A lifestyle
Several years ago, Farmer E and I sat down at his Aunt and Uncle’s kitchen table to tell them that we wanted to buy a farm to raise broiler chickens. Uncle Bill told us that we should know that raising poultry was a lifestyle. We anticipated that life would be different if we could put this plan into motion, but I’m not sure that we truly understood what he meant at that time. Many times, his words have echoed in my ear, even though he passed away a year before our houses were completed and we placed our first flock of chickens.
Any type of farming involves personal sacrifices of the farmers and their families, especially animal agriculture. Animals have to be cared for no matter the weather conditions and involve year-round care in most instances. I have gone to birthday parties and even a wedding with just my little one because we had an alarm go off or the temperature changed drastically, so Farmer E had to stay behind. We have been out to dinner and watched our some of our mini cows waltz by our camera…on the wrong side of the fence. My husband usually doesn’t have the opportunity to tuck our kids into bed because he leaves around that time in the evening to do his final check on the chickens. When hay season rolls around, he doesn’t eat dinner with us most nights because he is cutting, raking or baling long after dusk. We have gotten calls at 1 a.m. in the morning with a low static pressure alarm because a cable broke from gust of wind and it needed to be fixed right then. There is never a shortage of grass to cut when you own a farm. By the time you finish cutting everything, it is time to start all over again. Our to-do list is never ending from preparing the fields to be planted in the spring to harvesting our crops in the fall. Things always needs to be maintained or repaired, both equipment in our poultry houses, as well as our farm machinery. It is all pulling all nighters when our chickens leave for harvest. It means only getting paid a few times a year. It means stressing over input costs and expenses. It means praying for rain and sometimes praying to God for it to stop raining.
This lifestyle also means our little ones getting to ride in the tractor with their Daddy. It means getting to watch a newborn calf being born first-hand. It is getting to ride through our green pastures on the golf cart as the sun goes down, while eating popsicles. It is teaching our children, niece and nephews about caring for animals - from feeding them and filling up water troughs to administering vaccines and brushing cows. It is late night picnics on the back of a tailgate because we miss having him home with us. It is teaching our children about the value of hard work. This lifestyle is the opportunity to work alongside of my husband every day - to share our dreams, our hopes and sometimes even our fears.
Uncle Bill was right - it certainly is a lifestyle, one that isn’t for everyone. Sometimes this way of life can be constraining, demanding and a juggling act but most days I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
