07/30/2026
Well said. Euthanized 7 in last 10 days here.
Some people were upset that we euthanized a couple raccoons after trapping them on our farm.
Hereâs the reality of farming.
That raccoon wasnât living peacefully in the woodsâit was repeatedly coming onto our farm and killing our chickens. Protecting the livestock in our care is our responsibility, not an option.
If that bothers you, you probably wonât like hearing that we also harvest deer every year to fill our freezer & to manage the white tail population, and we raise cattle that are eventually processed for beef. If a cow becomes dangerously aggressive or repeatedly fails to care for her calves, we make difficult management decisions then, too. Farming requires hard choices, and avoiding every difficult decision is NOT responsible animal stewardship.
But hereâs what some people donât see.
Weâre the same people who stop in the middle of the road to move turtles to safety. Weâre the ones who stay up until 2 a.m. with a sick calf, hoping itâll pull through and most of the time that calf is laying on our living room floor. We bottle-feed babies, call the vet when something is wrong, and spend countless hours making sure our animals are healthy, fed, and cared for.
Caring about animals doesnât mean never making hard decisions. It means doing whatâs necessary to protect the animals that depend on us and providing them with the best life possible while theyâre in our care.
You donât have to agree with every decision we make. But please donât mistake responsible farm management for a lack of compassion.
The hardest part of farming isnât making the easy choicesâitâs making the necessary ones. Even if they are tough calls.