UPDATE

Greetings from Baker Heritage Farms;

We are back and it is good to be back on the farm.

Actually, we have been back for over a week now, but have been trying to catch up on work and chores. Not only are we back on the farm, but we are back to work getting the farm up and running.

Just prior to leaving, we planted peppers and tomatoes. Donald went down to the production fields a week ago Monday (the day after we returned) and learned that all of our efforts were for naught. All of the plants were gone. GONE? Yes, gone. It appears that they were eaten, most likely by deer.

As we stated when we first started this blog, the farm would be a learning experience, and we wanted to share that learning experience with others, both the successes and the failures. While it would seem that we have had more failures this year then successes, it has still been a very beneficial year for learning.

What have we learned so far?

• We spent a good portion of 2012 planning for crops in 2013. While we tried to consider all potential risks, and considered weather, we failed to consider how dramatically the weather could affect our efforts. When you read about large farms, you become comfortable in your abilities, forgetting we are not a large commercial farm that has been in existence for years. We are a brand new farm, preparing virgin soil, and following strict guidelines on what we can do and what we cannot do in order to keep our operation All Natural (organic).
• Based on our planning, we set out to plant a number of crops during our first year of full operation, expecting to have a profitable farming enterprise based solely on our planning and our willingness to work hard. Unfortunately, we had not yet completed all aspects of our Farm Plan and were not prepared for the disruptions that occurred at the end of 2012 and the first part of 2013. These disruptions included family emergencies requiring us to be away from the farm for extended periods, loss of farm labor, severe weather, and lack of proper timing. On top of the disruptions, we quickly came to realize that we were overly optimistic about what we could accomplish, trying to accomplish too much in too short a period of time.
• In anticipation of starting a fully operational farming enterprise from scratch the first full year into the enterprise, we went ahead and placed a full order for seed for the first planting (scheduled for February). While the thought process on placing this order was most likely correct (concern about availability, receiving the seed on time, etc.), the logistics were not realistic. It is hard to admit you made a mistake, but we did. We were ready - at the time we ordered the seed. But we were not ready when it came time to plant the seed. As a result, we lost all of our cabbage seeds as well as all of our tomato and pepper seedlings. But not all was lost. The rest of the seed we will refrigerate and hope that it will be good for next years planting.
• As the pepper and tomato seedlings began to mature, we realized that the trays we were using were too small. Rather than spending the money to get new trays and taking the time to transplant them into the new trays, we let them languish in the trays that were obviously too small, inhibiting their growth and compromising their health. While it may not have helped them survive the predators, it may have helped them grow to a size that would given them a better chance of survival.
• Rather than take our time and do things the right way, we got in a hurry and skipped steps that have proven to be disastrous, and expensive. In our zeal to get crops planted, we got careless and increased our risk of failure. Rather than admitting we made mistakes, we continued to try to meet our goals and save money, when in reality, we ended up losing more money then we would have by admitting our mistakes and taking corrective action, regardless of the setbacks this would have (and did anyway) caused.

Did we learn? Yes. We learned quite a bit, though we learned the hard way.

What will we change? We already started changing our operation with the implementation of ReThinking Baker Heritage Farms.

• First, we stopped all seed purchases, as well as many related purchases, pending a new crop plan. This put a stopper on the outflow of cash. It also gave us time to take a breather.
• Second, we decided to concentrate on poultry, as we were already committed to the purchase of 25 chickens and 15 turkeys. We needed to ensure that we did everything we could to protect the poultry once they arrived. Due to ongoing issues with the poultry operation, it is evident that, if we did not stop crop operations, we would be in trouble with the poultry, as the birds are taking more of our time then we anticipated (not helped by a shortage of labor).
• We have been taking time to consider the next steps we will take to get the farm up and running. We now realize that we will not be able to begin crop operations this year. In addition, we also realize that our labor force is not going to grow back to it's anticipated levels. Our experiences have showed us that we cannot start too big, that we need to start smaller and work up, especially since we are starting with virgin soil that has not been worked before.
• We also realize that putting seed in the ground is not the only consideration when starting a farm. While we realized that there was more to putting seed in the ground (tilling, irrigation, and other preparations), we did not realize what impact outside forces would have on our overall plans.
• We now know that it will be beneficial to start working the land in advance. We need to do this carefully and think before we act. We will need to work the land as much as possible and then use cover crop to protect the land until we are ready to plant.
• We will have to provide more protection, at least initially, from animals. We are already looking into using netting over younger plants to protect them from predators. This will require extra expense and labor, but without taking these steps, we will just be throwing our money away.
• We will need to have the land ready for planting before we order the seed. Contingency plans will need to be in place before seed is ordered, so that different seed can be ordered if the original seed is not available.
• We need to be willing to spend money to ensure the success of the crops rather than try to cut corners to save a few dollars just to lose an entire crop. We need to take our time and work steadily and efficiently rather than get in a hurry and rush things. This will safe money and, ultimately, save time.

So, it is back to the drawing board. ReThinking Baker Heritage Farms will require that we revisit our initial Farm Plan; however, it does not mean that we are abandoning the original plan, just revising it. This will result in the original Farm Plan becoming our long-term plan, and the revisions becoming our short-term plan.

The balance of this year will be spent on improving our poultry operations, working to get the homestead in order so that less labor is spent on maintaining the non-producing property and more labor can be dedicated to productive property, and starting to properly work the production fields so that they are ready to plant next year.

At this time, we are planning on starting crops on a much smaller basis then our original plan, keeping the rest of the production fields in beneficial cover crops until we are ready and able to plant. This will allow us to properly plant and maintain each plot as time and weather permits. This will prevent weather, labor availability, soil conditions, etc. from dictating what we do, when we do it, and how we do it.

Like a good Boy Scout, Baker Heritage Farms will be prepared.

Blessings to all from:

Baker Heritage Farms

"The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah." 2 Chronicles 36:21

13JUN13

Greetings from Baker Heritage Farms;

Summer is already here - at 3.:45 pm the actual temperature was 101 degrees (F) and it has been reported that the heat index was 122 degrees (F), and we believe it! Usually we have at least a steady breeze on the top of our hill; however, for the past several days the best we could do was an occasional breeze, and then not much of one.

The entire family went down to the production fields this morning at about 9:00 am and planted two rows of tomatoes (approximately 35 plants in each row). We planted one row of Cherokee Purple and one row of Arkansas Traveler. The seedlings did not look good so we are not sure of their survival chances, given everything that is going against them.

Our planting crew consisted of Donald (pre-digging planting holes), Debbie and Adam (getting seedlings out of the planter and dropping them into the planting tool), Danielle (operating the planting tool), Elizabeth (ensuring the plants are set properly in the ground), and Logan (compacting the planting holes Donald dug and assisting Elizabeth). With the heat, it took almost two hours to get the two rows done.

Planting Crew

We are now leaving the peppers and the tomatoes in the hands of the Lord, though it will be entirely our fault if the crop fails, as we were (1) unable to prep the ground properly, and (2) our irrigation system is not set up.

During the balance of 2013 we will concentrate on:

1. Poultry (chickens and turkeys) - eggs (chickens), fertilizer (chickens and turkeys), and meat (turkeys);

2. Repairing equipment (tiller);

3. Preparing fields for 2014 (planting ground cover, tilling, etc.);

All-in-all, we feel we are back on track, and once we get settled back down farm operations will once again be fruitful.

This will be the last update to the blog for the next two weeks. We will resume updates the weekend of June 29th.

Blessings to all from:

Baker Heritage Farms

"But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace." Psalm 37:11

13JUN10

Greetings from Baker Heritage Farms;

As many of you already know, we had severe weather the end of May, which put a damper on accomplishing much around the farm. We are way behind and do not have much hope for catching up in the near future; however, this may be the best thing that has happened to the farm.

Our farm crew keeps shrinking. David is no longer on the farm, Danielle is in a family way and her participation is limited and will be further limited as time goes on. And now, Donald has accepted a part-time position with the church. While all of this may seem limiting (it is), it also may be a blessing in disguise.

One of our goals with the farm is to build a farm business to supplement our retirement. With all of the changes, we have learned that time management skills are a high priority. We are currently working on an acceptable schedule that will allow all of us to participate, as a family, in the farming enterprise. This should improve both the operation of the farm and our piece of mind (we are hoping to have time to spend setting on our deck just enjoying the evening).

The children are now an active part of our farm crew. Elizabeth and Logan are working with the Turkey's and the Chicken's, which is a great help to Danielle.

Adam has been the primary caretaker of the seedlings, but we hope that he will have less to do with them in the near future. This past Friday evening, when Donald got home from church, we all went down to the production fields as a family, and planted just under 150 pepper plants. We got two partial rows of each variety planted, and plan to plant tomatoes Wednesday morning before it gets too hot (yes, summer appears to have arrived). We can only hope and pray that they survive the month as we do not yet have the irrigation turned on for the production fields.

With the exception of Adam and Logan, the entire family will be off the farm for 10-days. This will result in a very busy and hectic schedule from now until Thursday evening (we leave the farm early Friday morning). Some of the chores that need to be completed before we leave include cleaning out the chicken house (the first cleaning of the actual house), clearing out the chicken droppings under the house, hopefully getting them more hay, and cleaning the turkey tubs. We also hope to get at least the tomatoes planted as well.

Danielle will hopefully complete tying down the fence around the turkey pen (we use hog rings) so that we can get the rock down as soon as we get back. They are getting big and will be ready to go into the pen by mid-July. Donald is debating whether or not he should enclose their lean-to so that they have additional protection at night.

As soon as we return, we will need to get the irrigation system up and running (hopefully it will not be too late). An unusual request, but we will actually be praying for light rain while we are gone to help support the peppers and tomatoes that will be in the ground.

Donald took the little tractor to town to mow the property there. If he did not mow it, there was a very good chance the city would send the company a nasty letter and threaten to do it themselves, and charge the company. So it is done and should not need it again for two weeks.

Adam and Logan will be in charge of the farm while we are gone, but they have been taking an active part in the farm operations and should not have any problems.

Hopefully we will be able to update the blog before we leave.

Until next time,

Blessings from Baker Heritage Farms

"The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly." Joshua 14:9

13MAY27

Greetings from Baker Heritage Farms;

This weekend was indicative of being a resilient farmer. Murphy's law was alive and well.

We finally had some good weather and Donald, wanting to take advantage of the nice weather, went down to the production fields Friday evening to start tilling the 1/2 plot for the tomatoes (2C) and the full plot for the peppers (3A). Plot 2C only needed one tilling as it had already been prepped, so Donald started on this plot Friday evening, as he was short of time. While it was a muddy task (this plot was still very wet), things were going well until two rows from the end, when the tiller started acting up. Thinking that it just needed a good cleaning, he decided to pack up and start early Saturday morning.

Saturday morning, after finishing some work in the office, Donald was back down to the production fields intending on starting the initial tilling of plot 3A. He cleaned the entire tiller, only to find out that the problem was not fixed. As he started to take the tiller apart, he noticed that a bolt holding the wheel onto the axle was missing. Off to Ron's Hardware to get another bolt (fortunately they were very helpful and found exactly the right part in a very short amount of time, Donald bought three, just in case). Back to the farm. The wheel was fixed in a short amount of time and tilling was started ... and then it decided to rain. Donald is not too bright at times, and decided he would keep on tilling, thinking the rain would stop. It didn't, so he quit when he could no longer see the tiller (he only got two or three rows tilled). He packed up and came up to the house for lunch. After lunch, he went back down again but did not take everything with him as he did not want to have to worry about more rain. As a result, he ran out of gas and had to come back up to get gas. He did finally get the first tilling done.

On Sunday afternoon, Donald went back down to the production fields (after church and mowing the front yard) and starting cross-tilling plot 3A. Things were going excellent when, about two-thirds of the way through, the recoil rope broke on the tiller. That ended work in the production fields for the weekend.

Donald hopes to get the recoil rope replaced as soon as possible, but with our current schedule, who knows.

In the meantime, our Standn' Plant tool came in (a great tool, we hope, for planting transplants) and we plan to go ahead and plant tomatoes and peppers as soon as possible where possible. Donald will drag what has been tilled and we will go ahead and start planting, either this coming weekend (depending on weather and schedules) or the following weekend.

The turkeys are growing and doing well. The chickens are also growing and doing very well (and got fresh hay Sunday). We have a couple of escape artists. They like to jump up on the gate, and now are jumping into the back yard rather than their pen, so Donald put up a barrier hoping that it will stop them, at least until we can do something more permanent.

This was a quick update as our time seems to be quickly disappearing. One valuable lesson we learned this weekend (we actually learned several) is that we really need to make the farm more efficient, which means having an equipment shed down in the pasture so that we do not have to make so many trips up and down the hill for tools, equipment, etc.

Until next time,

Blessings from Baker Heritage Farms

"The Sky is falling!" - Chicken Little

13MAY20

Greetings from Baker Heritage Farms;

Donald and Debbie are back on the farm and trying to catch up, a never ending battle.

While Donald and Debbie were gone, the Turkey's were delivered. Unfortunately, Adam and Danielle were also off the farm when the Turkey's came in this past Friday morning. The great thing about living in a small town is that you learn that you have many friends, and a very dear friend of the family (Mary) was able to pick-up the chicks, transport them to the farm, put them in the brooder, and teach them how to eat and drink (a must for all types of chicks). Mary's help was a blessing.

Turkeys - Day 1 (2 days old)

Turkeys - Day 1 (2 days old)

As we still have pepper and tomato seedlings to get planting, Donald wasted no time in getting back to work. He went down to the pasture yesterday afternoon and mowed around the production fields (if only we were still growing hay, we would already have enough for our first cutting), and this afternoon he went into the production fields with the small tractor to mow plots 3A and 2C. Plot 2C was not a major problem as it was tilled this past winter; however, it was hard to see over the hay in plot 3A. In fact, he almost ran over a young fawn (probably a week or so old). Then the fawn got stuck in the fence trying to get through (the fence has 4" squares) and Donald had to help it get out.

Our chickens are growing and yesterday they had a "hay day". They have demolished the grass in their pen, so Sunday Donald brought up some hay from his mowing and they loved it. They are still playing in it today.

Chickens having a Hay Day!

The chickens are starting to nest, which we hope is a good sign; however, it will still be another 2 - 3 months before they start laying eggs.

Danielle, Adam, Elizabeth, and Logan all helped keep the chickens fed and cared for and watered the seedlings while Donald & Debbie were gone. The children are now out of school and are starting to learn their "chores", taking care of the chickens. They are learning how to feed and water them and are doing a great job.

Donald is working on getting his new schedule adapted to farm life. He plans to spend several hours each evening as well as Friday's and Saturday's working on the farm. This includes maintaining the yards and the property in town.

Until next time,

Blessings from Baker Heritage Farms

"Do not pollute the land..." Numbers 35:33 "Do not defile the land..." Numbers 35:34

ReThinking Baker Heritage Farms

The Start of a New Plan

We all know that it is of utmost importance to prepare a farm plan if you are planning to invest your money and time into a commercial farming venture (or even if you are only planning to reduce your household expenses and grow fresh, healthy, and wholesome vegetables). As you prepare your farm plan, be aware of those uncontrollable aspects of your plan that will result in changes, particularly if you are working with virgin soils (those soils that have never been worked before).

If you remember, Baker Heritage Farms has dedicated approximately 6 acres of pasture to the initial farm start-up, of which over 1.5 acres was to be in production fields. All of the pasture is virgin soil, it has not been worked for at least 15 years, and most likely has never been worked. The soil tests conducted in 2012 indicated a severe lack of minerals (with the exception of Magnesium).

With a commercial farming operation that is not restricted to raising heirloom crops organically, virgin soil is not a major drawback; however, if you are planning to raise these healthy and wholesome crops, then you need to be prepared to work "on-demand". This means that you must be prepared to work the fields as soon as weather permits, and may also have to forego some crops during the first year or so.

A commercial, non-organic, farm can till the soil during the winter months, as weather permits. However, due to potential erosion and leeching of minerals, heirloom farmers using organic methods do not have this advantage, and should only till the soil shortly before it is to be planted. Soil should not be left "bare" for any length of time, if it can be avoided. The commercial, non-organic farmer can always supplement the soil with fertilizer and other soil amendments that an organic farmer cannot (or at least should not).

Baker Heritage Farms currently has three plots that have been without cover for five months now. Yes, one plot was planted (and then flooded); however, the other three were not. While the plots were prepared for seeding, extenuating circumstances resulted in two plots not being seeded (yes, the seed may have survived as the seeds to be planted in them were not as temperature sensitive as cabbage). Hydrolyzed Fish Powder (for Nitrogen) was even applied to half of two of the plots and one full plot. Due to there being no ground cover and subsequent run-off and leeching, the Fish Powder will need to be reapplied. While the Farm Plan was being followed, several "emergencies" arose, as well as weather conditions, that resulted in the Plan not being followed to completion. This can only be attributed to being in too much of a hurry to have a producing farm.

The Farm Plan for Baker Heritage Farms included three operations:

• Production Crops;
• Poultry; and
• Livestock

The first year of operation was to be 2012, with the original plan calling for a test garden and raising turkeys. The turkeys were lost due to the failure to consider and address all possible dangers (resulting in domestic dogs getting into the pen). The test garden, however, was an unexpected success.

The second year of operation included fully planted crops and ground cover in the production fields, raising chickens and turkeys, and start using Spanish goats to clear land. Due to fencing needs, the Farm Plan did address potential delays in obtaining the goats.

The Farm Plan called for all crops to be planted in the production fields by April. Planting was to be done in stages, with the first seed to be in the ground by February. Seed was purchased in anticipation of following the Farm Plan without contingency plans.

As with the best laid plans of mice and men, the year started with several family emergencies that resulted in setbacks, as well as uncooperative weather, both of which should have been addressed in contingency plans. We realized in February that we were not going to be able to meet the goals of the Farm Plan and started to work on contingency plans. As we continued to suffer setbacks, we finally took the dramatic step of suspending the existing Farm Plan and start ReThinking Baker Heritage Farms. We knew that there would be more setbacks coming and needed to rethink our plan and to include contingency plans.

As a result, Baker Heritage Farms is now changing the Farm Plan to address immediate concerns and draft and implement a Farm Plan with more attainable goals that include contingency plans.

Baker Heritage Farms still include three areas: Livestock, Crops, and Poultry, but the priorities have changed.

Poultry operations have become the primary objective right now. The chickens and turkeys were already ordered and we were committed to taking delivery. The advantage is that the poultry operations are not as weather dependent as crops.

The next objective will be crop operations. Baker Heritage Farms already has 1,600 pepper seedlings and 200  tomato seedlings, so the first priority is to get the appropriate plots tilled and prepared for planting. The next priority will be to determine what seeds can still be panted this year and what seed will need to be stored for next year.

Seed on hand includes: Onion, Lettuce, Radish, and Carrots. The onion and lettuce seed will need to be stored until next year, the radish seed can be planted in August as a fall crop, and the Carrot seed can be planted in July as a summer crop. This means that our next priority will be to prepare the plots for the carrot and radish seed.

As part of our contingency plan, we need to get at least some of our plots into ground cover. This will allow us to have ground available that is being improved and may even be worked (tilled, which is not required for some cover crop). This will start improving the soil and preparing the ground for subsequent crop planting, so this will become our next step in our new Farm Plan.

Once these steps are achieved, Baker Heritage Farms will be able to draft a new Farm Plan that will be a workable plan and will allow for contingencies, reducing stress and the chance of expensive and time-consuming mistakes.

This is ReThinking Baker Heritage Farms Start of a New Plan, and we hope that you will stay with us and learn from our mistakes.

Blessings to all,

Baker Heritage Farms

13MAY05

Greetings from Baker Heritage Farms:

If April showers bring May flowers ... what does May snow bring?

No, we did not have snow, but we went from beautiful spring weather (70's plus) to breezy, wet, cold weather. Northeast Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas broke all sorts of records this week with snow and abnormally cold weather, and we had rain (though snow was forecast).

Debbie and Donald went down to assess the damage to the production fields from all the rain over the past several months this past Monday, as it was a beautiful day and we had a beautiful weekend. Unfortunately, the few days of sunshine were not enough to dry the pasture out and they almost got stuck, and now there are two tracks that will have to be filled in. Donald walked out to the far corner (Plot 1D) where cabbage seed was planted and was walking ankle deep in water. There is no cabbage, so that will be a write off for this year.

This weekend provided relief from heavy rain (though we did have a light rain Saturday) so Donald was able to clean and sterilize the brooders and equipment and today he prepared one brooder for the arrival of the Turkeys, expected the week of May 13th. The other brooder is ready for when the Turkeys get too big to be together in one brooder.

Sunday, Donald attacked the front yard again, and finally, after slipping and sliding around on the lawn tractor, was able to get the hill mowed. It was starting to look like a hay field.

We are working on ReThinking Baker Heritage Farms and are coming up with plans (as well as taking action) to get back on track. More on that with our post ReThinking Baker Family Farms, the Start of a New Plan.

We will be unable to post the next two weekends (and won't be getting much work done on the farm either), due to business commitments off-farm, but will begin posting again the weekend of May 26th if all goes well.

Until then,

Blessings from Baker Heritage Farms

"The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants." Leviticus 25:6