Fair Hill Farmstead Life
Judith Farrell Horvath started as a business exec and weekend-warrior homesteader till she was busted for having illegal backyard chickens in suburbia. With her husband and kids along for the ride, they went all-in, starting their own family farm in Central Ohio. Her mission: building and growing resilient local food supply networks of the future - one new regenerative farmer and farm/ranch at a time. Today, through workshops, consulting and public speaking, Judith showcases stories of success and struggle to encourage a new generation of regenerative farmers and entrepreneurs in adjacent areas of earth-friendly agriculture. Resilience, gratitude, community, and ecological regeneration are the guiding principles at Fair Hill Farm, since 2013. http://www.fairhillfarm.com
Episodes
6 days ago
6 days ago
Austin Frerick is the author of bestselling book “Barons – Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry.” He is an expert on agricultural and antitrust policy. He worked at the Open Markets Institute, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Congressional Research Service before becoming a Fellow at Yale University. He is a 7th generation Iowan and 1st generation college graduate, with degrees from Grinnell College and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. https://www.austinfrerick.com/
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Let’s talk Progress, year-over-year. One of the things that I hear from people new to homesteading or new to farming and their own food production is overwhelm. I feel for them, because when we first moved into our farm, I was in the same space. Between getting my home set up and wanting to do ALL THE THINGS and just being so pumped for owning my first farm, I felt like a spinning top. And not in a good way. Today I'm sharing my Seven Rules for keeping your sanity and making steady progress on your farmstead.
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
This one is for Farmers AND Consumers both. Community support is critical for the survival of small local farms. CSAs are a POWERFUL option for all parties involved. And you likely have one available to you in your area. My family buys a CSA share every year, even though we grow a LOT of produce, meat, dairy and eggs each year. So let’s have that conversation because I clearly see both sides. Full of tips and info for producers and customers alike. Let's get growing.
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
#24: Jim Gale - 100% Inspiration at Food Forest Abundance
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
Jim Gale, entrepreneur and expert permaculturist, man of faith and deep thinker is the founder of Food Forest Abundance. A positive energy dynamo, he talks about the solutions to society's most wicked problems. The solutions are really simple. Just not easy. He’s an educator, expert permaculture designer and advocate for clean, nutrient dense food. He’s also designing a sustainable off-grid living community, innovative home construction, and espouses the importance of permaculture as curriculum in schools. From motivations to practical steps, reaching youth, and even touching on the idea of NPCs. Jim boasts a 100% inspiration rate. This episode barely scratches the surface of the bigger picture with Jim at Food Forest Abundance .
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
#23: Joel Salatin on the Zeitgeist, Challenges & Solutions Within Reach
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Joel Salatin, husband, father, world-famous regenerative farmer, speaker, 16-time author, owner of Polyface Farm and cofounder of the Rogue Food Conference joins to discuss contemporary topics: creating a more resilient food supply chain, regulatory issues, food freedom, raw milk, and going ‘rogue’ with food. He offers specific encouragement for the youth who want to get into agriculture and has an impassioned positive message to all who feel abuzz over the state of the world and society today. Polyface Farm. Healing the land one bite at a time. www.polyfacefarms.com
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
#22: FOOP - Bioavailability Gamechanger and Biochar with CEO Larry Footer
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Larry Footer founded FOOP Organic Biosciences in 2016 and has been a man on a mission to bring the best possible product to the market for plant growers everywhere. It’s not even fair to call it plant food. It’s a proprietary blend- a spectrum of beneficial bacteria from fish manure, 11 strains of mycorrhizae, micronutrients and macronutrients from fish manure, fish emulsion, seaweed, volcanic ash and more. The products are for your garden, house or farm. From cloning gel to foliar spray, liquid, and now inoculated biochar –inspired by Larry learning about Terra Preta – This little company in Virginia is growing gangbusters thanks to Larry’s leadership and innovation. Enjoy the tour and the future of FOOP. www.thefoop.com
Friday Feb 16, 2024
Friday Feb 16, 2024
In 2010, Jeremy Lekich founded Nashville Foodscapes and in 2014, Jeremy co-founded Compost Nashville. As of January 2021, Nashville Foodscapes became a worker-owned cooperative. Jeremy's journey as an entrepreneur has allowed him to witness the value of leveraging our current systems and capital to create new ones that are more equitable and harmonious. Today he is a community resilience enthusiast and believes in the power of a localized economy and an inspired, well-fed community. And he's on a mission to help people learn how to grow food within their own landscaping on their properties, parks, and community plantings.
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
#20: Getting Nerdy and Talking No-Till Soil Science with Farmer Jesse Frost
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
Farmer Jesse Frost of No-Till Growers talks soil life, growing top notch veggies with no-till methods and getting started in regenerative agriculture. He shares his journey from cooking in restaurant kitchens in Louisville and New York City, through his awakening during a tour of a French vineyards to becoming a farm intern and finally being a renown market gardener, author of The Living Soil Handbook, and much more. Jesse created the No-Till Growers Network, hosts The No-Till Market Garden Podcast and the No-Till Growers channel on YouTube. He has also contributed to The Atlantic, Modern Farmer, Civil Eats, and maintained the Marketing Column for Hobby Farms Magazine for many years. He and his wife Hannah Crabtree own and operate Rough Draft Farmstead central Kentucky. Connect with Jesse on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
#19: Small Town Vet with a Big Imprint: meet Lori Davis DVM
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Veterinarian Lori Davis may live in a small town but she has a world class education and heart bigger than the state she lives in. Ride along with the farm vet who didn't grow up in the country but today lives a James Herriot lifestyle in Central Ohio. Meet the farm vet who purchased a shrinking housepet practice and turned it around in just a couple years to a wide-ranging, successful farm practice.
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
#18: Cooking up A Farmish Kind of Life with Amy Dingmann
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
In today's episode I’m talking to a super entertaining, memorable lady - Amy Dingmann, 11-time published author, from A Farmish Kind of Life website and podcast. She’s also a Facebook blogger, a thinker and serious foodie… We hear how homesteads and little farms are a different kind of wonderful, despite the difference between our early dreams vs final reality, and how it’s OKAY to just enjoy the experience of homesteading. The big theme however, was farm-awesome-food! From the idea of box elder syrup to adventures in smoking turkeys into edibility, and how great ingredients and from-scratch farm cooking changes people. According to Amy, “Raising your own food turns you into a food snob and it somehow fills you up in a different way.” We discuss how scratch-cooking makes a difference in family dynamic, and how homesteaders intentionally choose a different kind of life. But it’s not just about doing things the by-hand way… it’s so much more. WHY do we homesteaders choose the seemingly “harder” choice? What IS that? We have some ideas. You can read more about Amy Dingmann’s adventures and sign up to get her Farmish Papers delivered to your door at www.afarmishkindoflife.com Amy on Telegram: https://t.me/+xHbWrSuNobdjNTE5
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
#17: A Full, Regenerative Life: Planting the Seeds of Tao with Joshua Prieto
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Joshua is willing to take the punches and get his hands dirty. He cares deeply about protecting life on earth and shares his story of an unsuccessful start to his first homestead in Montana. From what he knew then, to what he learned in the process, what he knows now and where he's going... this is a great story of failing forward and helping others be successful. Joshua and his wife Emily live in Panama, where they're thriving and starting new regenerative ventures through his community of regenerative businesses at www.seedsoftao.com
Friday Jun 16, 2023
#16: Earnest Roots in Alabama
Friday Jun 16, 2023
Friday Jun 16, 2023
They’re millennials from the world of tech and engineering… and they returned to Kiley’s roots of multigenerational farming. As Kiley put it, “Doors were opened” during the Covid pandemic and they embraced the opportunity. Today they farm in a different way than prior generations as they’ve embraced rotational grazing and adopted some permaculture concepts on their farm. They’re definitely in growth mode, but they have big dreams and big goals including a state inspected poultry processing facility… no small feat. Follow them at www.earnestrootsfarm.com
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Meet Greg Peterson, the man who is doing his part to fix our broken food system... starting in everyone's own home! According to Greg, no matter where you live, if you grow it and share it with others, you're a farmer! Growing food is a basic human right and at www.urbanfarm.org Greg teaches, connects, and grows a burgeoning community of like-minded people. Greg discusses his humble beginnings in aquaculture, early awareness of our food system, some great books to read, and some pivotal moments in the life he's led, doing exactly what he's always loved doing, and more.
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
#14: Healing the Earth through Soil Health: Pleasant Valley Family Farms
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Millennial couple Bobby and Kerry Sykes and son Malachi dive headfirst into rotational grazing – starting regenerative farming with zero prior experience. Bobby was told he couldn’t produce a tender tasty steak on grass alone, took it as a challenge, and successfully proved the naysayers wrong. Hear about what it takes, working with a rookie butcher, learning how to de-compact soil, angering cows with tall grass, eating carnivore, grassfed cattle genetics, the big-picture benefit of having a farm, thoughts on the greater homesteading movement and micro-farms, and heart-moving stories from his customers. Bobby and Kerry have hit their groove and built a strong local following for their all-natural top quality beef in Central Ohio. This couple is just getting started and will be around for a long time to come. Visit them at www.pleasantvalleyfamilyfarms.com to read about clean, all grass fed beef.
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
#13: Grace & Farm Marketing Magic: The Shepherdess at Harmony Farms
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Meet the FarmHer in the iconic orange visor… she’s Grace, the Shepherdess at Harmony Farms. Raising Dorper Sheep near the Dallas Fort Worth area in Texas, she’s driven, humble, candid, and successful. Grace spills the sheep beans on rotational grazing, talks about the importance of great neighbors, helpful mentors, farming in the USA today, challenges in our food chain today, her thought process behind getting into sheep farming and more. Chock FULL of great marketing tips and specific motivational info, we get a taste of what she’s up to next – growth, progress, and helping others succeed at starting farming at www.shepherdess.com
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Paul Bradshaw and Greenfire Farms brought the first autosexing breed chickens to America, (outlandishly popular Bielefelder and Cream Legbar), plus 70 other breeds- *doubling* the number of chicken breeds available in the USA through the years. He talks about his mission, the haters, the grueling process, and his passion for stewardship and his appreciation for his top tier staff and scientific minds working with him on his farm. His meteoric rise to prominence stimulated hatcheries across the nation to step up their game in return. His injection of new utility and top quality genetics through 20 years of chicken detective work across the globe and relentless pursuit of legal importation makes the best quality of the world's most fascinating chicken breeds available to discerning customers at www.greenfirefarms.com
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Sandy decided to make a dream come true when she retired. She and her husband bought a farmette and she planted her garden, heck it was her first tomato plant! And she was just getting started. 3 years in, Sandy shares the feeling of discovery and the awakening process- the first wondrous taste of a homegrown potato, learning about canning, and the personal empowerment and happiness from keeping chickens. Today she has egg customers and keeps goats too. Sandy shares specific tips on how she accumulated a mountain of knowledge one step at a time with zero prior experience. She’s the grandma who bought a farm and now is on a huge never-ending autodidactic adventure at Sweet Tea Yankee Farm in Illinois. All this in just the first 3 years. And she's just getting started! Sandy’s living her best life and loving every second, and shares words of encouragement to young people especially who dreamed of this lifestyle and thinks it’s out of reach. Spoiler alert: it isn't.
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
#10: Wagyu in Ohio: Bookman Brothers Cattle Co | Patrick Bookman
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Meet cattleman Patrick Bookman, breeder of Wagyu cattle in central Ohio with his family in their business Bookman Brothers Cattle Company in Stoutsville Ohio. In his third year of startup phase, Bookman produces top quality breeding stock. Patrick talks about the high tech world of AI, frozen embryos, and the lucrative value in this burgeoning segment of USA beef and the beef market overall. With peer support, he's learned from the amazing network of Wagyu breeders spanning the globe. Patrick emphasizes the importance of top quality genetics from Japan and dispels myths around Wagyu and Kobe beef. He talks about his dreams of new fencing, having a 4wd tractor during mud season in Ohio, and expansion. Patrick speaks plainly of his wife's admirable adaptability to farm life, the support of his family, and how he can't resist when his young daughter wants 40 baby chicks instead of the dozen planned.
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
#9: Shepherd like a Girl: Amika Ryan’s Icelandic Sheep at Copia Cove.
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Amika Ryan of Copia Cove shares her story of her journey from the hospitality industry in Switzerland and Dubai to shepherding in Montana and finding profitability with Icelandic Sheep. She started from scratch with 270 sheep and a plan. Today she is best known for her felted fleece rugs, authentic Nordic skin crafts and more. Amika talks candidly about fun with LARPing, processing her own sheep, explains "rooing", offers advice for how to start shepherding, how she balances shepherding and motherhood, and emphasizes the importance of having a cool truck, awesome mentors, great reference books, a great shearer and the best hay guy around.
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
#8: Dalarna Farm: Where Heather’s stories are the biggest product.
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Farm Life Humorist -Author Heather Benson of Dalarna Farm talks about starting her farmstead, moving it to another state, and how to view fails as educational experiences. She shares her thoughts on the mysteries of tractors, why agriculture needs a "for Dummies" series of manuals, the phenomena of "Lambnesia", the mental benefit of farm life, and why actually Doing a Thing is really a HUGE deal for humans in today's continually virtualized world.
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
#7: Life Transition: Surf Life Coconut Culture to Tennessee Farmstead
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Noelle Bartholdi and James Dickey talk about their adventures, experience and progress thus far, in making an intention life shift to farmstead in Tennessee. Full of tips on how to choose land, what to expect, and how to wade into farmsteading/homesteading before diving into the deep end when you're reading to make a massive shift to a more sustainable, resilient lifestyle.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
#6: Minimizing Winter Stress in Animals on the Farm Dec 2022
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
WINTER STRESS- Learn from my winter blunders, be prepared to help your animals thru winter. Sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens etc. Includes specific tips on high-stress times and how that works before during and after major weather events.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
#5: Chicken Winter Stressors Nov 2022
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
CHICKENS- Winterizing tips, nutrition, reducing stress, coop designs for health, electronet hacks, water supply and so much more.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
#4: Working with Rams Oct 2022
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
RAMS: handling BAD BOYS this time of year, get the job done, and avoiding injury to humans. Learn about my flock setup, dealing with jerkiness, ramminess, and year-round arrangements and more.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
#3: Mindset for Raising an Animal for Meat, With Love Sept 2022
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Soul-searching honest talking about harvesting meat animals, and the psychology of raising an animal for meat, with love, and the impact it can have on your relationship with food, its impact on my children, and bigger picture / life implications.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
#2: Handling Sheep Aug 2022
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tips and tricks on handling sheep, and how not to... especially understanding their behavior and starting cheap. Lambs, ewes, rams.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
#1: Welcome July 2022
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Introducing ourselves, our mission, and more.
The era of regenerative agriculture is now and it's what we talk about!
It's the end of cheap easy petroleum, mass use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and large scale soil-microbe killing methods. We understand the dangers now and we know we need to leave this system behind. It has to be- we are losing topsoil at an alarming rate. Our current system requires 20 kcal of energy for every 1kcal of food produced. It's mathematically unsustainable.
Today, as a farmer, I see change happening in a big way! It's exciting to see this new paradigm take hold across the world. But it's going slowly and it requires a LOT more small farmers and participants at the local level, and that's where YOU come in.
From agrihoods to ranches... farmstead or little urban homestead - we are your biggest fans. We are telling your stories on our podcast! Our goal is to see regenerative farmers madly successful, no matter how small. We want to see people reconnecting with where their food comes from and meeting the people who grow it and raise it.
Be part of creating a local, resilient food supply chain with nutrient dense clean food. Whether you are a farmer, a rancher, or a supporter - every participant matters and everyone has a part to play. It's all hands on deck. Your local farmers, community economy, our environment, and ultimately, our own health and survival as the dominant species on Earth is at stake.
In the 1940s 80% of Americans lived on farms. There were no big grocery store chains. Today, just 2% of the population are farmers. We have lost much generational knowledge so it takes a long time to re-learn farming. So come along and learn about where your food comes from. Meet the people who are dedicating their lives and efforts to making a difference.
Here's to a future of health and abundance. Reconnect with where food comes from and participate in the process with love and understanding. Not at a grocery store, but with a local farmer, a CSA, a Co-op, or a farmers market.
These are my hands and the peppers I planted, grew, and harvested. Full of life energy and grown in the compost from my own farm in Ohio. Nothing better. Come along with me and enjoy the entertainment, education, and encouragement on Fair Hill Farmstead Life.
Eat what you grow, share knowledge, and pay it forward.
Judith has also appeared as a guest on:
Urban Farm Podcast
if you have a story to tell, we want to know about it! Send us an email to: judith@fairhillfarm.com