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Orem Family Farm, 881 S 250 W, Shelbyville, IN (2026)

10/26/2026

Last week on the Homestead: Vote!!

Pic 1,2) Since January we have learned so much about our community! We have seen the very best, met so many courageous people, heard many heart breaking stories and unfortunately seen the ugliness of greed. Two major developments have come to our community and both were strongly opposed. The annexation of 400+ acres for a data center (currently still in litigation) and annexation of land that Poet wants to sequester carbon dioxide a mile and half under our feet! Both projects were passed by the city council even with strong opposition from the community. Both projects bring many risks, depletion of resources and puts an extreme strain on our power grid!

The amount of electricity and water these 2 projects will consume is not sustainable. This is why the next 3 elections are so important! To us, things start local. We need representatives that listen to the people and thoroughly take time to study the potential effects on our community and our citizens. I don't want to list the candidates we are going to vote for but please thoroughly check Why they want to run! Check who they are getting contributions from!

Pic 3) we had 4 loads of Hickory Nuts from 1 tree! The tree that was saved from being cut down 40 years ago! Just think how much carbon that tree has pulled out of the air, how it has provided to wildlife and cooled the ground beneath it!

4,5) with the warm weather the clover has really grown in the pastures making the cows stool loose. It was suggested to put a little dry hay and some blacksrap molasses out! My oh my did they love it! We will see if the cow patties firm up!

6) Martha is loving this great stretch
of weather and has been doing some sunbathing

7,8) The kids had fun carving pumpkins from the garden.

9)Beautiful foggy sunrises!

10) Again, these next 3
Elections are so important!

Want to give a couple of Shout Outs! First to Three Sisters Bookstore! It is so nice going in there and everyone is so helpful! And a shout out to our customers, whether you purchase beef, pork, chicken; milk, eggs or stop when there are baked goods available, We Appreciate You! You keep us going!

Stay Local, Buy Local
Gal. 6:9

10/20/2026

Last week on the farm: Home.
Listen to - I am Home by Silas Noah

What is home to you? Is it a house, being with loved ones, a place, a feeling of belonging, a memory or maybe a combination of all of them? Been thinking a lot about that lately. And the more I think about it the more I feel it is just a combination of all of them!

Picture1) What is it about sitting around an open fire on a Fall night? They make you feel at home don't they!These nights we have been having lately have been perfect for them!

Picture 2,3) when I think of home I think of some of our trees that have been here a lot longer than us! They say so much about a place and they provide so much for us!

Picture 4) having good neighbors makes me think of home, especially ones that go back a few generations! A good neighbor took this picture on a foggy morning recently! I love it!

Picture 5) Tammy has a green thumb and these Zenias have been this bright and cheerful from the start of summer. (And have survived 5 grandkids playing all around and through them😂But somehow these make me smile and think of home.

Picture 6,7) we had to separate some steers and cows last week. Ben and I had to call in our trusted help! A few years ago these two 9th graders, at the time, started helping a few hours a week and now one has completed his HS credits and the other is almost done! We have thoroughly enjoyed them being here. And I hope they both know that as long as our family is here it will always be a second home to them!

Picture 8 ) this picture sums up home to me. We had a Big Bear hunt in the woods. The excitement, the imagination, thrills and memories made were priceless!!

So what is home to you? It is such an important word in our vocabulary. Maybe more now than ever before! Like the song says "I'm home now, I can feel it, I can feel it in my soul, I feel I'm right where I have always been meant to be!"

From the farm😘
Gal 6:9

10/12/2026

This week on the Farm: Prayer Warriors!

We went to our Aunt Charlene's celebration of a life well lived! It was full of her energy! It was great to see cousins we grew up with and their kids! I guess I always knew our Aunt had a strong Faith but I didn't know she was such a prayer warrior! I know our mom is and our dad was also!
Listening to this song "Kill A Prayer" this weekend made me think where would I be if my parents weren't prayer warriors also! I'm just very Thankful!! The next generations really have some big shoes to fill! We need to keep carrying that torch!!

1) We had a new calf born today! A few years ago we decided we wanted shorter, squatier cows. We are starting to see that now! They are so much more efficient and their calves look so much healthier! Notice the white udder on this momma cow. That means she has more buttermilk in her milk for her calf! This calf will grow quickly!

2,3,4) We have never baled hay in October! I can now cross that off my bucket list! The last cutting is usually mid September. So last week was a big bonus! It was beautiful last week and the trees are starting to turn!! This hay field is surrounded by trees on all sides. We have one other field like this! This is ideal for regenerative farming for many reasons!!

6,7) the last batch of meat chickens left the brooder and are out on grass now! Ben had some good helpers getting the job done!

We sure enjoyed this warm stretch but we know cooler temps are on their way! Just like life, things change, things cycle, there are a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns and some days you step in a cow pie or two! 😂 But we have to keep our eyes on the finish line and bring as many as we can with us!! And keep praying!

Aunt Charlene,😍😘❤️to you!!
From the Farm!
Gal. 6:9

10/07/2026

Listen to - Country Roads by John Denver!

Last week on the farm and on the beach: Country roads and gravel lanes! This post is dedicated to our Aunt Charlene who entered Heaven yesterday at age 97!! She followed our posts and would often comment with 😍or 😘She was our only Aunt growing up so I can honestly say she was by far our favorite since forever!! What I will remember most about her was her laugh, how she would whisper to me "you're my favorite" but I would find out later she would tell my brother and sister the same thing!! 😂 And her homemade meatballs!

Picture 1,2) our whole family travelled to St.Simon Island in Georgia last week to spend time with our son Mitch and wife Jenna who are stationed at Ft. Stewart. A little about that trip in a minute! Before leaving we moved the cows so they would have enough grass to eat while we were gone!
Uncle Jon took care of the farm for us! But when moving them, got to thinking about gravel lanes and country roads. If we all could travel them at least once a day I think it would reduce everyone's stress level!

Picture 3,4,5) if you have younger kids, grandkids, or you yourself are a kid at heart St Simon's Island is the place to go! I'm not a big beach fan but this was way different! It is the ultimate playground! They are known for some of the largest tide differences in the world! Most days 8ft difference! In the morning you could see endless beach to catch hermit crabs and slowly the tides would come in and you would have lazy river races! So much fun!! As the days and years go by you cherish times like these with family!
We also did some crafts while there!! (Don't get too impressed there was a outline on each picture to help

From the Farm😍
Gal. 6:9

09/28/2026

This week on our small family farm:
Regenerative!

I encourage you to listen to Born Again by Third Day & check out the videos in the comment section!

We get asked what regenerative farming is often. There is an in-depth answer and there is just come and see, "it is much easier to show than tell for me"!

Picture1,2,3,4) This morning, Sunday, was absolutely beautiful! The cows have rotated to the field along our road and this morning they were spread out and easier to see. When the temps are hot they tend to group up and it is harder to individually check them. The harvest moon last night and the sunrise this morning made you realize that we are apart of something very special, called God's creation. The forth picture the moon was still out and bright! So cool!

Picture 5) Bambi the bottle calf is no longer a bottle calf!!
The mom we brought in with a new calf during the heat streak last week has been letting Bambi nurse! Actually Bambi sneaks in the back while her calf nurses! So nice!!!

Picture 6,7) we had another new bull calf yesterday. Angus seem all black but they do have a small white patch just behind their naval! They say with a female that has more white on its udder will have more butter fat in its milk, which means she will have healthier stronger calves. The first steps of a calf never get old watching!

Picture 8,9) cut hay on Friday and will bale on Monday! We call this candy hay, the 3rd, 4th cutting are the cow's favorite!

Picture 10,11) The three little pigs are not little anymore and sleep a lot!

Picture 12) got the trails mowed and are ready for some Fall hiking!

Pictures 13,14,15 Nature club picked the first pumpkins of the year! So much fun with the grandkids growing and picking pumpkins! In a big nutshell that is what regenerative farming is! It is rebirth, new life, living soil, the cycles of life playing out everyday.

The Good Book says we need for new life! It is what Jesus told Nicodemus! Come and see! You will find that we don't do anything special or scientific just work with nature!

From the farm!
John 3

09/21/2026

On the Farm this past week; Light!

What a difference it makes! Pictures 1,2) the contrast between the darkness and the light in these clouds was amazing earlier in the week. How true this is in life!

Picture 3) this cow was kind enough to have her bull calf next to a gate. With the heat in the 90's and flies being bad right now we decided to open the gate and let them in the new paddock in the woods. Great shade and a lot to eat! Mom and calf are doing great!

Picture 4) the last batch of meat chickens arrived this week. These yellow puff balls will turn imto 4 Ibs white feathered birds in 8 weeks.

Picture 5) with the heat this week, 90's most days, the cows stayed in the shade for most of the day but the calves did find time to play some "king of the hill". The calves are usually always together doing something! We call this group the teenagers!

Picture 6,7,8,9 Nature club made Buckeye necklaces and pinecone hedgehogs, and maybe a possum or 2! The Light in the clouds that reflected the Sun is very similar to the Light that is in these Nature Club members from the Son! That is the same Light we all need!

From the Farm!
Phil. 2:15

09/14/2026

Last week on the Farm: humility 1,2,3) we are starting to see a beautiful time of the year. Just like the song "sometimes wild flowers grow in the weeds!", these flowers are poking through! The goldenrod is really pretty and bright now and the milkweed pods are full of seeds! If you want any milkweed seeds please come and get some! Take some to wherever you live and scatter them so the Monarchs keep having their favorite plant to lay their eggs, to continue their lifecycle!

4,5,6) We ended up having to buy hay from a small farmer in beautiful Flat Rock this week! We borrowed a trailer from Garner Farms (our son in-law) to get it home, so nice. Unloaded it at night to beat the rain. I've always liked the barn at night!
Going back to our son in-laws trailer, this was a definite upgrade to how we usually haul hay! It seems like we always show the good stuff, well not all days are smooth and without headaches on Orem Family Farm!
A fewyears ago we were hauling hay on one of our hay wagons and lost a tire in the road totally blocking it for awhile! Oh my!!

7,8,9) To go along with not every day are roses here on the farm, we were finishing up cleaning out last winters manure this week and I didn't shut the door on our utility tractor and shattered the door In literally a million pieces! I wish I could say this is the first time it has happened but it wasn't, this was door number 4!
Mom bought this
tractor for the farm probably 5 years ago and I don't know what we would do without it now! I just have to remember to shut the door! Going back to the manure, we spread this on our hay fields as 100% all natural fertilizer, the best you can get!

10,11,12,13) Bambi, our current bottle calf is doing good and eating grass now. Our ex-bottle calf Buster is becoming quite the thorn in the rose patch Yes that is Buster along our lane and no, he is not supposed to be there! As you can see the herd is behaving on the right side of the fence but Buster continues to explore! That fence has electric in it to keep the cows in but Buster must decide to bite the "bull"et and goes right thru it! Some days you just have to look for the flowers in the weeds!

God is good!
Gal 6:9

09/11/2026

This past week on the Farm:
Commitment!

Pictures 1,2,3,4) Wendell Berry passed away last week. He was an inspiration to many people over his long life! He was a small farmer and author. He was a champion for the small farm family, for responsible regenerative farming, for commitment to place(where you call home) He wrote about the importance of people on the farm! The picture of the Shagbark Hickory tree by our mailbox reminds me of the 1st excerpt, when he talks about how important trees are to a farm, in many ways. This Shagbark tree has a story and I will share it in a post at some point, but that is what Wendell wrote about! Stories that come with living in a place for a long time! The second excerpt is of living soil! That soil is the connector of all life. He wrote about how important taking care of the living soil. We also have one of his quotes on our farm shirt about knowing and loving the land. These excerpts are from his timely book The Unsettling of America! It was written 50 years ago but the issues facing small farms, small communities are so relevant to what is happening today across America.

Pictures 5,6,7) last week was a hay week for us. Everyone got in on the action. Tammy hauled hay in the truck, Ben and the boys, Louie and Auggie baled. It is always a good feeling when everyone is working together and to get the hay done and stacked!

Pictures 8,9) we are restocked on ground beef and have plenty of pastured non GMO Eggs.
And look what you can do with them!! So good!

Picture 10,
11) Yes that is Buster the bottle calf. Mitch was home for the long weekend and helped clean out the barn and also helped get the cows back in the right field after breaking out! The saying "the shade is always cooler on the other side of the fence" was definately what the cows were thinking this past weekend! Anyway, the only cow that wouldn't go back in was Buster because he kept following us looking for lunch! The only way to get him back in was to make him a milk bottle and lead him back in

! Stories,
memories, rememberances that only come from living in the same place for a long time! May we all be so blessed!

From the farm!
Gal. 6:9!

08/30/2026

The Farm Stand opens at 9 am!! (Sunday) 🤩
the stand is at the shop under the porch 🫶

Self serve! We accept cash and Venmo! 💐🍳🍯🥖🍪

📍881 S 250 W Shelbyville

08/30/2026

This week on the Farm: Full Circle!!

After wondering if the faucet in the sky would ever turn off in the sky a week or so ago, we have had some beautiful days!!

Pictures 1,2,3,4,5) our oldest grandchild is turning 7 (hard to believe!) and she had a fun birthday party with her classmates, friends and family on the farm. It is such a good feeling seeing kids enjoying the outdoors, nature, the farm, and pizza!!!

6,7,8,9)we cut a lot of hay this past 3 days with the extended forecast of sunny hot days!
Cutting hay late into the evenings provided some great sunset and moon shots! In our back hay fields it is pretty secluded. In the last few years we have seen Eagles flying from a distance but never up close like this! I remember when they were on the endangered list! He hung out for about a half hour flying and landing while going around him raking hay! It was amazing to watch!

10,11) And the highlight of the week was visiting SHS, This summer we met with them here at the farm to talk meat and Farm to School! We had a great conversation about local food and getting it in the schools. It is a win win situation! The kids are getting healthy food and the local farmers are getting business. Well that happened this week, Chef Mark made some shredded beef nachos with homemade slaw!! Very well prepared! It was sort of a full circle moment day! My brother and I grew up in SHS with our dad working there for so many years! And for all of us to see former students (because we are all retired from teaching) especially Tammy seeing the kids and talking with them was pretty special! It was a Good Day! As I watched the kids come in and out of the cafeteria that day, I was reminded that Im getting old, it was 40 years ago this fall I was a senior there! It has been even longer since we would go in with dad to play in the gym!

Very full circle week! God is Good!
From the farm!

Gal. 6:9

Orem Family Farm

10/26/2026

10/20/2026

10/12/2026

10/07/2026

09/28/2026

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