The title might seem trivial to some, but the Big Skies of Montana have been overrun with clouds, rain and snow this past week. To sit and type this entry with the sun striking down brilliantly is a wonderful thing... now just to finish up so I can get back out there! The week has been jam packed with excitement. [...]
The winter season was long and cold, and saw little work completed on the farm. These past few weeks we have witnessed a thaw, and as we head into March, all signs point towards a hint of spring. Today mark's the one-week birthday of Porky's eleven healthy piglets. Venturing out into the corral, they move as a group to and [...]
In September of 2012, my wife Paige and I shut down our business in Kansas City, MO and moved to Western Montana for me to become the farm manager of ABC acres. Now, 4 and 1/2 years and two sons later, we are moving back to the Midwest. We are landing in Central Iowa, where we are both from and [...]
This week at ABC acres, we have been thoroughly enjoying the continued melting of the snow and ice, and the relatively warmer weather. At this point in the winter, anything on the thermometer above the freezing point feels rather mild and lovely, and promises the first signals of spring in just a few short weeks. Partially due to the way [...]
This week has been a bit of a strange one due to the weather, with the copious amounts of snow we received previously this winter rapidly succumbing to the relatively warmer temperatures and rain that has accompanied it. This has made for icy mornings and mucky afternoons, as the melt-off struggles to work its way into the frozen ground below, resulting [...]
This week at ABC acres saw more snow, and thus snow removal, as well as 4 of our heritage hogs being butchered on the farm. While we butcher and process our own poultry for personal consumption, we are not licensed to butcher and sell larger animals. In keeping with our ethic for having our livestock experience their entire existence on [...]
With the holidays now well behind us, and everyone sinking their teeth into 2017, it appears that now is the time of serious vacation planning for the Spring and Summer ahead - we are especially pleased with the tremendous amount of interest, enquiries, and bookings presently coming our way. So for this week's blog, an overview of ABC acres' principles, [...]
Reluctantly, winter has temporarily lessened its frigid sub-zero grip on us here in the Bitterroot Valley of Western Montana, allowing some melting of the stockpiled snow, which has been a mixed blessing. The warmer temperatures, with highs in the mid-to-upper 30s, along with daytime sunshine, and the subsequent below-freezing nighttime lows, have caused everything to become sheets of ice on [...]
I once had a friend give me advice regarding planning that I have kept in mind over the years, especially as farm manager of ABC acres. It was something to the effect of, "when making plans, make them in pencil, so they are easier to erase and change when the conditions inevitably change." Wise words that speak to the value [...]
This past week has been different for me here at ABC acres, signaling the nearing conclusion of my time here, and the coinciding reflection it brings. I told the Southwells my family and I were moving to Iowa to be close to family the beginning of March, and so I would be ending my time as farm manager and lead [...]
