Farm Update: Yearly Training

(New landscaping around the finally finished office!)

It's been a busy month so far, with not much time for me to sit down.  Over the past two weeks, I have been putting together our chore schedule.  The chore schedule is a chart that lists every person working on the farm by the location they work at each month.  I make the schedule 6 months at a time, with each person rotating at least once to a different job than they normally do.  This keeps the work crews from getting grumpy by seeing too much of each other, and it means that every job has at least 2 people that can do it.   Most people like switching jobs, and everyone has some input as to where they work.  It's nice to have the schedule done for a few more months, since it involves so many people working together.

In the field, the crops are growing like mad.  The field crew is scouting the fields, and then deciding whether we need to apply any herbicides.  On our farm, we use hog manure as a good source of fertilizer, but some of our fields don't get any manure put on, so then we have to use another source of nitrogen, anhydrous ammonia, to get the crops the nitrogen they need.  The anhydrous is applied in June, so that is well underway.

(Corn is two feet tall)

The biggest project for me personally in June is the start of our annual animal care training.  I meet with every person that works with a pig from the farm, and train them on handling and care.  In all, I probably train 150-200 people, mostly in groups of 5 or less. This allows for a lot individual time, where I can answer questions and tailor each session to the specific group needs.  During this time, I will personally see every pig on the farm.

This training is a lot of work, but it makes sure that each person on the farm understands our standards.  It prepares each farm for audit, and makes sure that all of the records are being kept up to date. By doing these checks, I can make sure that nobody gets too far out of line, and that any questions get answered.  The training may only formally happen once a year, but on a weekly basis, we (being myself and the others on the farm) are looking at things we could do to improve our animal care.  We are having conversations about animal care everyday with somebody on the farm.  It may not be the easiest thing I do all year, but it is one of the most important.

#MathieuStrong

This week is the first week of 2015 canoe training at home.  Last week, we were all recovering from Florida, so the training was pretty light, but over the weekend we got back out there for a 2 1/2 hour paddle on Saturday, and another 1 1/2 hours on Sunday.  Not the longest training for us, but it also isn't very nice out yet. We started our first interval training (well 2nd if you count the bit we did in Florida)  of the year yesterday, and I can definitely tell I haven't tried to move that fast in quite a while.  Hopefully we will be at somewhat prepared for the first race of our season this weekend.  

Besides canoeing, Mike and I decided to enjoy the weekend at home by going rock climbing at a nearby gym on Friday, and then run the first 5km of the year on Saturday.  The rock climbing was fun, but we tire out pretty quick, and were sore going into the run.  I didn't have any expectations going into the race , and once we got started I could see Mike was much further ahead of me than usual.  When I got to the finish line, I was shocked to see that I beat my time from last year by 20 seconds, and that Mike had set a new personal record by 45 seconds!  No wonder he was pulling away so fast.  Mom, Dad, and friend Weston also went to the race with us, and everyone had a good time.  

(Paddling Group on Sunday)

About a month ago I wrote about a fellow paddler, Mathieu, who suffered a terrible logging accident.  Tonight is a benefit dinner to help him transition his house to suit his new life.  Paddlers from all over are encouraging Mathieu with the #MathieuStrong logo.  So far, #MathieuStrong has been out skiing, on multiple rivers, at restaurants, St. Patrick's Day parties, and at different businesses.  We hope to continue to let Mathieu know we are thinking of him, and inspire him during his recovery.

Paddling in the Sunshine State

Last week you may have noticed I was a little bit quite, and that is because I took a nice week off to canoe train in Florida.  The canoe training "camp" is our transition from ski season to paddling season.  It gives us a nice base going into the spring for the early races in the season, and provides a much more pleasant environment to do a 4 hour paddle than Michigan is the first week in March.  This isn't the type of Florida spring break where you go south and to the coast, but a north-central Florida river trip.   This year we paddled 32 hours over 8 days, ran 5 days, did yoga on 2 days, and ate everything in sight.  That's what I call a successful training trip.

(Lunch stop on the river)

This camp isn't just with my family, but with paddlers from all over North America, and this year a group from the UK.  It's a great way to get together with everyone after a long winter.  With so many people attending, there are 30-40 boats on the water each day.  Everyone is really eager to switch partners, so each day is a chance to paddle with one or two different people.  

When we aren't paddling or eating, everyone sits around the campfire and chats.  This year I spent quite a bit of time talking with our new British friends, Mark, Mike, Shirine, and James.  It didn't take much convincing, but next Easter my husband Mike and I plan to head over to the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race.  It is a 125 mile race where paddlers/teams start individually based on what time they think they will hit the outgoing tide at the end of the race.  In addition to this very different starting style, there are 77 portages!  The most portages I have done in a race is 6, so that will definitely be something to practice.

The training trip to Florida did exactly what it was intended to do- gave me some long hours in the boat, let me meet some new people and get to know old friends better, and it let the snow melt out of southern Michigan.