Our Mission

The quiet season. Whenever that may be for each farmer. Is an important time. We reflect on the season we completed. What worked? What didn't work? What did we forget or need to improve? Are we going in the right direction? What's the bigger picture? What's our end goal? What did we put into a mental box to revisit later so that we can survive the season? How do they tie together? How do we face it and use it to power us towards positive growth?

Like many, we endured changes and loss in 2022. Our child was in DKA, she survived and is thriving now. This man to the right of me passed away (above photo). Even while struggling to live, he did his favorite thing. He grew and tended to his plants when he could (and sometimes when he probably shouldn't have. He was stubborn). He couldn't eat tomatoes anymore, his favorite. But he grew them anyways... Through everything, my boss at the time said to me "Keep busy with those plants. Forget everything else. It will help". And it did. I inherited more plants than you could imagine on top of our own crop we already started. And my greenhouses (which Keith adored) kept me going. Many of you received part of his gift through us. Whether his spare seedlings or crop we harvested of his -he carried on. We've gotten pretty good at harvesting seeds and made a point in the fall and winter to harvest seeds from all of his plants, so that he will continue to share his favorites. Many of the pumpkins and tomatoes we offered came from him and will continue to!

Katelyn and I have reflected & daydreamed a lot this winter about the direction that Dirtie Mamas Farm & Homestead LLC is being called towards. While we will not make any firm announcements yet (as we still have about a year before hitting that next big step towards our goal), we can make these beautiful baby steps to make sure we stay on track.

With that in mind, we have made some changes in our pricing...

*All handmade goods we make will continue to have prices similar to both our friends and mainstream stores.
*All of our plants will be priced as low as we possibly can so that as many supporters as possible can afford them -while still sustaining our project. If you are able to donate more than the minimum at any point in time when you visit us, Thank You!
*Some of our harvested produce & herbs will be offered for FREE (donations loved & accepted)! Those items will be specifically marked as such. Why are we doing this? Because we can. Because everyone deserves fresh healthy food. We ask that you be fair with how much you take and donate what you feel is fair. Can't donate that much this time? Ok, pay it forward when you can! You need something- ok, let us know how we can help. Remember this kindness and share new acts of kindness when you can. Keith tried his best to stand behind this. He was always growing, always offering to help, always asking what you needed, and always sharing his harvest even if it was small.

*We will also have a selection of priced produce. These prices reflect all costs that go into growing & harvesting our food (for our families & yours). Some crops are specialty crops and seeds can be costly. They take months at times to grow. Healthy Plants need food, water, and care. Our mission and prices show that we care about quality & affordability.

"This project is a core part of our families homeschooling journey and funds earned go right back into our children's needs for continuing their journey. Through this they learn life skills, learn trades, learn about finances, learn how to be good neighbors, learn to grow their own food, etc. AND it keeps funding our project to serve our community" -Angel

Letting Kindness Bloom

"Small acts of kindness can be powerful.
They can turn around a tough day.
Let someone feel joy & love.
Create friendships.
Encourage someone to also share kindness.
Strengthen communities even.
I believe this." -Angel

This looks like a calm, joyful photo of Aubrey. Doesn't it? Well, it didn't start that way. I will never forget this day. We were getting ready to pick up a grocery order at Hannaford in N Brookfield. Aubrey was coming down fast from a high blood sugar (for those of you who don't know, she was diagnosed this past summer with Type 1 diabetes. At age 4). She was consumed with feelings from the internal roller coaster she was experiencing. So here I am, a mom spending the day alone with 4 small kids while dad is at work. Trying to get everyone to go potty before the car ride. Parents know this struggle. And trying to level Aubrey's blood sugar for a safe car ride. We were running late- what else is new. I was stressed. They were stressed. They all finally were ready to go. And of course, as we arrive, the insulin did its thing, and nature called. She needed to go potty, but we were already checked in for pick-up. Then of course 3 of the 4 kids now need potty (its naturally a sibling contagion) On comes more stress. We make it through pick-up. Everyone gets un-buckled. And here we are. All 4 of us venturing into the grocery store. I'm thinking "God, please let this go smoothly". We walk in through the entrance and wind up with a bop & weave dance with a lovely young lady stocking the bouquets. Now I'm thinking "why me. Please, don't let any chaos occur". And you know what? This young lady stopped us. She bends down to the girls. And proceeds to offer each of them a flower! I melted. The girls were consumed with glee. It was in that second, we received kindness and joy. This young lady probably won't ever know what she did. But we will.

And that's why we commit to spreading kindness. We won't ever know the true impact we have made.

But I hope others will see & feel it. I hold on to that.

Why share this moment? To continue our mission. To grow with love. To share what brings us joy. To do better for our community and share kindness with others. On our Facebook page, we have unlocked badges for followers, engagement, and commenters. You do not have to buy things from us to support us and help us grow. Not ever. If you do, we are thankful as it helps us afford necessities to keep farming. BUT your sharing our posts helps us reach others. We won't ever press any single person to spend money that they aren't in the position to, just so that we can profit from it. Maybe your friend needs or wants something though and they can monetarily support us at some point. Your commenting brings our social media activity to the surface so that we don't have to pay for our posts to reach others via ads. It lets us know that you see us and what we are doing means something. Like, share, and comment. All simple easy things that help us move forward. It's confusing to see that you have so many likes and follows but only a few people take a second to even "like" what you share and then keep scrolling.

This season we are going to give back to our community and share kindness. With the hope of growth because like most farmers, we have big dreams and can't do it without you ♡ Every Monday we will strive share something engaging. Maybe it's a game. Maybe it's a contest. Maybe it's a vote for a product or animal's name. It will be a Monday Madness Post. And every Saturday that follows (so long as this post gains engagement), we will check the results and review badge statuses. Someone each Saturday will be contacted and receive an act of kindness from Dirtie Mamas Farm & Homestead. Maybe you'll receive a free fresh dozen of eggs, or a happy plant, or fresh picked produce, or a bouquet, or a gift certificate to shop us in the future. Whatever it is will remain a mystery! We hope this Monday Madness gift will bring you joy because we see you supporting us and are thankful for you!

Let's Talk About Chickens & Egg Affordability

Let's talk fresh chicken eggs & chickens...

The season of prolific egg laying will be here before we know it! Please read this important message about egg pricing and our plan to help keep our eggs affordable.

The price of eggs everywhere is increasing and farmers & backyard chicken-tenders are struggling with leveraging the cost increase in keeping chickens. So many of these "small" farms are getting backlash for raising their prices. Why is it OK to pay anywhere from $6-$8 for 12 free range commercial eggs at the grocery store? $9 for 18 eggs. $17 for 36. But your neighbor, Sally, has to ask for $6 for 12 eggs (to at least make up for feed) and gets yelled at and turned down! It is heartbreaking to hear SO MUCH of this! The common thought that a farmer who has chickens makes a huge profit from selling eggs is far from factual. It's nerve-wracking for small businesses to have to explain things like this and make pricing announcements. Walmart does not explain their cost and pricing! And we are OK with them?! A good, safe chicken coop that holds at least 6 chickens can cost thousands of dollars and then we have to make them predator proof and wait 18+ weeks for a chick to mature and lay an egg!!!

We know as farmers with the life expectancy of a chicken, reality of predators, common health issues, etc, those chickens more than likely will NEVER produce enough eggs in their lifetime (or their chicks for that matter) to "pay" their humans back. That's OK to us. We know this. It would be foolish to expect to make a significant profit from them. We love to keep them for many reasons♡. But it is OK for us to ask for enough to cover the cost of feed and bedding.

Our Egg Prices & Our Affordability Plan

After 2 years of keeping our eggs at a donation request of $5/dzn, we will now be asking for a donation of $6/dzn. BUT will also offer an alternative, with your help.

We have always been committed to reduce, reuse, recycle. Egg cartons are a factor in cost- as it should be. So, we're making a deal with you to save $1/dzn for every future dozen of eggs you acquire from us.

Here's how our affordable egg plan will work:

Because a farmer-neighbor relationship is special, we are sticking to above and beyond service. We will offer fun reusable egg cartons for a one-time cost of $12ea. (Selling 2 of them affords one 50lb bag of feed!) These will be marked so that they are undeniably our product.
Your name & cell number/email address will go on the back of your carton with your 1st order ($17total. $5 for the dzn eggs, $12 for the carton)
When you finish your eggs and are ready for more, drop off your clean & empty carton at our marked & designated drop box @ our stand.
As soon as a new dozen of eggs is available for you, we will text/email you (via the number on your carton) to make arrangements for farmstand pick-up of your new fresh dozen of chicken eggs.
Repeat

Our Commitment

We will honor this deal for as long as we remain operating. Your eggs with this reusable carton system will remain $1 less than our regular price.

To keep things fair in the winter, everyone's cartons will be in rotation so that one family each week has the opportunity for a fresh dozen of eggs!