Top Seven Moments of Farming in 2010

10. New vacuum pump. Relatively small price tag for huge peace of mind. (This is the machine that provides the vacuum for the entire milking system. The old one made a lot of loud, anxiety-producing noises.)

9. Kris made cheese. This is what all farmers must do in their free time. I stood by, cheering him on, wearing an apron with my hair in braids. Just kidding.

8. Our first foray into grass-fed beef sales. Hungry, anyone?

7. Snapped corn for the first time with a kernel processor. (This grinds up the corn so the cattle can digest it better – which saves us money since we don’t have to buy corn.)

6. Buying more acres of pasture that were adjacent to another pasture. (Thank you, Marsha!)

5. Getting an entire cutting of hay done in one week. (Perfect weather conditions. It didn’t rain, and it was warm. This never happens.)

4. Putting up the paddock fencing and the resulting success that we didn’t have to feed them our stored hay.

3. Building the new concrete pad – more space to put feed! (A lot of this list revolves around food. Like our vacations.)

2. Kris winning a farming award. It’s nice to get an award for a job you’re going to do anyway. I’m thinking of giving myself an award.

1. My son yelling from atop the pile of feed, “I’m learning how to be a farmer!”