The Middle

This spring, knock on wood, has been the smoothest transition of any group of cattle I’ve had yet. I really don’t think the training could have gone any better. I think it was a combination of my preparation, a calm group of cattle, and some serendipity. This is my fifth year raising cattle in this system, and it feels so good to have a few years of experience behind me. I can look back on years past and remember the level of worry and stress I had during the first week with a new group of cattle, making sure they all learned about the fence before they went out into the big pasture. I’ve tried different things every year and made small adjustments and I feel much more confident now. Not every year will go this smoothly and there’s always more to learn, but I certainly know a lot more now than I did back when I first started this. It was a good realization that sometimes it takes multiple years to see progress and get comfortable with something, especially when you only have the chance to do it once a year!

Looking back at my first season, I had two steers (males), five customers, and a dream. Farms that sold 15+ beef per year were my heroes. I didn’t know how much I didn’t know. I rotationally grazed those two cattle all summer to teach myself about grass-finishing. Even though I knew I was working towards a bigger vision, I definitely felt silly plenty of times for spending so much time on just two cattle when other people my age were working at big ag companies. Some people thought what I was doing was neat and some also thought it was silly!

The next year, I got ten heifers. This was a big step up and I knew I had a lot more beef I needed to sell. I can’t even remember all the different avenues I tested out for finding customers. I built a website at school over the winter, I made flyers and hung them at community centers, I attended multiple local events and the farmers market with my Dawn Farm banner, I started this newsletter.

This year I have 18 heifers, and I’m considering getting a couple more. Back in Year 1, I would have kissed the ground if I knew I could get to this stage. I am glad I spent that summer with 2 cattle learning about grass-finishing when the stakes were lower. Now I’m at a different stage but I still have to keep thinking about the future, what’s next, and where I want to go with this, because for as far as I’ve come, it is still a small-ish business.

I share all this and I hope maybe you will think of something in your life that you’ve come really far on - and maybe you didn’t even notice! Or maybe something that is difficult now will be easier next year, and the year after that.

Lainey Wilson has a great song out that seems to perfectly capture this feeling called “The Middle,” and I love the chorus:

“One of these days you’re gonna miss these days

When you didn’t even know you were on your way

Knee deep in the weeds you can only see just a little of it

Smack dab in the middle of it”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCmJSrRPGbY

I’m still in the middle of it - I have lots more to learn. But it has been wonderful the past few weeks to be out of the weeds, for now.