A Winter Update From the Farm

Bruce (the 6th son) here with a farm update for December 2024.

In this winter farm production update, I'll discuss a few projects we've recently moved to completion and paint a vision for what's still coming as 2024 nears its end.
 

Upgraded Parking / Lot Space

The team got to break out a number of "big boy" toys to move some Earth and make way for much needed additional parking and usuablle/driveable rock roadways.

We had a small fenced-in area near the main entry off of Aboite Rd. and across the lot from our farm store that generally wasn't getting a lot of use.

That area was a little tighter than it needed to be, and being that our new expanded chick brooders are in the vicinity, too, it made sense to replace a small grass area that needed to be maintained with a more usable space.
 

Prepping 4 miles of Water lines

One of the routine pre-winter chores each year is evaluating and draining around 4 miles of summertime water line infrastructure that would otherwise freeze during the winter. So, we ensure that all of our below-ground/frost-free water infrastructure is ready to go for our hens and livestock spread across our 550-acre Indiana farm.

As you can imagine, there are always more than a few spots that need a little upkeep or love.
 

More Chick Brooders

Our front barn is continuing its evolution from a barn full of random unused farm and family trinkets to a useful, heated brooder space for our meat chicken program.

While these expanded brooder stalls won't be put to use for many months, Spencer and the team and I had to get a jump on not just clearing A LOT of relics and farm supplies, but also doing some necessary electrical wiring and planning.

It was very exciting earlier this Spring to welcome our first several thousand baby chicks into our brooder for the first time in many years.

The program was a wild success so we're doubling our brooder space to accommodate even more chicks on our farm for Spring of 2025.
 

So Many Spreadsheets...

I don't spend ALL my time outside. In fact, here is a pic of my oldest son, Arthur, and I after many, many hours...too many hours.. looking at Spreadsheets.

There are big planning and year end business projects, just like there are year-end farm management projects. Arthur and I spend many days together with chores and I'm sure he'd agree this was a long, hard day indoors, too.
 

So, What's Left?

In the weeks that remain, my team and I will work to shore up our cattle corral to ensure it's safe and effective for both the farm team and the cattle when we load or unload herds of cattle to and from the farm.

We get some BIG animals moving through there, so like many things on the farm, this is the time of the year when we do some catch up maintenance.

The other big project I need to complete is selling a portion of our sheep to another farm as we look to make room for more cattle in 2025. Our demand for beef continues to significantly outpace lamb, and there's actually a fair amount more work with lamb chores and upkeep. You can say we're trying to work smarter, not harder.

Mixed in with all this work is Christmas.

With now three young ones, it's a special time of the year for our young family. My wife, Alyssa, is working hard to make it a magical month for them - as we share with them the story of Jesus’ birth, the gifts of giving and community. 

As is tradition for our small family, we’ll finish up the year up in Michigan celebrating Christmas with her family and their much anticipated tradition of a White Elephant gift exchange. Let's just say it's kind of a BIG deal. :)

I hope you've enjoyed this look into our lives this week, and more importantly, that this message finds you blessed spending time with good people, eating healthy food and thinking early prosperous thoughts for 2025.