Twin Acres Farm

Today I'm talking with Dana at Twin Acres Farm.

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00:00
You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters, and topics adjacent. I'm your host, Mary Lewis.  A Tiny Homestead podcast is sponsored by Homegrown Collective, a free to use farm to table platform, emphasizing local connections with ability to sell online, buy, sell, trade in local garden groups, and help us grow a new food system.  You can find them at homegrowncollective.org. Today I'm talking with Dana  at...

00:28
Twin Acres Farm in Idaho. Good morning, Dana. How are you? Good. Good. How's the weather there?  It's actually better today. Like last week was in the  90s.  And then this past weekend, you know, when you have something planned to do,  it dropped completely. Luckily, we didn't get a freeze, but it was cold and windy.  I was like, I thought it was supposed to be the first day of summer, but whatever.

00:56
Well, you had the opposite of what we had this weekend and yesterday. Oh my God, it was so hot.  We had the central air set for 72  and at three o'clock yesterday afternoon inside my house, was 77 degrees and so sweaty. was gross.  Oh my goodness. Yeah, we've been having some like for Idaho, it's been like above like record highs.

01:21
But then we had like this cool front come through on like right on the first day of summer. And we were like, what the heck? My daughter went camping and they went up to the mountains and they ended up getting snowed on like five inches of snow the night before. And she was like, I thought it was summer.  Yeah.  I had the opportunity to apply for a job in Idaho years ago and I gave it some serious thought.  And then I saw what the weather is like. And I thought, you know,

01:51
Minnesota is a little more predictable than Idaho. I think we might just stay here. Probably. So, all right. So tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do, So I actually am a school teacher. I've been teaching for about 15 years. And then when I'm not at school, know, evenings, weekends,

02:15
school, you know, we get all those awesome school breaks then like I can't sit still. So I decided to start this little farm  to keep myself ultra busy.

02:28
Okay, and it's Twin Acres Farm, is that right?  Right. So we own only, it's just small, if we have two acres  in Twin Falls, Idaho, and I have twin girls. So that's where  the name came from is like two, two, you know.  So that's where we came up with the name. Okay. I was going to ask, so thank you for telling me.  So what do you do at your farm?

02:53
When we very first started out, know, it was like everybody else, you get a few chickens  and they're the gateway and then it grows from there. So I had some neighbors at the time and they had these adorable little goats. didn't, I thought they were baby goats, but it turns out they're dwarf goats. I knew nothing about them.  And then we were hooked. So you have to start with two, right? Cause they're herd animals. And then now I'm up to like 40.  Oh.

03:23
my. we obviously I don't keep that many but you know after baby season we need to sell down some. We still have some babies and stuff to sell but I do  all the milking, make cheese, make soap, make caramel sauce, make you know all the different things that you can make with goat's milk pretty much.  And then  you know we make in can.

03:49
and garden and we have chickens, have ducks, we have rabbits.  We've had other  homesteading animals like the cooney coon pigs in the past. We've had turkeys in the past, but some things,  we've even had quail in the past, but some things we've decided that that's not really our niche or something that we wanna tackle.  And those are things that you have to find out over time because some people love those.

04:15
those types of things and then some decide that's just not for them or what they want to do. Just like some people are like, I would never have goats. I'd rather have sheep. You know, everybody has their personal preferences of like different homesteading animals that they would like to keep.  So chicken math translated to goat math for you. Well, I still got chicken math too, because I'm probably sitting on over a hundred right now. So I have both. Uh huh.  Yeah.

04:42
Yeah, chicken math is weird. You start out with like two chickens and all of a sudden you find yourself with a hundred and you're like, where did they all come from? Right. We started with like a dozen, you know, again from like neighbors had an incubator and we were like, oh, we want eggs. And so we started with a dozen and then now I, um, breed certain, you know, purebred birds  and, um, we sell those here.  Um, we also, we,  a few years back, we started.

05:12
I'm going to some farmers markets and to sell like our goat because we have our raw goat's milk permit here in Idaho. We, think we were number 205 and  now that number has over doubled. So,  um, we went through the process of getting that. And so we would go to farmers markets cause we'd been on Facebook for a while and our fan base had grown, but we hadn't got to meet a lot of the people that followed us. You know, it's just.

05:39
via the internet and so that was really neat. actually won a farmer's market spot because it wasn't even something on my to-do list.  We entered like a giveaway because somebody had bought the spot. They had had to back out because they weren't going to be able to actually do it. They did like a giveaway for people that would want to  get a spot that hadn't entered because I mean it's a

06:04
It's a packed market and everybody signs up and they almost never have spots for you to be there. It's right on main here in town.  And so we ended up winning that spot. And so my girls and I went and did six different weekends and we got to meet so many people and it was so great. We loved it.  The next year we did, we didn't do quite as many because when you do markets like that, it's a lot of prep work, you know, to get ready for those markets.

06:33
And so the next summer we did a few, so we still got out there and then I started my master. So then my husband built  a farm stand because that's been the new trend, right? Everybody has their farm stands. And so we set that up a year ago  and  it's been great because it allows us our time back to keep still doing and making and tending the farm. And then people are able to come and get those products from us. So we are already upgrading.

07:03
to a bigger like shed type soon. Like it's on order, but we're gonna upgrade. Cause in a year's time, the little farm stand is too small for what we've been doing. So.  Yes, we have a farm stand at our place and I love it because people just come in,  get what they want, pay through Venmo or drop some cash in a little container and they go on their way.  And that way we're not tied to the farm. I mean,  we're here a lot, but.

07:31
sometimes as a doctor's appointment or dentist's appointment or something and there's no one here. And I love that people can just come in and see what we have, get what they want  and take off.  Right. Yeah, it's great. And  well, the thing here, you know, like you said, the weather is crazy in Idaho. So we started with that little farm stand and it's  more like open kind of concept.

07:55
So instead of having it like available all the time, we kind of set it up at certain days and times. And we just feel like the bigger, little bit bigger shed idea would make it where people can come and go a little more often. We weren't hauling things in and out. So I think it'll work better for everybody involved because everybody has busy schedules nowadays. And when you're already out and about,

08:21
you know, taking care of things, you want to be able to stop and get those things that you want instead of on a time schedule. Cause right now that's kind of how ours is. So  I think it's going to be. Yeah. Yep. have a question. When you started doing this, the, the farm stand thing,  the first time somebody came and bought your stuff, did you have like this bubble in your chest of excitement and happiness that you had provided something to a community member?  Well, I think it's, I've had that for a long time because

08:51
even before I set up the farm stand and before we ever did markets, because that's kind of what led to it,  is we have another little building.  I didn't open it to the whole public, but it was more of like our friends,  friends of friends, like people we trust.  We had like a mini fridge set up and like that kind of thing. So we have been doing that for...

09:21
probably over five, six years on a smaller, like personal scale. And then once we started with the markets, it's like, oh wow, like we're available to the public. Like the people that really wanted to support us were getting to meet them. And then, then it just grew into, okay, instead of like people coming down into our property, you know, cause it was mostly just our friends. Now we put that up at the  front of our property where like everybody can have access that wants it basically. So.

09:50
But yeah, like this whole lifestyle gives you a sense of pride that I  don't feel like almost anything is. Like you're growing and you're making things not only for your family, because that's how it starts, right? Like I really want to do these things for my girls, my family, but you know, it can get pricey. You know what I mean? Like when you're going all in, there's feed costs, there's supply costs.

10:15
that can get pricey. And then other people are seeing what you're doing and they're like, I would really like that or I would really like to try that. Like so many people have never tried goat's milk or they've had a bad experience because the goat's milk you get in the store is not the same as fresh off the farm. And that's if you can get it at the store. Well, that's true that too. But by the time you get at the store, it's so much older that you're already getting that funky like goat flavor. And I feel people all the time, like when you drink it fresh,

10:44
within a week of when it was  gathered, you're not gonna, like my Niges have such a high cream content. You can put cow's milk and goat's milk side by side and have them taste it and they're not gonna tell the difference between the two most of the time.  Yep, Fresh goat milk is amazing. I did not like goat milk until I had fresh goat milk and I was like,  huh.

11:12
I don't hate goat milk. Okay, good to know.

11:16
Right, I've had so many people change their mind because they've had bad goat milk or bad goat cheese  from the store. And then I'm like, just trust me. I'm not going to steer you wrong.  I'm picky. If it has any kind of off flavor, I don't want it. You know what I mean? So I'm like, just try it.  I mean, we took a vacation once because I'm from Texas, South Texas. I didn't move up here until I was almost 30.

11:41
And so all my family mostly is still in Texas. So we decided to take a vacation like, you know, six or seven years ago, we went halfway in Colorado and, you know, got one of those Airbnb's because I, you know, all my family thinks I'm nuts because they don't do this. They don't live this lifestyle, you know? And so I was like, well, guess what? I'm going to pack all the things, right?

12:05
so they can taste all the farm fresh things and they were just blown away. Like I took the goat milk, the fresh farm eggs, the homegrown  pork sausage, made the whole breakfast layout  and they were pretty amazed. They started to get a clue like why I'm a weirdo, I guess. They gained an appreciation for the work that you do is what they did.  Right, yeah because they wait for Christmas and everything for me to send them all kinds of  different goodies in the mail.

12:35
Yeah, I try. I try hard to do that. This past Christmas, I was not in a Christmas frame of mind. I didn't even send Christmas cards this year. But I try. I try really hard to send my brother and my sister handmade soaps because we make the cold process lye soaps. Right. Same. Yeah, we do it with our goat milk. So that was another thing. I have a neighbor across the road and they have a little bit bigger farm and they do like the whole pumpkin patch.

13:04
little farm store. Like they've been doing that for years. And they were doing classes and it was to make soap. Well, they were just making the regular, you know, cold process,  soap. And so we went and took the class, but I was like, Hey, I really want to be able to do this with goat's milk. Cause you know, I milk all these goats.  And so she gave me like tips about like having to freeze the milk and those kinds of things.  And so, yeah, I've been doing that since I took their little class. So

13:34
It's just great that, you know, everybody's teaching each other. I think that's the biggest part of it. Like what good is like a passion if you're not sharing it with others  or teaching them, you know, what you know,  you're never gonna learn it all. You know what mean? There's so much.

13:51
Yeah, if it's a passion,  want, number one, you want to put your whole self into it. Believe me, I know.  And number two,  you want to share what you've done with other people, partly because you want them to benefit from it.  But also you need to share it. It's like important to you. Right, exactly.  And like here on the little farm, like obviously it's not that big, so we can't open it to the whole public, but we would do like

14:21
open like, because everybody wants to come in the spring, you know, when you're having all those baby goats and baby chicks and baby, everything, everybody wants to come and see it. And so that's what we would do. Cause otherwise you have people wanting to stop by constantly, but you are so busy, especially, you know, we're still in school at that time. So I'm running hard.  So what we would do as at the kind of the end of spring break is we would set up like a little open farm day and invite like all our friends and stuff. And then

14:50
you we'd have a meal together. They'd get to, you know, we'd get to share all the hard work that we've been putting in, like take a minute, enjoy it, share it with others. You know, it's, it's fulfilling that way. Yes. Have you converted any of your friends to this lifestyle yet?  Oh yeah.  I have several that like we've, they've tasted like the goat milk or the goat cheese and they're like, Oh, I never thought about it. And then they get a couple of goats and now they have a bunch of goats. And  you know, of course like,

15:20
chickens,  you know, everybody starts small with like chicks and chickens like oh, you know, especially when the egg prices were getting so high. I had like this season, like this year, I've had so many people  come to us to learn about like what to do, how to raise chickens, ask all the questions because they never thought about it before. But then, know, when everything, not that it's cheaper, but you know,  by the time you buy everything, all the supplies, the coop, everything, it's not.

15:48
necessarily cheaper, but it does give you food security, basically. Yes, peace of mind and food security. Yes. I had a question and it's gone. I hate it when I do that.  What was I going to say? Oh,  we were going to go without chickens this winter. We had chickens up until last October. They were getting old and lazy and we culled them. There weren't that many left.  Right.

16:18
And we were going to get new chickens in May of this year.  And we bought, bought eggs from October until about the end of February when we needed eggs.  And I, I don't know, I cracked one back in February and I was like, these eggs don't taste like anything. I hate them.  And when my husband got home, said, can we get chickens like next weekend if I can find a source of laying hens? And he said, thought we're going to wait till May. I said,

16:47
I don't want to wait till May. I want to do it now. I want chickens again." And he was like, yeah, call up our chicken broker and see if she got any laying hens. So I did. And we got 12  and we opened the farm stand early this year because the chickens were laying and people wanted to farm eggs, know, farm fresh eggs.  Could not keep eggs in the house for us to use because people were buying them.  So then we bought another 14 from our chicken broker and

17:16
lost one so we have 24 chickens now.  Do you think I can keep eggs in the house? No, people are buying them as soon as they get put in the farm stand. Right, well and like not only is it the price, like you said,  it's the flavor, you know, it's just so much better. And  the thing about chickens is  you have to add new chickens every year because the chickens that are already a year old are gonna molt, you know, in the fall and then they're not gonna lay.

17:45
So every year  we are adding new ones, either hatching them ourselves or for getting a different breed or genetics or whatever we're bringing some in.  But we wanna keep a new steady supply of those young layers because they're not gonna molt and they're gonna keep on laying a lot better than those older ones.  So  that's definitely what we're always doing here and we have so many. But yeah, we have ducks and chickens. We have people that are buying duck eggs because they can't tolerate the protein that's in that chicken egg.

18:15
And so we have duck egg customers and we have chicken egg customers here. Yep. Absolutely. I have a thing about that too, but I think I misspoke. think I said, do you think I can keep chickens in my house? then do you think I can keep eggs in my house?  I get talking in my tongue twists and I'm like, oh, I said that wrong.  It's not going to phase me because I got chickens in my house. So  yeah, we have chicks in the house right now,  we have not kept chickens in our house yet.

18:44
However, we're thinking about getting an incubator and trying hatching eggs. We haven't decided yet, but we've been flirting with the idea, you know, around the edges of the idea of  maybe growing our own chickens, as it were. Yeah, I mean, it's great. I suggest the Matty Coop X.  It's the best budget-friendly incubator that you can find, and I have been through so many incubators.

19:12
I have a couple of cabinets, but then I have those Matty Coop X as tabletops. And so when we hatch them out, we want to be able to see everything. So it makes it where you can see everything. And they're only running about, uh, about 130 or so bucks, which is really budget friendly for someone who's never done it before. And just starting out and they have really, really, it's like set and forget as a water bottle on the side that you turn upside down and keeps it at the perfect humidity. It's, know, up here where we're at, we have to worry about.

19:40
It's so dry. We're in a high desert.  And so, you you hear all these people dry hatch. Well, that's not even a possibility up here because  it's way too dry, not enough humidity in the air. But in the southern states, you  can do all that. Yeah. There is a lady on Facebook. I think her Facebook page is the hot mess homestead.  Oh, yeah. follow her. Yeah. Fun times.

20:04
And if anyone wants to see somebody poke fun at having chickens or getting into chickens, she is a laugh riot. I love her. She is, she's a smart ass for real. And she's really, I don't know, she's really genuine in everything that she does. And I love that she wears all these big, these big

20:34
Go ahead. You there, Dana? Oh yeah. It was just cutting it out a little bit. Okay. I'm going to finish my thought and then I'll let you finish yours. I love that she either is all made up and absolutely gorgeous and still gathering eggs and still flopping through the mud. Or she's in an old rock band t-shirt and cutoff shorts and Crocs and her hair is piled up on her head, no makeup. And she's gathering eggs and walking through mud.

21:04
I love that she does both.  yeah, totally. Yeah, totally realistic. You know what mean? From one day to the next, how you're feeling or what's going on or what you got going on, you're making do.  You know, she's got all the little  that you're juggling along with, you know, all your other responsibilities. I mean, it's  totally realistic of how, how it goes around any,  you know, homestead,  not just those Pinterest perfect, you know, decorated.

21:33
you know, farmhouses. like, well, my kitchen is usually a mess. And as soon as I clean it up, I'm cooking and making or canning or making something else. So it doesn't stay that way for long.

21:46
Yes, what you see on Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest and all those social platforms.  When you see the really pretty girl with the pretty sundress and the,  I don't know, the wedge sandals and her makeup is perfect or her hair's all curled perfectly.  That's fine. You know, that, that makes it look pretty. It makes it look attractive. I'm okay with that. I want people  to get into growing food.  Right.

22:13
But I also want people to understand that it is not a clean hobby. It is a very messy hobby. Oh gosh. Yeah. I mean, I don't know how many times a day the girls and I have to wash our hands because we're handling eggs or chickens or goats or whatever, you know, just making a mess, digging in the dirt. love gardening. Like I, it's therapy, just digging in the dirt. You know what I mean? Dirt like a lot of times I have my nails done, but

22:43
That's not going to stop me from digging in the dirt. Well, no, it shouldn't. And if your nails get broken, your nails get broken. Right, exactly. And you need that builder gel. That's the secret to life because  I'm hard on my hands and my nails.  And so my nail girl does builder gel on top  and that's what lets them grow because otherwise  they wouldn't stand a chance.

23:09
Yeah. And my husband is the gardener. am not, I am the one who cooks the food that he brings in from the garden. And I'm constantly doing dishes. I'm constantly chopping vegetables. I'm constantly using my hands. always typing because of the podcast. My nails are either all the same length and look pretty good and they're not polished. I don't have my nails done because I'm not going to spend the money because they're going to get ruined.

23:38
And so they're either all about the same length and they look okay or they're all different lengths or one's broken or  One's got a crack in it because I smacked something on it I never know so I don't really make a big deal out of my fingernails because I'm like they will grow back It'll be okay,  right? Well, and that's also what's great too is like everybody has a preference of the things that they like and the passion that they have

24:04
And so like here, you know, it's kind of a whole family affair. I'm sure when my girls grow up and move out, I'm going to cut down on some of the stuff that we do just because it's so time intensive.  like each one of my girls, you know, likes to do different things. And so we split up kind of like our chores around here based on what things they like to do. Like one of my daughters, Brooke, she loves to collect the eggs. And, know, with our pure breads, we have to label

24:34
our eggs that way we know which pin they came out of. So it's not like just going and getting a basket and collecting them. Like there is a little bit of work involved as well. And I offered like, you know, in the in the wintertime we just collect them. It doesn't matter. But when spring hits, then we have to start doing all the labeling and that way we know what's what.

24:51
And I offered because I was like, well, you know, I kind of made the work and the extra pins. Like if you want, I'll take over that job. And she was like, no, I like, I love to go do that every day. So I was like, okay,  you know, I mostly deal with the goats.  Meadow here is the water queen. She waters everybody every day, which, you know, that takes some work, you know, especially in the winter.  My oldest, she  again is not.

25:16
like the outdoors,  like she likes to hike and all those kinds of things, but farm-wise, like she doesn't really  mind, like want to do that, but she likes to bake and she likes to do stuff in the kitchen.  So she does more of that. Like we make it work where everybody's doing something that they really kind of like versus like, you know,  you don't want to be dreading what you're having to do every day.  No. And, and  here's the caveat to that. Back in the old days,

25:43
when there was no choice, everybody had to kick in and had to do jobs they didn't necessarily like to do on the farm. right, right, right. Because it was their livelihood. That was how they made their money. It was how they grew. They had food to eat. It was the job for the whole family. These days, I feel like it's not quite the same. It doesn't have quite the same urgency that it did back in the old days. Oh, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

26:10
And that's what's kind of great about it is like you can pick and choose the things that you want to tackle  or the things you want to like, you know, I just would rather buy that at the store. You know what mean? Like it's not worth the work to me. I'll buy that at the store or this is something I really like to do or want to do or like the flavor better. Like you can pick and choose now where back then you really couldn't. And same thing like here. I like I consult the girls like, do we really want to?

26:38
Continue on with this or is this something that we can let go? You know because they're they're a big part of what we do here it's not just for me to make  all the decisions because  they help and do so much and I don't want them to just like resent everything we do  and They've even said like when they grow up like oh well This is what I would like to have at my house or my farm in the future You know, it's giving them an opportunity to try and see different things

27:06
of what they want to carry on in the future versus what they want to let go. And that's great. That is so amazing that they are getting  to experience a whole bunch of different things to see if they enjoy it see if they want to pursue it. Awesome.  Did I see on your Facebook page that you or your daughters make snickerdoodle cookies?  Yeah. Well, we just started this adventure like not very long ago.

27:33
you know, to add something else to like our farm stand because, you know, people love to get baked goods. And so we started like trying out making different, huge, like big, big cookies. So we make so far, we make a lemon poppy seed. We make a strawberry white chocolate with freeze dried strawberries. We make a s'mores cookie we've tried because, you know, it's summertime. So s'mores is a staple.

28:02
Yeah. Then the latest one we were like, well, you got to make a snickerdoodle because like everybody likes snickerdoodles. Well, I take that back. One of my twins does not like anything with cinnamon. So she would take the other cookies other than the snickerdoodle.

28:18
Okay, the reason I asked is because my mom,  I've told the story a couple times on the podcast, my mom makes snickerdoodles and she makes them as bar cookies. So she just takes the cookie dough and puts it in a  cookie sheet and bakes it in one flat cookie and then cuts it in bars.  And she doesn't necessarily make them  for her and my dad. She mostly makes them because their dog likes them. Oh my goodness.

28:44
So she's always joking that she's getting a batch of snickerdoodle bars made for Dutchie, the dog who is a border collie.  Oh my gosh.  And I keep trying to tell both my mom and my dad that that sugar in there is probably not great for Dutchie.  And we have  a  mini Australian shepherd here who's like five years younger than Dutchie.

29:10
I've become an expert on what's okay for dogs and what isn't in the last four and a half years because I love this dog more than life itself. So, I keep trying to convince them that maybe snickerdoodle cookies or any human cookie is probably not great for the dog. And my dad finally said Mary Evelyn and that's my middle name. When he, when he brings out my full name, I'm like, Oh no.  And he said, I understand that you love Maggie, your dog, two pieces. said, but Dutchie is my dog.

29:41
He said, and I've been giving her snickerdoodle cookies since she was like 13 weeks old. He said, and she's not dead yet. So  we're just going to keep making snickerdoodles for Dutchie. And I'm like, okay,  Calvin Edmond, you do that.  So yeah, but I just, finally made a batch of my mom's recipe of snickerdoodle bars and  they're really good. I had not really had a homemade snickerdoodle before.

30:07
I had them from the store and I don't like the ones from the store, my mom's recipe is really good. Yeah, anything homemade is gonna be way better.  Uh-huh.  Always.  Always, always. We are down to like a quarter teaspoon of vanilla in my  pantry right now and I was gonna make cookies this week and then I was like, you know, I think I'm gonna wait until there's an actual reason to go grocery shopping and get more of a vanilla.  There you go.

30:36
Next you'll have to start making your own vanilla. Yes, I keep looking at the price of vanilla beans and debating whether I want to spend the money because it might actually save me some money. I don't know. I was about to say because basically we make a big batches, you know what I mean? Because they got to sit for a while. So if you're going to do it, you might as well make it big batches. And then those beans can be used over again  for a few different times.

31:01
So yeah, you have to pay for it upfront, then you can use it to make quite a bit of another. So it seems like almost everything to do with homesteading and farming in the beginning, it's expensive, but the longer you do it,  it gets less expensive because you've already put out the beginning pieces. Oh yeah. And that's so true. Yeah. It's,  it's, it's an upfront cost. And that's why I like,  I tell people just start with something small, start, start little.

31:31
You know, see if you like that, run with it and then add as you go. You cannot do  everything all at one time. Like there's just so much. Yeah. Start small, think big.  Right. Exactly. All right, Dana, I try to keep you to half an hour. We are there. Where can people find you online?  Um, we have Instagram  and Facebook. Our Instagram following is not quite as big because we didn't start that from the beginning.

32:00
Facebook is where we post and do most of our things. We do share some to Instagram,  but  yeah, both of those.  Twin acres  farm.  All right. Awesome. Thank you so much for your time, Dana. I appreciate it. And as always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com.  I hope you have a great day. You too. And thanks for having me.