Homestead - The Name
Naming a business is a hefty task. A business name has the duty of portraying your product and defining who you are in the business world. When creating our businesses we wanted a name that spoke to who we are as individuals and describes the products and services we passionately offer our clients. With our passions and businesses taking place on a rural homestead, Homestead seemed appropriate for portraying our products and services and has a significant tie to who we are as individuals. Homestead describes a place we love, live and work and our offerings can be extended into our client’s ‘homesteads’ whether rural or not.
Homestead also defines who we are as individuals and how we fit into the business world. I am going to talk about myself specifically here. Life on a homestead has taught many generations of my family how to work hard and pursue your dreams, and that was instilled in me from a young age. My father ‘a farm boy’, left the farm to pursue his dreams, and has since created his own business. I am proud to be following in the footsteps of my entrepreneurial father, as well as hang on to the heritage of my grandfather and those before him with raising livestock. I see myself as very blessed to have an opportunity to pursue my dreams with the creation of these businesses. I owe it all to the generations before me that lived life on the homestead.
Know Your Farmer | How Do I Do It?
get to know your farmer
How do I do it? How do I raise an animal knowing in the end it is headed to someone's dinner plate? I get asked this all the time...
Well, I am going to be real honest with all of you, it is hard. I, the ‘cattle mama’, have a very hard time saying goodbye. Our cattle stay on the farm for upwards of two years. I see them every day, multiple times a day. They all have names and they all have their own cow-sonalities (Matt hates when I use personality when speaking about them). They follow me everywhere I go, and mooo as soon as they see my face. There is a very special bond that I create with them without even trying.
Yes, it is hard, and yes there are tears when they leave. I chose to raise them anyway because it is important to me to be a conscious consumer. This choice of being an educated meat consumer was made in college when I attended a class that pushed me to become mindful of my consumption choices. One of the topics was food consumption. I heard many people during that class say that they didn’t want to think of it as an animal on their plate, that it was just meat. I was challenged by this as I had grown up loving livestock, but myself included never really made the full connection. For me accepting that it is an animal on my plate became part of being a conscious consumer. I believe everyone should know where their meat comes from because steaks don’t just fall from the sky.
The second piece to this was not just knowing that it was raised on a 'farm'. I wanted to know who raised it, their methods to raising it, and their passion for raising it. It became a connection of more than knowing where it comes from, but also the kind of life the animal lived.
Since the very beginning of our farm venture my desire has been for you to KNOW me, the one raising your steak. So yes, I fall in love with each and every calf that comes to our farm, I can’t help it. So when you ask how I do it, I do it with love and tears. It is actually easier for me to know these animals live happy, healthy lives on our farm than not knowing anything at all. I also chose to do it so you can become a conscious consumer and know where your steak comes from.
A Small Business Owner
a small business owner
As I reflect on our first year in business I am reminded why it all started in the first place. I never assumed I would be a small business owner. Quite frankly I said I would never be a small business owner and many can vouch for that. I came to that realization over my many years of working in very small businesses as well as being the daughter of a small business owner. While each person was so passionate about their work, it came with a load of stress that I never wanted in my life. Or so I thought...
As I entered the professional world of landscape design I started to realize something. I was working because I had to, I had a lack of passion for what I was doing in my professional role. I thought about making a career change; but, I just couldn’t figure out what that was going to be. I knew my passion and my ideas weren’t fitting the mould of my selected career path. I was passionate about making outdoor spaces as comfortable and liveable as the indoor spaces we live in, and I wasn’t finding that anywhere I looked.
However, like I said I never WANTED to be a business owner. I was afraid of walking away from a steady paycheck, I was afraid of taking a chance on myself, I was afraid of working all the time, and I was afraid of letting my clients down. These are things that all of the small business owners in my life had to face.
So, how did I become a small business owner? Well, with a lot of faith from Matthew, my family and all those small business owners that had surrounded me for years, that is how. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew what I wanted to create. I just needed the faith in myself and my idea.
So, in December 2015 I took the plunge and established Homestead Designs. With that I have found passion for my career like I never thought possible. I was able to bring my passion to the market and have people respond both positively and critically. My first year as a business owner came with a lot of learning and I must admit a little self-doubt. I truly appreciate the opportunities that each and every client has given me, to wake up and love what I am doing. You took a chance on me, and thank you for that.
As if one company wasn’t enough… it wasn’t for me. My passion lies heavily in creating outdoor living spaces, but it also lies in the details of events. Thus, Homestead Florals. This year was about taking chances on my ideas. I was passionate about serving a client that I could so easily relate to as a new wife, brides. I love creating floral designs that compliment such beautiful events and I am so honored to be trusted with such important days and events in people’s lives. I am looking forward to my first full year as a floral designer.
Homestead Meats, well that is a topic for another day.
-Brit
Sending out a huge THANK YOU to all those that made Homestead possible!
While a thank you is quite overdue we are approaching a season of thankfulness and we want to make sure we send out a HUGE THANK YOU all of those who have inspired us and helped us along this journey.
First off we want to thank those who have inspired us to create our adventure and follow our dreams, no matter how terrifying that has been!
· Paul Morrison (Dad) we thank you for quitting the ‘day job’ so many years ago to pursue your passion, you have been a huge inspiration and a great support. Thank you for teaching us to follow our passions in life, even if it isn’t the easiest or most lucrative career choice. Friends be sure to check out his custom woodworking shop The Wood Cycle and be sure to pick up a copy of his new book ‘Tree to Table’, we promise it is worth the read!
· Morgann McCoy we thank you for taking the step to open your own business so fresh out of school. You taught us that passion and drive can calm any critique about your ‘experience’ and that with enough drive you can do amazing things! Check out her amazing products at A Well Worn Story.
· Elise Dettwiler we thank you for being another ‘Morrison’ that has taken on their own business venture and of course a huge thank you for providing images for our ‘About Me’ section. Be sure to check her out at Wild Mulberry Photography!
· Amber & Preston Gable we thank you for blazing a trail and giving us the courage to diversify from our ‘degrees’ to follow all of our passions in life. We can’t thank you enough for owning your dream instead of following the traditional path of your education. Check out Back Country Winery for information on their beautiful winery. Their wine pairs perfectly with an evening on the homestead patio.
Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to all the other supporters in our life! We truly believe we have the best family and friends around. You all have had such a huge impact on our personal lives and even though some of you have been overwhelmed with our business life we thank you for sticking with us as we pursue our new adventure. We love you!
-Brit & Matt
Farm | The Story of Starting Our Farm
Since we first introduced Homestead Meats I have wanted to share with you the struggles and joy that have come with starting our farm. It has not been easy, and it isn’t done, but we are getting there and it brings a smile to my face to share our story with you!
Homestead Meats went from a dream to reality but not without blood, sweat and tears. We had talked about having livestock post-college after Matt met my first steer, Sir Loin. It was our plan to buy a farm and then start raising; however that changed when my parents offered up some of their acreage to get us started.
We started the planning process in December 2014. There were many hours of research of proper pasture management, feeding schedules, hay production and so many other things that go into starting a farm. Neither of us were raised on farms so there was a lot of information we needed to learn.
That winter we began clearing fencelines in order to make way for appropriate fences and secure additional pasture space. Wow was that a job! In fact we hate to admit this but we are still working on the last bit. Neither of us had any clue what we were getting into, how long could it possibly take to clear a few fencelines? We have found out… And the answer is long enough.
By spring 2015 we were tired and I was wanting to do something other than clearing fences. So I began ‘shopping’ for stock tanks, fencing materials and other necessary equipment. Thanks to several local farmers I was able to get a lot second hand which was a true blessing.
In May 2015 we hosted a ‘farm day’ which really meant come help us clear some brush… we had great attendance and the only casualty was the brush and my phone. We will see how the attendance is on our next ‘farm day’.
July 2015 we brought home our first steers and introduced them to their new home. They bonded quickly and made the months of work worth it.
This spring 2016 we expanded from 3 acres to 8 acres, meaning more fencelines needed to be cleared, more barbs strung and more blood, sweat and tears shed. We harvested our first crop of hay on our fields, and I had conveniently forgotten that hay day is always the hottest day of the summer.
This summer 2016 we brought home two sets of steer calves to the farm. With a total of 6 steers running our pastures we can finally say we have the beginnings of a ‘herd’.
We harvested 2 crops of hay off our fields in 2016 and are looking forward to better production next year.
As we are quickly approaching winter and our second anniversary to when it all began we are continuing to complete the first project list. The final barbwire fences and electric will be strung before November (I am determined to have this done), and we are hoping to start on our wooden corral before the ground freezes.
Like many experienced farmers have told us the work never ends, and they aren’t kidding. We are also learning that there are lots of lessons to be learned on the farm and not all of them are easy or fun to learn, but the joy of raising our own livestock makes up for it all. We have been so grateful for all of those who have helped bring this dream into reality. We owe a huge THANK YOU to all the brave souls who have helped us with many tasks along the way.
While our current location is not on our own homestead we look forward to starting an operation on our own land someday. Until then I will enjoy being ‘so close’ to finishing our current setup.
-Brit