In Case You Didn't Know

In Case You Didn't Know...

10/23/2017

People seem to be intrigued by our lives.

One of my co-workers says I am so interesting....I think she means that in a good way?

We are just ordinary people who have chosen a not so ordinary path in our lives.

So just in case you were wondering....

Here is what most people want to know about us...

Did you grow up on a farm?

Nope. Daniel and I both grew up in the city.

Daniel always wanted to move to the country, but it wasn't until after we bought horses, that we knew country living was a must. You can read more about that story here.

How much land do you have?

We bought a country fixer-upper on 11 acres. The original farm was about 50 acres, but over the years portions of it were sold off. We were left with the original farm house and 11 acres.

At the time, we didn't have kids, but we knew that when we did, they would attend a Christian school. Knowing that tuition could be as much or more than a mortgage payment, any house we bought had to be very cheap. To find a house we could afford, but allow us to pay tuition in the future, we moved farther from the city than we had intended.

We ended up with more land than we were looking for, and a house in much worse shape than we were wanting. Almost 17 years later, the city keeps getting closer and closer and we have fixed up most of the house....and our kids still attend a Christian school.

Do you farm full time?

No. Both Daniel and I work full-time off the farm.

Daniel commutes about 45 North to work as a commercial HVAC technician.

I commute about an hour South to work in the finance department of a law firm.

We meet in the middle to farm on the evenings and weekends.

How long have you had cows?

We bought our first 4 Miniature Herefords in 2009.

Walker was just 3 years old and was able to travel to Missouri with his Daddy to pick up the new cows because he still wasn't in school.

Isaac wasn't very happy to be left behind.

Where did you get your first Miniature Herefords?

We went right to the source. Daniel called Roy Largent, and fortunately, for us, he was selling off cows during the Texas drought.

Our original 4 cows are all Largent and Sons cows.

Daniel and Walker met Roy in Missouri. When those trailers backed up to each other in the hotel parking lot, we became official cattle farmers.

You can read more about that story here.

Little did we know that years later we would cross paths with Roy's daughter.

How did you learn what you know?

Trial and error...more error than trial.

We have learned to ask lots and lots of questions.

Year by year we have gained experience just from day to day operations and trial and error. It still amazes us how far we have come. Each year we look back and can see how far we have come. We still have a long was to go, but when you start at 0, any little bit of knowledge gets you much farther than you were before.

The only formal training we have had in anything farm related is the Artificial Insemination class Daniel took last year.

A post shared by 4 Wiley Farm (@4wileyfarm) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:56pm PDT

Do you A.I. yourself?

Yes and no.

Daniel has taken an A.I. class, but he has not had a lot of experience. We do still have a friend A.I. our more high-risk candidates.

Do you bale your own hay or buy it?

We bale our own hay.

When we bought the farm, a cousin gave us an old baler. He had replaced most of the parts, but it just kept breaking down and leaving him stranded in the field. It was rusty and ugly and in dire need of some TLC.  We had a friend who readjusted everything and got the baler working great for us.

That started our adventure in hay.

We have since junked the original baler and gradually bought more and newer hay equipment.

We do all our own square bales and neighbors bale the round bales for us.

We have added another field at another farm now that we have more cows. We are at the point that another hay field would be beneficial, but we have to find the right field in the right location...and be confident we have the resources and time to get in baled.

Will you ever move back to the city?

I hope not.

The country is in our blood.

We are lucky to have the perfect mix of both worlds. We have good jobs in the city, access to shopping on the way home, and then our favorite part of the day in the country.

Do you think your kids will continue to farm?

We hope so.

The boys love the country and they love cows.

When they were little, they would always talk about living in our house when they grew up. We never really figured out where we were supposed to live while they ran the farm.

Isaac started his own herd when he purchased Annabelle and now he has 2 cows out of her.

Walker is still saving his pennies to hopefully be able to buy his first cow soon.

Isaac is starting to think about college. He doesn't want to be a vet, but he is definitely looking at options in agriculture....and anything that doesn't involve a computer (he is the most anti-technology teenager I have ever met).

Walker wants to be on the farm, but he doesn't really know which direction he wants to go.

He's got plenty of time to decide.

Looking back, sometimes I am still surprised that I am living on a farm. Both Daniel and I have come a long way over the years.

We didn't wake up one day and decide to be cattle farmers.

It has been years and years of little decisions and one thing leading to another.

We have changed a lot...

I don't think my parents know what happened to their daughter. However, they don't complain too much when they can just pick up the phone and order some farm fresh eggs and grass fed steaks to be delivered to their door the next day.

Life has a way of changing you. I have certainly changed...but in a good way. I have been blessed to experience some amazing things.

We work our tails off...

Are exhausted at the end of every weekend...

Are "more interesting" than most people we know...

But it's not really work when you are having this much fun.

This is Us - our life, our story, our farm