians, moms, and medical students from all over the United States.

This year our tour took us to Friehe Farm's potato & wheat fields, Rathbun's hay and cattle, Avila's Dairy, and Manzana Organic & Conventional Orchards. One of the coolest parts of this project is the support from ag groups from across the state. Darigold donated milk (white & the fave chocolate!), the Cattle Producers of Washington helped purchase (& grill) US beef, Skone & Connors provided potatoes, and a long list of industry groups sent educational brochures & items for the tour attendees to take home.

Our local livestock extension agent, Sarah Smith, was able to join us to help answer questions and lead a discussion on hot topics in animal ag. Sarah commented "makes me proud to live here and work with the individuals I do - Everyone has such passion!" It is nearly impossible (at least for me:)) to express how much passion these farmers have for their land, what they produce, and their "career".

Pascal at Friehe's was so excited to talk about potatoes and wildlife. He explained about how they manage "puddles" differently than they used to and all the frogs they now have. As he's talking about this a little toad hopped through! We teased him it was a trained one! The students caught the little guy and put him back in the field so it wouldn't get stepped on. I'd seen Pascal at the Jr. Angus tour and learned from him 6 weeks ago and again this past weekend.

Pascal also took us into a wheat field that was ready to be harvested and included research plots. Students got to thrash heads of wheat by hand - a new experience for many.

Our other speakers offered just as much pride & passion. Including a self-proclaimed surfer-dude who manages & owns organic & conventional orchards on the Royal Slope. They are willing to do things differently, including raising crops others tell them they can't and picking blocks of apples multiple times to get the fruit that is ripe, not just the fruit that is there.

Multiple students asked "why would a farm group take on this project". A few reasons,

-We want them to see what we do, including a better understanding of our need for ag labor. These future doctors will not only care for us but all of our employees.

-We want them to meet us, see us and see first hand how (some) of their food is produced.

-We want them to be able to bring first-hand knowledge to the table when someone from outside of agriculture tries to tell them how it is "down on the farm".

To name a few.

Overall a successful day - appreciated the students willingness to ask tough questions and basic questions alike. I echo Sarah, makes me proud (& blessed) to count my family among these AWESOME people that feed the world!

Saturday brought golf - the 9th Annual Fairway Classic to benefit Washington Farm Bureau's Young Farmer & Rancher Program. Thanks to everyone who golfed & sponsored the event (http://www.wsfb.com/programs/yfr). Below is a picture of part of the Wells Fargo team posing at their hole.

We are of course keeping busy on the farm too. The custom harvest crew is getting ready to cut down our golden wheat while our crew works on third cutting. Next week we'll preg check and give pre-weaning shots to spring calves. Keep rollin'!

Blessed, proud, and excited to be part of American Agriculture!

Locavores on a Haycation

Yep, that's us locavores on a haycation!

"Living the dream."

Before you

-head for the dictionary

-wonder how well you know us

-think we've fallen off our rockers (or finished!!)

-quit reading my silliness -

Yes, we are locavores (especially this time of year). We finally got to eat some veggies (other than lettuce) out of our garden paired with meat that we raised. Nummy. I was told I scared some poor southern "boys" last winter at the YF&R Discussion Meet when I admitted to being a locavore & a foodie. OK - the foodie is a bit of a stretch - but I like to try new recipes and foods. As for the locavore, we might as well enjoy the seasonal bounty our region provides. Which reminds me Sunny Farms in Othello is open and I ate cherries out of a Royal Slope orchard today!

As for the "haycation". Yes, I read those women's home & garden type magazines. You know the type and no our house looks NOTHING like all those cool pictures. But I do try recipes (hence the sort-of foodie) and dream of a house with no toys on the floor and matching furniture. Anyway, I read in one recently that a trend for the summer was to go on a "haycation" AKA a farmstay. As we headed out on one of our infamous vacations that either last 10 hours or 30 hours (always the same don't really know why) I told him about the article. Jeff laughed and said "oh yah, living the dream". I told him the article spoke of collecting eggs - an animal we don't have so I guess we aren't completing the dream. Oh well, I don't think we'll add chickens just for the sake of the haycation.

When does Jeff bale alfalfa in the middle of the afternoon? When the entire western sky looks black. He raced the storm (which actually was minor compared to some surrounding areas) and got about 1/3 of the field baled. My favorite part was the neighbor dropping something by, husband in tow headed to go get a baler. Anyway as it started to rain said neighbor's "scowl" matched Jeff's when he got rained out and came in the house a few minutes later. Thanks for the "laugh" Jared.

The kids were helping Jeff check hay in the backyard. Notice Lila in her farming clothes; white eyelet dress. Did I mention I'm not the best laundress?

What to say about this? Mom came one day and asked me if I had cleaned something in the bathtub or if all that dirt could possibly just be from bath time. You guessed it. Nothing clean here except kids - once a day, briefly.

The end of the week brings a tour with the first year medical students from PNWU. Wow, snuck up on me this year. Anyway, this is stollen from a facebook page that I will be sharing on our tour. Thanks for the post Cory.

Finishing 2nd cutting and heading quickly towards third. Fall calves eating away and spring calves hanging out with mamas. Thinking about putting together a fall catalog. Looks like we'll be having 6 litters of pigs this fall. And of course Molly starts school in about 3 weeks. I have a sneaking suspicion she will be graduating before I know it! Time flies when you're having fun.

{Belated} Happy Independence Day!

We began our 4th of July celebrations by weaning fall bull calves. The heifers were already weaned. We've been using "fenceline" weaning which requires us to wean smaller groups at one time due to facilities - but much happier calves that show much fewer signs of stress and get back to eating. Fall calves looked good and weights are all recorded. The day ended with a BBQ at the neighbors complete with homemade ice cream. Another good reason to hang out with dairy farmers on a holiday in the summer - thanks Katie, Jared & kids! Jeff and I watched the fireworks that lined the skies all around us while the kids slept off an afternoon of fun.

The guys started 2nd cutting this week. The plan is to get 4 cuttings on most of the alfalfa and 3 on the rest and all the grass. I saw some beautiful green hay around Othello this afternoon. Keep those tires rolling!

Trevor is hiding in the alfalfa in our yard. The field at our house still has wheel & handlines and Jeff starts each day with pants wet up to almost his waist. The laundry line tells the rest of the story.

We joke that you'll know we have a group of teenagers when we start to turn circle ground back into wheel & handlines! Train 'em early.

Ah - good reason to eat dinner outside. No need to cry over spilt milk here.

My little & BIG shavers. Trevor's helping dad make his face match his new haircut. And a cut for the little man, too!

Heading for the end of June. . .

First cutting - check

Kinder Camp - check

Regional Jr. Angus Tour - check (THANK YOU Agri-Beef/El Oro & Friehe Farms)

Dirty kids EVERY day (at least once) - check

Summer must be here (as I type the girls think I should get out the wading pool - its not even 70)

Some pictures from the last 2+ weeks.

He had to play by himself! Trev didn't care.

Somehow "Dorothy" escaped most of the dirt throwing.

Lila didn't!

Friehe Farms came and planted our field of "baby bakers". We got caught watching the stream of cool equipment go by like it was a parade.

Hopefully bred, {bred} heifers graze on as bales appear near them. They may well eat this bale this winter. The guys made a couple of rows of big bales along the edge of our grass/alfalfa field. Keeps the little bales cleaner and we get some great hay for the winter.

Fall heifer pairs happily graze.

3 balers make ALOT of bales. With balers logging the hours all over the area, our custom stacker quickly had the work piling up.

Not the scene we want to see when we still had hay down, but a double rainbow can make you smile any day. I should have taken my camera when I went to do chores that night. We have 1 pair here as part of our special care group. I missed a cool picture of her nursing her calf with the more vibrant rainbow behind her.

1st cutting hay finished up on Thursday. Now there is water on everywhere. The guys are talking about how many cuttings they are going to shoot for with our cool spring - wheat looks really good. Wheat definetely likes the cool weather better than alfalfa.

Molly finished Kinder Camp this week. Jeff & I went in for her parent teacher conference today and are realizing she's really going to school! More camps scheduled for the summer and off to school the end of August. My, oh my!

HAY! down

No doubt those of us lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest shouldn't be complaining about the weather too much - given what the rest of the USA has been through.

But, we are farmers. Our house is now officially in pray for dry mode. Yes, I grew up a dry-lander and switching to wanting dry weather in parts of {May}, June, July & September was a new concept to me. (August is harvest where I'm from.) But I am all on board now.

Trevor went to bed last night with "you can go with daddy if you go to sleep". Guess what the first thing he was ready to do this morning? How come they remember all that stuff but forget about "pleases and thank yous".

I saw at least two (maybe three) crop dusters in the air this afternoon. No wind and with the cold lots of acres planted days apart on now pretty much at the same maturity. Those pilots are pretty amazing.

Besides hay, we gave pre-weaning shots to all the fall calves. Jeff was excited to be the calf pusher; get kicked and get the complete view of all the calves. Weighing & looking pretty good. Bulls are still out with the spring pairs & as usual around here this time of year everyone has TONS of grass to eat. (I mean that literally!)

With the recent rain we've had came some great sunsets. We've also had great views of the still snow covered mountains west of us.

Last week the kids and I gave a little tour of our "neighborhood" to some other YF&R folks from Illinois. It's fun to drive around and actually look at the crops and think about how blessed we are to have water, be able to grow so many diverse crops & feed so many people & cows!

Welcome June!

GIRLFRIENDS!

Hum, with a title like that where or where could I be going-

Kids are too young for such things, thank god.

Molly got to hang out with great girls ~ 16 years older for a while this weekend. I'd say Molly found her soulmate! If anyone brought their teen aged'ish son to our bull sale Jeff says - I'm sure they saw her! The girls parted with a "see you Girlfriend".

We're boring old married people. Although I must admit I think I'm getting "to the age" that I think/worry about our single friends. Mostly because I wish they could know there's someone at home that is happy to see them, no matter how long or crazy the day. Not that I would ever actually follow through on any such thoughts. Anyway, I digress . . .

Girlfriends, all our bulls are delivered! The last trip took us to Oak Harbor, Washington. Below are some pictures taken from 3 Sisters Beef. I'd take eating belly deep green grass, watching the sailboats, and hanging out with 200 girlfriends. Dang life is hard!

Anyway, check out http://www.3sistersbeef.com/! Awesome family who've been farming on Whidbey Island for over 100 years. They've moved from dairy farmers to a beef cattle operation. They specialize in grass fed beef that they direct market. We delivered our fourth group of Sackmann bulls. Jeff enjoyed seeing cows from our bulls raising calves from our bulls.

On a long list of cool things we saw at 3 Sisters Beef - one of Jeff's favorite was their self-serve system. They sell eggs and some meat on the farm on the honor system. Stop take a carton of eggs and some hot dogs and leave the money in the box. Not only is 3 Sisters trusting enough of their neighbors and customers to try this but people give them the same courtesy. Great lesson in the goodness of people that has worked for a number of years.

We also got to spend some time with my Aunt Teresa & "Lexi's Jeff" (that would be my cousin's husband). We enjoyed her great place complete with views of the sound and lots of stairs for the kids to play on. Blessings to Teresa as she heads off for missionary work soon.

On the OMG parent side - Molly has a very loose tooth! I'm in denial about registering for Kindergarten too by the way!

Hooray for 70!

Yes, finally some warm days! The garden is partially planted & flowers are blooming.

My strawberries & raspberries lived through the winter (unlike some of my bushes) and I'm so excited to have berries in our garden.

Baby corn - yes the neighbors but still up in perfect rows ('gotta love GPS!).

Now we're just waiting for the hay to grow so we can cut it! Right now looks like projected cut date is 2 weeks behind "normal". And if all this rain stays away when the hay is on the ground all will be well.

On the cow front, spring cows have been AI'd, implanted (with embryos) and turned out with bulls. We're planning on working fall calves before the hay hits the ground. Time flies - it doesn't seem like that long ago that they were born!

All our weaner pigs are at their new homes & we'll be breeding some sows next week. Going from 50 pigs to 6 within a week or so seems crazy.

And of course, pics of the kids we chase on a daily basis, because they are cute (at least we think they are!) and I bet you can pick out our lead fashion diva.

Colored bubbles from Great-Grandma for Easter. "Don't worry mom the ad says they come out". Sure enough they do. Way to go Crayola.

Our little farmer - wants to go with "Daddy Jeffy" every morning. We took Molly to a Wizard of Oz play while Trev & Lila stayed with a babysitter. Upon our return Shannon reported she and Trevor had a problem. It seems the brown cows she drew (very recognizable by the way - unlike mom's) were not right. Appartently Trevor "me not like brown cows". Only black cows will do. Oh, the brainwashing has begun!

Lila helping change water. The little ones need hip waders to maybe stay dry in an already grazed (certainly not hard) pasture.

"Dorothy" and Trevor are more interested in the rooster that's moved in at the neighbors than helping change water. Before the rooster was spotted Molly & I could almost keep up with Jeff, umm on second thought he would have been faster by himself, moving pipes. But I guess you've got to start somewhere. And Trev is the end plug carrier. He just follows on along happy as can be.

Spring marches on and we seem to be keeping busy!

Easter Weekend

Go Matt, go!

Easter weekend started with working all the spring pairs. I had great intentions of trying to take pictures. Somehow I wasn't able to actually help with cows and take pictures at the same time. So my few pictures were from the guys sorting out the first handful of cows. But we got all the calves & cows vaccinated. Spring heifers got CIDRs earlier in the week. CIDRs are in the first group of cows and the pairs are out to triticale. They are so happy. Hopefully the weather will cooperate a little and keep the grass growing.

After working & moving cows we headed to Walla Walla to spend Easter with part of my mom's family. The mountains are beautiful, green and everyone's spring flowers are blooming.

The people who sat behind us in church had extra entertainment. We had our usual crew and in front of us was my cousin and his family. They have twin girls that are 11 months older than Molly and Max who is 10 days older than our twins. We could pass off two sets of triplets. Certainly not identical but close enough to do some fooling.

All the kids lined up after a round of Easter egg hunting.

Jeff & Tyler were talking cows & grass. Imagine that a couple of cattlemen that haven't seen each other for awhile talking about cows & grass! They may have snuck some comments about kids in there (not part of the college banter - but we must admit we're all 10+ years older - oww!)

Egg hunting on the porch & Aunt Sheryl trying to teach a herd of 2 year olds how to blow bubbles. Sheryl's hair was complete with bubbles & soap (spit?) all over her glasses. Lila got the award for most accomplished. The boys were trying to laugh and blow bubbles at the same time.

And the kids got prizes for their egg hunting skills. These little boys were most excited about their flatbed trucks and tractors!

Happy Easter to All!
Blessings.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood . . . . . .

Jeff keeps telling me it's March. Around here it generally doesn't matter what day of the week it is - so if someone tries to tell me a wrong day/date I can be taken in very easily.

These pictures might help explain why Jeff's trying to confuse me.

So, some of the ice had already melted by the time I took a picture - but you get the drift of our weather of late. I went to a MBA (Master's of Beef Advocacy that is) training in Pullman yesterday. I talked to one of our "old" professors. He told me one of his neighbors (large Whitman County farmers) where considering planting rice! We haven't been that wet but certainly unseasonable cold. Looks like hay & pastures are 3 plus weeks behind to date. The fall cows are mad. They think it is time to be on pasture - but for some reason when it freezes at night and might hit 60 during the day the grass doesn't grow too much.

To top off the ice, when Jeff came home late morning to move this water it was snowing. It didn't stick but there was snow falling from the sky! Oh well. Remind me to not whine in August. Maybe if I keep saying it it will come true - "Happy Spring!".