About our Family
When we have eachother... we have everything.
About Us
Are our hands full? Yes... but so are our hearts. With 5 kids and countless animals we are living the dream. We have an interesting family history including immigrating to the United States, read more about the history of our farm.
Bart and Linda
Although we work together nearly 24/7 we have very different responsibilites on the farm. Bart is soley responsible for the cow care, the farm hands, and day to day farm operations. I (Linda) am soley responsible for anything cat related and I do the accounting on the dairy farm as well. We have to work well together because most of what we do overlaps. Let's be realistic: no relationship is all rainbows and unicorns. We have to consistently work at communication and respecting eachother's opinions. We also have to make time for date nights as husband and wife... instead of just living life as business partners or parents.
Bart
Dairy cows are Bart's passion similar to how cats are my passion. If you know anything about dairy farming you know it's extremely hard work, and it's usually volitile and thankless. To be a dairy farmer you have to love what you do, because otherwise it isn't worth it.
Bart is an excellent farmer who pampers his cows, they have access to the fields but choose to spend most of their time in a shaded barn with sand beds, fans, and misters to keep them cool. Bart also works with a dairy nutritionist to build a custom ration for them daily so that they have fresh food and clean water 24/7.
Something new: Recently Bart started to sell used farm and construction equipment together with his brother. They hand pick only a small amount of equipment they feel strongly that they can stand behind, so they dont have a large amount of inventory.
Linda
My passion is the Bengal cats, besides the vet and the occasional farm hand to help out - we do everything ourselves. I built and edit my own website, take the photography myself, and even do most of the construction in the cattery. If you've ever been to our farm you'll notice one thing: There is ALWAYS some kind of project going on. It might be a rabbit pen we're building or a new cat shelf that needs painting... or the water lines we plan on burrying (literally this afternoon). We are always adding on or building something.
I saw a Tiktok video the other day and it really resinated with me... it said "For all the husbands with a low maintenance wife: how are her animals doing?".
I Had a good little laugh because 9 times out of 10 you wont find me wearing any makeup, I don't get my lashes done, and hardly do my nails... but we did build a 12,000 cubic foot catio so that they can all go outside and get some fresh air. I may not go to designer clothing stores... but don't let me go to tractor supply unsupervised because I will come home with ducks, chickens, and all of the accessories.
Now that our kids have started their own 4H projects I also help them with training and showing. I have always enjoyed Dairy Showing and Judging and it has been really fun to get to do that with our kids now. Check out our Bengal Cattery Here.
Zoey
This girl is our animal finatic. She loves all animals but has excelled with her Rabbit breeding and showing. Zoey has started her own Flemish Giant Rabbitry where she earns her own savings by raising, showing, and selling bunnies. She also competes in junior dairy showing and dairy judging as well.
Nico
Nico has also started competing in junior dairy showing and is about to start his first year of dairy judging. He is a typical 2024 child who enjoys roblox and minecraft and pines for his own youtube channel but Mom and Dad wont allow it just yet.
Tyce
The sporty kid. Most of our kids were not blessed with flexibility and speed, they were blessed with two left feet and a love of the outdoors... until Tyce. He is a speedy little guy with no quit in him. He might just be a future track star.
Tessa
Tessa loves the little kittens and our new puppy... however she wont be one of the kids to bring a frog home or a baby bird because... eww. She would rather be inside playing with her dolls.
Luka
Luka is wild about watermellon, bananas, and lolly pops... he enjoys the animals and is always ready to throw on his boots and go outside.
Dairy Showing
The kids are following in my (Linda's) footsteps by showing cows in their local FFA and 4H chapters. It's a skill that takes a lot of learning, patience, and work. Not only for the kids but for us as parents as well. The amount of evenings we've spent after school walking cows until it was too dark to see are too many to count. It all becomes worth it in the show ring there were tears in my eyes this year as they each got their first showmanship buckle. I almost tear up again with pride typing these words. More dairy show pictures.
Rabbit Showing
Rabbit showing is new to me (Linda) but Zoey showed a lot of interest in Flemish Giants and decided to use her earnings to buy her first show rabbits and start her rabbitry. I built a rabbit hutch for her and we now have our first two litters of baby bunnies. She feeds the rabbits out of her own savings, keeps a little book keeping log, and 100% of rabbit sales go straight back into her account. It's been a really valuable learning experience for her so far. Life skills she can continue to use as she grows up. Zoey's flemish giant website is here.
Dairy Judging
Dairy judging goes hand-in-hand with showing. You learn the parts of a dairy cow, what makes each part strong or weak and you learn to judge the dairy cows the same way the judge in the showring judges. The kids also have to stand in front of judges and present their reasons for how they classified the cows. The kids are still very much in the learning stages but they have a wonderful coach and grow each year.
Farm Help
Every day the kids ask to come to the dairy farm and help dad with the cows. We try to bring the kids with us to the farm as often as we can whether we're burning brush or feeding calves.
Other
I might run out of room if I list all the hobbies we're involved with. We enjoy time together as a family and usually spend weekends at home or with family and good friends.
