It is time

As summer begins to wind down it is time to cull the herd and plan for the next year. This year we have opted to sell all the cattle, dairy included. Winters are hard for us as there are lots of extra expenses and well everything is tougher in the cold, lol. We may buy a few cows before spring but we'll see how that goes. As of right now we have a more pressing need and that is to get a van. We have found one that we like so now we must get the money as we are not willing to finance anything more, as Pa (Ingalls) would say "cash on the barrel". We have other debts that need to be paid and it would be nice to ring in the new year without them hanging around our necks. No we're not selling the farm, we're just downsizing the winter operation and trying to get back to a better financial place. It is not likely that we will be doing milk again, except for our own home use, frankly it's not worth the effort on our part. We will likely move to a grass fed cow/calf type model and work on fencing a pasture for our pigs. Sustainability is very dependent on the ability to adapt quickly and the winds of change are blowing in this small farming environment and throughout the country. God willing we will follow where He leads and adapt as needed.