Happenings around the Farm

My new boys: Willie (left) and Waylon (right)  

Brody getting his bath!

Dad's new tractor!

The new heifers: (left to right) Red, Annabel, Nella

I'm Back!

Wow! Its been so long since I have wrote something! There's a lot to catch up on....
 Since the last time I wrote, a lot has been going on around the farm: we purchased 3 heifers, all Hereford-Angus Crosses. There's Annabel, our moo-er, Red, our only red heifer and the sweetest, and Nella, our jumping calf, literally. I completely understand the saying, "the cow jumped over the moon." We also bought pigs, 7 of them! Our first three were from our friends, the Johnstons...there were 2 gilts (females), Marlo and Aldous and 1 barrow (male), Bauer. Later we bought 3 more from another farm...Blue (for her blue butt), Stella (who sat like a dog) and Hemi...who should have been renamed Dozer, for his Bull-Dozer moves that always knocked us over. Unfortunately, Marlo got sick and passed away, so we bought Brody...the fattest pig of them all!
Towards the end of June, I had the wonderful oppurtunity of breaking show calves until the end of summer. I broke 8 show steers and 2 heifers! My summer was booked, but it was well worth it! I saved up enough money to buy 2 of the calves I worked with...Honda and Indian who are now named Willie and Waylon (yes, after Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings) Waylon is a red, purebred Shorthorn and Willie is a white/blue roan, crossbred. 
In August, I took Emmit (the steer) and my 2 pigs, Brody and Bauer to the fair. I took 7th and 8th in my market class with the Pigs and 3rd in showmanship.  The next day, I took 2nd in showmanship in Steers and won Grand Champion! (way!) It was a very successful year, once again!
Not much happend between August and November, but the 2nd week in December, I took Willie and Waylon to Michigan State to compete at the annual MJLS Winter Beef Classic show.....lets just say it was a looonnnnggg weekend, but a fun one.
Since then, it has been pretty calm around the farm. We are recovering from a very blessed and festive holiday and are looking forward to the New Year!...which means new blogs! wooo!
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and can't wait till 2012!

Crazy You Say?

We've all been there; babysitting that 4 year old that can't seem to leave anything alone, having the 6 year old get his toys out, even though you asked him to put them away, or when you're making dinner and the kid is hoarding around you like a vulture (guilty). Now picture Marlo (my pig). Everything listed above is one of the many battles I encounter with her.
Marlo is synonyms with crazy, wild, senseless, outlandish, and ridiculous. This phsycotic four-legged phsyco has more energy than one can imagine. Come feeding time, it looks as though she hasn't seen food in weeks! She'll run around the pen, jumping in the air and running into anything that gets in her way. Then, to make matters worse, she'll run over to you (or run over you) and begin chewing on your boots! And if you ask her to stop, it's like telling a brick wall to soften up! And don't even get me started on the water! Lets just say I leave the pen with more water on me then in the water bucket.....all because of little Miss Marlo.
I actually took the time to look up the meaining of Marlo's name and it just so happens to mean "Drained lake"......well by golly, that pig is draining her lake all over me!

The Farm Expands in Family Members!

Their tails were curled tighter than Arby's curly fries, and their four little legs ran faster than the Kenyans. As they were squealing with every ounce of oxygen in their lungs, I stood in there, stuck in the mud and getting snowed on. But even the snow and mud and bitter winds couldn't blow the excitement out of me....the farm was bringing home show pigs! That's right...show pigs! This past Sunday, the Raymond Family Farm brought home 3 hogs; 2 gilts (females) and 1 barrow (male). Marlo, one of my pigs, is an all black gilt with more energy than the Energizer Bunny himself. Then there's Bauer...like Eddie Bauer or Bauer Hockey Sticks. He's the total opposite, being as lazy as men on a Sunday afternoon. And last but not least is little miss Aldous, the sweetheart of the bunch. She will be shown by another 4-Her who is keeping her at our farm.

There's not much to tell about these pigs right now but I will say, their unpredictable personality leads me to believe that my blog will hold many more stories about these crazy guys. Until then, stay tuned for the rest of the story....

(From Left to Right) Bauer, Marlo, and Aldous

Stand Firm!

The Egyptians were marching after the Israelites. They were terrified and cried out to Lord. They said to Moses "Was it because there was no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex. 14: 10-12)

Moses answered the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Ex. 14: 13-14)

When it comes to buying necessities for the farm like feed, parts for the tractor, vet bills, medications, etc., it can get stressful. It takes a toll on you, not only mentally, but emotionally and most of all, spiritually. I often wonder why we as farmers put so much money into things that we barely get a dime back for. Don't get me wrong, some farmers have the business figured out and make it out pretty well. But when you look behind the barn door, things don't seem to fine. With feed prices rising and gas prices as well, it gets difficult to pay for things and we are constantly finding ourselves making many sacrifices, just to pay for a bag of grain. And then I constantly find myself asking God "Why?" Why are grain prices rising? Why are we making little profit? Why God! WHY! .........

But then I realize that Jesus sacrificed more than what I will ever have to sacrifice. He paid more than what I will ever have to pay. And it was for Me....for You.....for Everyone! He sacrificed his own Life and paid for Your sins so you will be forgiven.

The Israelites had complained to Moses about the Egyptians but Moses said to them "...see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today." I realized that I shouldn't complain about the little things. I need to "stand firm" and "see the deliverance the Lord will bring me".

Do What You Love, Love What You Do

When asked in Elementary school, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", most kids reply by shouting "FIRE-FIGHTER!" or "DOCTOR!" or on those odd chances...."PLUMBER!". But it's not to often these days to hear a kid shout "FARMER!". Well I guess shoveling manure and waking up at the butt crack of dawn to do it, is not the career of choice for an eight year old who finds entertainment in anything that's shiny. But eh, what can ya do. For me, that's all I wanted to be when I was growing up; a farm with all the pretty ponies in the world! And I still want that today...except with much bigger dreams; a 200 acre ranch with rolling hills and a pasture full of the finest Quarter Horses in the country, and my multi-million dollar pole barn holds an International Harvester Combine....and then I realized that selling freezer beef and poultry from our small farm will barely make a down payment on that combine. So my young, adolescent mind when off to dreaming again. When asked the inevitable question again in Middle School, I was still unsure of how my future would play out. So back to thinking I went....fortunately my mind stumbled and fell upon Veterinarian. WHA-LAH! What better way to stay involved with my furry friends and pay for that big toy they call a combine, then become a vet!? And that's when a disease began.
Today I had the opportunity to "shadow" a veterinarian and watch some of his surgeries. When I walked through the doors, I was confident and excited, ready to see what my future entailed. Long story short, it didn't take more than an hour for me to get wheezy and get sick. Yep, that's right, the girl who picks up a frozen horse turd in the winter and has a "frozen-poo-fight" with her buddies, couldn't handle a simple ovarian hysterectomy (spaying a cat). But determined, I fought through my sick stomach and finished watching the surgery. When the Doctor finished he asked me if I was OK. Of course I replied with "Just Great!"...he said "Great! We have 9 more surgeries just like this!". After 10 ovarian hysterectomies and 5 De-claws, we finished the day with sterilizing operating tables and laughing off our tiredness.
I sat back and looked around and I saw an office of people who love what they do, and do what they love. I learned a lot today....and I mean A LOT....but I think the biggest lesson I learned is that you can't go through life doing something that you don't enjoy and dread having to go to the next morning. I'm more than thankful for all that God has blessed me with, but I pray to big guns upstairs that he blesses me with the job of my dreams....

  (Top) Holding a pup after taking his temperature and updating everything. (Above) Performing a De-Claw on a Cat.

Circus! Circus!

As we grow older, we learn from our peers and we are advised by our elders. I'm confident that all of you reading this, no matter how old, have heard your elder say "Life is unexpected". Believe me, it is. You may never know whats coming until it hits ya....well today, it hit me square in the forehead and sent me running in the snow, Literally!

As a farmer, you know that if you open a gate, you shut it...you just know. It's like how a burger flipper at McDonald's flips burgers.....you just do it! It's a natural instinct! Well quite frankly, ma's natural instincts were not in check today. She had the nerve to lead the horses into their stalls, which is normally a job for dad or I, so that right there should tell ya that she's not qualified for the job. (no offense ma!) Something was bound to go wrong.

As she led Saber, our black horse, out of the pasture, she forgot to turn around and shut the gate behind her. Little did she know that Emmit was sneaking right behind her. Mind you that Emmit is a 1,000 lb steer with energy greater than the energizer bunny! None the less, he's my show steer for the county fair! I nearly got to the house when I heard ma yell "Oh Shoot!" (censored version) "LIZ! EMMIT IS OUT!"

Here we go.
I quickly walked towards his direction, for you visual readers, I looked like a mall walker making a bee-line for the candle shop. Sure enough, as soon as Emmit saw me, he bolted off like a coyote after a jack rabbit. Off into the neighbors yard he went, running like a mad man...or mad cow in his case. So off I went behind him, screaming "You Stupid Cow! Your death sentence will come sooner than what you want!" I'm sure the neighbors get quite a kick out of me. I chased him all around their yard, trying to keep him from going into the road or into the woods. Eventually, he made his way back into our yard, thank God!
Long story short, with the help of our hysterical neighbors, we slowly worked him into a corner and re-opened the gate and he bolted in. I slammed the gate shut and he looked at me with this look on his face that said "You Idiot. I just made a fool of you." and that he did.

I guess when life throws something at ya, you just have to learn to take the blow....and then later down the road, come back with something harder to throw right back at it. Thanks Ma!

Want some popcorn with that butter?

If given a thousand dollars, what would you do with it? Would you put it in a savings account? Would you buy something for yourself, or for someone else? What would you spend it on? A thousand dollars.......there's a million things we all could do with it, but I'm pretty confident that the number one thing on your list is not butter. Yes, you read that right. Go ahead and re-read it, it's not gonna change. We drove all the way to Ovid, Michigan with a manila folder filled with money and what do we come back with? That's right...butter. Now, I'm sure there is a list of questions running through your head and I'm here to answer them all, but first let me explain:

In 1916, a group of dairy farmers from Howell, Michigan met to establish a stable, reliable market and price for their milk and on May 23, 1916, the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) was formed. The MMPA is a cooperative so in other terms, a large group of dairy farmers produce the milk and the milk is then transported to MMPA and can be churned into butter or made into cheese. In return the dairy farmers make a profit from selling their milk.

Now your probably asking yourself "You must love popcorn." Yes, we do love popcorn but not to that extreme. We buy the butter because it's freshly churned and purchased within 2 weeks and it's some of the creamiest butter you can put in your mouth. We purchased eight boxes of butter each weighing 55 pounds (440 lbs total) per box. We take orders from friends and family and once they've made their payments, we pick up the butter and away we cut! After letting the butter thaw, my mother uses a large cutting knife to divide the block into smaller proportions. When all said and done, we will have spent just over $1000 on butter.  But trust me, it's definitely worth it......we just learn to watch our cholesterol more closely.

Here's a 55 block of butter.



*For more information on the Michigan Milk Producers Association, visit http://www.mimilk.com/history.html

Honey's Fight

Tuesday, February 15: around 5:30
Even with the small ceramic heater running, the stall in the barn was still chilly. There was about 10 of us compacted into one area, crowding around the sow (female pig), for today she was having her piglets. I recieved a text message during the school day reading "She's having her pigs!" A surge of excitement ran through me. Living on a farm, my parents thought it was only necessary to get me involved in 4-H, so for the past 11 years going on 12, I have shown mainly large animal livestock and this year will be my first year showing pigs. I was planning on buying my pigs from our friends whose sow was having her babies, so you could say I was a little more than excited. After school my parents and I drove up to our friends farm and quietly creeped into the barn. As we approached the stall, my friend Andrea came from behind the insulated tarp and whispered "She's still having them and only one has survived." Her brother was kneeling behind the sow, known as Honey, soothing and encouraging her. A bucket sat to his left and in the bottom were two lifeless piglets. It was a little emotional but when I saw a small pink piggy jump in the pen, my heart melted. He was the cutest little thing I had ever see but it had been close to a half hour since he was born and he hadn't ate a thing. But that was the least of their worries; there was still atleast 5 more piglets in the sow and things were not going as planned. Time passed and the next piglet still hadn't come out. Andrea's brother was having difficulties grasping onto the piglets and the sows pelvis was too small to pull his hand through. But he slowly worked the piglets into the sows birthing canal. Finally, two little feet came popping out and he tugged and pulled until that little sucker came out. But the piglet didn't move. Andrea and her brother cleaned the piglets mouth out and her brother tried to pump its heart. I could see the determination in his eyes, there was nothing more that he wanted in that moment than that little pig to come to life. 5 minutes passed and there was still no movement. "It's gone." Dissapointment filled the room as they placed the lifeless piglet in the bucket along with the other 2. I could tell everyone was tired, especially the sow but they all knew that they had to get these piglets out. We waited and waited until we could feel another pig. I heard the words "I got one" and my heart pumped. I silently prayed in my head, hoping this one would come out alive. Her brother grasped onto the piglet and began to pull with all his strength but Honey's pelvis was just too small. Nearly 35 minutes had passed and the piglet still wasn't out. They finally called a farmer down the road who just so happened to be delivering pigs as well but when he got their call of help, Farmer Jon drove down. It was looking like a dissapointing night for him as well. One of his sows had hip problems and was having difficulties as well. Unfortunately he had to shoot her. Jon stepped into the compact stall and knelt down beside Andreas brother. Jon tried to pull the piglet out but he had no luck. It had been an hour and there was still nothing. At that point, we all knew it was dead and there was nothing we could do. It was nearing 9 o'clock and I had to get up early the next morning. I shouldn't have stayed that long but I felt like I needed to be there for support. I hate to write about sad and dissapointing moments like this but for farmers, it's life. One year you may have the best crops in the state and the next year, barely have a yeild big enough break even. But like I said it's life. We all have to go through this sooner or later. I just hope that the one little survivor develops into a beautiful show hog and takes it all at the county fair....Wouldn't that be something?

*I learned later that they never did get the last piglet out. Unfortunately, they now have to give the sow shots that will, for lack of better word, "decompose" the baby piglets. The shots may be toxic to the sow, but I pray, I just pray, that she makes it.

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:31

 

Our American Dream

In life, we all have moments; great moments, bad moments, moments that make us laugh, moments that make us cry, moments that comfort us and moments that worry us. But most of all, we have moments that make us who we are, moments that define us. For me, my moments have made me a simple and down to earth person. I'm not your typical 21st century "modern-tech" teenager. I'm not a high school all star athlete and I'm definitely not your high school prom queen. But I am the girl that you see sporting the manure-covered muck boots and a sweaty cut-off tee, with a pitchfork cleaning out a steer pen at the county fair or the girl with ripped blue jeans and jingling spurs. In other words, I'm a farmers daughter and always will be. Most of you reading this have never met me yet some of you have. Those of you who have never met me, know nothing about me yet again those who have, know something about me, but all of you know nothing about the great moments or the struggles and hardships that my family and I live through every day on the farm. For us, waking up every morning is a blessing and we live like it's the last. Fortunately we have been blessed with one of the many great gifts that God has given us and for the past two years, we have shared our moments with friends and family. Unlike People Magazine ©, I want to share with you the lifestyle of someone who actually has to work for a living, the lifestyle of a family that eat, sleep and breathes the farm life. On that note, the journey began 2 years ago and it has been a roller coaster since then. My family and I have experienced more than we can imagine and we are living the American Dream. And now I want to take you behind the barn doors and share our American Dream with you.