Fridays, From the Farm

Don’t lose your integrity due to small town snobs. Let’s talk about the dynamic of women in small business. Every town has a snob and the bully mentality is very real. Women can be very supportive and mean to each other. Let’s chat about it.

We just experienced something we never would have expected as a small farm. Our USDA butcher, East Conway Beef and Pork, in Conway NH suffered a catastrophic loss due to a structure fire on Monday April 11, 2022. This was a total game changer for us. Not only did we lose our pigs that we delivered the day before but we lost our future dates for processing our pork. We are not alone, this is a huge ripple affect across the farm community.

Elaina Enzien, our guest for today, shares vast amounts of information about the UNH Cooperative Extension, her newest Podcast and her horse training. It's pretty common to "meet" new friends through social media, especially in a small state like New Hampshire and when you have common interest. I had the chance to finally meet Elaina in person a few weeks ago and couldnt wait to get her on the show.  I hope you are able to tune in for this one. She shares a lot of information about her latest research study for her Masters Degree as well as the current issues with USDA processing and how this can affect big and small scale farmers. AND, shes got some fun stuff about horses and horse training. Here is the link to the beef producers survey for Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire: https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a2xJGB7ICq90Zym A link to UNH Cooperative Extension: https://extension.unh.edu/ Link to their podcast: https://www.facebook.com/beefbroads

Get inspired by the real story of success with Stacey and her endeavor to be self employed and a yoga instructor. How did she persevere during and after Covid shutdowns? How is she doing now? Stacey is an accidental Yogi, Zeus Mommy, passionate volunteer, consumer and maker of all things plant based, and future life long Yoga Student. Expect to have an inspired, joyful journey through asana (physical postures), pranayama (breath work) and meditation. Laughter is a staple during class! She encourages her students to witness comfort zones, find both strength and sweetness in postures all while honoring body, mind, and spirit. Classes are designed to meet the needs and goals of everybody safely, at your own pace. Modifications are offered for all levels. ​Stacey continues to be inspired to share all aspects of yoga and loves to continue learning to inspire students to tap into the power within. Visit her website at www.powerfulyouyoga.com

Have you completed a health check of your online business? In 2021 its almost impossible to be found online unless you have some sort of social media presence. How are you driving traffic to your website? How are you selling through Facebook or Instagram? Let me share some important details to get you started.

"Officials at the Federal Reserve have said there is little cause for concern about inflation, but consumers, struggling." "Feedlots are going to have to pivot in their plans with rising feed prices." "Surging feed prices will test recovery in US animal protein production" Its not all doom and gloom for you, the small farmer. Yes, you will likely have to increase your prices, and if you haven't yet, you should be considering it. But this doesn't mean the end for the small farmers. Lets talk about WHY there are these price increases and the NASTY word "GMO." Lets discuss what Monsanto's RoundUp chemical is doing to our corn and soy and livestock and learn how to navigate our customers to a healthy choice.

For more information on Wooded Valley Acres visit: www.woodedvalleyacres.com To watch this podcast on my youtube channel visit: https://youtu.be/U1dy6yHS8Hw How do you take that leap of faith from a full time career to self employment?  How do you turn your farm business into a thriving business you can live on?   Join me, Erin (your host) and Elizabeth Bower with Wooded Valley Acres. Elizabeth had been wanting to turn her farm into her primary career. She started small and aimed high. With planning, organization and an achievable goal, Elizabeth was able to ditch her 9-5 and focus solely on building her farm business. Meet The Farmers Cory and Elizabeth Bower purchased their farm in Gilmanton in 2016. It was raw land with a home. Through their efforts, they have established the well working farm that it is today. While Elizabeth comes from generation after generation of farmers including her own small family farm that she grew up on with cows and pigs, Elizabeth's passion for health and healing your body through diet and herbs stems from an autoimmune disease that was brought to the surface after a traumatic attack by a patient at work. Elizabeth was left out of work for an extensive amount of time with many specialists prescribing prescription after prescription with no success. Elizabeth turned to herbs and natural healing. This is where her knowledge and passion of herbal medicine really began and you'll find this when she talks about how she cares for her animals and how she develops her teas and products. Cory grew up in the city of Niagara Falls but always loved the outdoors and wanted a different life for himself. He had friends that he would go hunting with and enjoyed hiking. Soon, he and Elizabeth met in 2013 and their dreams became one. Fast forward 3 years and they turned their dreams into a working farm that has continued to grow ever since.

*Warning: Some Explicit Language My husband offered to interview me on my trip into Farming and working full time from my Farm. We talk about my past, my introduction into farming, my woes of getting started into entrepreneurship and where I am today. This is a powerhouse of stories, motivation and insight of what worked and what didnt work for me. I hope this is encouraging for those of you who are listening that someone time you will fall flat on your face, you will get hurt, will you lose but you can still MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!