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Sheep Thrillz
39562 Hwy 226
Scio, Or 97374
503-394-2021
ir@sheepthrillz.com
Please note we are unable to take online orders directly at this time. Please call 503-394-2021 to place an order.
Triumph and Tragedy
by Ian Caldicott
I used to work for cooperative extension on a program to teach people methods of farming profitably on small acreage. One of the topics that was covered briefly at the start of the class is what it takes to succeed, not just in term of experience, financing and techniques but the mindset needed. You can gain experience, you can get financing and you can learn the techniques; you can even prepare yourself mentally for the kind of life you will have, but I don't think that is quite enough. I think there is a personality aspect that is essential, a way of looking at the world, something intangible that is essential. Recently I was talking to a herding student who trades work on the farm for lessons, and in talking to him I realized that I think I have come to grips with the crux of what it takes to be a farmer.
Farming, it seems to me, is a series of loosely connected triumphs and tragedies --some large, some small -- falling in no particular order. This is more dramatically the case when it comes to livestock but is no less true for crops. I think the difference between someone who is cut out for this life and someone who isn't lies in how we deal with the continual flow of triumphs and tragedies. Those of us who are "cut out" to be farmers find that the triumphs are such that we would not want to choose to avoid the tragedies if it meant we wouldn't get to experience the triumphs.
It is the joy that comes of seeing a lamb that was near death a week earlier playing in the fields with the other lambs, of helping a ewe deliver a set of healthy twins, of a patch of large ripening squash, of seeing your annual flower seeds blooming in abundance, of a strong new fence finished or of a new farm stand's completion that we live for and that makes life worthwhile. The tragedies of a pregnant ewe drowned in an irrigation ditch, of a dozen lambs killed by coyotes, of disease wiping out your tomato crop, of a late frost killing all your seedlings, of a bridge washing out in a storm or your animals breaking through an old fence to ruin your hay crop are just bumps in the road -- sad and frustrating. but they only remind you that the next joyful victory could be here tomorrow.
On the other hand I think that for many people this attitude is not within them. Over time the tragedies begin to wear them down, each one making life that much more miserable, until the joys no longer seem worthwhile. On a large farm or ranch the owners tend to become somewhat insulated from the everyday ups and downs, the triumphs and tragedies are more abstract, perhaps even just numbers. Even for the farmhands the tragedies' impact is diminished because they are not so invested in the farm. It is my belief, however, that on small farms it is how you handle and respond to the little triumphs and tragedies of farm life that ultimately determine if you will be happy and successful in your enterprise.
Anyone with some time and desire can learn the skills to farm, there are many people and resources that can help you along the road to the experience needed. There are in fact many ways that small farms can be successful and profitable. You can prepare yourself physically for the hard work involved and learn the marketing skills needed. You can prepare mentally for the lifestyle choice that is farming and over the course of a few years build a successful farming operation. However in order to truly enjoy the farming life, to make a long term successful and happy life for yourself, I believe that there has to be in your nature the kind of mentality to thrive on the triumphs and tragedies that will undoubtedly punctuate your life.
