We have not done a very good job of keeping you all updated. So sorry! We landed on a farm in Ellicott City, MD. Tom Cunningham hired us to consult with him Aug 2015 and we haven't left yet.
This is a 160-acre farm that used to be row crop until the end of 2014. They had tried to plant it to pasture but many of the seeds did not take due to the inexperience of procedure, timing, etc. Mike got ahold of the planning and implementation of the pastures and they look great now. I shouldn't be surprised but this is the best pastures I have seen in a long time due to the owner listening to Mike on the timing of putting the animals out on the pasture.
Mike is the overall consulting manager for the farm and I am overseer of the livestock and helping with permits and flow of the products. We are following the non-soy grain feeding of non-rumen animals out on pasture. We are also implementing new system thinking.
I just realized the above was not posted.
Our consulting job for Mary's Land Farm is coming to an end. As of June of 2018, Tom has been taking over the managerial part of the farm. We are finishing up seeding of pastures, overseeing greenhouses being built and finishing up SOP for different aspects of the farm. As of last week, Tom has hired a farm store manager, Stephanie so I will be sharing with her what I have been doing so that there is a smooth transition.
Mike and I have not listened to our last 2 promptings to be Holistic Management certified so we are starting that process after the 3 promptings came our way. The first prompting was in 2005 when we were managing a 360-acre farm in Iowa. Bob Stephan passed away and we had to move on. The second prompting was from Chase who introduced us to Mary's Land Farm 3 years ago. We did not pursue anything after Chase passed away. We were approached by a farm in southern Spain who might want us to help down there and Holistic Management was revisited along with a calling of a friend in Pennsylvania who just invited us to here Alan Savory speak. Okay, Universe we hear you loud and clear and thank you universe for making this one in a pleasant way and not harsh and abrupt! I think that means we are learning and using what we have learned. Challenges are what keep us moving forward.
Wow, this was in the draft box.....
So today April 23, 2019,
We are finished with consulting for Mary's Land Farm and Tom Cunningham, the owner, has been running the day to day operation since the summer of 2018. We finished the end of November 2019 and Mike has been asked to be the project manager of the greenhouses being put up on Mary's Land Farm. In the meantime, I have been learning how to woodwork and find a place to set up our HANDS ON HOMESTEADING experience. We are also almost finished with our Holistic Management training!!! This way of thinking has already helped us and many people we have been consulting with.
I found an RV park that has the extra land to do our Hands-on homesteading. I have the business plan written up, have gone through the financials and all looks good to continue. We have talked with a couple of banks and it looks good to get a loan. The only thing slowing us down is a hefty down payment. So if you are reading this and you know someone that believes in our vision and can help please let them know and have them get in contact with us. reallifeconsulting@hotmail.com I will give out our phone number when we receive an email.
We are very excited to expose, engage and empower people with life skills and have fun while doing so.
Another request is that anyone that has worked with us would you write a review for us on facebook or send directly to us. I am needing testimonies for our business proposal. Thanks