Greetings Neighbor,

           We are Bill and Annie, and wanted to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and tell you a little bit about our farm.

        We are, in every sense, first generation homesteaders and farmers. We are learn by doing types, figure it out on the fly, and exchange nervous laughter, looks of relief and sometimes disbelief when it works out. We have learned a lot, mostly that we have a lot more to learn. But isn’t that one joy of life? We never stop learning, never have it all figured out. Both of us take joy in growing, but on this scale is a first. Our idea in the beginning seemed simple, grow enough produce and raise enough meat to be self-sustaining. We have many pioneers to thank for blazing this trail ahead of us, and in one sense get to follow in their footsteps, conveniently laid out in frequent Youtube searches of “how do I xyz”, and book research. What we have learned in two years is probably more than we knew we could. One great example would be don’t leave baby chicks in a brooder where your chicken loving German Shepherd can get at ‘em, it’s never secure enough! Another example would be, when you think that fence will hold the animal, double down, it’s never secure enough! Basically it has been a lot of learning about infrastructure for animals. Did you know that when pigs get spooked they charge, not retreat? Yeah, we didn’t know that either. Four hours of chasing piglets all over your rural neighborhood, and neighbors you didn’t know getting involved will teach you that. Also, baby pigs are REALLY fast! One other thing we learned, a truth, not so much a lesson, is that in places like Nelson County, neighbors help out, and look out for one another. The most incredible blessing that has come out of some of our misadventures is the hands that have extended to help and the relationships that have formed around us.

     Over the last year or so we have developed new goals. Have a positive impact on our slice of earth, and on our community. We have dived into learning about soil health, how to regenerate the soil with practices like cover cropping and low or no-til. It is an on-going work in progress, but we are excited to be adding to our ecosystem with two bee hives this year, and more management of our land to encourage natural ecosystems.

       We know a few things more this year than we did last. We are so grateful that we get to live this life, work hard, and learn from wonderful friends and neighbors who have walked these roads before us. Our goal, knowing that local is better for our bodies, freshest is best, and if we can’t do it naturally, then we won’t do it at all is to bring our community along with us on our farm journey. Y’all are part of this, and this is for you.