Ballenger Farm & Homestead is based around the philosophy of Simple, Sensible, and Self-Sustainable. Every year we plant and manage three large gardens to provide fresh vegetables and herbs for our family. We preserve our garden harvest through a combination of pressure canning, water bath canning, fermenting, and dehydration.

We also have a small herd of Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats that provide fresh milk and meat for our family. We use fresh, raw milk for cereals, and we also make our own cheeses and ferments raw milk Kefir.

We keep a flock of chickens on site for fresh eggs, and we also raise the occasional group of pigs and meat turkeys to stock, our freezer. Our aim is to reduce our dependence on man-made ‘systems’ and teach our children and others the old skills of being self-reliant.