Remembering a Young Farmer: From Loss to Action with the Washington Young Farmers Coalition
Warning: This episode deals with topics surrounding suicide, and may not be appropriate for all audiences. Suicide rates among farmers and farm workers are higher than in any other occupation in the United States. We start this two-part series with the story of Justin McClane, a founding member of the Washington chapter of the National […]
Looking back at our whirlwind first season
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm As we head into our second year as a farm, I am amazed at what we accomplished in just one short year. I remember back to our first few weeks on the farm, when our main field was just a cow pasture; we had yet to put up a […]
Funding our farm: loans, grants, and a gamble
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm When Brandon and I decided to start Furrow Horse Farm last January, we knew we were about to spend a lot of money. We were moving onto leased land that had no infrastructure, and we needed to build hoop houses and put up a deer fence. Since we had […]
So You Want to Be a Farmer? First, know this….
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm You want to be a farmer? That’s great news because we need a lot more farmers! But there are some things you should know before diving in: 1) Farming is really, really hard. (Let me stress that one more time….) Seriously. The hardest work I’ve ever done. You will […]
Planning for the short-term– BOOTSTRAP AT FURROW HORSE FARM
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Before I dive into this post, the farm has a big announcement: We now have our first team of draft horses! Lady and Abby, two Belgian mares from Sandpoint, Idaho, were delivered to us a few weeks ago. So far they are doing great, and we have already used them […]
The Best and The Worst: Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Being a farmer comes with ups and downs to the extreme. Every day we simply hope to wake up prepared for any and all situations and well rested enough to deal with what comes. Sometimes, what comes is disaster. The story of one of the worst days on the […]
The numbers game – Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Brandon and I started Furrow Horse Farm this year not entirely sure where it would take us, or where we would take it. We are farming on leased land, and signed a one-year lease to start out with. It is difficult to plan long-term for the farm and business […]
My Grandpa and the New Family Farm – BOOTSTRAP AT FURROW HORSE FARM
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm On February 13th of this year, I came home from work and played the new messages on our answering machine. My mom’s voice came across the line crying and hysterical, informing me that my grandpa had died that afternoon. My grandpa, Richard Norton, grew up farming cherries and apples […]
Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm – Meet Caitlin
Welcome to our 2015 Bootstrap Blog series! We’ve been introducing you to our four Bootstrap Bloggers, who are all in their first or second year of running a farm. Throughout the season, each Bootstrap Blogger will write about the highs and lows, glory moments and curveballs that come with farming. My name is Caitlin Arnold, and […]