Time - A Farm Perspective

It’s been awhile since I wrote to you. Lots to talk about and not a lot of time to do it.

Time is an interesting concept. From a Physics perspective it’s an elastic thing. Special relativity talks about time stretching or contracting depending on who is looking at it and from where. From a business perspective everything we do takes too much of it and we need to use less. In our personal lives time either drags or flies by based on what we are doing.

On the farm, time or how we use time is tied to the seasons. As you may expect work in the Winter is different than in the Summer. Interestingly the “busy-ness” does not fluctuate as much. Providing unfrozen water and repairing fencing takes much more time in the Winter than in the Summer but we don’t have to move chicken tractors in the Winter. Essentially we have more to do in the Summer but everything takes longer in the Winter.

This year, we have all re-discovered time. Those with school-age children have added Teacher to your jobs. In most states we cannot gather in large groups which has limited activities for many others. On the farm, we are blessed to be healthy and employed with our off-farm jobs. We are doubly blessed to be able to provide healthy foods to even more customers. This blessing has changed our available time. Small farms like ourselves that sell direct are able to provide food to our neighbors in these uncertain times. Many more families have discovered our farm and we are proud to provide a stable, healthy, delicious source of meats. Unlike in Physics however, Farm time does not stretch. We are raising more chickens than ever before this year, adding more laying hens to increase egg production and looking to cross breed our Highland cattle to reduce the total time to market. We must also improve our communications with our neighbors, friends and customers in a time when we cannot easily meet to chat.

Our daughter has agreed to assist in communications about the farm both here and in our facebook page ( Facebook.com/KDEFarms/). This will allow us to stay in touch more frequently and to add new items such as virtual tours of the farm, new images and new ways to connect. Yes, we will be in the usual farmers markets this year but we must still practice safe distancing.

Until next time – Be Safe, Help Each other and Live Well,
The Guy with the Hat