Brian and Mary Kate Brown

Our family moved from the Chicago suburbs to Western MI to build our homestead. Motivated by different health challenges, our family has found wellness in playing a part in raising our own food.

Preferred location: Allegan, Barry, Kent

Desired Transitional Agreement: Farm Seeker/Farm Owner Partnership, Mentorship, Working arrangement with future partner

Nov 16, 2025

We brought honeybees onto our property in 2023 We raise our own chicken on pasture, and process+ butcher ourselves. Even our kids have learned how to process meat chickens Chicken processing We have built relationships with other regenerative farmers and worked alongside them. Here Brian is helping butcher a neighbor's beef Butcher day We have done both pressure and water bath canning of locally grown produce We love getting milk from a local, regenerative raw dairy to make butter, cheese, and yogurt We have been growing our own garlic for several years now We have seen success with corn Carrots Every year we expand our garden. We grown sweet corn, potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, carrots, squash, strawberries and more , Honeybees Lettuces and brassicas Chard Radish We have raised Cornish cross and freedom rangers in pasture for several years now Cabbage Tomatoes We also keep 20 laying hens for fresh eggs Brian and Mary Kate We have spent a couple of years tapping maples and partnering with a local maple syrup co-op Tapping maples. We tagged these trees in the fall.

Desired Acreage

  • 5-10 Acres
  • 11-25 Acres
  • 26-100 Acres
  • 101-250 Acres

Desired Infrastructure

  • Barns or other facilities
  • Electrical Access
  • Fencing
  • Irrigation/Water Access
  • Road access

Desired Land Usage

  • Bees
  • Cattle - Beef
  • Flowers
  • Fruit
  • Fruit Trees
  • Hay
  • Horses
  • Organic crops
  • Pigs
  • Poultry - Layers
  • Poultry - Meat
  • Vegetables

Goals, Values, Vision

We hope to be able to work with local food producers who implement regenerative practices. We have learned from people like Joel Salatin and Justin Rhodes, and have implemented their principles on our small homestead. We see partnership with nature as a means to wholeness and health. Moving forward we'd love to be mentored by other regenerative farmers so we can continue learning. The dream would be to be a part of producing nutrient dense food for our community.

Farming Status

Current Farming Status

Not currently farming

Farm Experience/Education

No experience farming

Mentoring

I am seeking mentorship

Farming Plans and Practices

We currently only homestead, but we implement regenerative practices.