Hi! My name is Amanda and welcome to my space on the internet machine.
My farmer rancher man and I have been married for over 4 years here in southern Iowa. We have one daughter, a herd of cows, a couple garden spaces and some dirt to build on.
Honestly though, what more could one ask for?
I am Indiana raised and Iowa imported. 100% Midwestern.
Ope, sorry, I can’t help it. It’s who I am!
I am a veterinarian by training, agriculturalist by blood.
These days, I spend most of my time chasing our feral child, marketing beef, gardening, cooking/preserving food; general homemaker and homesteader stuff and things.
Here, you will find all things farm life, lots of beef recipes and all sorts of things from scratch. I love a good DIY project!
Do you have questions about life on an Iowa family farm? Send them my way!
Email at [email protected]
I’ve learned a lot and will continue to. After all, my grandfather always said, “if you’re not learning, you’re dying!” Feel free to follow along if you…
- enjoy country living.
- enjoy cooking from scratch, especially beef!
- want to support America’s small farmers and ranchers.
Farmstead? Don’t you mean “homestead”?
I thought long and hard about the title for this space. Both my husband and I come from rural, agricultural families. Meaning, the 1% of the American population that is growing food, fiber and fuel for a living and for the world.
Not that homesteaders aren’t doing that, too. It has just felt awkward for me to claim “homesteader” as a label when my blood is farmer/rancher. Wasn’t there a time where those were the same thing? To me, there feels to be a divide, which I honestly don’t love.
I’m here for food security and food choice, which is largely made possible by the full-time farmers and ranchers around the world. American agriculture is tremendously innovative and I have friends and family all over the country in this space.
I also have people all over the place chasing their homesteader dreams, and I’m here for that, too!
But I feel like I fall into the “and/or” category. I’m “just” a farmer/rancher/homesteader/gardener/livin’ in the country, kinda gal.
So I chose “farmstead.”
Farmstead, farm-stead (noun): a farm and it’s buildings.
Oxford Languages
An underwhelming definition, if I’m honest. But to me, it means more.
It’s rising every morning with hot coffee, checking the weather report on the front porch to plan the day. Raising feral farm kids that endlessly explore, create and learn all about the cycle of life outside.
It’s living by the seasons, not just as an observer but as a participant, putting our full faith in God that everything will work out when the drought cracks the ground and the well runs dry.
None of that really needs a label one way or another, in my opinion.
It’s just the way we live “way out here.” Taking care of our land, our animals and our family.
Durell Family Farmstead. Thanks for following along!
