Farming in the shade

We do one (1) fiber festival a year. This hardly makes us gypsies, but I like to dream. Other festivals land at bad times (actually, this one isn't landing at a great time, either) or are too far away or already have 4,000 vendors selling exactly the same thing as we sell. But the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival is small, charming, and held on the grounds of the lovely Ogemaw County Fair Grounds. In the fall. What's not to love? Come and see us this weekend. It's worth the drive. You can take your wheel or your spindle and sit a spell with us and visit. The Farmer will be demonstrating sock knitting on his antique circular sock machine during the day on Sunday.

Which U.S. states are the leading producers of dry beans? 1. North Dakota - 32% 2. Michigan - 17% 3. Nebraska - 11% 4. Minnesota - 9% 5. Idaho - 8% 6. Colorado - 5% 7. California - 5% 8. Washington - 4% --US Dry Bean Council, Production Facts and FAQs

Over the last couple of weeks we've been spot-harvesting mature parts of several of the bean fields. We were trying to get some of every variety harvested, milled and sorted. We wanted to bring them to the Ag Symposium and we also wanted to start selling them at farmers markets. Hutterite Soup Beans, which cook fast and make a creamy soup without the need for dairy products.  Yellow Indian Woman Beans, which retain their shape well, and are less starchy. These beans are good in salads, and can be used in place of the common black turtle bean when you want a different color.  Black Valentine Beans, which taste a bit like kidney beans. They are great for salads, soups and dips. They are larger and more shiny than black turtle beans. October Beans, a member of the cranberry bean family. These beans have a creamy texture, a slightly nutty flavor, and thin skins. Use in soup and chili. Jacob's Cattle Beans, great for traditional baked beans or casso...

We are producer members of the West Michigan Coop  and today is pick-up day. So part of yesterday we spent getting the orders ready. Customers order on-line once a month, and we travel to the city to meet them and bring them the items they've ordered. If we have extra items for sale, we can bring the extras along, too, for impulse sales. But it's nice to know that we are guaranteed a certain level of sales before we make the drive. Each bag of beans is weighed out on our trusty scale. Looks like this one needs a bit more in it. These handy strawberry carriers make hauling the bags of beans much easier. See you tonight, West Michigan Coop!

Horses, hay rake and bean field almost ready for harvest. Today many are talking and thinking about the terrorist attacks 11 years ago. That is as it should be, for it was a day that changed many things. Since that day, we have a new "normal". It seems each time I turn around there is a new normal. I spent today waiting with a family member in the hospital's surgical waiting room as they were cutting the last of the cancer out of her husband's body. You'd better believe they've had a summer of new "normal". Our family now includes a married daughter and a son in law. Just about the time the ink was dry on their marriage license, we had another young man asking for another daughter's hand in marriage. So next summer we will rejoice with them as they are married. New normal. The last of our children is a senior in high school, and I am facing the very real fact that an era in which I've defined myself as a "homeschool mom" is rapidly ...

Did you know? The Bureau of Engraving and Printing depends on farmers to produce paper currency--75% of every bill is made of cotton. (That's why you can launder dollar bills and they don't fall apart, unlike checks.) One bale of cotton can produce 313,600 $100 bills -- over $31 billion dollars worth!

As small farmers, we struggle to find ways to store the bits of various grains we have on the farm. We have big bins and a grain leg auger system which worked really well when all we raised were corn and soybeans. But now that we have several types of beans and small grains in addition to a bit of corn, those large bins aren't as useful. So the oats we harvested in July were left in the combine. But with bean harvest starting, we need to use the combine. Time to empty it and clean it out. Out, oats, out! These poly totes work for storage. They're not easy to get the grain and beans back out of, but they keep the different types of product separate and clean.

The weather forecasters predict a bit of rain overnight, something we've had mighty little of this summer. We decided the time is right to start pulling beans. There is a section of the October bean field that is fully mature. Too much rain might sprout the beans. We hand pulled them and threw the plants on a hay wagon with a tarp. See how ready the plants look? They really pull up well, and it's not hard work. But it does take a long time. And today it was hot and still. These will dry on the wagon for a couple of days, and we'll feed them through the combine. Perhaps we'll have enough October beans to bring to the farmers' market this weekend!