Chicama Run Family Farm

7 years ago when we moved here, I never thought we would be where we are today.  I never thought that I would have an actual FARM that people talked about and have people ask ME for advice about starting their own farm.  Ok, my first response is "don't do this".... in other words don't get as large as we have gotten - it's a lot of work (and a lot of money).

So over the past 7 years, we have discovered a lot about farming in general and what works for us and what works for others.  Not everything will work for every person.  It's been a very educational experience.

First - did you know a chicken will be happy to travel 150 YARDS away from their coop for food?  Now you know why there are chickens in my front yard, yet their coop is in the back.  I always thought they would stay close to home - but they don't - as long as they have some sort of cover during the day, they will travel.  Needless to say, I don't think the ones that have come up to the house and found some pretty yummy bugs and such are sharing the information as most stick to the back fields and follow the cows around.  My idea is to give them a safe place at night to sleep and enjoy the eggs.  I like my roosters as well - we have close to 50 or 60 I believe (they never line up for a head count).  They are pretty to look at (and yes - farming is about aesthetics as well as usefulness)... and serve a purpose.

Second - goats and sheep are funny to watch - but more work than a lot of people think.  They have hooves which need to be clipped and cleaned out etc.  They also get worms so they need to be watched for signs.  But I like the smaller varieties and breeding the larger ones at this point, I will leave to others.  Been there, done that.... I can't actually do everything - which is very hard to admit.

Third - pigs.  I LOVE my pigs.  They provide endless entertainment with babies and personalities.  Never try and tell me they are ugly, unintelligent animals - they are smarter than dogs and I swear, some humans I know.  Yep - they can stink and even I don't like that smell... but I can live with it because I love my pigs.  They don't require as much maintenance as other animals - but I still watch closely.  And since a nice retired pig farmer/customer came to my rescue and showed me HOW to fix baby pigs - I can now do that without calling a vet (I like my vet - but prefer to call only if absolutely needed).

Last - cows.  These require more work than any other animal on the farm. They need to be milked 2x per day, fed, and monitored.  I love my cows - but I wouldn't be heart broken to see them go - only because of the amount of work needed to deal with them.  Did you know that the only reason we have an employee is because of the cows?  When I was sick, I needed help during the week and we needed someone to help milk - so we hired someone.  Now it still gives me a break to be able to do other things around the farm.  Yes, my kids help out as well - but having someone who can do that makes sure we can go away for a few days here or there.

Our way of farming..... taking care of our animals the best way we can and providing them all a wonderful and happy home as long as they are with us.

At least 1 time per week I get a phone call from an over-zealous new chef with a brave new idea who wants to use local farm ingredients.  I say over-zealous because, well, they all seem to think this is THEIR new idea.  Hate to break it to them that I know of some restaurants that have been using local stuff for YEARS.

So anyways, I always turn them down and they seemed utterly SHOCKED that I have the nerve to do this to THEM.

Here's our reasoning.  We HAVE worked with A restaurant.  We LIKED working with them (and we still like having drinks with the owners).  However, it became non-feasible for us to continue.

See, I can sell all my eggs at $4.75 per dozen pretty much every week.  So why would I wholesale them for $3 per dozen?  Yes - it would be a 1 stop drop off and I'd be done.  But did you know there are certain rules and taxes if you wholesale BULK eggs?  Seriously - extra paperwork (which I wonder sometimes if people ever actually pay attention to).

Moving on to beef.  We raise a certain number of steers for beef per year.  This insures that the quality of the beef I present is consistent EVERY package.  It's all incredible (and that's me being egotistical - but heck - it IS amazing!).  If I were to increase production to make sure I have enough to supply restaurants PLUS our customers, well something would have to give... and I'm not willing to give up on quality - sorry...and I like my customers so I'm not dropping them!

The same thing with beef applies to pork... but it actually just takes so many pigs to produce a certain amount of products.  Everyone wants bacon.  Well there is only 7-14lbs of bacon per pig.... so how many pigs would I need to raise?  See why a containment system is good for bulk products?

Lamb and goat?  Well we don't butcher nearly enough per year to supply anyone but ourselves.  We sell all our lamb within the 2 weeks after butchering - so why wholesale?

Lastly, they want me to transport the product to them.  Do they think we have unlimited people available to drive out to DC or Fairfax to take them a couple hundred dollars worth of product?  Flat out - I don't.  I'm lucky that we got help for the market this season.  Running a farm and having a family is a full-time PLUS job.  There is no extra time and emergencies can happen which need my attention and I can't worry about a delivery if I am worried about a cow giving birth who is having a difficult time or a kid who is sick.  Yet their menu depends on my delivery and I wouldn't be able to make it.  Too much pressure.

It doesn't mean I condone the chefs that are searching - and I hope they find farms that CAN provide them with what they are looking for.  There are a lot out there that are just starting who would probably RATHER deal with just a couple of chefs vs the thousands I deal with every week.

There is a way to make it work - but it's just not going to include my farm at this point.