Welcoming a new helping family on the farm

Farmer Aaron and his family needed help. Completing all the farm chores, running a business, holding down a household, and being active with their church and community was getting to be too much to handle with sporadic help here and there. 

The Miller’s needed some relief. They needed some freedom. They needed some more sleep.

So, farmer Aaron put an ad in the Busy Beaver (a local Amish newspaper) a few months ago looking for full-time farm help. He got a big response with about 10 people from his local Amish community interested! After a hefty interview process, Aaron hired Daniel to help on the farm. 

Daniel, his wife Rebecca, and their four young children moved into one half of the farmer’s house a few weeks ago. Welcome to the farm Daniel and family!

Daniel previously worked in construction. Then, his family got into farming. They worked a conventional farm for about 2 years, but he soon got tired of it and quit. 

Conventional farming didn’t work financially, and he realized that the chemicals weren’t good. Daniel started reading lots of farming and grazing magazines, and his eyes were opened to the world of natural and regenerative farming. When he saw Aaron’s ad, he knew he had to go for it.

Daniel has been training with Aaron for a couple months now.

His main responsibilities are moving and feeding the cows, milking the cows, seeding and making hay, taking care of the pigs, and record keeping. He also helps a bit with the chickens and turkeys.

At Miller’s Bio Farm, it’s all about the details. This is why training and double checking is really important.

Are the cows moved to the right place? Is the right amount of feed being given to the pigs? Is the hay harvested at the right time? Is the equipment spotlessly clean?

The first three are pretty easy to monitor. But that last one needs some precise measuring. 

Luckily, Miller’s has a pretty easy way to tell if Daniel and his family are cleaning the equipment properly - on farm testing! Every batch of milk is tested on the farm. If there’s ever a high reading… well, Aaron knows he needs to quickly diagnose the issue and provide guidance in solving the problem. 

The Miller’s team is so happy to have Daniel, Rebecca, and family on board. As the team grows, so does our ability to inspire healthy generations.