Before we became farmers, we took a trip to Utah and hiked around Zion National Park for a week.
To stay on budget, we went in the off season and brought a camp-stove along so we could make most of our meals on the porch of our little hotel room (YES, this was absolutely against the rules and NO, we didn’t start any wild fires).
There was a chill in the air and snow along the cliff tops. But every day, by mid-day, the sun warmed us up just enough so that we could hike comfortably. And that’s exactly what we did, every day for 5 days straight without a care in the world, even clocking in 19 miles one of the days.
This trip always struck us as a sort of bookend, marking the end of the life we lived before farming. Because, even though we’ve taken little vacations away from the farm every year, going completely off-grid or far away, like the way we did in Zion, has felt like an impossibility once the farm came into play.
Not because our budgets are tight (though they are), but because we weren’t ready. And the farm wasn’t ready. And what I mean by that is our systems, however savvy, still require our daily insights and inputs.
Changing that has been one of our primary goals this season. And we’re doing just that by creating a bank of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the farm – these will make it so that tasks that have become routine for us are outlined and available in case someone needs to take the reins on the fly.
We’re also making a point to delegate more tasks to our VA and train our farm sitter on more complicated tasks that, until recently, only Greg knew how to do.
It’s strange to think that planning for our eventual absence – whether that be for a distant adventure or unanticipated emergency – may be the key to our sustainability. But we know it’s really the only way we can assure YOU that Stonecrop Farm will be here for the long-haul.
We made a promise to grow amazing food for you and your family. And you know, that’s a promise we don’t make lightly!
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg
PS – Ready to stock up the freezers again? Click HERE and shop our online store and reserve food for pick up this week! ❤️
PPS – Our next Farm tour is happening next Thursday, Sept 2nd! Purchase tickets HERE and come along as we introduce you to all our critters including a brand new litter of piglets due very soon!?