Life on the farm is so much more unpredictable than one could imagine.
It’s unpredictable on a daily basis, of course.
Last Friday we finished up our morning chores early, just in time for a farm tour and walked out to find a newborn calf in our pasture! Our plans that day were promptly reorganized to include supervising mom & baby, waiting for her placenta, making sure baby was nursing colostrum, bringing them in for their first milking, etc. Once we thought the day was finally wrapped up around midnight, we walked out and noticed a sow in labor. Up until 4:00 am with the safe delivery of 12 piglets…and right into the next day’s morning chores.
But, life (especially on a farm) is unpredictable in the long term. I never dreamed, or even wanted to milk on our farm. Now, it’s the cornerstone of our business and I’m content with that. I never imagined we would have our own Berkshire pig breeding stock, either – but here we are, farrowing 75+ piglets every year and finishing almost 50 annually for our customers. Unthinkable to me just a few years ago.
I never could’ve imagined that within 5 years of purchasing our farm we would have all of the property fenced, electric & water run in outbuildings, a new wood stove in our house, free stalls and a milking parlor in our barn…the list goes on. Now, in just one season we can add a farm store AND a new steel roof for our barn to that list!
For the past 6 weeks we have been working in all our “free time” to renovate what was originally a hog & chicken house, and tool shed, into a working building with purpose. The first task was to dig about 70 years (literally) worth of composted manure, dust and cobwebs from the inside…by hand.
Next, Dan power washed the interior to reveal stunning original wood boards. We had to rent a diamond saw and use a sledge hammer to knock out two cement curbs that had been added over the years…and then shovel that out by hand.
Next, we measured and had 5 yards of new cement poured, leveled and cured. Then, we replaced the windows and fitted a new door, cleaned the inside again and ran all new electrical which included digging a 2 foot deep trench to the nearest building.
We were then able to move clean fridges and freezers in, and add new landscaping around the outside. We touched up paint, moved in a decorative wood stove and still have a few shelves and decorations to add.
After all this work, a mama sparrow decided to move in, build a nest and lay some eggs. Instead of pitching the nest and keeping our new cement clean, we decided to let her hatch her babies and once they leave the nest we’ll remove it…and thus, the name: The Sparrow’s Nest Farm Store.
Currently, we have our on-farm milk pickup in the store and it’s open 9:00 am – 10:00 pm. Everything is self-serve and honor system. We have whole chickens and pork stocked in the freezers and eggs on the counter. We are working to have maple syrup, honey, natural soaps/lotions, jams and granola available, as well.
Adding a layer of unpredictability to our lives this year has been the current drought we’re dealing with. While the local meteorologists are saying that our region is abnormally dry, the National Weather Service has categorized it as an agricultural drought. That means the water table hasn’t dropped yet but the top soil has little to no moisture left to grow the grass. The longer it is dry, the more difficult it becomes for the soil and plants’ root systems to recover.
As we drive around our area, hay fields are brown and dead, not growing an inch in the heat without rain and the corn leaves are curling from the lack of moisture. The cows have already eaten their way through our drought reserve after just 6 weeks of grazing – this is ground that doesn’t normally get touched until the last week of July and into August.
The best grass growth of the year is from mid-May through mid-June but our pastures have died after being grazed just once. During that period of time we normally receive around 7″ of precipitation – this season we have received just 1″ of rain.
We are planning to add water lines for some irrigation, although it is impossible to irrigate all of our land, and we are already back to feeding hay to the cows. We have to account for the additional expenses of time and money to add irrigation lines and begin buying hay again (the drought is already driving these price up dramatically). Which brings us to our barn roof raiser.
We are in a difficult place – choosing to replace the barn roof that protects our hay during the winter or purchasing the hay itself to feed our animals. The roof cannot wait another year without risking structural damage to the building from leaks that cause floorboards and joists to rot, and the foundation to crack. Yet, we also need the funds to buy hay for the animals during the drought and run irrigation so we have a shot at fall grazing before winter feeding.
All of this is to say that we budgeted for a barn roof but are now having to divert funds to more pressing issues. Without the barn roof, though, we have no way to safely store the hay that we so desperately need to buy. This is where our community comes in. Unlike large farms with coop contracts or government-guaranteed assistance programs, small farms like ours do not have the credit (or subsidies) available that conventional farms do. We have a small line of credit but it’s not enough to help us survive.
We hate asking for help as much as anyone, but if you’re able to make a small donation to help us offset the cost of the new barn roof ($8,200), this enables us to run some irrigation lines (and help our pastures rebound) and cover the expense of feeding hay in the meantime.
Of course, the best way to support our farm is to patronize our business – feeding your family healthy, sustainable, happy food. You’ll find links below for purchasing chicken, turkey, pork and a herd share for your family. But many of you have expressed the desire to go above and beyond in your generosity, or maybe you live a little farther away and can’t buy from our business.
Either way, we are so incredibly grateful for you! If you feel you’re able to spare a little bit, we have some great rewards organized for donors and hope you’ll consider helping a little. As I said, we hate asking for help and try to minimize doing so, saving it for times that we really truly need it. We have been overwhelmed with the generosity of our community already and are so incredibly grateful for that.
Thank you for your continued support, business & generosity!
-the Two Sparrows Farm crew
{Dan, Whit, Cecilia, Beau + the animals}
Ordering for Pastured Chickens & Turkeys
