Our Purpose

2013 is the year Naked and Afraid first aired and I remember being amazed at the survival skills involved with the cast. In one episode, one of the cast members trapped, cleaned and roasted a rabbit over a fire and it sent me down a "rabbit hole," if you will, through my childhood memories. My dad used to hunt rabbit, deer, squirrel and even frog to provide supplemental food for our family. I remember thinking, "it's too bad we live in town, I'd love the opportunity to raise my own food." My grandparents raised cows, chickens, hogs and even tried their hand at sheep for a short time. All the sudden, Google was my best friend. From self sufficient food sources and solar power to canning and gardening, I became determined to find my way back to my roots.

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In 2016 we caught our first break. We were offered a rental of a remodeled school house. It was small, it was old, but it was in the country and offered 1 acre so we packed up our 6 person family and made a rural run for it. Within a few short months I had purchased 5 hens and a rooster, built a small coop out of pallets and scored my first 2 does and 1 buck from the county fair. I'd love to say, "And the rest was history," but SO much trial and error followed immediately after. From snuffles to predators, the majority of the lessons we learned at start up, were from hands on experience. None the less, Grey Eagle School House was born!

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By late 2018, I had a struggling chicken and duck operation, a stable rabbit operation and a very humble container garden. The plan was not only to have enough food to supply for my family, but also to offer the community. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to make things happen quick enough on my own. Then we got some pretty awesome news! Someone my husband worked with decided her house was too big and she was ready to move back to the city. She offered us her 4 bedroom home on 2 acres on land contract! This was it, the big break I had been waiting for!

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By August 2019 we were packing up our things and heading 15 miles west. The problem being, we had no way to transport the large coops and hutches AND there were NO out buildings on the new property, Sadly, the decision was made that some of the livestock had to go. I sold all 17 of the chickens, all but one female and one male rabbit and kept my male and female Welch Harlequin ducks. Letting go of 3 years of blood sweat and tears was the hardest decision I had ever made, at the time any ways. Little did I know, it was about to get WAY harder than I had ever expected. This was the transition from Grey Eagle School House to Mission to Micro Farming.

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Shortly after getting settled in, a friend of mine was forced to re-home her chickens and called upon me for help. Although I wasn't quite ready, I quickly threw together a trampoline coop and took in 1 silkie, 3 barred rocks and an Easter egger. With winter right around the corner, we had already threw together some shelter units for the existing livestock and prepared to press our way through our first cold season. 

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Once winter was over and tax time rolled around I had already had a blueprint of the perfect covered aviary in hand! Over a period of 5 months, friends and family came running to my aid to help build a 24 x 30 foot enclosure. It was the most fabulous accomplishment I had made to date! By fall that year I had 23 chickens, 13 ducks, 8 rabbits and a contract with a local restaurant for egg deliveries. My home made soap and wax products were selling like hot cakes, my home made noodles and bread were paying for feed costs and I was even supplying a little food here and there to friends and family. Things were finally looking up. And literally.

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Only 4 short months after finishing the enclosure, a massive wind storm hit our area. Having no trees to help combat the wind, gust up to 73 mph literally picked up the massive $4000 enclosure and shattered it to the ground. The first loss when we moved was hard, this but one was the heart break of 5 years being ripped away from me in a mere 30 minutes.  Within 24 hours, Mission to Micro Farming was yet again a flat piece of lifeless land.

It's taken 6 months to get enough courage to pursue my dreams for the third time, but here we are! Slowly rebuilding little by little with the support of my amazing followers, friends and family! We may be small, but our wisdom and experience is great!  Mission to Micro Farming will thrive again and this time I invite all small farms and small business owners to come along! I believe there is strength in numbers and I believe that self sufficiency is totally worth the opportunity! So please, come join us and add to our bounty of wisdom and support! Together we can make this happen for all like minded people! Because here on the farm, everybody's family!