From scratch
Six months, 850+ screws, 8,000+ square feet of wood, 96 hours of construction labor, 3 gallons of paint, 360 square feet of sheep’s wool, and tons of problem solving along the way. That’s what it took to build the structure for the farm’s new brooding shelter. This project has challenged me on every level. Between the trials and errors, using tools built for a bigger than 5ft-120lb-human, and coordinating the installation of walls and roofing amidst spring thunderstorms, nothing about this project came easily. That said, no other projects in all of my career so far have felt anywhere near this satisfying to complete.
This project was built under a grant from the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance, and it could not have happened without their grant program and all those in our community that constantly support the work they do. My thanks will always go out to each and every one of you. The completed building, once it is attached to it’s own solar battery, will hold all our incubators and brooding tanks it takes to raise all these Coturnix quail we’ve all come to love so dearly. A steady and dedicated space allows the farm to grow to reach a larger market in not just Central Oregon, but hopefully the other Western states around us, too.
It feels great to build a structure from scratch, especially once you’ve made it through the hardest parts. It feels equally as great to build a whole farm up from scratch, even after the hardest parts have felt like something you could never overcome. I know I’ve got a long way ahead from here, with lots of hard challenges to move through still, but I’m proud of what I’ve built in this small corner of the farm world so far.
This year is looking to be one of great growth for Lost Grace Farm, and I’m excited to see where it leads. The path forward is never clear of frustrations and problems to solve, but I know with each solution comes a new level of growth in me as a farmer. Here’s to using the blood, sweat, and tears of the really hard work to feed the roots of your future. And here’s to the community that you’ll likely fall into along the way, the folks who are always more than happy to catch you when you stumble then help you get back up and moving.
This project was built mostly new, but as little as possible of the scraps have been turned to waste. Most of the small cutting scraps of wood were used in shelving, or small repairs around the farm. Leftover paint will go into a fun mural on the side of the structure later this year. Leftover screws and insulation scraps will also all be saved for moments when they come in handy later on.