Introductions: Who we are and what we do!

[Chrissy Lynch]

How inspiring to see that the collective Farmers and Ranchers group is the largest here at WFNA so far!  It's a wonderful thing that there are so many out there doing the good work, infusing our area with great food and a healthy attitude.  We come from all walks of life, and engage in a wide and interesting variety of activities.  We find ourselves in the process of trying to refine and define what makes this group a "group", and to see if there is merit in making another group to better serve the diverse special interests the we Missourians hold.

So, folks, who are you and what do you do?!  Let's get familiar with each other!  Sound out proudly with a brief snap shot of what goes on at your farm.  How do YOU classify yourself?  What specifically is your focus?  Livestock, veggies, poultry, fruit, a little bit(or a whole lot!) of everything?  We've all got to work together to take Missouri back to her roots...  It's important to know who we are doing it with!

And very importantly, how do you feel that we can best utilize the WFNA to enrich our lives?  What gets you excited when you think about farmers having a voice and a community behind them?  How can we use each other 's knowledge to help build a stronger farming presence?   What can we do for each other, to bring back local food and local jobs?

Thanks so much everyone, I am really excited to see what we've got going on!

[Chrissy Lynch]

Here I go: My name is Chrissy. I live with my husband and kids on the small family farm I was raised on. As with all young families, we are in the process of fine tuning our approach(a.k.a. figuring out just what we want to do).

Right now our focus is on PERMACULTURE... Integrating animals and plants into our farm that will work symbiotically to maintain a diverse and sustainable ecosystem through all seasons. We raise chickens(have dabbled in raising free range broilers to sell), dairy(hand milked)/beef(grass fed)cows and pigs(pastured). With the help of our fuzzy and feathered friends, we are building the soil for one heck of a market garden. Of course, we do this all as natural as possible. Lots of trial and error right now, but we have big dreams!

I love the feeling that is growing with the start of the Well Fed Neighbor Alliance... That we are all united in bringing back a sustainable, community based way of life. There is great potential for us to work together... To heal some gaps in our local web. I'm thinking plant farmers helping raise feed for animal farmers, animal farmers helping bring fertilization to the gardens, combining efforts to improve profitability and function for each other, and all farmers together(power in numbers!) bringing food and education to the hungry masses!

[Joe Janowski]

Greene Acres is a small family owned and operated farm northwest of Springfield near Willard. We produce 100% grass fed beef and lamb, pastured broilers and farm fresh eggs. Occasionally we have goat milk and goat meat available. We've implemented a rotational grazing system for the beef and lamb and rotate our laying hens and broilers through the pastures as well during spring, summer & fall. My name is Joe Janowski. My wife is Brenda and we have two wonderful children (Joseph and Shannon) who contribute tremendously to the operation.

[Rachel Klessig]

First of all...thanks for inviting me to this group Chrissy.

My name is Rachel. My husband and I and our 7 children live and work our small family farm (Jersey Knoll) just north of Gainesville. Our main focus is raw milk and pastured poultry but we do raise about 10 hogs and a few beef (grass fed) every year as well, and of course we have laying hens (which don't seem to be laying right now but that seems to be the trend everywhere),

We have been somewhat successful in marketing to the local community but are expanding this year to include some market gardening and we will offer greenhouse plants. We put up a large hoophouse last spring and hope to utilize it better this year. Our goal would be for our farm to be our main source of income in the future but I realize that is going to take time, and a lot of work.

I would love to see this group expand and for us all to share ideas about marketing and to bring about community awareness of the importance of locally produced foods.

[Evelyn Hansen]

Hello,
I don't like to give out too much info online. There are just too many PETA members out there. I've had friends who got hit by PETA after she advertised a horse online. They staged a fake 'rescue', several of her horses died behind it.
That being said, we raise cattle for meat & milk, meat breed sheep, chix, ducks, geese & turkeys for meat & eggs. The ducks will also keep the pond clean & mosquitos down. Our animals live out on the pastures, eating pasture plants. They get pasture, mineral & sea kelp, nothing that isn't natural for them to eat. No 'grain', no urea, no nada. When their time comes, they are humanely harvested. Then, I supervise cutting/packaging. I know it's our meat, grown as healthy & happy as nature provides.
Good luck to all in growing healthy food!

[Ted M.]

We raise sheep, goats, cows and chickens. Our goal is to become sustainable and be fully organic. We never use chemical, we only use antibiotics when necessary, and only use dewormers when necessary. With the rotational grazing going up next year, we hope to be able to almost completely cut off our worming. The problem around here is that organics are generally looked down upon, so it's a bit hard. I guess everyone thinks the stuff at the store is equivalent??
Exciting times lay ahead, unless of course S.510 gets into effect... Who knows what happens then.
We also do permaculture, trying to tune our farm as much as possible with nature. When nature is fought against unnecessarily, things don't work out and chemicals end up getting used. The sheep mow the lawn, for example.

We have 35 dairy goats, 13 of which we milk regularly, 11 cows and 25 ewes (Katahdin hair sheep). Have found the goats to be of a most delightful personality, particularly the LaManchas. Dairy goats also don't to get out as often as meat goats, and when they do, they can be put back quite nicely. We were also pleased to find out that goat's milk indeed, does not have a 'goat flavor'. A most pleasant discovery. And then, 1 goat became 35. They are contagious. The Homesteadingtoday.com goat people have various names for this 'disease'!
Ted

[Amy Green]

My in-laws own Whispering Oaks Vineyard and Winery in Seymour Missouri. My husband is their one and only paid employee. I am the advertising/marketing/PR/event coordinator. My pay is that my kids get to work and play with their dad and grandparents each day and they know where food comes from. We have 360+/- of farm with naturally raised grass fed angus/hereford beef cattle and 14 acres of production vineyard. The cattle are sold a few at at time or consumed by our family. We planted the vineyard in 1997 as a retirement project for Larry and Miriam. We had no idea what we were doing as far as viticulture, but we were willing to work hard and learn from anyone willing to talk with us. We have 10 varieties of grapes some are native (Norton, Cayuga White, Catawba) and some are European/American hybrids. We use a little fungicide as possible and so far no pesticides. We make our wine 100% from our grapes and we sell grapes to several other wineries in Missouri. We hire local folks for harvest so our dollars stay here in Missouri. We work to preserve the land and use it's resources wisely. We also work to educate folks on the history of viticulture in Missouri and to embrace the varieties that grow well here. Personally, I heard about the Well Fed Neighbor on the radio. It really inspired me to give gardening another try. I really love the days when everything on our plates is something I or my in-laws raised. I am trying to have more and more of those by buying locally. We are also looking to start buying our bottles from a vendor in Jonesboro, Arkansas. They make their own bottles of all shapes and sizes. No more foreign imports for us!