Water, water everywhere!

In years past, Lucky7W has endured one drought after another. 2009 has not been one of those years. This year has been a very wet one, especially the past few months.

The picture was taken during the fall when we received several days of rain. This area is beside our driveway, the shop butts up to it as well. No, it's not a pond. It just retains water after several inches.

As farmers, our family loves to see rain coming. Especially if it's followed by some warm, sunny weather...perfect for growing grass. However, the past few months have been so wet and dreary that things aren't growing as well as they should.

For instance, we planted a small garden. The garden didn't get planted as early as it should have. Due, in part, to the wet weather and ground. Now that it's been planted for months, the growth hasn't been substantial.

No, I'm not complaining about the large amounts of rain that we've received this year. Some good has come of "the flood." The lakes in Georgia are way up, plenty of water for those with wells, we are no longer in a drought. However, I'm hoping the winter isn't as wet and miserable as it has been lately.

Customer Appreciation Day

Tink’s Grass Fed Beef held Customer Appreciation Day on the 7th of November at Lucky7W Farm in Washington, GA.

Tink, Etwenda Wade, owner of Tink’s Grass Fed Beef, gets many calls and emails asking how she raises her cattle. People want to know their farmer and the practices thereof. So, to put the minds of her customers at ease, Tink decided to open her home and her farm to her customers.

During the event, folks could take part in activities such as a hay ride, a wood splitting contest, horse shoes and more. There was also live music, lots of Tink’s burgers and even Cowboy stew; made with Tink’s Beef, of course.

Mary Howard of Evans, an avid Tink’s supporter said, “What a great day at the farm. Thank you so much for the hospitality. We had a great time and enjoyed the yummy food.”

A good time was had by all, even Tink. “The day was a great success. Thank you to everyone who came to support Tink’s Grass Fed Beef. You allow me to do what I love,” said Tink.

Picture blogging

I've been taking pictures of the farm over the last few months. I'm not a professional, but it's something I really enjoy. There are several pictures that I'm really proud of...and some that are priceless. So, I decided to start blogging with/about pictures. I'll leave the more technical blogs to Tink. 

This particular picture is one I took with my camera phone earlier this year. You really have to see it to believe it. A calf, somehow, got into the water trough. No one knows how on earth she got in the trough, but it took two men and a tractor to get her out. 

My dad and brother managed to get her out without a problem. They wrapped a chain around the trough and pulled it over with the tractor. The calf was then able to maneuver its way out, unscathed. Well, except for the other cows being very loud. Call me crazy, but I think they were picking on her a bit. She was embarrassed for sure. 

Time to Wean

We don’t have many exciting things happening on the farm this time of the year so there’s not that much to write. The cows are much happier since we had rain and now it’s time to wean calves so that Mama can have a much needed break before the next calf comes along.  Some farmer’s do not wean, just trust the Mother’s instinct to wean on their own.  Well, we haven’t had a lot of luck relying on Mama. It’s hard to see a cow give birth and provide enough milk for the new calf and a 600 lb., already existing calf while trying to maintain herself!

We do practice low stress weaning on the farm.  This is where the cow and calf are separated by just one fence instead of placed more than 2 fences away. This enables the mother and the calf to come to the fence to smell each other and know that each other is safe. You can watch the mama cows come to the fence and call their calf. Both fuss at us a little, but after a day or two, calves are comfortable. They can forage and make it on their own. The calves become more trusting of us to provide what they need and Mama can focus on her task of bringing another new life to the farm.

Keeping up with Technology

It's amazing how much there is to do on a farm. Now, we not only are responsible for the upkeep of the farm and traveling to markets, but updating people as to what's going on with us. I'm not complaining in any way. I'm glad people care enough about us to want to know what's going on. The problem...I can't keep up with technology.

I have Myspace, Facebook, multiple email accounts, two blogs and now Twitter. It's hard to keep up with what I'm supposed to do on each. I'm pretty good at keeping my Facebook friends updated on my life, but Myspace and Twitter, not so much.

Then there are the blogs. I think about updating the Tink's Beef blog, then I somehow get sidetracked. Which, let me tell you, is easy to do. So, that's part of the reason it has been so long since the last blog. We just forget, but we have the best of intentions.

I've decided that the only way to remedy this is to plaster my desk with sticky notes to remind me of all the things I'm supposed to update. Hopefully this will be a helpful reminder. So, please bear with us. We are, after all, a work in progress.

Sometimes life on the farm can be challenging…especially when wildlife is involved. Yes, all God’s creatures have their own personality and charm, but living amongst them is not always so much fun. Especially when it’s a skunk.

For those that haven't experienced the lovely smell of a skunk, let me tell you, it's not fun. Our new neighbor sprayed everyday, sometimes several times. The smell permeates anything in it's path. Your eyes and nostrils burn, your clothes and hair take on the smell and you can't breathe normally. Needless to say, it's no walk in the park.

We have been looking for the skunk that, of course hide under the shop for about a month or so. Every morning when I got up, you could tell that we'd had a visitor, a smelly one at that. So, I did some research to find out how to get rid of him/her. During my search, I found some mistruths about skunks. Those that blogged about their knowledge of skunks must have never dealt with a country skunk.

Myth one, skunks cannot climb....False! I stood at by back porch and watched him climb up the deacon’s bench to get the cat food. I placed the food higher thinking that he couldn’t climb. The next advice was to trap him and take him out in the country to free him. Well, I already live in the country. Should I reverse it and take him to the city to set him free?

By the time my son finally located his habitat, which happened to be in the basement of our shop...and yes, he could climb stairs…we'd been sprayed way too many times. Needless to say he has been relocated…Could he be in your Yard?

Farming, it's not so easy

Farming is one of the hardest, most challenging things I have ever done. It is also one of the most rewarding, running a close second to being a Mother. I love taking the best care of God’s earth that I can. I love the animals and the relationship I have with them. I take pride in what I do and always strive to do my best as a farmer.

We have been retailing beef for four years now. No, I do not know everything about grass fed animals. I do know that cows like grass and that is what's best for them. Luckily, I have 230 acres for them to enjoy. No, our farm is no where near what I think it should be. However, I can see how far it has come since we bought it in 1995.

Our farm is the largest parcel of what is left of a 7,000 acre cotton plantation. It was in terrible shape when we purchased it. I don’t think it had been limed in 35 years. I don’t think it had been bush hogged in about 5 years. The thistle and dog fennel were taller than I am. The old black gentleman that worked for us in the beginning and myself dug thistle by the truck load and hauled them away. To this day, we still dig thistle and/or cut the heads off to try to stop them from multiplying. Thistle is one thing I’m now sure I will never get full control of. That is until I can introduce multi-grazers.

We are trying hard to be a sustainable farm by doing what we can as we can afford it. Our plans are to break up larger pastures into the paddock systems. Each paddock will have its own water supply. We also want to introduce other grazers to help manage the forages we produce.

This year we had a soil scientist analyze the soil to make sure we could produce the grass and forages that we desire. Great results were uncovered! We have the ability to produce and meet our goals. So, I guess to sum this all up we are striving to meet the goals we set before ourselves one day at a time. And to take a piece of what most thought was used up cotton fields and make it a sustainable grass farm.

We may only retail beef products, but that's because it's what we know best. We will use other animals to meet the goals we have for pasture production. We are still a work in progress and we strive to do our very best with what God has entrusted upon us.

Craziness Ensues

Life on the farm is always interesting, you just never know what's going to happen next. I personally like that you can't always predict the craziness that is the life of a farmer. For one, it makes for great stories to pass on to others. 

Picture it, Washington, GA June 20, 2009. Mom and I were leaving the Harmony Crossing Farmers Market when my phone chimed to let me know I had a new message. I checked my text messages to find a picture, the one above, from my brother. I looked at the picture and immediately called my brother to find out the story behind it. 

My brother was bringing the tractor from one of the pastures to the house...He needed to add air to one of the front tires... When he got home and walked around the tractor, he found a deer antler in one of the back tractor tires. The antler punctured the tire in three places. Yes, three places. 

We were all surprised by this. I for one, thought the antler should have broken instead of puncturing the tire. For the antler to be able to create three holes, it had to be laying just so. I guess it was our lucky day!

So, the tire had to by plugged in three places and the water tube inside the tire had to be replaced. It wasn't cheap or an easy fix...but we were back in business the same evening. It just goes to show that you can never predict or control the craziness that is the life of a farmer. 

Know Your Food

We hear it all the time, America is a fast, easy, give me what I want now nation. Everyone is always in a hurry. So, it doesn't surprise me that fast food chains are still multi-billion dollar corporations. It's quick, it's easy. 

People think just because they order a wrap instead of the sandwich or a salad instead of fries that it's good for us. That by substituting the "fatty" foods with something else makes eating out safe. Well, you should heed my advice, eat out at your own risk. 

Now, I know that sometimes you want someone else to take care of the cooking and washing dishes for you. I know that you're tired when you get home from work and cooking is sometimes the last thing you want to do. Here's the thing, you are what you eat and you should be more aware of what you eat.

Your body needs fuel to run efficiently. If you are feeding your body junk, you will feel terrible...no energy, headaches, unable to satisfy your hunger. It's amazing how much better you'll feel if you just eat right. By eating right, I mean eating foods in which you know their origin. Do your research, you'll see just how much junk you are putting into your system.

If you don't believe me, just take a look the nutritional data for your favorite chain. Most restaurants have the nutrition guide posted either on their website and/or somewhere in the establishment. It's quite shocking to see how many calories and grams of fat, etc. are in some of your favorite things.

Salads and fruits aren't even a safe option. Most salads and fruits aren't made in the establishment you are visiting. They are prepared and shipped from somewhere else. So, that means they must have lots of preservatives to keep them fresh. 

Also, you don't know where the fruits, veggies, meats, etc. are created. Which means you don't know how this food was handled and/or raised/made. There could be pesticides, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, and other things that aren't good for your body in these foods.

So, I challenge you to cook at home more, find local farmers, know where your food originates. Most of all, keep yourself and your family safe by eating healthy and knowing your food.

Blog away

The purpose of this blog is to keep the customers and others updated on Tink's Grass Fed Beef. We want you to know what's going on at the market, at the farm and in our heads...scary! Each post will either be from Tink or her daughter, Carissa. So, sit back and enjoy, it's going to be a wild ride!

2009 has been a great year for us. This year Tink's Beef went mobile. By that I mean, there is a freezer in the back of our truck, a.k.a. the ghetto meat wagon. That allows us to travel to a market near you. I must say that I love going to farmers markets. They are all so different, but we meet some great people! 

What I love most about the markets, is when customers give positive feedback. I love to hear that you love our products. I know I love it and I just want to share the goodness that is Tink's Grass Fed Beef with others. After all, my mom did teach me to share. 

I would like to thank all of you that support us and other local farmers. It's important to know where your food is created. The customers allow us to do what we love, farm. 

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, keep your tummy full of locally grown goodness.