Outside Every Day
Finding purpose in farming, family and faith
By day, Jodi Bunting is an administrative assistant at CentraCare – Redwood Falls. But during the early mornings, evenings and weekends, she’s a farmer. After raising three kids in town, Jodi and her husband, Dave, decided to get back into farming, growing corn and soybeans and try their hands at raising livestock.
I was born on a farm. So I think I was probably a farmer at birth. I was born into it.
I was about five years old when my dad bought me a bottle lamb.
I named my first lamb “Willie” and it followed me to the bus. I mean, I would get on the bus, and when I got off the bus, it would be there waiting for me. It never was in a fence, so I think maybe that’s what got me back in the sheep thing.
This year, we successfully birthed 125 lambs.
These are called baby dolls – they’re like miniature sheep and these were all born this spring. I’m excited because there’s two different fairs that I want to go to now where kids will be showing our baby dolls at, so I’m excited to watch and see how they do. To see the look in those kids eyes when they come and pick out their lambs is… it’s like a day that I think they’ll always remember. Like I did back in when I got my first lamb.
Backroads is a new CentraCare podcast for us, about us. Each episode will reveal something that connects us all. Right now, it’s a Minnesota summer and how we’re filling ourselves up.
Listen to Jodi’s story in our first episode:
Both Jodi and Dave have full-time jobs. That means mornings, nights and weekends are dedicated to feeding the animals, mucking out the barns and baling hay. It’s hard work, but Jodi loves it.
I get to feel the outside every day…
Sure, there are a lot of days where I don’t want to go outside, like when I come out of work and it’s 20 below zero. It’s like, I don’t want to go out tonight, but you have to. You have these cows, sheep and chickens that are waiting for you – you don’t have a choice.
The farm is a source of comfort.
During the pandemic, we could go out to the barn and there was just so much normalcy out there. The sheep didn’t know, the cows didn’t know…you walked in there, and it was just peaceful and normal. And once you get in that barn, you just change your mindset. It was wonderful. It really helped me through it. When I would come out and see there’s brand new lambs in the lambing barn, it just made it so peaceful for me. It just took us away from that stress. It was really good for us mentally.
The thing that farming and animals have helped me realize is that there’s nothing you can control
It’s helped me get through a lot of things that I used to get stressed out over. Like watching a lamb that you’ve had for so long that might not make it. Or with the crops being dry – worrying if we don’t get rain.
We just have to have faith
We just have to have faith because at the end of the day it’s out of our hands. Whether it’s the prices we get for crops or wondering if it’s going to rain, it’s about working with Mother Nature.
I am so happy for you and your husband that you took the leap and got back into farming. I can tell it makes your heart happy! Thank you for sharing – you are an inspiration!
Reminds me of when you invited Jenna and I out there to help bottle feed the little lambs, fed the colored chickens and educated us the different color of eggs the chickens laid. Loved the atmosphere and you smiled the whole time we were out there. Farming is in your heart.
Good for you! This is amazing and so good to read about! Love to see the stories of your farm animals.
Love this!!! Thank you for sharing your farm with us Jodi!
Love this view; have faith and no use worrying about things you cannot control. Good story.