With the growing popularity of homesteading on Instagram, it’s easy to look at this lifestyle through a romanticized filter. No one would say that the homesteading life is 100% glamorous, but it’s hard to fully grasp the weight of the difficult moments until you are in them. Ash of Turner Farm wrote a beautiful article for Homestead Mamas on this very topic, so I’m excited to bring her on the podcast to dive deeper into this conversation. Ash shares about the ups and downs of starting and growing her homestead from scratch— everything from losing newborn livestock to milking her cow in a field under a beautiful sunset. Whether you are dreaming of starting a homestead or you are already in the trenches, may this episode inform and encourage you about the challenges and blessings of this lifestyle.

In this episode, we cover:
- How most of us aren’t prepared to experience the hard parts of homesteading until we get there
- Some of the challenges that come with livestock births and deaths on the homestead
- The surprising moments of beauty that make homesteading worth it
- How you can start a homestead with modest resources
- Stories of different animals’ fencing needs
- Does homesteading truly save you money on food?
- Why you might want to wean a calf from its mother
- The best ways to learn about homesteading if you don’t have a background in it
- Why now is the perfect time to start homesteading
- Ash’s favorite sourdough recipes and what she is currently experimenting with in her kitchen

ABOUT ASH
Ash lives in rural Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband Daniel and their children Ellie and Anderson, where they raise pastured pigs and wagyu cattle. The winters are long and the summers are magic and you can often find her in the kitchen or curled up next to the wood stove during the winter months and milking the cow in the yard during the summer. Her greatest passion is teaching others, and her greatest teachers are her children.

RESOURCES
Misconceptions of the Homestead by Ash Turner https://www.homesteadmamas.com/2021/1...
Joel Salatin https://www.polyfacefarms.com/
Kate of Venison for Dinner   / venisonfordinner  
Abby of The Gateway Farm   / thegatewayfarm  
Chocolate sourdough bread recipe by Lisa https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sour...
Chocolate sourdough bread recipe by Ash https://www.instagram.com/p/CfrSX-AgE...
Cinnamon sourdough recipe by Ash https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZiCKE...
Lindor truffle sourdough bread by Ash https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWySA8...
For the Love of Sourdough cookbook by Ash and Lizi of The Food Nanny https://www.thefoodnanny.com/products...
For the Love of Sourdough monthly subscription https://sourdough.turnerfarm.ca/
Ash’s sourdough class https://turnerfarm.ca/#classes

CONNECT
Ash Turner of Turner Farm
Website: http://Turnerfarm.ca
Instagram:   / turner.farm  
Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone
Blog: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/
YouTube:    / farmhouseonboone  
Instagram:   / farmhouseonboone  
TikTok:   / farmhouseonboone  
Facebook:   / farmhouseonboone  
Pinterest:   / _created  
Join us in the Simple Farmhouse Life Facebook community:   / 748012922264552  

Thank you to our sponsors!
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GET MORE FROM THIS EPISODE
Listen to this podcast episode: https://anchor.fm/simple-farmhouse-li...
View full show notes and transcript on the blog: https://simplefarmhouselifepodcast.co...