My journey toward farming began decades ago during the summers I stayed with my aunt and uncle on their farms during the summer. Back then, their way of life seemed foreign, even alien, to me, and I have to admit it was that strangeness that at first pushed me away from the thought of a life on the land.

The thought, however, did not die, and by the grace of God and the strange twists that life delivers, I ended up marrying a farm girl. Even then, being in the middle of a long career in information technology, I could not imagine settling down on a farm and living that kind of life.

The past few years, though, brought the thought of farming firmly back into my mind. We live in unsettled times and the question of how best to provide for our families is always before us. For thousands of years at least, humans have answered that question with acres of ground planted with crops and grazed domesticated animals. Done right, farming is the most elegant solution to providing for our families human beings possess.

I tend to be the kind of person who follows a path with gusto once I’ve settled on it, and I realize that giving up their current life for a farm and all it brings is not for everyone. Yet, I think that in my own extreme journey, there is a path everyone can follow to one degree or another.

My goal with this weblog, now and moving forward, is to share my journey with you. I will be the first to tell you that I often have no idea what I am doing as I tackle the tasks that building a sustainable multiculture farm entails, but I know I can learn, and it is my hope that we can learn together. Whether you have hundreds of acres or a few plastic containers under lights by a window, we can all learn better ways to provide for our families and achieve some independence along the way.

I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you will join me.

DLH