Our Kids on The Farm!

When we get asked how our boys like growing up on the farm – we often times answer, it’s a “love” and “hate” relationship. We think it introduces a level of resilience.

by Chad Steiner

“It’s amazing raising your kids on the farm, what a great opportunity for them!”

“I bet your kids love living and growing up on the farm!?”

“Your kids are so lucky growing up on the farm!”

“How do your boys like growing up on the farm?”

We get asked these questions a lot. My answer is typically – well, it’s a “love and hate”. We have 3 boys 13 and under, and this is our 5^th summer living on the farm. There are definitely times they “hate” living on the farm, and there are definitely times they “love” living on the farm. Is it possible they’re both helpful to their “growth” and its indicative of balance?? Maybe as I describe the things they “hate” and “love” it will shed light on the dynamic of our boys growing up on the farm. In next week’s blog post I’m going to share their chore chart, maybe y’all can share routines you’ve created. As you’ve heard me describe in other blog posts – less than ½% of the U.S. population is involved in farming today. Growing up on a farm has become incredibly unique.

What do the boys “hate” about the farm? One of the main things the boys bring up is – time. Mostly they feel (which is seasonal) Mom and Dad’s time is always occupied taking care of the farm and winery. This seems pretty natural right? Our kids want to feel loved and spending time together is for sure a way we can grow together and feel love. Or, there’s definitely times their own time is taken up by activities they need to participate in on the farm. Animals require pretty constant care. The grapes need pruning. The apples need thinning. Weeds need to be pulled. And the list goes on. Then there’s activities around their own projects. Our boys have their own businesses growing bees for honey, fresh basil and creating products from our lavender. We donate our time to help them, but there’s definitely times they don’t want to do the work. Here’s the incredible thing with ALL of this. It’s amazing to see the sense of pride they take in all these efforts. Whether it’s taking someone on a tour or answering questions about what they’re working on. Each of the boys takes great pride in the work they do even though there’s times they “hate” farm life.

Caption: the boys helping check the pumpkins as they emerge through the plastic.

Which opens the door to share what they love about the farm. The boys unanimously shared, their favorite farm chore is taking care of the animals with Dad. I think it’s partly because they get to spend time with me, and partly because we all really enjoy the animals. It also brings a sense of empathy and compassion. Whether one of us is sick or tired, the animals still have to have food and water. I also asked them what they love. Their answers: they really love the space and being able to walk all over on the farm. They love being able to get fresh things to eat a large part of the year. They love learning how to farm. They love having animals. Being able to take care of the animals, watching them grow, watching the circle of life, watching all their funny behaviors. They love being able to create things and sell them here. They love the flexibility there is at times. They love love love summer on the farm – it’s so green and there’s food everywhere. So maybe it’s possible the love outweighs the hate, or it’s not really hate, but just a bit of struggle. But how are muscles built – they need resistance or weight to build. After talking with them, it does seem like a balance has been struck.

Caption: The boys working on their new bee boxes for the 2024 honey crop.

Jeana and I are first generation farmers. Neither of us grew up on the farm. And with the current trends, there will be less and less people growing up on farms in the United States. We have no idea if our boys will want to come work here someday. Did the love outweigh the hate? We’d love to have created something that affords the opportunity for our boys to come work in. A family business. We listened to a book last year called “Take Back Your Family”. The stories of multiple generations working in the family business were inspiring. Yes, things can sometimes be really hard – but if our kids don’t experience hard, what expectation will they have when they go out on their own. And what better way for them to experience what their future could look like than experiencing the love and the hate on the farm. At least that’s our approach. We feel like it brings resilience into the picture. And we’d love to share the chore chart we created for the boys next week. Have a great week everyone.