Meet Guest Blogger, Sheila Eismann, third in her family lineage of five female authors, speakers and poets, who endeavors to be an encourager with a sense of humor. Sheila’s newest release, Heart to Heart from God’s Word ~~ Daily Encouragement for You, doubles as a yearly devotional and prayer journal. Stirrings of the Spirit, which chronicles ten true life stories of God’s miraculous intervention in the lives of many people, is showcased along with Sheila’s other literary endeavors at www.desertsagepress.com and www.sheilaeismann.com
INVEST
IN YOUR DREAMS!
I sat with rapt attention as I
listened to a recent interview featuring a 14
year old farmer; however, I did not have to stay tuned until the end of the
podcast to determine that this young man had already discovered his zeal for everyday
life. In addition, he had managed to unlock one of life’s most important
lessons, which is to invest in yourself in productive ways.
The entrepreneurial route can manifest
at any time during our lives, but for Caleb it began at the ripe old age of six
as a result of interacting with animals, reading books and spending time with
his friends from church. At this
juncture, he realized he really wanted to live in a rural area.
After turning eight, Caleb and his family met
some friends in the Homedale, Idaho, area who raised cows and sheep. He liked cows, and his twin sister, Hannah,
preferred sheep.
Since it’s a challenge to raise
critters on the size of a standard city lot, Caleb’s parents looked across the
fruited plain for suitable property upon which to help their son launch his
dreams.
Hailing from the coastal lands without
much agricultural experience under their belts, the family enrolled in the
University of Idaho class titled “Living on the Land.” Following the completion of this course, it
was time to roll up their shirt sleeves, don their straw hats, and go to
work. The ground needed some tender
loving care, especially the pasture which was dormant. Watering and mowing were
the remedies applied for quick restoration. The addition of grapes, fruit trees,
bee hives, and a large garden made for long farming days in the beginning
stages.
Caleb’s parents, Tony and Jodi, purchased two sheep for their twins. The first acquisition included a set of ewes. Caleb and Hannah used monies from their small
savings accounts to buy two wethers to raise and sell.
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| Caleb’s Katahdin Sheep |
Using their heads for something
besides a hat rack, Caleb and Hannah proceeded to purchase a ram from the
Portland, Oregon, region during the fall of 2013. Their parents blessed them with the addition
of two more ewes. Caleb and Hannah decided upon the heritage breed of sheep
known as “Katahdin,” which do not have wool so you do not have to shear
them. In order to arrive at this
conclusion, the family attended a local sheep shearing session and carefully
observed all that was involved in the process.
Caleb’s assessment was along the lines that “there’s a little bit more
than meets the eye to this sheep shearing business and I don’t think it’s for
me!” Also, it can be difficult to locate
someone to help shear your sheep if you do not have a large number of them.
For those of you who may be interested
in purchasing one of Caleb’s lambs in the future, the Katahdin breed does not
have the fat layer between the hair and meat like the “wooly” breeds do. As a result, there is not as much lanolin, which
greatly affects the flavor.
Caleb’s farming style is known as
“Management Intensive Grazing” and requires moving the sheep at least once per
day. Suffice it to say, proper fencing
is needed along with the desire and physical energy to keep up with this strict
regimen.
The flock increased in the spring of 2014 to
eleven lambs, which included two sets of twins, two sets of triplets, and a
single. Oh, by this time Miss Hannah
must have been smiling from ear to ear since she loves sheep! And, can’t you
just hear the increased bleating at this point in this blog?
Farming days flew by, and Caleb
realized that he was truly enjoying his role as a young entrepreneur on The
Good Shepherd Farm. He offered to
purchase his sister’s one-half interest in the ram in addition to acquiring
more ewes.
Having been raised on a farm as a
young girl, I know that there are a lot of inherent risks to any agricultural
venture. Caleb discovered this early on
when one of his sheep developed parasite problems in 2014. The de-worming method was used to help cure
the parasitic issue; however, since Caleb’s animals are raised organically, he
had to discount his selling price by $1.00 per pound because the meat no longer
met the stringent criteria. Caleb’s
honest business practices were rewarded, and he was able to sell the lambs to
his customers.
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| Caleb’s Turkeys |
While Caleb was busy tending to his
flock, Hannah became interested in raising turkeys. She bought fifteen turkeys
from Ohio, ten of which arrived safely in Idaho. Unfortunately, five of them
died en route. Attrition via the family
dog and cat accounted for the loss of two more of the turkeys.
Caleb and Hannah selected a breeding
pair of turkeys and commenced experimenting with collecting, incubating, and
hatching the poults until the proper time for them to be sold. Unfortunately, Hannah developed allergy
problems as a result of the grasses grown in the pasture, so Farmer Caleb
assumed full responsibility for the rafters.
The surviving lot was sold in the fall of 2014, but Caleb kept two toms
and two hens for breeding purposes.
Sixty poults were hatched in 2014, of which 20 were sold, and Caleb
retained 40 of them.
But, not so fast with this turkey part
of the story! Turkeys just happen to
have a few challenging traits along with other creatures. Caleb’s turkeys are the heritage variety and
require a good enclosed area because they can fly. The broad-breasted turkeys can’t fly because
they weigh more than the heritage breeds.
So you really have to watch those turkeys because they have a mind of
their own. Does this help to paint a vivid
picture for you of anything else in life?
By now you have probably been able to
surmise that Caleb was not only running a small profitable business but helping
to feed his family along the way, including their beloved pets. The pivotal
point of his early farming venture came when Caleb sold his first lamb and
netted approximately $70.00 after raising it for five months. He suddenly realized that he could do the
same thing with raising his own lambs and making more money to expand his
agricultural operation. Caleb started out with one ewe and now has six breeding
stock. When he got his first ewe, he was
not planning on selling any sheep, yet in 2014 he sold five lambs. A future goal is to sell not only meat but
breeding stock too.
A fortuitous door opened just prior to
Caleb’s 15th birthday when he approached a landowner in the valley and asked him
if he could rent some ground upon which to seed additional pasture. At the time of the writing of this blog, a
one and one-half acre field has been disked, harrowed, planted and corrugated
with the advice and assistance of Caleb’s good friend and agricultural mentor,
Caleb. Hold onto your farmer’s hat for
just a minute. Even the number of “Caleb’s”
is growing in this article!
When asked if Caleb had prepared a
formal business plan or a marketing budget prior to launching his enterprise,
he respectfully answered, “No.” One of
the reasons for this was that he originally desired to start a cattle operation,
but later decided that he liked sheep.
So this humble venture began as two little sheep in a family pasture on
1.4 acres of land. In addition, writing
a formal business plan ahead of time can be a daunting task and may discourage
someone from even attempting to start a small business.
My observation of the young farmer
featured herein is that his motto will take him a long way in many profitable
directions and fulfill his dreams:
·
Always be honest
·
Work hard at what you are doing
·
Be consistent with the project
On a personal note, I love to visit
the Good Shepherd Farm! Now while it
might not contain “Six Geese a Laying, Five Golden Rings, Four Calling Birds,
Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree,” it does feature:
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| Caleb’s Bees |
·
Six Ewes a Lambing
·
Five Busy Bee Hives
·
Four Flying Turkeys
·
Three Baby Ducklings
·
Two Morning Doves
·
and a Kestrel in a Cherry Tree!
You can catch up with Sheila by visiting her Author Page on Facebook or visit her website.
Sheila's Sagacious Stirrings
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Happy Running!
