Even though there are only so many hours in each day, days in a week, weeks in a month and months in a year, a farmer is always farming.
There are always new things to learn and try, new opportunities to investigate, and new plans to make for the next day, week, month or year.
Below is an illustration of how much of the time a farmer is a farmer:
Even though the saying is meant to apply specifically to carpentry, it's actually good advice for everyone.
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A long-time goal of installing a state-of-the-art irrigation system was achieved in 2019. This development vastly enhances our growing possibilities. In collaboration with Badgerland Hemp Horizons, industrial hemp was grown for the first time and ONLY time that same year. Many important lessons were learned along the way, no doubt with many more to come.
Enterprising Acres used only organic substances to control weeds from 2017-2019. However, the hemp grown that one year required strong chemicals to eliminate the volunteer plants the following year. No-till planting methods are still used whenever possible, and organic practices will be revisited at some later point.
A future goal for Enterprising Acres is to build a geothermal greenhouse. These energy-efficient structures have the potential to not only extend the growing season, but also to enable the growing of plants that normally only thrive in warmer regions.
It's generally accepted that the practice best benefiting the land is when the crops are diversified rather than cultivating the same produce year after year. With that in mind, here are some of the plants we have either produced successfully in the past or have an interest in producing in the future:
We would love to talk with you about the mutual benefits of partnering together in order to meet your agricultural needs. Here are some of the characteristics and qualifications that are helpful in the achievement of success in farming endeavors, and are possessed by the Managing Member of Enterprising Acres.
Never go into a business proposition with anyone you can't trust. We believe in and practice good old-fashioned honesty. Trust should be earned and maintained through integrity, not merely granted to everyone regardless of their track record. We're not "respecters of persons." The way we see it, everyone starts out with the benefit of the doubt and is then given a chance to establish their own history of reliability, sincerity and responsibility.
We love our country. We respect authority. We appreciate our blessings and opportunities, and we don't take them for granted. We also give credit where credit is due.
Don began learning about and participating in farming as a young boy when he expressed an interest in the operation of the farms of family friends. During high school, he was employed (oftentimes full-time in addition to classes) at a local coop in Montello, where he obtained hands-on experience regarding virtually every aspect of farming. As a young adult, he was a salesperson for another coop in Fond du Lac, where he voluntarily participated in many of the day-to-day activities of his customers. Later, he spent many years gaining valuable experience in the trades, but his interest in farming remained. He bought his own farmland in the fall of 2008 and immediately returned to farming part-time. Ever since then, his involvement has increased, with the goal of reaching sustainability of a full-time operation.
The same year his oldest child was born thirty years ago, Don began a career in Industrial Refrigeration as a Steamfitter. He worked his way up from apprentice to journeyman, from greenhorn to field superintendent. His innate ability to think outside the box and to visualize the solutions to problems and challenges have served him well. He has earned a reputation as a "go-to guy" in the industry. To be clear, Don does not hold an engineering degree. All of his knowledge in the area is practical, obtained from hands-on experience on a multitude of jobs.
It's good to have dreams and goals, but you can pedal as fast as you can and never reach them if they're not realistic. We plan for the future, but live in the present. We tackle projects one step at a time. We make adjustments as needed to stay on track. We admit mistakes and move on. We're not quitters, but we try to balance optimism with common sense.
If tried and true solutions from the past somehow fail us, then we'll think outside the box. But if what has worked in the past is still working, then why re-invent the wheel?
Feel free to use the following form to get in touch with us, and please allow extra time during the crop season for a reply.