Jill founded The Prairie Homestead, an online space with over one million monthly visits dedicated to helping people learn how to grow their own food and opt out of the rat race, regardless of where they live. In 2019, she published her best-selling cookbook The Prairie Homestead Cookbook which was an Amazon Editor’s pick and won Best Cookbook in the 30th Annual Reading the West Book Awards given by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. In 2023, she published Old-Fashioned on Purpose which was an instant Amazon best seller.

Her practical and authentic style of teaching and storytelling has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of homesteaders across social media and through the Old Fashioned on Purpose podcast, which has amassed over 7 million downloads since its inception.

Jill and her family also run Genuine Beef Company which ships grass finished beef nationwide, as well as the Chugwater Soda Fountain. She has been featured in COWGIRL magazine, Woman’s Day, HuffPost, Wall Street Journal, Wyoming PBS, and People Magazine. She resides on the Wyoming prairie with her husband, three children, and more farm animals than she can count.

Rich has spent the last 27 years of his life dedicated to bringing agriculture into the lives of others. From managing and maintaining the botanical gardens at Old Sturbridge Village, to doing educational outreach and orchard design with the American Chestnut Foundation. His days are now spent playing in the edible forest and gardens he has built at All Hill Farm, and teaching others the skills they need to do the same.

Bio: In 2007, Dave & Marge Randles started producing yogurt and cheese on Dave's family farm. The Randles family has been operating the dairy farm in Argyle since 1860. Their award-winning products are made with high-quality milk from their partner, Ideal Dairy Farm. Argyle Cheese Farmer is committed to consistently producing high-quality products using local, all-natural ingredients.

Around 1980, Debbie started growing and arranging flowers for Fort Miller Reformed Church where her husband served as pastor for many years. About ten years later, she became a Master Gardener with Washington County Cornell Cooperative Extension and began planting gardens for others. In 1996, Debbie started River"Rangements as a flower grower/designer and began selling bouquets at the Glens Falls Farmers' Market. After moving from the banks of the Hudson River to the banks of the Battenkill in 2011, she continued gardening with flowers and added fruit trees and vegetables. She continued selling at the Farmers' Market and providing arrangements for weddings and other special occasions. After many years of wins and losses, Debbie is still experimenting with new ways to garden with success. She presently resides in Greenwich on the Battenkill where the soil is wonderful!

Brian is a 4th generation homesteader who has been homesteading with his wife Bonnie and son Brian Jr. on a little over 2 acres in Washington County. He is an avid gardener and has raised rabbits, chickens, geese, turkeys, and American Guinea hogs. He enjoys preserving the harvest in various ways: freezing, dehydrating, canning, and fermenting. In 2019, he launched the Homestead Journey podcast to help others achieve self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and sustainability.

Laura joined Cornell Cooperative Extension in 1990 and, through the years, has fine-tuned her expertise

in commercial small fruit and vegetable production including pest identification and management, soil

fertility, food safety, and season extension techniques. Today, Laura leads small fruit production

outreach and applied research efforts in eastern NY. She has recently been focused on lesser-known

berry crops and is looking forward to sharing this information with the small farmer and homesteader

audience.

Micah Guenther is a homesteader and homemaker living in Washington County with her husband and their three daughters. As an artist doing freelance photography and embroidery, she strives to create a beautiful childhood for her children. She recently moved from a yardless duplex into a cottage she and her husband designed and built on 12 acres. She is enjoying her foray into dairy cattle husbandry, gardening, sourdough, and all that comes with running a small farm. Her shift from town to countryside has given her a perspective of immense gratitude for this way of life, and she hopes to pass on this appreciation to her children and teach them to find fulfillment in the labor that brings their food to the table.

Erin Perkins, her husband Jeremy, and their two sons own and operate Easton Station Farms in Greenwich, New York. They are a first-generation cow/calf operation raising Blonde d'Aquitaine and commercial cattle since 2010.

The land where Easton Station Farms currently sits today was originally a family dairy farm. Still, they’ve raised healthy, wholesome beef on limited acreage through hard work and sustainable farming techniques. They have grown to be a reputable breeder of Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle while marketing their beef directly to consumers- providing high-quality beef to the area in their modern, on-farm, self-service store.

The farm is BQA (Beef Quality Assurance) certified, NY Grown & Certified, Masters of Beef Advocacy certified & members of the National Cattleman's Beef Association & New York Beef Producers Association.

Owner of the Sperry Family Farm specializing in registered ADGA Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats and goat milk bath and body products. The farm was started in 2018 on an 8-acre property in Argyle. She manages a milking herd of 35 goats. participating in monthly milk tests, local shows, and linear appraisals. She strives to take the best care of her herd, always learning through books, podcasts, and in-person classes. In addition to her farm, Dorothea works full-time as an RN.

Sam and Kate Steinberg are first generation farmers who live on a small farmstead in Washington County, NY. They farm for the principals of good health, delicious food and loving community and together they have over 15 years of experience in dairy. Sam brings a background in engineering and has spent time building and designing barns, working on farms, and various other roles in agriculture. Kate has a masters degree in nutrition and started out focused on dairy cows and calves, but has since transitioned to human nutrition. She now specializes in whole-food nourishment during pregnancy and autoimmune dis-ease.

In 2020, they began regenerating their 7-acre plot of hill-side, gravel-full, depleted farmland to be a thriving farmstead. Sam and Kate now enjoy a full-time education in managing a one-cow dairy and creamery, raising as much of their own food (and their animal’s food) as they can, learning new skills, and being involved in their small community.

Dough Haven Farm LLC is located in Washington county, NY. A small homestead that has alpaca, LGDs, cashmere goats, chickens, ducks, geese and farms specialty mushrooms.

David together with his wife, Mary and brother, Don educate people about sustainable agroforestry and forest farming practices. Workshops, internships and farm tours are held to educate people on farming specialty mushrooms, animal husbandry, fiber goats, and sustainable forestry practices. David and Don are both Veteran farmers. We are supported by the Homegrown by Heroes program through Farmer Veteran Coalition federally and NY local chapter. We are grateful to have received support from Cornell Small Farms, Veteran Farm Ops programs. David and Mary are members of New York State Forest Owners Association (NYFOA), Southeastern Adirondack Chapter and are Master Forest Owners MFO through Cornell Cooperative Extension.

David is a retired electrician and chef, caters the Agritourism events and other farm gatherings, he is a certified cashmere judge and caretaker of the homestead. Mary recently retired from NYS and is a PT licensed massage therapist.

Their complete story and pictures can be found at DoughHavenFarm.com

Dr. Peck is the Director of Research and Education at Betterbee in Greenwich, NY, where he assists in product development and research, and also teaches classes and develops scientifically-sound educational materials. His doctoral work in Cornell University's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior was supervised by Professor Tom Seeley. His dissertation research focused on the transmission of mites between bee colonies, as well as the mite-resistance traits of the untreated honey bees living in Cornell's Arnot Forest.

After earning his degree, he has continued to research varroa/bee interactions, including fieldwork in Newfoundland, Canada (where varroa still have not arrived) and Anosy Madagascar (where varroa arrived only in 2010 or 2011). He has served as a teaching postdoctoral fellow in Cornell's Department of Entomology, and is still affiliated with Cornell through the Honey Bee Health program in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Peck has kept bees for more than a decade, though his home apiary is often full of mite-riddled research colonies so he doesn't usually produce much honey.

Lora Newell grew up in rural Albany County and, from a young age, was interested in self-sufficiency and traditional skills. She especially enjoyed making bread and helping her mother

preserve food from the family’s garden. A homesteader and farmer for nearly 20 years, Lora pursued a license exemption to expand her farm business offerings with breads and jams. Now retired from farming, she operates “Browncoat Bread and Biscuit” under a home processing license exemption and sells her bread, biscuits, jams, and jellies at local events in Schoharie County.

I grew up on a 5th Generation Dairy Farm in Hartford, NY and have always had a passion for the agriculture industry. After completing my Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Business at SUNY Cobleskill, I worked in the agriculture retail industry for almost ten years, first at Walker’s Farm, Home & Tack and then at Betterbee Inc. I started in the training program to become a County Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in the summer of 2010 where I trained all over New York State and was introduced to the variety of agriculture we have in our state along with the programs FSA offers to support the producers. I am now in my 14th year with the agency, having worked in Vermont for the last 9 and coming home to Washington County in January 2023. The Farm Service Agency consists of a program side and a loan side. The program side, which I am responsible for, administers farm commodity, disaster and conservation programs for farmers. The Farm Loan side provides credit to agricultural producers who are unable to receive private, commercial credit, including special emphasis on beginning, minority and women farmers.

Owner of MW Farmstead, established in 2020 with Nigerian Dwarf Goats Certified in Soap Making with HSCG, NY Chapter Leader Specializing in goat milk soaps with essential oil blends and natural colors.

Lori Davis is the owner/operator of Empty Pockets Ranch LLC in Cobleskill,

NY. Lori earned her B.T. in Agricultural Business Management and A.A.S. in

animal industry from SUNY Cobleskill. Before that, she attended veterinary

technician school and worked in the veterinary field for 13 years. Lori has

a strong background in livestock as well as small animal management. As

the owner of a widely diversified farm, Lori has become highly sought after as a mentor for her experience with working livestock guardian breeds, and specialty dahlias. Organizations such as CCE often request Lori to participate in classes such as “ Dahlias 101” and “Learning About LGD’s”. In addition to these achievements, Lori also manages the farms on site farm shoppe, U-Pick flower operation, events, festivals, and dairy sheep operations. Empty Pockets Ranch has been featured on News 10, “I LOVE NY”, and Lori was recently awarded McNulty Veterans Centers 2023

“Veteran Spouse Business Owner of the Year.”

Robert Bentley is the owner of Mis-Fit Acres, a 10 acre farm in Argyle. He has been passionate about livestock since a very young age. In 2014 he started breeding, raising and showing exhibition poultry with his primary focus being bantam White Wyandotte’s. He became the 25 th ABA Master Breeder of

White Wyandotte’s in 2021. Robert has earned top awards with Quarter horses, Herford’s, Romney Sheep as well as several breeds of Poultry. His over wintering success in the Northeast is his commitment to putting the care of every animal on the farm first.

As a partner at Grazin' Acres Farm since 2012, I have been involved in the raising of cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and turkeys. Our focus extends beyond animal husbandry, as we also cultivate all-natural produce. Since 2012, we have primarily distributed our products through farmers' markets.

"Kerry Crandall along with her husband Mike

Are the owner operators of Bare Roots Family Farm in Buskirk, NY!

They specialize in mangalista pork!

They believe in raising their livestock the natural way! On their farm you will find several varieties of hogs, that they breed themselves along with, meat chickens, egg laying chickens of all types, turkeys, show rabbits and beef cows!

They are first generation farmers! Their primary reasoning for starting their farm was to feed their family of 6 the healthy way! By Knowing exactly what their animals are fed and that these animals feel Love everyday is very important to the Crandall’s! They believe in sharing knowledge and helping other farms and homesteaders grow!

Kerry is often the face of the farm and you can meet her at several local farmers markets throughout the summer!"

Matt Wilkinson, along with his wife, own and operate Hard Cider Homestead, a small farm in rural Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Just retired from over 30 years teaching high school, Matt now travels the country inspiring people through lectures and workshops, empowering them to become their own backyard butchers.

Hard Cider Homestead offers custom meat processing, and specializes in poultry using a mobile processing unit. Noted for his easy-to-understand explanations of all-things butchering, Matt entertains as well as educates. He’s truly overjoyed at the end of a class from hearing a participant state, “I now feel confident that I can do that!” Please join Matt to become your own backyard poultry processor!

Brian Ducharme Is the owner of Wild Hill Maple in Salem, NY

established in 2002. His commitment to produce traditional

maple syrup began with sap gathered from buckets boiled over an outdoor fireplace, to a home made arch out of blocks, stone and a flat pan, to the construction of his own sugar shack in 2006, using trees cut from his property.

He went from collecting sap in buckets to the use of tubing, pumps and tanks. Due to his increase in producing, he currently uses an RO and boils on a large

Evaporator.

He has approximately 5500 taps and has converted his arch from being wood fired to oil fired. In all his years as a sugar maker, he has never compromised his commitment to making the best maple syrup possible and enjoys sharing his passion with others.