06/20/2024
So you want to be a farmer? You mean, you want to sign up for “back breaking brisket”, “pull a muscle pork shoulder”, “getcha in yer groin goat burger” and “cockadoodle and spur me one more time you crazy rooster..bone broth”?
You thought farming was just a day job. Now you’re getting up at midnight when the much anticipated calf finally makes its grand appearance in the world, and decides it would rather not suck, but instead wander and dance around mom for a few hours..
You wanted to sign up for easy. But your first time momma sow decided to go into labor right at bedtime, so rather than catching some 💤’s, you are up half the night watching her labor and making sure all the piglets are ok. But you yourself..well, you are not feeling very ok..
You thought goats would just do their own thing, so you kept adding cute little does to your herd, but then kidding season rolled around, and the dreadful stuck kid scenario just got real. Now you’re faced with repositioning a kid and trying to save lives..and you are the only “vet” on call.
You thought farming would be an honest income, just buy all the animals and then sell their offspring, multiplication sounded nice. But, for the 100th time, your so called honest “I for sure want him/her” customer decides at the last minute they just aren’t ready to buy from you at this time due to “unforeseen circumstances”. You then end up with too many animals and now you have to feed them. You cringe as you realize your income isn’t really incoming like you thought it would be..
You thought things would go differently, a LOT differently.
So why on earth would you want to be a farmer?!
You wake up one morning, as the rooster crows and the coffee is heating up.. You grab a few eggs for breakfast, and suddenly that bacon sizzling on the stove makes all the pulled muscles seem ok. The smells are smellin’ good, life is good.. You watch your beautiful herd of cows grazing out your window, as you enjoy some homemade butter on your toast and a freshly poured, ice cold glass of raw milk.
As you walk outside to do chores, all the farm sounds make you smile, and that cute little baby goat you saved is jumping around, frolicking and playing with the other kids. It doesn’t get much better than this you think..
As the day progresses, you pull that beautiful brisket off the smoker, and all that back pain is but a memory, slowly fading as you bite into that yummy, smokey goodness. You realize you can’t buy this at any store or restaurant, and all that hard work actually does pay off.
The sun begins to set and all the farm animals tuck in for the night, and so do you. It’s finally time to catch some 💤’s and it’s not so bad after all. As your head hits the pillow, you realize that maybe you really are rich, and that life is truly what you make it. In the end, the glory far outweighs all the suffering.
So you want to be a farmer?
Without hesitation, and with a full satisfied belly, you nod your head yes, and you joyfully drift off to sleep..
- Zion’s Gate Ranch ❤️
