Many people don’t understand why having a few cats may be important, especially on a farm. Some people prefer to own dogs more than cats, and some individuals may like cats better. But there were times when people would say that cats are lazy and carry a lot of flees, while at the same time saying that it’s easier to train a dog than you can a cat, and dogs can be your best friend. A lot of people find reasons as to why they don’t want any cats around. But one thing people don’t realize is that having cats can be great sometimes. Why? Because cats can keep the mice and rat population down when living on a farm.

Most people do not like rodents because they can get into your house and get in your food, even if it’s stored away in boxes and bags or if you put it on a high shelf. Mice can be destructive in many ways. For instance, they would rip their way through different bags of food for your livestock, like chicken feed or goat feed, and they might tear through packs of tissue or other soft materials so they could nest in them. Because of all the things some farms provide for rodents is why they can breed so efficiently. But our family has had cats on our farms for many years, and the mice have decreased frequently here.

For a while, our family only wanted cats as pets because they are nice and incredibly cute. Then we started to keep more than five cats, so we decided to get rid of most of them because we felt like we had too many. But one day, we started to notice how many rodents our cats were catching every week to eat as food. So things became much easier because we didn’t have to feed them cat food often, and they were maintaining the rodent population. Of course, we don’t recommend that you own a lot of cats on your farm, but at least one or two cats would suffice.

Every autumn, we carefully harvest all the seeds from the plants we nurtured during the spring. We collect seeds from most of our plants, including ornamental grasses, decorative plants, flowery plants, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. There is value in the seeds from the plants we grow, especially since it is vital to have your own seeds. When you collect seeds from your garden, you’ll have more for free rather than buying more each year for the same plants. Another reason why you should gather seeds from your garden is because they will be organic. Many commercial seeds are hybrids because they are artificially created by crossing two specific varieties. Not to mention, you might not get as many seeds in each pack as you want. Plants that thrive in your garden have adapted to specific soils, climates, and pests in your area. By saving seeds from the best-performing plants, you can select the qualities that suit your growing conditions, ultimately improving the value of your crops over time. When you save your own seeds, you can share them with others and trade some of yours for other varieties, resulting in an expansive seed collection. Harvesting and storing seeds requires attention and care, but it’s not too difficult. If any of your plants are beginning to produce seeds, it’s essential to start collecting and storing them immediately!

As the winter comes, the plants and grass die, leaving nothing for the goats and Harley, the donkey, to graze on. In the summer, after we picked all the ears of corn, we gathered the corn stalks to dry and provide food for the livestock in the winter. Then, when the fall came, we also chopped down all the banana plants to feed them. We ensure that our livestock never go hungry during the winter by keeping a sufficient food supply.