That frees up time for Bonen and Bromley to raise the feed crops they need to last through the winter on some 100 acres they have under till. They grow rowan, corn, wheat, alfalfa and grass for three cuts of hay, some of which they sell to horse and sheep farmers. They also supply their own milk, eggs, chickens, beef and vegetables and do their own repairs. You make no purchases that are unnecessary, you do everything you can to get by with what you have. It's a tough way to live.
Frugality pays off, however.
Fern Hill carries no debt, Bonen says, compared with most farms, which run on a huge overhead. If the corporation that Bromley and his father own went bankrupt, the family wouldn't. I guess we don't do it for that reason. I guess I just always have. As for his wife, she says by the time the chores are all done at about 9 p.m., she feels tremendous satisfaction, knowing that she's accomplished something.