Hoosier Farm Babe : farming

There is nothing easy about being a young farmer owning and operating your own business. In just the 10 years that we have been farming, we have experienced some tough times and also very good times. You know what has gotten us through the tough times ... our faith in God, our family and probably a bit of stubbornness.

Speaking of those good times ... my husband and I recently received a top award from our state farm bureau organization recognizing our achievements as young farmers. The award is such a great honor and we are absolutely humbled to represent Indiana at the national competition next month in Phoenix.

But as we begin to prepare to compete in the national contest, we are reminded that we didn't get here alone. Any success we've experienced growing our farm business goes back to the unrelenting support of our family.

In more ways than we can count, we would not be here today without their support, without them challenging us, without them believing in us.

Despite an industry and a hog market that seemingly doesn't want us to survive as independent young producers, we have prevailed and will continue to fight as hard as we can.

We are grateful for our family for believing in us even when we didn't believe in ourselves. We are grateful for our family for instilling a love of agriculture and perhaps some of that stubbornness that I mentioned earlier.

And beyond our family, there are many others who have supported us along the way.

We are grateful for our landlords who were willing to work with a young farmer with not so fancy equipment at first.

We are grateful for our seed, feed and veterinarian partners for their counsel, support and encouragement.

We are grateful for our ag lending partner for believing in us every step of the way and working with us to grow our business year-after-year.

We are grateful for farm bureau for engaging us into leadership opportunities on the county, state and national stage and for rewarding hard work.

We are grateful to have a small, yet super strong circle of friends in the farming community to share ideas with and to laugh with. Never understand underestimate the importance of laughter.

We are grateful for our hired help who support our farm and care for our livestock as much as we do.

We accepted the Young Farmer Achievement Award from Indiana Farm Bureau this past weekend and we were beyond proud to have our family in the audience supporting us and cheering us on just as they have our entire lives.

We are grateful for everything our family has sacrificed to give us the opportunity to live out our dream to farm.

We are grateful for our family for being our everything.

To learn more about our farm operation, check out the video below!

It seems like it's been raining for 30 days straight here in the Heartland - oh wait - it has! Thank goodness Mother Nature let up a little last week and allowed the ground to dry up a bit! In fact, on Thursday, Big D was finally able to get in the fields and get some corn planted. Yeeehaw!!!

So now from here on out from sun up to sun down and a few dark hours in between he'll be in the field getting the corn and (soy)beans planted. Once we're finished here at the home farm (in Indiana) - we'll load most of our equipment up and haul butt over to Ohio (where my family has farmed since 1847) to finish planting ideally before the end of May!

Big D isn't a big fan of his mug flashing on my blog - but I was able to capture a couple shots of his first day in the field (planting), without him knowing.

*Que evil laugh ... muwahaha!

This is our "new" planter - Big D was pretty psyched, ~~I mean worried,~~ about taking it out. Absolutely, no problems thus far, thank goodness. We don't have time for hold-ups at this point. Here, Big D is seen lubricating the seed meters with graphite or talc powder so the seed is dispersed smoothly into the ground.

Filling the seed hoppers with Pioneer corn seed.
Click here for a full explanation of how we select seed each season.

Meanwhile, our local co-op is filling our fertilizer hopper with product,
which we then use to fill our fertilizer bins on the planter.

Also, I heard this oldie, but goody on country radio last week (it totally brings me back to when I was a young girl riding in the tractor with my dad during spring planting... good memories, good times!) and it's a great anthem for all of those hard-working farmers out there getting the crop in the ground.

If you happen to pass a farmer in the field or the road, please give him a friendly wave - he is working so hard to help provide a safe, wholesome and affordable food supply for all of us!

(This post was originally scheduled for Friday, May 13)

I grew up with sweet little Jersey cows on our family farm in Ohio. Cows that each had names and most, that were so gentle and friendly, that you could lead them around anywhere and never feel threatened or endangered. (There were of course a few meanies in the group though!) Overall, they were sweet cows to grow up around. They still are. I heart big-brown eyed Jerseys!

When I met my husband and went home to visit HIS family farm (now OUR family farm), this was really my first introduction to pigs. We had some feeder pigs growing up that we fed to market weight, but only 25 to 50 at one time. Big D went home often during college and worked numerous weekends on his family's farm. So I decided I wanted to help him during my first visit and learn more about raising hogs. Boy was I in for an adventure in hog farming. I figured since I'd been around livestock ALL my life, pigs wouldn't be much different. So. Wrong.

At the time, I was sorta taken away watching Big D work - knowing he was the man I wanted to marry - slowly beginning to realize pigs would be part of my life. Right before we were married and took over the family farm, Big D's father was still raising some hogs outside. Since it was quite sunny that day, we needed to pull the shade over the Cargill floor (outdoor facility with lean-to shed available for shade) to keep the piggies from getting sunburnt. Big D climbed atop the lean-to and I waited for instruction in the pen below with about 12 or so female pigs (gilts) roaming around me.

The pigs we used to raise outside were ALWAYS dirty and could easily get sunburnt.

Today, most of our hogs are raised in climate controlled buildings.
They are so clean, they almost look like show pigs!

At first, I think most of the (250 pound) pigs were pretty frightened by me, except this one for the sake of reference, I have named Miss Pig. She took one look at me and I swear she knew I had NO experience with pigs and she was going to take me down! Miss Pig had her eyes square on mine and I had no idea what she was about to do. My first thought was maybe I should just run or climb on the fence, but at the time I really didn't want to look like a sissy girl that couldn't handle working on the farm. She took one step toward me. I asked Big D - "should I be worried about that pig, that one right there." He said - "nah you're fine - just keep an eye on her." Ok ... but ...
Then it happened - Miss Pig ran at me with her short little midget legs. I didn't have time to make a move except to move my legs enough apart hoping she would take that route and not bite me on the way through my make-shift tunnel! Well she made her move running at me snorting and grunting at what seemed like a record-breaking speed for a midget animal. Unfortunately, it didn't all add up - she was a little too fat for my best attempt at a tunnel, so as she ran through, I closed my eyes and before I knew it I was flat on my butt - Miss Pig had taken me down. I'm thinking I better get up and drag myself outta this pen before she comes back for round 2. I feel as if I'm a clown in a rodeo arena at this point.

Meanwhile, Big D is laughing so hard tears are streaming down his face and I'm thinking my life may be on line if Miss Pig gets her chance at me again. I scurried outta that pen, my heat rate is far above normal levels and I start to think - this is my future. I do not like pigs right now so much. My Jerseys would never do this to me. Well that's not exactly true - Jersey bulls are some of the meaniest cattle (of any breed) in the world of livestock. I would never set foot in a pen with a Jersey bull without a shot of liquid courage first.

Well I survived the Miss Pig incident without injury except to my once quite confident farm girl ego. How could a measly midget-legged pig take me down? Never again, Miss Pig, never again.

Seven years later, I still have no idea what these pigs are thinking and that they possibly may still want to try to take me out. Big D is so good to them, they might just want me out of the picture. LOL! For now, I'm basically 100 percent comfortable working with the baby pigs - since they're just working out the kinks in walking, I'm pretty confident they're aren't going to come at me anytime soon.

I can handle these guys! Still at the cute size here.

The baby pigs are always a BIG hit during farm tours.

Holy smoke ... it's really 2011. 2010 was a great year - 2011 has a lot to live up to. So what makes 2010 such a great year for this Hoosier Farm Babe ... I thought I'd run through a quick Top 10 list. Number one was a no-brainer.

1. The birth of our daughter - Reagan Raye - who I will now refer to in my blog as RayRay. It's true what they say, when you have a child, you will wonder what you ever did before she became a part of your life. I never thought I could LOVE anything more than I love Big D. I was wrong. RayRay is the angel in my heart, the light in my day, my little munchkin who can do no wrong and one of the greatest loves of my life. We. Are. Blessed.

2. Celebrating 5 years of wedded bliss with Big D in October. I married my sweetheart Oct. 15, 2005. Seriously, one of the best days of my life, EVER. Looking forward to more of forever with Big D in 2011. Click here to read our love story.

3. Big D and I's babymoon to Vegas in March. One last vacation pre-baby. He took me to see Cirque Du Soleil Viva Elvis. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!!

4. Reagan's baptism and becoming members of Cross of Grace Lutheran Church. It's a new beginning in our lives and I'm looking forward to strengthening my relationship with THE big guy in the sky and making new friends for life at Cross of Grace.

5. Starting my blog in April - Hoosier Farm Babe Tell Tails. I was invited to an intro to blogging workshop and I have to admit I was skeptical at first. I didn't have time and what on earth do I have to write about. Well thanks to Cris at Goodeness Gracious and Leah at Beyer Beware - I am a convert. Thanks ladies - you've inspired me! I think I may be only slightly addicted to blogging now!

6. Becoming a Real Farmwife of America. I am part of a group of women blogging about life on the farm and all the dirt in between as The Real Farmwives of America. (Here is my first post!) The Real Housewives of Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills got nothing on us!! Check out this group of amazing women in agriculture and look for our future posts in 2011!

7. Baby's First Christmas and our first Christmas as a family of three. Lots of great memories and this momma dusted off her video camera and caught it all on film of course!

8. It was the year of the girl on our farm! I own 10 Jersey dairy cows and out of the 10 I had 8 sweet little baby heifers (females). When you're in the dairy business - bulls aren't worth much, but heifers now that's what you hope for. So I basically doubled my herd. YAY! Look for some of these sweet little heifers to hit the show circuit in the summer of 2011!

9. Being a part of Liz @ Two Maids a Milking New Year's wedding to her love - Russ! It was an honor to be a part of their big day and we had a great time!! Myself, Liz and our friend Meag were known as the Boiler Babes in college (at Purdue). This is the second of the Boiler Babes to tie the knot. I was the first. Liz was the second. Meag?? 2011??

10. Despite a volatile economy, low hog prices, high feed costs - Big D and I are still farming. It's not easy to be a young farmer and we made it through 2010 and in this economy that is an accomplishment.

So 2011, I'm excited to see what you've got in store for us! My prediction - it's going to be a another GREAT year for this bloggy mom!

How about a little family farming history and some storytelling of how I got "here" to this life of mine on a piggie farm in beautiful Indiana ... as part of a new series entitled the "Real Farmwives of America" from Heather@3 Kids and Lots of Pigs blog feature! Thanks to Heather for including me!

Mules, Sweat and Tears

My great-great granddaddy on my daddy's side farmed over 500 acres with mules in central Ohio in the 1800s; and my granddaddy on my momma's side owned and operated a 10,000 acre ranch in western Nebraska following WWII.

So you can definitely say my farming roots run deep and I'm happy to carry on the family tradition as the 6th generation farmer. My daughter makes the 7th generation on both sides.

The dairy barn on Lone Spring Farms. Built in 1933 after the original barn burned down. My family purchased the roller coaster from a local amusement park and used the timbers to build the barn.

The milkhouse

More of the milkhouse. Currently, it's just being used as a station to feed baby calves as my father quit milking cows a couple years ago. I kept my cattle at a dairy near Newark, Ohio.

In 1923, my daddy's family started milking registered Jersey cattle. My family bottled and sold rich Jersey milk and delivered it right to our customer's doorsteps ... sometimes I think it would be fun if the days of "The Milkman" returned to America's front step. While my grandfather worked for the Milk Marketing division of the Federal Government during the mid-1900s ... the farming at Lone Spring Farms Inc. continued as always. In fact, my granddaddy was one of the first in the county to adopt no-till conservation efforts on the farm. As a result of that early adoption, my daddy is now a big advocate of no-till conservation, as well as promoting enrollment in such programs as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, where part of the farm is now set aside and left unfarmed.

A Little Girl and a Jersey Calf

Growing up I showed and fell in love with the Jersey cow. When I was seven years old, my parents purchased my first baby calf and registered her in my name. Today, I own 11 cows and 11 heifers. Although my daddy retired from the dairy biz a few years ago - I can't seem to get it outta my blood. Dairy people know exactly what I'm talking about. The hard working America's who raise dairy cattle do it because they love and can't imagine doing anything else!

World Dairy Expo 2009 - 4th place Summer Yearling

So I think it's obvious I'm a dairy girl ... so how on Earth did I meet and fall in love with a hog farmer?!?

Well I guess he sorta sweep me off my feet when we were in college together at Purdue. He was good-looking and sweet as can be ... he could've been a plumber and I still would've fallen madly in love with the man. So once we tied the knot in 2005 - I added the title of farmwife and hog farmer to my farming resume.

In the past five years, I have learned more than I could've ever imagined about raising hogs and grain farming. Big D is one of the most ambitious and intelligent farmers I've ever met and I've met a few in my day. Soon after college, Big D started working as a manager for 3 Kids and Lots of Pigs uncle's hog farm in central Indiana. We worked out a deal where we would begin raising some of his pigs on our own. What started out as 200 sows with nearly half of their offspring leaving our farm (Big D's daddy sold all of his pigs and now our farm is headquartered at the original Foster Farms site) has now become 500 sows farrow to finish. Meaning we raise all of the pigs from birth to market - that has become alot of piggies. So we've picked up three other sites in which we rent to raise our all of our piggies. We are what you call an independent hog producer and there aren't many of those left anymore unfortunately. My hubby has renovated many of the barns - so we've been able to keep our imput costs low enough to stay kickin in this business. See ... told ya I've learned alot!

Gestation and finishing barns for Foster Family Pork Farms

Piggies headed to market, literally

Additionally, we farm Big D's family's ground in Indiana as well as my momma and daddy's land in Ohio. Yes ... I know ... people say we're crazy to truck our equipment back and forth to Ohio. But it all goes back to that family heritage ... it's important to me and it's important to Big D.

I love that I've married a farmer and that he treats the farm - Foster Family Pork Farms LLC, as a business and not a hobby. He wants to make it so that our children one day can return to the farm (if they want to) someday and support their families. Being a farmwife isn't always easy, but when you love someone you learn to adjust to the fact that he may not help as much around the house or that in the spring and fall he will be in the fields for long hours at a time. I'm proud to be a Real Farmwife of America.

Big D and me

Again, thanks so much to Heather at 3 Kids and Lots of Pigs for allowing me to participate in your Farmer Friday feature and the Real Farmwives of America series. See below for more Farmwives participating in this series and their stories of "How I got here?"

Heather at 3 Kids and Lots of Pigs