Farming is a fading tradition, but for our family, it is the future we envision. I grew up learning the work ethic that comes from raising steers, pigs, and poultry. Today, my wife Jess and I are driven by our greatest goal: to ensure our son and daughter grow up knowing the undeniable value of a hard day’s work and the self-reliance that comes from living off the land. Farming is our calling. Jess and I work full-time while raising two kids and running a growing orchard and livestock homestead.
Preferred location: Allegan, Arenac, Barry, Bay, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, Saginaw, Sanilac, Shiawassee, St. Joseph, Tuscola, Van Buren
Desired Transitional Agreement: Farm Seeker/Farm Owner Partnership, Lease to buy, Sale, Mentorship, Working arrangement with future partner
Sep 29, 2026
Desired Acreage
- 1-5 Acres
- 5-10 Acres
- 11-25 Acres
- 26-100 Acres
- 101-250 Acres
- 251-500 Acres
- 501-1000 Acres
- >1000 Acres
Desired Infrastructure
Desired Land Usage
Goals, Values, Vision
Vision & Future Plans
Our vision is to transition our active homestead into a fully operational, self-sustaining family farm. I currently work tirelessly to cultivate our property into a self-sustaining produce market—feeding our family while trading and selling a surplus with our neighbors. We are actively running a specialized poultry breeding program, crossing Sumatras, Speckled Sussex, Golden Phoenix, Red Shouldered Yokohamas, and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes with the specific goal of developing an original breed. Alongside our flocks, we raise Welsh Harlequin ducks and Harlequin rabbits. Our permaculture and orchard efforts are equally diverse, intensively managed with various grapes, apples, peaches, pears, blueberries, chokeberries, cherries, elderberries, pawpaws, thimbleberries, figs, and hardy kiwis. Looking ahead, our vision includes scaling up our acreage to expand into sheep and beef cattle. My background as a chef gives me a profound respect for high-quality food production, and my ultimate goal is to run an operation that ethically bridges the gap between pasture and plate.
Skills That Will Build the Operation
We bring a unique blend of hands-on grit and high-level operational strategy. I don't just know how to maintain a property; I know how to optimize an agricultural business. My background spans independent general contracting, welding, commercial landscaping, and heavy machinery operation, meaning I can independently handle physical infrastructure, equipment repair, and land grading. On the business side, I bring years of professional experience in operations management, Quality Assurance, and authoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure safety and efficiency.
My wife, Jess, is the anchor of our logistics. Her professional background in medical and service coordinating means she excels in managing complex schedules, crisis management, and keeping a high-pressure environment highly organized. Together, we are accustomed to balancing rigorous full-time careers while managing our land and raising our children.
Goals & Values
We value grit, self-reliance, and the preservation of agricultural heritage. We want our son and daughter to grow up with dirt on their hands, learning the uncompromising work ethic and true freedom that only comes from working the land. We are incredibly blessed to currently own a beautiful lakefront home, but we are actively looking to leave it behind for a life of greater purpose and self-sustainability on a larger scale.
Our ultimate goal is stewardship. If given the opportunity to take over a larger property, we do not want to erase what came before. We want to honor the blood, sweat, and years the previous owners poured into the soil, combining their legacy with our family's energy and drive to carry the farm into the next generation.
Farming Status
Current Farming Status
Part Time
Farm Experience/Education
Farm employee, Farm owner, Farm management
Mentoring
I am seeking mentorship
Farming Plans and Practices
Farming Method
Organic Practices, Conventional
Based on the extensive, hands-on work you are doing on your homestead and your professional background, you are actively utilizing several advanced agricultural and farm management methods. When speaking with farm owners, you can confidently discuss your experience in the following formal farming methodologies:
Livestock Husbandry & Genetics
Selective Breeding & Genetics Management: By crossing five distinct heritage poultry breeds to create an entirely new original breed, you are applying advanced principles of phenotype selection, linebreeding, and trait stabilization.
Multi-Species Husbandry: Managing waterfowl (Welsh Harlequin), poultry, and lagomorphs (Harlequin rabbits) simultaneously requires an understanding of cross-species biosecurity, distinct nutritional formulations, and varying housing requirements.
Pasture & Flock Management: Operating a self-sustaining homestead implies utilizing methods like rotational grazing (moving animals to prevent overgrazing and manage parasites) and integrated pest management (using fowl to control insect populations).
Horticulture & Orchard Management
Permaculture & Food Forestry: Cultivating 12+ varieties of fruit (from tree canopy fruits like apples and peaches, to understory shrubs like elderberries and ground cover) mimics a natural ecosystem. You are applying permaculture principles like companion planting, maximizing yield per square foot, and establishing perennial food systems.
Viticulture & Pomology: Growing grapes requires specific viticulture techniques (trellising, cane pruning). Managing tree fruits (apples, pears, peaches) and berries requires applied pomology, including dormant winter pruning, grafting, and managing chill hours.
Microclimate Management: Growing notoriously climate-sensitive plants like figs and hardy kiwis in Michigan (Zone 5/6) means you have learned how to manage microclimates, overwintering techniques, and soil insulation.
Soil Chemistry Management: Successfully growing acid-loving plants like blueberries alongside standard orchard trees means you actively manage and amend soil pH and nutrient loads on a targeted basis.
Farm Infrastructure & Mechanization
Agricultural Engineering & Hardscaping: Your background in commercial landscaping, contracting, and welding translates directly to farm infrastructure. You know how to execute land grading, manage watershed and drainage, install fencing, build secure livestock enclosures, and fabricate or repair metal gates and equipment.
Heavy Machinery Operation: Experience with commercial landscaping and operations means you are proficient with the mechanization of farming—operating skid steers, tractors, and mowers, as well as performing preventative maintenance on small and large engines.
Agribusiness, Processing & Quality Control
Lean Farming: Your background in Operations Management and authoring SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) means you apply Lean management to agriculture—eliminating waste in your feed/supply chain, optimizing daily chores for time efficiency, and standardizing safety protocols.
Value-Added Processing (Farm-to-Table): As a chef with a background in culinary arts and food production, you possess the food safety knowledge to process raw farm goods into value-added products. You understand butchery, meat processing, preservation, and the sanitary standards required to safely trade or sell produce to the community.
