The Farm

I am a strong believer that “greater the risk, greater the rewards”. What Kurt Timmermeister had started truly shows how one can leave everything and start anew. The fact that he wanted to be his own boss, not taking orders or asking for permission, the idea of being self-sufficient and supporting himself is a tough and respectable decision. What is most respectable is the idea that he spent several years in physical isolation. He stated that “Once inside the property, I could see no other homes, no neighbors”. Knowing myself I would never be able to be secluded so far from “civilization”, especially on a piece of property that needed so much work to turn around.

            Not only was there a high risk into what Timmermeister was pursuing, there was also a great learning curve. Starting not only from the poor vegetable harvest and loosing employees and constantly hiring interns but also with the bees and apple trees that made cider and vinegar. After reading the chapter regarding the apple trees I feel as if now I know how to make hard cider and also the byproduct of vinegar. It is obvious how hard it must have been for Kurt to face this huge learning curve coming from the city and starting his own farm which he had so little knowledge of. It is admirable that he pushed on kept with what he was doing. He was always researching and learning on how to better his farm.

            To be frank I had no idea what to expect while reading this book. However, I believe I learned so much about farming and farms in general in only 7 short chapters. Anything from taking care of bees and tricking them into making honey, making hard cider and vinegar, phantom milking, milk fever, and so much more. It was difficult at times to picture everything Kurt Timmermeister was writing but he goes into so much detail about his daily routine, the farm, and the animals themselves. Its not everyday you see a small successful business owner get up and start a farm.

I know for a fact that I would never be able to do what Kurt has done. When I was younger I had to live on a farm for about 6 months. To me those 6 months were the worst months in my life. I have always lived in and grew up in big cities, so the fact that Kurt was able to leave and start this farm makes me respect his decisions and aspirations ever so more.