I am super excited to be partnering with Indiana Pork to talk about raising hogs here on our farm. I love sharing time-tested farmhouse kitchen recipes here on my site but my full-time gig is being a farmer. A job I love to do and love to share

We are a grain and livestock farm in Central Indiana. On our farm, we raise corn, soybeans, winter wheat and have a hobby herd of beef cattle. We also raise nursery to finish hogs.

My husband and I have been raising hogs for 30 years and have experienced the highs and lows. From owning our own hogs, farrowing to finishing, sows on outdoor lots to gestation crates, finishing pigs outside to confinement buildings.

We are a contract hog farm now – we own the buildings but not the pigs. This has given us the opportunity to still be involved in animal agriculture with the ability to invest more in our crop farm.

Either way, we care for the livestock daily. We continually invest time and care into the animals and their buildings.

Good Pork Chops

As I reviewed and contemplated the Pork Cares website and read the sentence:

Six ethical principles guide the We Care Commitment, enabling us to create advancements beyond our barn doors that positively impact our animals, our farms, our food, our people, our communities, and the environment.

I won’t lie I got a little overwhelmed until I broke them down and realized they are simply what we do every day, we just don’t think of them in these terms.

I can’t wait to share with you how these play out day to day on our farm. They come second nature as we work because our job daily is to provide the best care we can while the livestock is in our charge.

Pork Chop Recipes:

• Sheet Pan Pork Chop Dinner
• Simple Grilled Pork Chop Sandwich Meal
• Fried Smothered Pork Chops
• BBQ Smoked Pork Chops

Post is sponsored by Indiana Pork

Follow along here and on Indiana Pork Farmer’s Facebook page

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For me, it’s extremely intimidating to ask for someone to take a picture of me. Why can’t people just read my mind? The Mother’s Day I learned to just ask for the pictures might be my favorite.

That year we were about to finish up corn planting, we had one farm left, it was right around 100 acres. Chris was determined to get it done even if it meant working on what I consider a great holiday! He had asked me earlier in the week what I wanted and I had told him what I really wanted more than anything was for him to take more pictures of me and Casey.

So Sunday morning he asked me to pack a lunch for all 3 of us and handed me my gift – a couple of frames and a disposable camera. We all 3 loaded up in the pick-up truck and headed to the field to work, just the 3 of us working together. I ran the finisher all day while Chris planted corn. Casey took turns riding with us, when she got bored in one tractor we switched her to the other one. And every switch we made he would whip out the disposable camera and snap a picture.

A Mothers Day Picture

He took more pictures of me that day than the first 7 years we were married combined. It was a perfect day and we got the corn all planted. They aren’t photographs they are true pictures of life which have always been my favorite.

Did I mention that Casey was 3 and a half at the time? She was full of energy, questions and liked to sing the same song repeatedly.

Did I mention I was 7 months pregnant that day?

Did I mention I wouldn’t trade this Mother’s Day for diamonds, ruby’s, or pearls, not even for a million and one pictures! It truly is one of my all-time favorite memories. Maybe because I like to hold it over Chris’ head that I was 7 months pregnant and working with a 3-year-old the pictures of that day are tangible evidence that ours is a way of life, not just a job.

Together we can accomplish anything.

My favorite letterboard from Amazon

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A new soon-to-be trucking warehouse seemed to appear overnight not 3 miles from my home. It crossed the line, the imaginary line I didn’t realize I had in my head, maybe more specifically in my heart.

That line was apparently State Road 44 running east to west and Interstate 65 in the north-south direction. There is a warehouse right across the road, but it hadn’t crossed the line, the line I had drawn in the sand. This new one had, it took my breath away and I have no shame in sharing that I cried.

I’ve lived on 2 farms my entire life, both of which have been 20-25 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. How did development and urbanization hit me so hard this time? Did I miss the city for the buildings? Eventually, this building will just be part of the landscape I have become used to like all the other ones.

Progress will always involve growing pains for someone. In this case, it’s the American Farmer. Fighting progress seldom works and in all reality, we {farmers} can’t afford this particular fight.

They keep telling us we, the farmers, feed the world, when do we decide “feeding the world” isn’t our job any longer. It’s gut-wrenching watching prime farmland being developed from my perspective.

How do you know when to give up, when to throw in the towel?

How do you decide you’re fighting a losing battle?

How do you decide it’s even your battle?

The realization that we, as Americans, spend more time and money protecting swamps than we do the land that feeds us is shocking. I wish I had the answer, an answer that works for everyone.

I know I’m not the first person to ponder this or even the first generation. Every industry in every generation faces “progress”, both good and bad/for or against. I have no desire to tell others what to do with their land, in the not so near future that decision will be upon us. It’s heavy enough without the weight of others’ opinions bearing down as well.

Change is inevitable.

Farmwife Feeds on Facebook

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Who else started out this “shelter in place” order thinking:

“THIS IS IT, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR”

I always say I never have time, well here it is, the gift of time. This was the opportunity I’ve been wishing for.

I started out strong. I’m an inside out cleaner! If the closets and storage areas aren’t clean it’s just surface clean. So I started in an area that hadn’t seen the light of day in years, the toy closet/storage.

Three hours in I suddenly remembered why I had closed that door and hadn’t looked back. I literally destroyed a room trying to clean a closet. But 4 days, a lot of tears, several prayers, and 3 bottles of wine later that damn toy storage is clean!

 And let’s be very clear, my definition of “pandemic clean” is very loose. I mean, after all, I’m not afraid to admit I sit on my dirty kitchen floor and cry sometimes.

So I had a little come to Jesus meeting with myself.  Jennifer Leigh, I said, because sometimes first and middle names are required: 

Don’t open any more Pandora Boxes, stick to what you can see and leave something for your kids to clean when you die!

Basically I told myself I was a slob that married a slob that gave birth to 3 more slobs. Unless of course, they are in their own spaces then they suddenly become neat freaks, but don’t get me started on that! So I gave it my best effort, I swear!

Pandemic Clean to 70’s Frat House

But somewhere between “clean all the things” and “let’s binge watch TV and order pizza” the house literally resembles a 70’s frat house. An actual conversation between me and Chris involved the words “well what could we have for supper that doesn’t require forks” because all our forks were dirty.

We are moving one to college in a few days and the youngest starts school soon. I may get the urge to clean after we get back on a schedule or I may not, time will tell!

Obviously it wasn’t the “time” to clean that I have been looking for all along, it was the “desire”!

And quite frankly I don’t know that I will ever have that and I’m alright with that!

So I just make cocktails and sit on the porch!

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It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with a life-altering change or just simply trying to keep your head above the piles of dirty dishes and laundry.

I’ve found myself stopping and saying out loud:

Dear God, I’m trying.

Just those words and a deep breath.

I’m 99.99% positive God already knows that.

And I’m 100% positive I am trying to reassure myself that I am!

I sometimes laugh because I’m pretty sure the interpretation of the word ‘trying’ is different between God and myself.

I’m all:

“Yes Lord, I am doing my best even though it seems like I’m a bumbling idiot.”

And God is all:

“OH that’s what you mean, I wondered why you were announcing being a pain and trying my patience”

Dear God, I’m Trying.

I’ve said these words sitting on my dirty kitchen floor crying and while fighting back tears of anxiety sitting in a chemo chair.

Prayer is different for everyone and in my opinion, no ones is better than anyone else’s. So use it the way you need it and use it often. It’s hard to remember your struggles don’t need to be compared to anyone else’s.

When you feel like trying isn’t enough, but it really is.

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Now relax, I’m not here with a “motivational” speech that I think will change your life. Believe me, I’m not that confident in my opinion or my influencing skills.

But personally, for me, a few years ago I was sliding down a dark hole wearing my pj’s way too long every day with no motivation to even work.

There was nobody putting deadlines on me……

BUT ME!

And for my personality type that does not work, I need affirmation and a pat on the back.

Sad but true!

If we are in the field I am gung ho, up and at’em, waiting at the starting gate. Hog work to do, I’m out the door with my headphones in and singing loud and proud! A deadline for a free-lance article, well, I’m gonna push that deadline because, HELLO, that’s who I am, but I’m gonna get it done.

But to post on MY site, nobody was there to please. I use social media a lot as “peer pressure”, something to be accountable for. If I put it out into the world I was going to post a recipe then I had invisible people counting on me!

Find What Motivates You

One morning I woke up and decided I needed something that was a boundary. A boundary that stopped me from taking an afternoon nap whenever I felt stalled or kept me from sitting in one spot with a dazed and confused look on my face.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a strong believer in afternoon naps and one can still find me sitting now and then looking dazed and confused! But my self-imposed rule really helps!

So if you see me out in my boots, mascara on and I’m still wearing pj’s, please know that I am putting in an honest effort!

Find that self-imposed rule that helps motivate you if you need it, like I do!

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Not less than 6 times a day to dirty work boots cross the threshold, on into the kitchen, across the carpet in the living room and into the farm office. Our house is over 200 years old; open floor plan and logical layout is not its forte at all {insert eye roll}!

I’ve kind of given up on asking Chris and the kids to remove their boots. Just don’t tell my family because sometimes I still nag, you know for fun and appearances. And let’s be honest I’m not the best at it either.

I hate to clean, I would rather pressure wash a hog barn than clean a bathroom. But sometimes in life you have no choice, like when you’re afraid the health department might actually have the right to condemn your home!

A Socially Acceptable Working Farmhouse

So while cleaning I made a “wish list” of 5 things I think should be socially acceptable in a working farmhouse:

1. A time lapsed fly spray bomb on the outside and the inside of every single entry door.
2. Grated kitchen floor with a flushable pit.
3. Central pressure washing system, particularly in the kitchen and bathrooms.
4. A manure spreader and dumpster place strategically next to the house for disposal without going outside.
5. To find livestock in the kitchen……or on the couch watching cartoons with your children. I once came home to find a kid and a baby pig curled up on the couch watching cartoons because and I quote “it was making the piglet feel better”!

My home isn’t always the cleanest place on the block but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

My letter board that I love from Amazon!

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Before my 40th birthday I suddenly felt the need to ‘do something’so I hiked from Crested Butte to Aspen. Eleven miles through the mountains, reaching 12,500 feet above sea level over West Maroon Pass…..believe me I can’t believe I did that either. So it’s alright for you to be shocked.

As I hit 50 and on the hunt for something to mark this momentous occasion it occurred to me maybe it didn’t have to be dramatic, maybe it needed to be within. Maybe it was time I owned me.

Age has never bothered me, it’s another year that I got to be me! But I think it’s time to own who and what I am. If I’m asked what I do my natural response is…..

A little of this and a little of that and a whole lot of nothin’

I am very apparent of my flaws. Let’s be honest we all are – we are truly harder on ourselves than any other human could ever be.

But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life dissing me. Because let’s be real-I’m on the downhill slope and I intend to enjoy the ride.

I know I am a wife, a Mom, and a soon-to-be MIL – it’s actually my favorite job!

I always wanted to be a stay at home, work at home Mom and I’m fortunate I was able to be that!

But who else am I, what do I do, what I am capable of.

I’m 50 Years Old

• I am a blogger.

I love having a place for my words, my thoughts, family recipes. And the fact it actually puts a little jingle in my pocket is icing on the cake – and I love cake!!

• I am a children’s book author

I may end up being a one-hit-wonder, but it’s one more hit than I had before! I’ve always dreamed of writing a children’s book and the fact that Meet Pete comes from the heart makes the achievement all that much sweeter for me! The small amount of success the book has seen has reached far beyond what I expected.

• I am a freelance writer. 

Like people pay me to write stuff, I don’t know who is more surprised – me or my English teachers or is it ‘my English teachers or I’?!  This is my November column for DTN, Pause and read please!  HAHAHAH see what I did there!

• I am a farmer.

That is a title that is hardest for me to call myself. This title holds a lot of sentiment and value to me so calling myself a farmer isn’t easy. But I finally feel like I am an asset to this farm. While I’m under no illusion that it couldn’t run without me, but I believe I am added value!

• I am an avid nap taker
• I am a constant unorganized walking disaster
• I am a donut lover
• I am a front porch sitter
• I am a horrible housekeeper
• I am a cancer survivor

Attitude is Everything, Pick a Good One

I’m me, living my life like I always have but now I’m going to own it!

All images by the incredible Emily at Stella Imaging!

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Silently voicing my thankful beyond words feelings that we have farmed for another year together as a family!

It ALWAYS hits me hardest and makes me most thankful when I am decorating the tree. We have always had a live tree, except for one year, 1998. I remember the year clearly but I have no pictures from that Christmas. I have looked and looked, I look every year at this time and I can’t find one picture from that Christmas!

Our oldest from almost 3 and I was pregnant. I have no doubt there were presents for her and that we were not scarred from that year because of the artificial tree. The reason for the artificial tree that year will stay with me forever and is why decorating the tree is my personal thankful tradition.

That year the hog market didn’t just crash it obliterated, there wasn’t one. If you were to ask me I would swear we were paying packers to take our hogs!

They bottomed out for us at $12 per cwt and the cost to produce for us at the time was $29 per cwt-thanks to cheap corn at the time! Cheap corn at least for feeding, but we also raise more than we feed, so while it was cheap feed we weren’t making any selling corn either.

So while every other year we have had a live tree that year it was an artificial tree for us. This seems like a trivial thing to remember about such a rough year. But it is always what comes to mind, makes it real, reminds me to be Thankful and puts things into perspective for me.

We were lucky, Chris’ parents had bought a new artificial tree several years earlier and still had their old one in their basement. They were more than willing to loan us.  We have never spent over $40 on a live tree but that year the $40 was going to be spent on something that would last longer than a Christmas tree, it was never a question.

I don’t recall having to put up an artificial tree being traumatizing, I grew up with artificial trees at Christmas. But what I do remember is that that was the year that decorating the tree became my time. The time that I evaluated my year and no matter how hard it seemed I would be thankful.

And I would look forward to my Christmas Eve in a Barn

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And this is my view…..literally, my view.

Being a female farmer is different than being a male farmer for one major reason, I have to carry toilet paper in the tractor because I can’t carry out all tasks standing up!

Being the only female in the group here I had a hard time establishing how to carry out my business. For a long time every time the tractor would stop and I wasn’t reachable on the 2-way radio tractors and trucks were converging on my parked tractor with me crouching between the wheels seeing if I needed help…….

I finally had to learn to just announce “union break” over the 2 way radio as my signal. So yes I have to announce my restroom break.

I do however have rules:

1. Tractor must be in PARK, I don’t want run over with my pants around my ankles.
2. Take Phone, should Rule 1 be broken and happen I want to call for help.
3. Scan your surroundings, road frontage, houses, other operators in the field, trail cams. Be aware that the view standing up is different than the view at a squat.
4. Face the wind, always face the wind girls!

Night time mission bonus rule:

• Turn off tractor lights, they only act as spot lights! {I might of learned this the hard way}

My View Being A Female Farmer

Eventually you just learn to roll with it!

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