The Road to Here
The End of the Soap Business
Hello farm friends. I owe you an update.
It’s been a year of adjustments for us, but I suppose every year is a version of that. Life changes, and so do we. That age-old metaphor of the river of time, a current carrying us through waters both familiar and new, comes to mind. We may not have a choice about being brought along that river, or where it takes us, but we do have a choice about how we handle the ride.
Whiskey watches Harley and the kids float down the river on our camping trip.
July 2023.
This past year’s ride has been a little rough. With inflation peaking and prices of just about everything skyrocketing, we were finally forced to take a close look at our finances and reorganize our priorities. If you’ve been following us for any length of time, you know that food quality, humane animal husbandry and connection to nature are some of our core values. Those haven’t changed. But the ease with which we achieve those things has shifted significantly.
Last fall around this time, I came to terms with the fact that we could no longer afford to keep the farm going at the scale we had grown it to. We’ve never had the goal of producing food for others, or keeping more livestock than we need. Everything we have grown here has had a purpose related to feeding our family of four. Three milk goats, one milk cow, two stud goats, one beef calf, two pigs, a dozen laying chickens, four dual purpose ducks, and up to twenty turkeys for meat has supplied 90% of our animal-related food each year.
To feed this number of animals, our monthly feed bill last year was TWICE the amount of our house payment each month. That does not, of course, include infrastructure costs, vet bills, our yearly hay supply, or our time. How in the world has it come to this, when working off the farm doesn’t even cover the cost to have a homestead to feed ourselves?
Kalina with Shine’s newest calf, Mudslide.
July, 2023
We are privileged to have two educated, able-bodied adults contributing to our family income and responsibilities, and family-owned land to house our animals. And still, we cannot make it work without going into debt. Granted, we feed organic grain and supply fresh bedding each day, which may seem like unnecessary extravagances to some, but if we didn’t have such high standards, what would be the point of it all?
It’s frustrating, and I feel for the small farmers who are trying to keep their businesses afloat with even fewer resources. We’ve dedicated years of money, energy and dreams to keep this going, and we’re not giving up entirely. But realistically something’s got to give.
Maple is available for sale. More info available here.
The soap business has been a way for me to use some of the excess milk and lard that we produce on our homestead, add some creativity energy, and turn it into profit to cover our hay bill each fall. It has been a lovely, enjoyable venture for nine years, but last year we came up short, and the balance of time and energy required to keep the business going has felt more like a strain than a benefit.
So, I’ve decided to end the soap business. All of the soap stock has been sold, and the online shops have been closed.
I want to thank you, all of you, who have supported Barefoot All Natural Farm over the years. What started as a personal blog of a new mom wanting to feed her children well and connect with the sources of that food, turned into a lifelong journey of connecting with nature and developing relationships with people who value the same things that I do.
This has been a beautiful and fulfilling stage of life. The soap business has allowed me the flexibility to be a farmer, a mother and a small business owner too. So what now, you ask?
I now have a full-time job off the farm, which suits my interests and pays me well. Our kids are 12 and 14, old enough to manage most of their time themselves and help with farm chores, meal prep and other activities that they choose.
Jake and Kalina helping with hay.
September 2023
We are downsizing the farm by moving away from cows and skipping pigs and turkeys every other year. We’ll keep a handful of birds for eggs, but not more than we can keep up with.
Whiskey is turning 1 year old this month, and we’ve completed two obedience training series plus introduced him to sheep herding. I’m looking forward to continuing his training and spending some time reconnecting with my dog training passion.
Whiskey, learning how to herd sheep at Sheepdog Junction, Middleboro, MA
August, 2023
Kalina is a goat lover, and is dedicated to milking, feeding and showing, so the dairy goats will stay as long as she does, which makes me ecstatic. I’m not sure I would be happy without goats around now that I have had such intimate relationships with these funny, bossy, quirky, gorgeous girls for almost a decade. But I’m not convinced that I need to have dairy goats forever.
Kalina with our two doelings and her “goat study materials”.
September, 2023
Recently I visited a farm that raises angora goats for fiber. Did you know that mohair comes from goats?!? They were very cute, and about the same size as our Mini Saanens. Coincidence?
Angora goats at Koza Hill Farm in Middleboro, MA
Now that I don’t have to spend my nights and weekends making soap, I’ve been experimenting with dyeing and spinning wool, and I look forward to using some homespun in my winter knitting projects. Maybe I’m turning into that old lady who spends her days making baby booties and donating them to animal shelters.
Fiber dyed with backyard flowers. Left to right: jewelweed, marigold, goldenrod.
Who knows where it will go. But I’m looking forward to the ride.
I leave you with my favorite poem, written by Dru Berry of Full Belly Farm, which always centers me and reminds me of the true value of food, farm and family whenever I question what’s worth my time. May you enjoy the road and ride, wherever life brings you.
Harley and me, with the dogs, 20 years after we first met.
August, 2023
Where to next?
The Road to Here
By Dru Rivers of Full Belly Farm
Somewhere along the road to here
we learn to work.
Long and hard
sun and sweat.
Dawn to dusk
and then some.
Tree planting
cow milking
flower picking
broccoli bunching
baby making
chicken raising
lamb checking
barn building
children running
laundry washing
neighbor helping
hay making
market rising
tractor driving.
There were times
still
when work
could have made
love
obsolete.
Now with you there
on your road
to somewhere
I offer a few simple thoughts
for your journey.
Work less.
Plant trees
and remember to spread out a blanket
in their shade
in the hot August afternoons.
Pick flowers
and remember that the lilacs
bloom only once
per year.
Inhale deeply
to recall their smell.
Milk a cow.
But make time
for a frosty cold milkshake
with ice
and vanilla
each morning.
Make babies
and love them
until death do you part
every moment
of every day.
Rise early
for the market
but before the long drive
look up at the heavens
and remember
how lucky you are
to see the stars.
Give much
not only to each other
but to your friends and neighbors.
For they will be there for you
should your world ever fall apart.
And lastly,
make love
any hour
dawn to dusk
dusk to dawn
and then some.
Here’s to you, from the shade on an August afternoon with a goat milk milkshake.
XOXO and so much love,
Christy