The whirlwind
What a wild ride we’ve been on since we began this farming journey! This blog post might be a long one, but since I’m 3 years behind on an update, I think we’re due for a long one.
SO much has happened in the past 3 years. We have learned, grown exponential, we’ve faced so many trials and had so many nights where we weren’t sure what our next steps would be. But ultimately, we’ve put our trust in God. A mantra I have to remind myself of often - if God calls you, He will equip you. And I firmly believe He not only called us into this lifestyle, but He’s guided our path to be a community lighthouse and education source for homesteading skills and local foods.
The biggest change we’ve made in the past 3 years - Jourdian quit his job at Gordon Food Service to farm with me full time. He joined Daviess County Public Schools as a bus driver so that we would have benefits and some stability in the transition, but he would still have summers off. He started his new job in January. To increase our farm revenue this year, we tripled our chicken flock for eggs (he built a large mobile structure and we pasture raise them all over the farm), we are raising twice as many meat chickens, we increased our pig herd for more pork (also added mobile netting so they can graze through the woods), and we are raising turkeys for the first time for meat. We started having our chickens processed by a butcher so we could sell the meat at the farmers’ market. Jourdian has largely taken over the outside farm work so that I can focus more on the business side of things. I spend most of my days either making goods, baking bread, washing eggs, or canning…we have both done a great job this year of ignoring the garden :)
We are still staying overwhelmed on a daily basis. While Jourdian has more time at home, our sales have steadily increased so that we are still struggling to keep up. We both usually clock 12 hour works days most of the time. Sunday is our only day of the week to relax, and sometimes other obligations stop that as well. We both know we can’t keep this up forever, but that time has not yet come. I am constantly evaluating our time vs the income, and it may come down to letting a few things go in the end unless God shows us a different path forward.
The sourdough bakery has really taken off in ways I didn’t expect, especially this year. Our basement has been converted to a “basement bakery” - I have a Simply Bread oven, Estella spiral mixer, a Mockmill grain mill, and everything else needed to have a dedicated bakery space. I spend a good amount of my time down there Thursday and Friday in preparation for the market on Saturdays. The bakery is our #1 income producer on our farm - and that blows my mind!
Sourdough, eggs, meat, canned goods, and tallow seem to be the direction of our farm. I just love to do so many different things that I don’t know where to stop!
We brought home our new farm dog, Sam back in December of 2025. He is the main character if you come out to the farm…if he isn’t napping! He loves everyone, just isn’t a fan of dogs. That’s part of his protector instincts. He has been an invaluable asset for us and for the safety of our poultry especially.
Of course we’ve had plenty of other changes. We are now retail partners with Grand Teton Ancient Grains, offering monthly preorders of organic wheat berries. My oldest son has graduated high school and took a new job in Lexington. Life is moving awfully fast, and I’ve learned to just hang on tight and see where the wind takes us.
It is truly an honor and a privilege to be chosen as a steward of this beautiful world God has created for us. The benefits far outweigh any struggle or trial we face.
Hopefully I can update this again without a 3 year gap next time! We post daily on Facebook, but I know many people are removing social media from their lives and you all deserve just as much of an update. Love to all!
Amanda
