Getting Closer

Its the beginning of June and the farms are a buzz with activity. Most farms a busy growing corn and soy, cutting and bailing hay and managing their livestock. As of right now I am trying to get our Rhubarb, blackberries, basil and flowers to grow on our tiny residential lot in town. While trying to grow a few plants I have been spending time reading and preparing for our farming future. I am trying to get a grasp on pigs, cattle and chickens through the only source currently available, books. I am currently reading "Everything I want to do is Illegal" and "Grass fed Cattle". Both books are informative and give me a heads up of what I need to be looking out for and some basic principals for pasture based farming.

Every step brings us closer to our goal of farming. About a week ago I laid out a 10 year plan broken down into two year groups expounding on different enterprises, costs, timelines and projected profit analysis. I set up a farming system with the overarching goal of starting and growing debt free. This means owning land may be a few years down the road. However, in the mean time I will start looking for a land owner who is willing to lease us land at a reasonable rate.

Our goal for beginning a land lease is March 2013.

If you happen to know someone who lives within about 15 minutes of Forest Lake, MN willing to lease land to a grass farmer, let me know.

A weekend at the Farm

A week ago my little family got to spend the weekend at my grandparents farm just outside Stewartville MN. We periodically go down there just to visit with family and get away for a day or so. This place was a second home to me as I was growing up. I would spend my summers working, playing and growing up. Now that I have a family of my own I love bringing them here and letting them experience some of the things from my childhood. 

Vienna's first ride on the old tractor

Regardless of the noise, Vienna loved riding on the tractor. She would just look around and all the new things while riding on her daddy's lap. As her mind took in all the new things, I was busy enjoying the time with my beautiful daughter. 

A funny thing happens when I start up the tractor, a peace comes over me as I pull the clutch and enter the fields. My mind races as I ponder my future farming endeavors. I'm constantly getting ideas, setting goals and just trying to figure out how to make it all happen. (more on this later)

There seems to be a common love in our family for farming and farm equipment. My beautiful bride already loves farm animals, most of all pigs, but now I think her love for farming is rapidly expanding. 

Why? you ask.

Thats right, she drove it. And looked hot doing it. 

Welcoming the New Year

Every year we have an opportunity for new beginnings. A chance to start over and do things differently. However, as I look at this past year and what I see coming, there's not a whole lot I want to do differently. Naturally I always find room for improvement. But the overall trajectory of our life is full of God's blessings, making it easy to find our joy in him.

My wife and I have gotten plugged into a great church this year and we intend to continue to grow with this community and the friends we've made there. I enjoy the spirit of leadership I've seen in the men of Grace Church and I believe the overall congregation has a heart for God's call on their lives and a willingness to submit to that call. So after almost a year of seeking a church that has a balance of both gospel and community, Elise and I agree that we have finally found "Home".

My job is moving in a positive direction and I plan to continue my employment there and see where it takes me. I am so grateful for this job because without it my family and I would not be where we are at today.

Regarding our farming ambitions, this year is going to be another small stepping year as we plan, plant and grow a garden in the back yard. More than anything I just want the experience. With every student loan payment I make to the bank, I see us taking one step closer to being legitimate farmers. So as things move slowly, I will continue to read everything I can get my hands on so I am mentally equipped for life on the farm.

So as we enter this new year, looking back on how far we have come, and the journey we still have ahead of us, our new beginnings of this year are simply a continuation of the year gone past, for everyday has its own new beginning.

Christmas 2011

This year I am having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit. My guess is, it has to do with the lack of snow. For crying in the mud, we live in Minnesota! We should have multiple feet of snow on the ground, children riding on the backs of snowmobiles, frozen lakes and warm homes to retreat to.

But here we are, snowless, wrapping gifts, creating gifts, and doing what it takes to get in the Christmas spirit. I'm trying to change our mindsets to dwell on our savior, who came for the purpose of redemption. The Christmas season is full of "stuff" to get us off track. I am trying to change my mindset from the picturesque Christmas to the Christmas that point to the birth of Jesus.

As the head of my home it is my responsibility to show the importance of Jesus' birth and the tree he died on, not the tree in our living room with the lights on it. As a father this is my first Christmas, as a husband, it is my second. So, on this Christmas eve, we are looking to the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.

5 Minute Gospel

A challenge to present the gospel, in an effective way, before you lose your audience was presented in our discipleship group last Wednesday. No presentation of the gospel is perfect, but it is the Holy Spirit that holds the power to change hearts and lives.

~

In the beginning God created everything that is. Everything was created to the glorification of God the creator. In His creation there was mankind, whom were given free will. In this free will mankind chose to sin and essentially say they knew a better way. This transgression has separated us from a holy and righteous God.

The consequences have since been passed down from generation to generation to all mankind, and creating separating form God and his creation. Because God is a good God and a just God, there is a price for sin, and the price is death and the pouring out of blood.

Because God is a good and loving God, He has sent His one and only Son, whom He loves, named Jesus, to live a perfect life so He can be a perfect sacrifice.  In the death of Jesus the sins of the world were assigned to him for the payment of sin, requiring death, could be fully satisfied.

On the third day Jesus rose from death to prove sin, satin, death and Hell have been conquered, clearing a way for humanity to worship God. Trusting in the death of Jesus, accepting the free gift of salvation is simply the only way to God the Father.

One day Jesus will return, calling His followers to Heaven, spending eternity in glory. For those who reject Him, He will damn to an eternity in a tortuous hell.

~

In no way is this a perfect representation of the gospel. The perfect representation of the gospel can only be found the the 66 books that make up the gospel. The Holy Bible.

My Gal

A few years ago my life didn't have much depth.  I would work a lot, go to church (awesome and deep), and every once in a while I would get outside of my self and hang out with friends. On a whim I made the trek I swore I would never take... entering the state of California. I guess if there were a reason to go to California it would have to be for the most amazing girl in the world. And that is exactly the reason I went. I sought her, found her and married her. I am the man I am today because of this amazing woman. Daily I learn to love more, protect better, lead with both my mind and my heart and worship Jesus more. 

Not only do I get the most amazing girl in the world, but I also get the most amazing cooking in the world. 

There are so many qualities about my Beautiful Bride that I will spend a life time enjoying and communicating them to those around me. 

 This says it all

The best part... She diggs me.

Minnesota

After living in Minnesota for a year, we have had a lot of things happen. Among them is buying a house in Forest Lake. We are still trying to plan a farm in the near future (about 5 years). But, before we venture into farming we want to make sure our finances are in order. We are not wanting to fail before we set out. Anyhow, this gives us some time to figure out what our farm ventures are going to include and devising ways to make a profit. I have found many books on the subject of marketing and running a business that will be a great help. Some I have read and some are on my list to read. There are additionally a lot of farm books that I have found, some I have read and there some I have on my shelf to read later. Farming is not simply farming but it is a business. Something I am keeping in mind is purchasing at a discount and selling retail. There are endless stories of farmers selling at wholesale and buying retail. Most of those farmers are now former farmers, or they work a town job.
I have spent 5 years working in management for a company called Chick-fil-A, learning the principals of leading a great business. This has given me some awesome insight into how to communicate with customers and guests. Although the business' are completely different, some of the principals are the same. How to treat and talk to people, have a quality product and market your business well.


Some books I need to read or have read:
Good to Great
Guerilla Marketing
Making Your Small Farm Profitable
Salad Bar Beef
You Can Farm
Pastured Poultry Profits
Quitter
QBQ
Raising Beef Cattle
Grass Fed Cattle
Entreleadreship
Small-Scale Livestock Farming
Comeback Farms
Family Friendly Farming
Getting Started With Beef and Dairy Cattle


Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once said that “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.”


I have spent the first 24 years of my life hating reading, but recently I have found that anything I want to know can be found in a book. There is a list of books about Jesus and theology that I can't put down. I now know my savior in a deeper, more personal way because of the Bible and books written by people who have dedicated their lives to the study of the Bible. 

Raising Capital

Acquiring capital for most small businesses and/or farms is as simple as going down to the bank and applying for a loan. However, in my desire for a farm, I will not put undue financial pressures on my family. I really enjoy the way things are right now. The one who brings home the bacon is me and the one who cares for our child is my amazing wife. I cannot find the sense in sending her to work and my daughter to school just to make a few extra bucks to pay off a loan. So I'm challenged with raising capital for my farm without financing everything. So, I will be keeping my family home and being creative about saving.

One idea I have is something I started doing while in Colorado, and now that I have a place to work it is even more convenient. Maintenance and small repairs on cars and light trucks can be a good source of additional income. I can charge 1/3 of what dealerships charge for the same work. I get closer to my goals,  and the person I am helping is pleased they got a great deal on their auto repairs. Since I am already doing this as a full time job at a dealership I already have the tools I need to complete most any job.

Another idea I have is creating a small woodworking shop in my garage making jewelry boxes, music boxes, humidors, mantel clocks, etc. Since I have a serious lack of wood tools I will need to find some tools for a reasonable price. Craigslist is a resource I can use for finding cheap used tools. And I also have Menards just down the road. I do still have the challenge of finding a marketing plan that will get things off to a good start. I believe I will be checking out "Gorilla Marketing" from the local library. And in the Spring/Summer months I will try to get connected to some farmers markets and arts and crafts shows. Until then I will try to get an inventory built up and check into some of the legal matters of what I am trying to do.

This will not make me rich overnight, or at all. My goals are simply to start a self sustaining farm in the Forest Lake area. The name of our farm will simply be Johnson Farm with many headings (example: Johnson Farm Woodworking or Johnson Farm Meats and Eggs). As we go along things will change and ideas will keep coming and going. The main goals however will stay the same.

Eating and Cooking Bison

If more people knew about my desire to raise bison they would ask questions. But since very few people know of this passion, I will ask myself these questions. I hope you enjoy.

Why should a family add bison to their diet?

As a man, my reply would simply be "for the taste". If you cooked any main dish involving meat (say lasagna) with bison, and another with beef or sausage, the bison lasagna would win the taste test every time. Even comparing cheeseburgers, bison will taste better and will have a lot more moisture when prepared correctly.

Not only does bison taste better but it is also better for your body than beef, chicken or fish. Bison has 76% less fat than Beef and 68% less fat than chicken. It also has 43% more protein than beef. According to readers digest magazine, (something I have never read) bison is in the top 5 foods women should be eating.Their reasoning is because of the iron content.

Can you cook bison in the same manner as beef?

This is my first experience with buffalo prime rib.
It was the best cut of meat I have ever eaten.

Preparing bison is similar to beef in many ways and can be substituted for beef in many recipes. However bison needs patience and low heat. Over cooked bison is just like any other meat that has been overcooked, dry and tough. The FDA recommends meat to be cooked medium. I recommend medium rare steaks and medium burgers. But remember, cook em' slower and NEVER press down on your burgers while cooking. With bison meat, there is very little shrinkage when cooking, what you see is what you get. There is almost no fat to be cooked away. Don't be afraid to use a little bit of oil when cooking steaks and roasts. I have never tried a bison roast! What is wrong with me? Just imagine a bison roast just falling apart into bite sized pieces... Yuummmmm

And with that thought, I will leave you.

The Perfect Autumn Ale

There are very few people that know how to brew there own beer. So, I decided to share an easy way to brew quality beer in the comfort of your home. 

First things first. Pour a beer from your last batch (if this is your first batch a microbrew will work). In this case my last batch was an American Amber Ale that I named the "Tuff American Amber Ale". It had a beautiful amber color, complex flavors, wonderful aromas and 6.5%abv. What more could you want? 

Now to get started Brewing our Pumpkin Ale. 

1) Make sure you have all your equipment and ingredients. You can start your home brewery by buying a kit from your local Homebrew shop. Don't forget most kits do not include a brew pot or a food grade spoon. For my beer I purchased a pumpkin ale kit from Midwest Homebrew supply in St. Louis Park. Pumpkin was purchased at a local grocery store. I doubled the amount of pumpkin to give it a more pronounce flavor. There is a total of 60oz. of 100% pumpkin in this brew.

 2) Clean your brew pot, rinse thoroughly and add 2.5-3 gallons of water into your brew pot. Turn burner to high and watch the temperatures. Your goal is to reach and not exceed 150 degrees.

 3) Clean and sanitize the rest of your equipment. I cannot stress this enough. If you have unsanitary equipment you will taste it your final product. Once sanitized it can only be placed on a sanitary surface. Paper towels work just fine.

 4) You need to get all your crushed grains into your grain bag. I have mine crushed at the store because I don't have a grain mill at home. You only want to crack open the shell of the grain. Do not crush to a powder. You just want to get the flavors and colors out of the specialty grain leaving very little grain behind.

 5) Put your liquid malt extract in hot water (make sure its completely sealed). This makes it easer to pour.

 6) Now that your water is at 150 degrees you want to insert your grain sock into your brew pot and let it steep for 20-30 minutes.

Starting to infuse color

 7) Once your timer goes off take the grains out. You should have a nice color wort (pronounced wert) and a great foundation of a wonderful beer.

 Discard your grain bag any way you chose. I open the bag and scatter all my spent grains in the lawn to give the grass some carbons. 

 8) Remove your wort form the heat and pour in your malt extract. Make sure you are constantly stiring the wort so you don't scorch your malt extract. Its not fun to clean later.

 Add the brown sugar. Place back on burner and crank the heat to high. Get a good boil going. 

Pellet Hops 

9) Once you get your wort boiling, add your first package of hops.

 This will boil for  55 Minutes

 10) Prepare you pumpkin for easy handling and get your yeast soaking in a 1/4 cup of water. This will help your yeast start working quicker than just putting it in wort dry. We will come back to the yeast.

 11) Now that your timer has gone off its time to add the 60oz. of pumpkin...

 the cinnamon and nut meg and your last package of hops. Let this boil for another 5 minutes.

 12) When your last timer goes off you need to cool your wort as quickly as possible. The best way is with a wort chiller. But since I don't have one yet, I found an ice bath is the next best thing. Once the ice water gets warm, drain it and refill the sink with cold water.

 13) Once the wort reaches 100 degrees you can put it in your food grade pail.

 Top off your pail with cold water to bring the total liquid level to 5.25 gallons. This should bring your wort temp to 70degrees.  

 14) Take your original gravity reading. This  number tells you how much fermentable sugar are in your wort. It will also give you an indication of when your beer is done fermenting. You will also need this to measure your final alcohol reading when you bottle later.

15) Now you will pitch your yeast that has been sitting. Yeast will eat the sugars in your beer and convert them to alcohol.

16) Get your wort into your primary fermentation vessel. For my primary fermenter I chose a 6 gallon carboy.

 17) Put your air lock on or your blow off tube. A blow off tube is great in high gravity beers. Without it, you have a big mess all over your baby room... I mean... fermentation cellar.

 18) Place your fermenter in a cool dark place. Light and heat are enemies of fermentation. My fermentation cellar is the hall closet.

The beer on the left is a dunkelweizen. Going into bottles tomorrow.

If homebrewing is something you are going to try I wish you the best beer you have ever tasted. The most valuable books I have found are Homebrewing for dummies and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Both books are great resources for all experience levels.

Raising Bison

Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to raising Bison as a main enterprise. There are farmers that advise not to raise exotic breeds as a main income source, and with the advice from the old is usually the advice of the wise. So my pursuit of bison farming is definitely in the "lets think about it stage".

So, what am I thinking about?

I want to know how my animals are going to manage the cold Minnesota winters. With wind chills dipping down into the -50's to -100's I need to make sure cold weather will not be a problem. Before commercial hunting in the 19th century, Buffalo roamed from Canada's Great Bear Lake (in the Upper Northwest Territories) down to the center of Mexico. So the freezing cold winters and the sweltering hot and humid conditions we are currently experiencing will not slow the growth or production of this great animal. I also want to raise an animal that attracts attention from the public. I want to educate people about bison and how to responsibly steward God's beautiful creation in ways our ancestors never did.

The sad history of the bison. At one time there were bison herds as large as some of americas largest cities. They roamed across the land in such great number it literally made the ground shake. In the 19th century bison ware hunted commercially and endorsed by the US Army in order to force the indians onto reservations by depleting there food supply. Indians were hunting bison as they have for thousands of years. The indians alone were killing about 250,000 per year. Most indians would utilize the entire animal. Commercial hunters would strip the bison of there hides and leave the carcass in the field until all that remained were the bones.

Currently in america there are about 225,000 bison. Most are being raised by farmers that are trying to steward these animals well. This is considered an inspiring comeback from just a couple thousand in 1874 when President Ulysses S. Grant pocket vetoed and bill protecting the bison.

Bison are powerful, graceful, efficient, fast, beautiful and delicious. Far more nutritious than beef, the taste alone is truly amazing and will bring delight to any meal including breakfast.

On a later blog I will explore the special requirements for raising Bison as opposed to beef and how it will all fit together with my pigs, chickens and other enterprises.

Family Growth

Farming requires great stewardship in growing a variety of different things in a variety of different ways. Our most recent addition to our family has got me thinking about growing and nurturing our family physically and spiritually.

Growing... easy, be fruitful (ie. sex) and multiply = bigger family. However, there is more to growth than just numbers. There is growth in though, action, intention and healthy maturation. In the land of casseroles and hot dishes, passive religion, liberal individualism and crapy sports teams, I am becoming more and more conscious of outside influence and there potential effects on my family. Growing my family means to be a stronger influence than all outside influences combined. Example, any casserole containing cream of anything cannot compare to a pasta made with fresh, perishable and nutritious ingredients with a salad on the side (even though my taste buds say mashed potatoes with garlic for a side). Our lousy sports teams can teach us loyalty and and our passive religions can be used as a tool to teach passion. Finally, liberal individualism can be used to teach proper mockery.

Nurturing on the other hand can get really deep really quick. Keeping it simple, my desire is to teach Jesus and his works and plans in his creation. Everything follows on the footsteps of what my family believes about Jesus and the Bible. Reading, writing, arithmetic, athletics and music are all seen differently through the unencumbered lenses of faith. Love forms a new definition, passion takes on new meaning and sacrifice is done with a smile.

When we grow things, may it be basil and cilantro, cattle and goats, brewing beer and making wine, we always keep the growth of our family at the for-front of our minds. By the grace of God we will steward our families and our farms well.

Brewing Beer

 For about the past year my wife and I have been getting into the home brewing action with a trip to the local-not-so-local homebrew shop in Westminster CO. Our first brewing endeavor started not with beer, but wine. At the time I was not at all into wine. I was a microbrew guy to the core. Elise was definitely a wine girl with a knowledge of good beer. As the story goes, during our engagement we visited "Do your Brew" just to "look". After spending a short while looking, we were told that making wine was a simple process and would only take a little bit of our time and we could brew on premises. That day we started a Old Vine Zinfandel. And our home brew fun had begun.

 Last November my wife and I brewed our second batch of beer. It didn't have a classification of its own, however it did have a kick. Measuring 14+%ABV this was a strong beer. It had problems though. The taste was too earthy and there was very little carbonation, if any at all. The brewing part was great, my wife, brother and good friend all came over to enjoy the event. Thanksgiving dinner was the debut of the beer and I was disappointed. I believe all the guests at the thanksgiving dinner thought the same (even though they didn't say anything). Except Elise, she is always an encouragement and never lets me be defeated.
...Fast forward 4 months and a move to Minnesota...
I decided on a Imperial Nut Brown Ale for our next brewing adventure, the only brew since the epic failure a few months prior. Whenever we brew there is always beer on hand to drink, after all, its part of the experience. I have a few bottles of the failure brew sitting in the corner of our dinning room and I decided to pour a glass and give it a little sip. After pouring I noticed  a great deal of carbonation, full head, and the aroma of the beer was good, the taste was a lot less earthy. It actually turned out ok. The only venerable was the temperature, room temp instead of refrigerated.

 Now for the brewing of the Imperial Nut Brown Ale...
We begin the night by drinking Trout Slayer made by Big Sky Brewing Company in Montana. By we I really mean I because currently Elise is carrying our first baby. (We will get to meet our little girl in about a month). First steps in brewing is to clean everything to make sure your beer does not pick up any off flavors. At this stage I'm also making sure I have everything I need, ready and available.

After the steeping grains 

During the boil

 Time to get the brew pot doing its thing. I put about 10qts of water in and bring it to a temperature of 150. I steep the grain bag in this water for about 25min then remove the brew pot from the heat before adding the extract. (This beer is a partial mash so it includes both grains and extract). This brew calls for a couple things I have never used. Maltodextrin and powder malt extract in addition to the liquid extract I am familiar with. Then back on the burner to a full boil once everything is dissolved. The total time boiled is 1 hour with three stages of hops. The hop schedule is 45min 5min 2min.

 After the boil we cooled the wort as fast as we could by putting the brew pot in the kitchen sink and spraying down the sides of the pot with the sprayer attachment, making sure no water enters the wort. Once I got the temperature down to 90 I transferred the wort to the primary fermenter and added cold water to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. Once we get to this point, we take a gravity reading. This beer has a gravity of 1.076 which translated into a potential alcohol of 10%. So with those numbers, I figure the final alcohol reading will be between 6-8%ABV. After I take my readings I pitch the yeast and seal it up. We will be leaving it in the baby room where it is currently dark and cool. Not to worry, the beer will be out before the baby comes in.