I am once again participating in Bloganuary, where each day there is a new prompt to write on. One of the writing prompt is “Do you focus on the past or the future? Why?
As a sheep farmer I am focused on the future, the present and the past. I gauge my performance and the performance of my sheep today in comparison to what the performance was last year and previous years. I make decisions today with hopes that the future will be better than today or yesterday.
Planning is necessary for a successful sheep farm. The information from past years guide me in my decisions today. The future will show the outcome of my decision.
Time is important in scheduling times for rams to be with ewes for dates lambs to be born. Lambs start arriving approximately five months after putting a ram in with the ewes. Eight to ten weeks after a lamb is born, the lamb is ready to be weaned. I attempt to schedule the weaning dates near the times of the year when market lambs sell the highest. Depending on the if the lamb is a ewe or ram, and the growth rate and health, will determine if the lamb is retained for breeding stock, sold as breeding stock or sent to market to produce meat. Each decision made today is dependent on information from yesterday.
For the most part, I am focused mostly on the present. The schedule of chores to get each group of sheep out to graze on the pasture daily. Checking ewes and lambs for new lambs and growth of the lambs, and which ewes are still going to lamb. There are fences that need to be built, shelters to be built or improved upon. So much that can not all be completed in a day, so the undone projects go into the future, tomorrow. Getting a little done each day, eventually projects are completed.
I learn from the past, get done today what I can, and plan for the future.
Granny
Granny's Homestead 