Farm

So, I’ve finally decided to comply with all of your pleas and explain what exactly a farm is. However, first, perhaps it’s best that I start by telling you exactly what a farm isn’t: Profitable. I’ve been keeping up with it on Quickbooks for the last year or so as though it’s a real business and it’s confirmed that we basically lose money every year, as I expected. Not that we lose a lot every year (we’re actually on pace to be profitable for this year), but the fixed costs of building fences and barns and shelters is so immense that it’d be pretty difficult to ever make enough to offset those original costs.

Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re not interested in the financial aspects of the farm. Sorry, that was the accountant coming out in me.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever properly explained what we have on the farm – calling it a farm is probably an overstatement. We have two fields for livestock, one which hosts 41 goats and another which hosts 25 cows and a donkey. We also have a small garden surrounding our house and two small ponds that people seem to mistake for a public fishing hole. The rest of our land is covered in pine trees, where we run a small hunting club (I don’t suppose the hunting club or pond is technically part of the “farm” but I figured I’d mention them, as we consider it all related in that they’re forms of income on our property. If anyone cares, the hunting club actually is profitable).

On the whole we own 178 acres, which is about the size of 178 football fields, not including the endzones or sidelines. Honestly, I think the whole thing is more trouble than it’s worth and my parents clearly just do it for fun and not for profit (though, actually, it is profitable to keep doing it now since the original fixed costs are already sunk, but it definitely isn’t a profitable industry to enter). Now, when I say that I think it’s more trouble than it’s worth, understand I love the farm – it’s just that it can be very demanding. We basically can’t leave it alone for more than a day, as goats are constantly getting stuck in the fence or having babies that need attending to. It’s not something you can take a vacation from.

Ok, enough with my babbling, I know what you all really want. I promise to post pictures tomorrow.