Featured Farm of the Month Sept. (Fruitful Farm)
They are a small 3rd in to 4th generation family farm who grow produce and crops with methods to heal the land, and raise animals outside in the fresh air and green grass. Healthier land, healthier plants, healthier animals, healthier families, yours and mine.
An Interview with Lori Bender of Fruitful Farm:
How long have you been farming at Fruitful Farm?
My dad Ray bought the farm in 1969. It was a dairy farm shortly before then. Dad and my grandpa fixed the place up, and planted a new orchard to replace the original orchard that was here. The farm was mostly a hobby farm with fields farmed by neighbors until 1990's when I was old enough to really help out and started my ideas for what the farm could do. Paul and I married in 1999 and we moved back to the home farm in 2000 right before our first child Judy was born.
What kinds of livestock do you raise?
We raise Beef, Pork, Goats and Chickens for meat sale. That is the plain answer. I started with horses as a kid. Then I got into grass fed beef, that were jersey cross calves from a neighbor's farm. That got us hooked on the sweet, yellow fat, and great dark marbled taste of grass fed Jersey beef. We currently have a total of 18 cow critters in the pasture. Daisy (our family milk cow), Flower, and Beauty are our breeding cows. Lilly and Rosey are this year's heifer (girl) calves and the rest are steers of different ages from this years calves to full size beef. We started with hogs about 5 years ago. Currently we have two breeding females who are yorkshire duroc cross hogs, Mrs. Piggy and Freckles. Hero is our herd boar and is a Hereford hog. Herford's were originated in Iowa in the 1920's and are an excellent pasture animal. We also have two of our daughter's show hogs from the Crawford County Fair, and two little weanling piggies. The goats are Opal, Ashley, Ann The Goat and Bucky. The girls are Alpines and Sanann which are dairy breeds, and Bucky is a Boar goat which is a meat breed. We expect Opal to kid in the fall. We still have two horses Mizzy and Sassy , a pony Mini Pearl and a mini horse named Misty. Flocks of fuzzy cornish cross chicks arrive and grow into pasture- raised chickens, living in portable chicken tractors in the yard and pastures.The laying hens and noisy roosters roam free like the other fowl on the farm. Our geese, duck ( we had more but racoons like duck too) and turkeys are currently at pet status being breeding animals only. All of our babies hatched this year have become racoon, coyote, or hawk food. We have 3 dogs Shepard, Tippy and Hunter, too many cats and kittens plus the girls two pet Bettas.
Which is your favorite kind of livestock?
This is a hard question to answer. The cows are pretty to watch, a
nd have a routine coming in to the pasture and out of the woods almost like clock work. Our animals are very quiet and friendly. The cows have an inquisitive nature and love attention and a look forward to moving into the next pasture lot. Plus, I have to agree with the kids, cows can lick their own nose.
Do you have a favorite animal on the farm?
That too is a trick question. Our horses, dogs and cats have pet status. My picks would be Sassy the horse, Shep the dog and then Pumpkin the cat. The trick is that our breeding animals also become special to us and have their own places in our hearts too.
Since this is a family farm, what do the kids do to help?
Paul and I as well as generations of farmers, that farming is not a job, it's a lifestyle. The children live on the farm. They have a deep want to do their part. The biggest thing for us is keeping the children within their abilities, and foster their love for this life and all that is in it. Our children gather eggs, feed chickens, brush everyone they can get their hands on, fill stock tanks, help move animals, open gates for tractors, chase the goats back into the pasture, pet peeps, clean stalls, help in the garden, pick apples and pears, eat I mean pick berries and all of the rest of it. If Paul and I want to ground them, we take away barn chores. They hate to be grounded to the house.
Do you have favorite beef or pork recipe that is easy to make for those busy evenings when you have had a full day with the kids and animals?
Beef is great, Roasts in the crock pot or stew meat with broth, onions, carrots and potatoes is easy. The fastest beef is canned sprinkled with flour to make a gravy heated in a sauce pan and poured over anything (rice, mashed potatoes, biscuts toast etc. Pork roast with apples, potatoes and onions is great in the crock pot. Sweet sausage sandwiches cooked with tomatoes, onions and peppers over a hearty bread is a hit too.
Tell us something about your family life.
Our children are Judy 11, Jessica 8, Jordan 6, Joanna 4, and Joshua 20 months. I am Lori and my hard working husband is Paul. We live in a pre-civil war farm house which is been in some form of remodel since 1969, and maybe before that. We own 115 acres, with woods, sugar bush, fields, pastures, orchards, springs, creeks and a pond. I am the last farmer on my dad's side and one of two farming grand-kids on my mother's side. My husband Paul seems to be born to farm, and if you get to meet our son Josh, the first thing he might say is "tractor".
We love this life, our animals, our land. It can be a lot of hard work, but our children live in the fresh air, know the beauty of the sunset painted each night, and the satisfaction of being caretaker of it all.
When asked "What is your job? What does you job do?" Only the farmers can answer "We feed the world."