Tucking In - Part 1

It's fall here in Michigan and it's beautiful. It's amazing to live in a place where there really is a fall, as in 2 solid months or more of crisp cool weather without the snow. However, the seasons are quickly changing and we are in tuck-in mode.

New for us this year was the late summer meat chickens. It never made a lot of sense to me why we would buy chicks in the spring when it's cold and then butcher them mid-summer when it's hot as blazes. So, this year we bought them mid-August. We still used a heat lamp for a couple of weeks, but it was minimal and mostly due to the damp weather, not the cold. Also, as they grew, we didn't have to worry about them being too hot. We had shade in the pen and they were happy and we didn't lose any to heat. Thankfully, we didn't lose any at all!  We delivered them to an Amish neighbor last week and now they are in the freezer. It's good to have that job done as the weather gets colder, none of us wants to be out in the snow and wind trying to get chickens to come in the barn!

There are many more things happening here to get ready for the cold!  Stayed tuned for Part 2!

~ Tami

30 day Challenge accepted--again

Hi all,
If you're a repeat visitor this page looks a little different than before. The 30 day challenge introduction was accidentally written over. And being the newby bloggers that we are, we somehow deactivated the original post that the challenge linked to.

We will keep putting posts up and apologize for the confusion. :)
 1) Tucking in Part 1
2) Day Late
3) Tucking in Part 2
4) Purging a Suburban Home
5) Preparation Book
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8) Raspberries
9) Questioning Myself
10) Starting the Flock
11) Values and Mission
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Don't forget to visit the other 30 day challenge bloggers!

The Ag Blogging challenge arranged by Holly Spangler is going strong. Make sure to read herAgriculturalists Who Influence blog series!

30 Days Bloggers

• The Pinke Post: 30 Days of Women in Agriculture
• Standing out in the Field: 30 Days of Faces Behind Your Food
• Prairie Californian: 30 Days of Food
• Becoming Texan: 30 Days of Texas Panhandle Agriculture
• AgTechTalk: 30 Days of Ag Tech           
• Sowing Bountifully: 30 Days with a Small Town Girl on a Big 10 Campus
• Mackinson Dairy Farm: 30 Days of Dairy
• Cows, Corn and Communications: 30 Days of Dairy Farm Life Blessings
• Morning Joy Farm: 30 Days of Agriculture – The Agriculture Book List
• Holbrook Honey and Hop Yard: 30 Days of Preparation for the Future                
• Minnesota Farm Living: 30 Days of All Things Minnesota Agriculture
• Beyond the Pasture: 30 Days of Lessons I Learned on the Farm
• Kellie for Ag: 30 Songs about Raising Cattle
• Homestead Hill Farm: 30 Days of Lessons from the Farm
• Montana Stockgrowers Association Blog:10 Things to Know About Beef Cattle
• Country Girl Creations: 30 Things I Want My Farm Girl to Know   
• Life of a Future Farmer: 30 Days of Thoughts of a Future Farmer           
• Black Ink Blog: Nice to Meat Ya: 30 Days of People You Ought to Know in the Quality Beef Business
• Farver Farms: 30 Days of Dirt Roads
• Carolyn CAREs Blog: 30 Things I Love
• Confessions of a Suburbanite Agvocate:30 Days in the Life of an Ag Comm Student
• The Velvet Farmer: 30 Days from the View of a Agriculture Student
• Agriculture: A Way of Life: Series Name
• Cox Farm: 30 Things That Farming Has Taught Me
• Walking the Off-Beaten Path: 30 Days of Farming: It's a Balancing Act   
• The Magic Farmhouse: 30 Days of Illinois Farms and Food
• The Farmer's Wifee: 30 Days of Farm Thanks

Introductions!

Welcome to the first blog post!
Holbrook Honey and Hop Farm is an owner owned and operated small farm in the Thumb region of Michigan. We have some big changes coming up! 

Introductions are in order.

I'm Tami, I live in Michigan with my husband. We raise hops, 2-row malting barley, hay, sheep, chickens and our 3 kids.  I have spent the last 25 years in various agricultural operations both small and large and have a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wyoming.  Here on our farm, I am involved in the day to day tasks.  The children and I make sure things run smoothly and that things are taken care of.  I am also head product tester at the moment and have the sticky floor to prove it!  Our farm is located in the heart of an Amish community and we work closely with our Amish neighbors.  Their work ethic and the pride they take in their work is something we admire and try to aspire to.  Our entire family is personally involved in the growing, nurturing, harvesting and marketing our products. I look forward to sharing our lives on the farm!

Hi! I'm Tami's sister Tanya. Right now I am living in Northern Colorado but that is soon to change!  I am in my 40's (ugh) with 3 kids quickly leaving the nest and a husband who is currently working in the oil industry. I work for a call center in a health care setting and previously spent 10 years as a 911 operator. Yes, I have tons of crazy, and sad, stories from that time in my life.
With any kind of luck, next spring we will be selling our home in Colorado and moving to the Holbrook Honey and Hop Yard farm. It's a big, scary move. We will be downsizing from a 2700 square foot home to a camper trailer! But I am really looking forward to it and am excited to get back to a more basic way of living and to get rid of tons of stuff that feels like a weight around my neck.  I'm sure I will have many crazy experiences to share about this upcoming life style change.
For now, I will be helping with product research, social media development, and creating products to sell on our soon-to-be Etsy storefront. In the future I am hoping to help expand the farm with some pigs, bees (considering the 'honey' in the farm name this might be important), and mushrooms. And who knows what crazy things Tami and I will dream up between now and next spring. I can't wait to get to Michigan and get my hands dirty!