Clover C Farm

06/03/2026

Veteran or Active Duty within one year of discharge? Thinking about a career in agriculture? Check us out. We are here for YOU!

Retired military or anyone appreciative of the sacrifice of our troops? Your charitable donation will help us train and equip the veteran farmer to re-enter the civilian world with a purpose and make a contribution wherever they go.

Check us out!

Giving Veterans a new mission and America a new farmer Service members exiting the military and Veterans alike are often faced with the daunting question of ‘What now?’. The Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina, Inc. (‘VFNC’) answers that question for many of these soldiers by helping Veterans...

06/01/2026

I will be hosting/teaching our newest class from The Veteran's Farm of NC this Thursday, 4 Jun, at 1000. Topic will be commercial small ruminant(sheep, goats) production, with a sprinkling of useless miscellaneous crap I've learned about farm living over the years. Active duty, veterans and families thereof are invited. Expected to last three hrs. +/-. No reservation necessary. Just show up and intro yourself. Branch, rank, and last four not mandatory.
117 Cheves Rd. 27508

05/31/2026

Sunday on the farm 31 May 2026

I recently saw a video clip of an old geezer like me addressing a young audience in which he pokes a great deal of fun at the generation gap in technology and daily tasks. Topics included things like corded phones with no answering machines, record players, actually carrying cash rather than using a debit card for a $1.17 purchase, glass Coke bottles, no childproof medicine caps, “energy” drinks (How much energy does a 20-something need, anyway? Red Bull and Monster Energy should be in a vending machine at the retirement village!), you get the drift. If my grandsons don’t have their smart phones close at hand, they go into DTs. Yes, the world has changed in these 70-odd years since I was a young whippersnapper (that term in and of itself dates me, I suppose). And the previous generation saw massive changes as well. My father grew up with an icebox, for goodness’ sake, and had to walk outside to “use the bathroom,” although I really doubt if that two-holer was ever used for a “bath”. See, even the terminology reflects the generation gap. Future generations will have the opportunity to poke fun as well, as change is inevitable. Back in the day, we thought the animated TV show, “The Jetsons” (“Google” it, kids!) was so futuristic as to be impossible, and now a lot of that futuristic technology is already outdated. Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a young programmer from NCSU who is working on a program to have a drone fly a route checking fencelines and have the same drone monitor our pregnant ewes so we can recognize if one is having trouble lambing. My Daddy would be amazed! Futuristic? Maybe, but I am going to work with him to see what can be done. But that, too, will one day be replaced by another new and improved device.

But, let me tell you about something that will never, ever, be outdated, and that is the absolute Word of God as delivered so many, many years ago to His chosen scribes. Regardless of the translation you choose and the way you choose to approach it, the Word has stood and will stand through generations, giving instruction and guidance for life and living. Reach out for it whenever you think you’ve been left behind. There’s comfort there. And, yes, it’s OK to have an audio version on your smart phone. Just make sure Charlton Heston is the narrator (dated myself again, didn’t I?).

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” Psalms 46:1 (NLT)

Blessings, CC

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

05/28/2026

Congratulations to the Bunn High School State Champion baseball team! Proud alumnus here! Class of 1965!

05/25/2026

This is not necessarily directly farm related but they all seem to apply to life in general. Thanks to a good, old, friend for sending them this morning:

1. If your two grandsons get in trouble, keep them separate until you get the story.
2. If your mom approves of your date, she is worth your time.
3. Regardless of what you hear it is easier to raise two daughters than two sons, even if they are twins.
4. Be it full size horse or miniature donkey they will still kick the stuffin' out of you. (and have no guilt about it).
5. A sharp knife may be safer than a dull one but they both will cut the crap out of you.
6. Life is too short for lousy wine. Get something good or not at all.
7. Never be ashamed of asking directions although shame is appropriate for having to do it a second time.
8. If you like making things that go bang or boom take a good look at the fingers on both your hands so you can remember them. Either being good or careful at what you do still doesn’t consider accidents.
9. Sisters might take a long time to get even but they will.
10. Make sure you always know a good rest stop when on a trip. If not, carry a big bottle.
11. Never go on a date without shaving, even if she says she doesn’t mind, be a gentleman about it.
12. Always carry a clean handkerchief, preferably two. They should be spotless and ironed. The second is to give to a lady if needed.
13. For heavens sake, go to church.
14. I do not know of any situation that got better after a second shot of tequila unless getting drunk was your goal.
15. Know the words to at least one good poem and not "Beans, beans good for your heart,"
16. Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence.

05/24/2026

Sunday on the farm 24 May 2026

For farmers and livestock producers, stress comes dressed in many outfits. We know each one very well because we meet them once or twice a year, every year. For sheep and lamb producers, lambing time always comes in its “Sunday Go to Meeting” clothes and quickly changes to overalls and muck boots. When combined with snow, ice, and freezing temperatures, the situation is multiplied. By the time the last one finally does lamb, it’s time for spring hay, shearing, weaning dates, weighing and feed lot sorting, ration determination, and four or five other things that must be slid in whether they were planned or not. You learn to do what was on the agenda for the day between what absolutely must be done, AND THEN, there’s that emergency that stops everything, regardless. But we’ve learned to be flexible-or break, and take most in stride. This year has been different, though. Almost all of North Carolina has had only a small percentage of our normal rainfall, with our county falling into extreme drought. Fall plantings for Spring grazing didn’t give the expected yield; spring cuttings of hay have been light or non-existent; pastures are over grazed, and hay reserves are dwindling fast. At times, it would take the life out of you.

But then…it rained. Glorious, life-giving, rain. Oh, it will take a little time for pastures, fields, and gardens to respond, and for moisture reserves to build back. But they will. They always have. I recall one Sunday morning on the South porch of Bunn Baptist Church, as a young sprout listened to the old men talking. Cousin June Perry asked Uncle Jim White, “Jimmy, you reckon it’s gonna rain?” After a bit of hesitation Uncle Jim replied, “Always has, June, always has.” And when it did, we all gave thanks to The One from whom all blessings flow.

And that is my prayer this morning, “Thank you, Lord, for your blessing of rain, in your time, on us. Amen”

This promise from the Old Testament:
“Then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains,”– Deuteronomy 11:14a

Blessings, CC

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

05/23/2026

Let's not let greed replace green. Protect our NC farms!

05/17/2026

As a followup to today's post from the farm:

As I pulled out of our driveway to go to church this morning, I looked toward the barn and pasture where our five remaining to lamb ewes are penned and saw 30 or more black buzzards- on the barn roof, on the corral fence, on the waterer and surrounding four of the ewes. I went back to the shop and got the side-by-side and sped down to the barn. The buzzards scattered and roosted on the pines behind the barn. No harm to the ewes, and no new babies that they could have attacked.

Let's just say that one of them buzzards will never trouble our ewes again. I'll leave it at that. CC

05/17/2026

Sunday on the farm 17 May 2026

A couple of weeks ago as I was coming down the road after going to the post office, I saw some of those hateful black buzzards circling low over the pasture where our pregnant ewes were lambing. I turned down the path towards them and a terrible sight greeted me. There must have been twenty or more surrounding one ewe and her newborn lamb. She was stomping her front hooves and charging at them, but there were too many. One even sat on her back. I sped down the path toward them, and they flew into the treetops across the pasture. A couple of twelve-gauge rounds convinced them to fly elsewhere. Another day, when the sheep came in at feeding time, one didn’t come. She just lay there on her side, not moving. Of course, the worst-case scenario flashed through my mind. I rode out to check her, knowing she was dead, and found she was only cast. “Cast sheep” is an old English expression that we still use for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up by itself. She was lying with her legs uphill from her body, unable to right herself. Leaving one in such a condition means a painful death. Again, vigilance. I flipped her over; she stood, slowly, staggered for a moment, and then headed for the feed lot. Even the healthier, fattest and biggest among them can become a casualty. Being a good shepherd requires vigilance to notice when one is in distress, ready to restore them to safety.

David spoke of a vigilant shepherd often in the Psalms. “He restores my soul;” (23:3a) and again we see that he not only knew about cast sheep but spoke about his soul being cast down when he was troubled and hurting. In Psalm 42:5 David cried, “O my God, my soul is cast down within me.” And, again in verse 6, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” And then he acknowledges that he knows from whence comes his salvation, his Shepherd, “Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

I’ll leave you this morning with the verses of an old familiar gospel hymn that was sung regularly in our church:

“1 Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare.

2 We are Thine; do Thou befriend us,
Be the Guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray.

3 Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free.

4 Early let us seek Thy favor;
Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior,
With Thy love our bosoms fill.
Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
Thou hast lov'd us, love us still;
Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
Thou hast lov'd us, love us still.”
Attributed to Dorothy A. Thrupp

It’s OK that you sang it. Sing it loudly from the mountaintops and in the valleys! We need to let the world know who our Shepherd is, and that He will care for them too.

Blessings, CC
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

05/10/2026

Sunday on the farm 10 May 2026

A good shepherd must be an observer of the behavior of his or her flock. The knowledge therewith gained enables the shepherd to move the flock in the desired direction and to the desired destination with relative ease. Last week I talked about our sheep being out on the road with a multitude of our neighbors trying to pen them and the ease with which I was able to quickly get them back to safety. Having over 45 years of experience gave me the knowledge and expertise to move them, but their instinct to follow each other blindly was the inborn factor that ultimately caused them to follow me.

Sheep are curious creatures, to say the least. They will walk nose-to-tail down the same winding path coming and going to the feed bunk or the water trough, wearing the foliage down to bare soil. If one jumps over a certain spot those who follow will jump at that same place even though there is nothing there to break their pace. If one is startled and starts to run, all of them will perk up their ears, get a wild-eyed look, and run behind her without a clue as to why the first one ran. They are flock animals, and if one should fall asleep while the others move off, she will awaken and run as fast as her legs will carry her to get back to the rest. Sheep do not like to go into dark places or those with no obvious exit. However, if we can coax one to go, all the others will follow. The same applies to unloading them from a trailer. They will bunch up toward the front and look at the open door as if there is something or someone on the other side that will eat them. Once one jumps out, all will follow.

Now let us look at human behavior. How often do we just blindly follow the crowd because it seems easy and safe, but it is not always the right choice. There was an incident in Turkey where one sheep jumped off a 50 ft. cliff, landing safely on the rocks below, but 1500 more followed with 400 being killed. What a tragedy, and what a tragedy when one of our youth overdoses because the group was using drugs. We can name many more times when following the crowd results in tragic loss, not only for our youth but for the population as a whole. Following the Pied Piper will lead to death and destruction every time!

The Bible teaches us to learn to make our own decisions by standing firm in our faith and gives us Scriptural guidance that encourages us to be true to ourselves and our beliefs.

“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a crowd in order to pervert justice.” – Exodus 23:2

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.'” – 1 Corinthians 15:33

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” – Psalm 1:1

These are but a few verses among many that teach us to be guided by the Light and not the crowd. Let us make every effort not to be sheep-like in our decisions.

Blessings, CC

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10