Summer in Review: Highs and Lows of Farming

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September 4, 2024

August is coming to an end and we are reflecting on this hot, gorgeous, dry, heartwarming, tiring, accomplished summer. Farming certainly has its highs and lows.

Some days we are delighted by watering the cattle as the sun sets. Other days we are overwhelmed by the massive projects ahead of us. Most days we are fulfilled.

Here are some highs and lows from the past few months. Be sure to scroll down for lots of amazing photos from our farm dinner (courtesy of Chris Huber)!

Highs:

Selling at the Athens Farmers Market every Saturday! We have been surprised with how much we enjoy selling at the market this first year. We like getting to know fellow farmers, developing relationships with customers, and talking about our products.
Having the most animals we’ve ever had. It feels so good to walk out in the pasture and see 28 pigs or 27 cows looking back at you.
Hosting our first Farm to Table Dinner alongside Chef Zach Morgan. We welcomed 40 guests onto the farm for a four course meal that was to die for. The evening was cool and beautiful with great company lingering over candlelight. Our favorite dish was the sweet corn ice cream!

Lows:

We are currently in an extreme drought that’s likely to become exceptional. We’ve received less than half the amount of rain than usual. Athens County experienced the 18th driest July on record over the past 130 years. So we are chasing anything green that we can offer to the cattle. And we’re supplementing with hay (typically we feed the first bale in December!)
The excessive heat this summer has made it hard to get stuff done and enjoy working outside. And it’s hard on the animals, so we take extra time during hot spells to give the pigs a watering hole to wallow in and haul extra water to the cattle.
This year has brought a lot of growth and expansion for our business. The risk of launching the pork enterprise or increasing our beef herd sometimes weighs on us. Running a small business involves a lot of risk, so we are doing our best to market, sell all of our products, and grow the operation at the same time.

Expanding to Greener Pastures

We’ve got some exciting news to share! We are transitioning into being the new owners of the Shew Family Farm. This winter, we have been discussing the possibilities of a farm transition — as Pete & Marjie sought to create a plan for retirement, in hopes that their farm could be stewarded in a similar manner, and as we sought to expand our beef operation on our current limited land base. With guidance from our Uncle Jon Sowash, we devised a land contract to purchase the farm over the next many years in installments. In December, we also purchased the Shew’s brood cows and young calves. It’s no small feat to pass a farm from one generation to the next, particularly when it’s not to children. According to the American Farmland Trust, 2,000 acres of farmland are lost to non-agricultural uses every day. This has been a full circle moment, as Pete has been a mentor to us for several years. When I first started our farm in 2020, I cold-called him to see if I could visit and learn from him. I remember visiting one day to learn about handling cattle and to “help” as Pete brought a few steers down to the barn and loaded them into the trailer for the butcher. Over lunch, Marjie shared how they weren’t sure who would take over the farm when they retired and remarked, “maybe you’ll buy this place one day!” My eyes grew wide and I laughed, thinking to myself — me?! I have no idea how to farm. What does this mean for us and the Shews? We will continue to live and farm here in Athens County where we’ll run our pastured pork operation. During the growing season, we will run the cattle at the Shew farm where we’ll have the space to increase the herd size and maintain a breeding operation for the first time. As winter approaches, we will bring the herd back to our Athens farm to graze stockpiled forages — reducing the amount of hay we need to feed and making winter chores easier. Pete & Marjie will continue living in their home. They will be raising their butcher-ready steers and selling beef at the Athens Farmers Market this season before retiring in the fall. We are grateful that they will be staying on the property and advising us, as we get to know the farm and continue to learn as first-generation farmers. How does this enable us to raise our own calves? Until now, we have been purchasing weaned calves in the spring from other grass-fed farms and raising them to butcher weight. But we are getting squeezed by the cattle market, making it difficult to run a profitable enterprise. In spring 2021, we were purchasing calves for $1.62/lb or $680 for a 420 lb animal. Right now, the average price for the same calves is $5.25/lb or $2,205. People have often asked us — why don’t we raise our own calves? But on just 50 acres of pasture that we lease from family, we don’t have the space to maintain a herd of brood cows without having to really reduce our production. After all, a mama cow needs about 2 acres of pasture to live, so we’d have to free up space by reducing the number of steers we raise for beef. Last year we tried to expand our land base by leasing smaller, noncontiguous land near us. This involved hauling cattle to a different property every month or so, trucking water, and setting up temporary fencing. This opportunity to expand to the Shew property’s 115 acres of pasture means we can now run a “birth to butcher” operation in one centralized place. Better soils mean more beef! This also means we can increase beef production, as the soils have been so improved by the Shew’s managed grazing that they can support nearly twice the number of animals per acre as our Athens pastures. Pete told us that when they moved there in 1984, the organic matter of their soils was around 2-3%. In 2024, soil samples showed organic matter ranging from 4-6%! That is incredible improvement in soil health in a short amount of time. These productive soils will allow us to sustainably meet the growing demand for our grass-fed beef. More than anything, we are excited about the opportunity to invest in soils that have been improved for 42 years by sustainable grazing practices. That’s the best farm insurance policy we could ask for. We are honored to carry on the legacy of Pete & Marjie. We’ve got big Shews to fill.

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Summer in Review: Highs and Lows of Farming

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