Confessions of a Theraputic Farmer

Today we put Bullvinci back in with his lady friends. This is the before shot, where he was munching on some grain and the cows looking through the fence to him. He's one happy bull.

It's difficult, farming in the environment I'm in.  Working with the residents, each with mental illness or an addiction or in some cases both, I just want to make the work meaningful for them, therapeutic.  Today we had to bring all the cows in and sort them into two groups - the brood (breeding) cows and the yearlings.  It's difficult as it is with trained farmers, but it's a whole new dimension when you are trying to teach someone in the moment how to move a cow, when to open one gate and close another, and be clear about what you are doing and why.  The residents have slow reaction times, have never worked with animals (let alone big animals), and you want them to feel helpful and calm.  So you have to be helpful and calm.  I'm proud with how today went and everyone seemed good at the end of the day.  But it was hard keeping relaxed yet strict for the residents and the staff members. 

Farming this way is not like making a desk, where the person can see a final product.  It's not like cooking a meal or planting and harvesting vegetables.  The process is slow.  90% of the time you are not even physically working with an animal - you're setting up a new pasture, your mucking poop, your building a fence.  All these things are hard for people to see the use.  I think that's why I love dairy so much, because you are working with the cow every single day.  It's not just raised to eat which is biggest problem I've come to recognize, especially since working at the Ranch.  The residents are there for such a short amount of time in respect to a world of farming, they just see the immediate fate - death.  They have a hard time grasping the idea that you are raising an animal in a humane way, growing meat that's healthier than the typical ground meat at the grocery store.  How do you get that across in 3 to 6 months?

I'm more determined than ever to make the experience for the residents on the farm crew meaningful.  That they feel useful, that they feel the therapy all parts of the work is providing for them.  And when they do leave, they remember the way they treated the animals they grew and ate and make thoughtful decisions when they have to buy dinner.

And tonight for dinner I made some roasted carrots with chili and cumin. There was suppose to be lime juice but I had none. It was pretty tasty, a nice way to spice up rabbit food, and went well with the ham I made.  I can't wait for my garden to start producing vegetables!  My fingers are crossed that it works.