I know this has been a different and crazy summer for most. As a farmer's wife and mother it has gone way too fast!

-Wheat harvest came and went. We were blessed with good protein in our wheat this year.

-We started building a barn for my critter collection. It is jokingly (or not so jokingly) called my she-shed. I am excited to have a room to keep all my milk stuff in and a place to milk out of the elements. Unfortunately, fall harvest starts next week which means my barn will be on hold for a couple months. 

-Probably the most exciting thing from our summer was adding a new family member. We were able to adopt our daughter the end of July. We amazingly had in person court and followed that with a barbecue to celebrate.

Millet harvest will start next week. This means I am the babysitter for the family now. I will juggle homeschooling my five kiddos, watching my three youngest nephews, physical therapy appointments, gymnastics and ninja fit practices, Awana, and being available if anything is needed in the field. Long story short, pray for me! Fall harvest can last until Thanksgiving for us, rarely longer. In three and a half months we will finally get to slow down and hopefully get to unwind a little as a family.

Even though it's long and demanding harvest is an exciting time. We work all summer for this. This is the time where we see the fruits of our labor. The long hours pay off as we watch that golden grain come out of the field, into the combine, onto the grain cart, into the truck, and to the bin.

I pray your summer was full of blessings and you find much to be thankful for in fall.
Blessings,
​Jennifer

I know this is a scary time for some. We see so many conflicting news articles and it is hard to know what is true and what isn't. We see people wearing masks and we see people that aren't. We see people buying just what their family needs for a week and some panic buying. I am not here to get into a political or medical debate about what's right or wrong. I'm here today to say we are still here for you! And maybe, to give you my opinion as a farmer to the latest announcement that the next pandemic will be global starvation.

Right now we see news articles that we are headed for a famine. Then, we turn around and see that they are euthanizing pigs and dumping milk. REALLY! Which is it? Are we starving or do we have a surplus? The answer is both and neither. The demand for food hasn't actually changed, and the amount of food grown hasn't actually changed. There should be a balance right? Again, the answer is never simple. The products that are being demanded has changed, compounded with panic buying it has caused a strain on supply. Then we add processors reducing production and some even closing there doors and we have compounded things even farther. The difficult thing is finding a balance of health for a few, health for the entire US, and the economy. I do not envy the person that gets to figure this out. 

What my focus will be on is that production hasn't changed, processing has. Farmers are still planting crops. Here is a look out my back door. See all that nice, dark green? That's winter wheat. All those brown fields? Well, those are getting ready to be planted to fall crops such as millet, sorghum, sunflowers, or corn. And that other picture is what I was driving today to get fuel to the tractors so they could keep on planting.

And, animal producers are the same way. Animals are still being born. Processors have bottlenecked the system and that's what's keeping food from getting to you. My brother just had this adorable litter of pigs born last week. While they are super cute at this stage, I promise they turn into big pigs that like to cause trouble but make amazing bacon. And the picture beside them is my sweet milk cow, Brownie. This picture was taken just before we bought her. She gives my family a gallon plus everyday and is raising her calf. She gives us more milk than my family uses on a daily basis.

The question is, now that we know the food is out there how do we get it? Government regulations make selling many of these products off the farm illegal. With my one milk cow I can't compete or justify jumping through all the hoops to be able to sell my milk. People like my parents, have jumped through said hoops to be able to sell their meat to you. It doesn't mean it's easy or the right option for every small farm, but it was for them. I encourage you to tell our representatives that you deserve the right to access your food at the source and not have to wait for it to get past the bottleneck. Support your local farmers. They are taking a loss right now on most of their crops while you are paying a premium. Buy from the source, you pay less and they make more. 

I can't help but think of the story of Joseph in this situation. Pharaoh was warned in a dream of a coming famine and was told there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph was the man God intended to interpret this dream and to be put in charge of putting food away in the time of feast. I have to ask why, if a global famine is being predicted, why are we dumping our food? Why is more not being done to preserve it for use at a later time when it may be needed? The only answer I can come up with is, a government that controls the food source, controls the people. Think about that for just a minute. It is time that we stand up and say enough is enough and we want access to ALL food available not just what is put in the grocery store. 

Here are some links to find your local farmer:
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Colorado%20Farmers%20Markets.pdf
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Colorado%20Farm%20Fresh%20Directory_1.pdf

Farmers are still producing their animals and crops to continue to feed this country. I would be devastated to have to leave my little farm, and there are guys that farming is all they have ever known. If you ate, got dressed, or had a beer today, thank a farmer. 

God Bless,

​Jennifer

Fall harvest is upon us and keeping us hopping. We have combines running to swath millet, pickup millet, cut corn, and we are planting wheat right now. It certainly takes the whole family to get all the work done this time of year. It won't be too much longer and we will have milo ready to come out of the fields also.

This is always a wonderful time of year when we get to see the fruits of our labor. Summers as a farmers wife can be very busy, difficult, and lonely. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and my family and wouldn't trade them for anything! Summers keep everyone moving in different directions. I am busy traveling with flour, taking care of kids, and helping where ever needed on the farm. Our guys are working long hours tending to fields, equipment repairs, attending meetings, and wheat harvest. When fall comes the hours get longer, but it means a break is in sight. We know family time is only a few short months away and we have something to look forward too.

I was so glad to be able to go to La Junta this past weekend for Early Settlers. It was a beautiful day and I loved meeting new people and getting to see old friends and catch up. If you missed us I sent stock with my family at Collins Family Farms so, if you need flour or meat give them a call. 

I am gearing up for a busy October with two shows at the Altered Reality Event Center in Colorado Springs the first and third weekend. We hope to see some familiar faces there. If you are in need of tickets to the shows I have some to give out and will do so on a first come first serve basis. Just send me a message with your mailing address and how many you need and I will get them out.
Blessings,
​Jennifer

We are gearing up for a busy summer! We have signed up to be at the Pikes Peak Farmers Market at Bancroft Park in Old Colorado City every Saturday. We had our first market Saturday and loved getting to see some familiar faces. We hope to see more of you as the summer goes on! If you are looking for anything special or want to place a larger order call or email us and we will have it ready for you at the next market.

Millet planting is in full swing. Everyone on the farm is focusing on getting our crop in the ground. With the amount of spring rains we have had we are hopeful for a good crop this year. There are still many other factor that go into it that will influence our year, but we pray for God's blessing on our growing season and harvest.

Wow! Where has January gone?! Farming may be slow right now but we have been working hard at improving the products we have and also expanding what we offer. I have been playing with some gluten-free cereal recipes and some have been amazing and some I may or may not have slipped to the chickens. Be on the lookout for those recipes as I narrow them down. 

We are excited to tell you we will be at the Lifestyle Expo in Castle Rock on February 4th. If you are in the area come see us and stock up on all of your baking needs. I will make sure I have the samples ready!

While not gluten-free my latest and most fun kitchen experimenting has been with sour dough. My mom gave me a sour dough starter kit for Christmas then a la cloche for my birthday. I have had a blast making whole wheat bread for my family. Sour dough baked in a la cloche makes the most beautiful loaves of bread.
God bless and I hope to see you in Castle Rock!