by Heather Lang
This spring, as I looked around to see the grocery store shelves empty of most foods and prices on the rise at the checkout counter (but as a farmer and rancher not seeing any increase on our end) I was determined to turn this situation, which could be seen as a negative, into a positive one. I’ve always admired pioneer people for their strength, determination, tenacity and their efficiency to make sure everything got used and had a purpose. Life was easier than, yet significantly harder. They had a hard life no doubt, but I think the rewards they gained out-shined the struggles. Living off the land, living off the grid, or being sustainable are trending throughout our society especially since the pandemic.
We farm because we all eat.
As farmers we are used to being resilient throughout each season’s up and downs. This year is no different. I thought it was the perfect time to explain in detail to the kids what being sustainable means. Showing them exactly why their dad and I spend so much time fighting for farmers and advocating for agriculture and how important it truly is to everyone. It is critical to not only know how to survive but how to thrive. So out to our backyard we went to get the kids and ourselves back in touch with the true basics.
All our garden plants were started by seed or from kitchen scraps and here at White Heart Ranch we raise beef, pork and rabbit that is sold direct to our clients. Typically, we deliver the animal to the processing plant where our clients can let the butcher know what custom cuts they would like. But for our own consumption we like to process our own animals here at our farm. Our kids helped with every step of processing our animals. They were inquisitive and we made sure to explain things in detail to them along the way, so they knew exactly what was going on and why. Farm to fork, gate to plate there is something extremely satisfying about raising your own food from the ground up and being able to provide your family with nutritious, healthy food to put in your freezers and on your plate.
Not only did we teach the kids how we are able to fill our freezers with animals raised here on the farm, but I also wanted to dig a bit deeper into other ways to preserve food such as canning. It is not unusual for our family to do some canning throughout the summer and into the fall months, but this year I wanted the kids to do it on their own so that they felt comfortable and confident doing it. Our daughter really enjoyed the canning process and even made a few new jellies 100% on her own dandelion and lilac jelly. Let me tell you if you haven’t tried either of them you should! They are delicious and sweet, similar to honey and the main ingredient of both of them come straight from mother nature.
Our 5th generation family farm, White Heart Ranch, is our little sweet slice of heaven.
Heather is the District 7 representative on the NDFB Promotion and Education Committee and is a member of the AFBF Promotion and Education Committee. She farms with her husband and three children near Sterling.