Homesteading Small Efficiency — Confessions of a Steward Guest Post, August 15, 2023October 23, 2023 Share this:By Joel Salatin, Plain Values For decades, I’ve been direct marketing our farm’s production directly to retail customers as a direct-marketed, branded product. That means our farm embraces the role of middle-man and we have a logo. We practice craft rather than commodity. The Harvard Business Review analyzed the difference… Continue Reading
Christian Living The Roundtable | Amish Insights on: Big Families | Pt. 1 Guest Post, August 8, 2023October 23, 2023 Share this:By: Emily Hershberger, Plain Values This Month’s Question:Springtime is a busy time of the year for homesteaders. How do you keep such large families seemingly so organized during busy seasons? Answered by: Emily Hershberger Emily: “Out with the cold and in with the spring” is what comes to mind as… Continue Reading
Christian Living The Roundtable | Amish Insights on: Restoration | Pt 2 Guest Post, August 1, 2023October 23, 2023 Share this:By: Ivan Keim, Plain Values This Month’s Question: What does restoration look like in your community? Answered by: Ivan Keim, a minister in his local Amish church Continue Reading
Christian Artisty Simplifying — Roots + Wings Guest Post, August 1, 2023August 1, 2023 Share this:By Rory Feek, Plain Values On our recent trip to Amish country in Ohio to spend time with the team at the Plain Values office, Marlin put together a small gathering of folks from the community, and I sang a few songs and shared a few stories with them. But… Continue Reading
Homesteading Moving Animals Around Pt. 2 — Confessions of a Steward Guest Post, July 31, 2023 Share this:By Joel Salatin, Plain Values Last month I laid the foundation for the patterns and whys of animal movement. Failure to systematically and routinely move domestic livestock is perhaps the single biggest failure in animal agriculture. But how? Fortunately, we have infrastructure today that makes learning ancient herding techniques unnecessary…. Continue Reading
Homemaking Start-Up Farm — Confessions of a Steward Guest Post, July 27, 2023 Share this:By Joel Salatin, Plain Values The single biggest cost—and hurdle—in starting a farm of any size is the land cost. Our own nation has gone from free land to extremely expensive land. Old farmers today who acquired their land in the 1960s often have a hard time appreciating the land… Continue Reading
Homemaking First Foods — The Healing Land Guest Post, July 25, 2023July 25, 2023 Share this:By Shawn & Beth Dougherty, Plain Values The corn in the garden is already more than knee-high, and the first planting of green beans has been gracing the supper table for more than a week, so summer must really be here. And even with temperatures in the high eighties making… Continue Reading
Christian Artisty Staying Local — Roots + Wings Guest Post, July 18, 2023 Share this:By Rory Feek, Plain Values I once made a trip north to Amish country in Ohio to visit and spend time with Marlin and his team at the Plain Values home office. In the few days that I was there, I returned home with some unexpected personal insights that I… Continue Reading
Christian Living One Minute with Marlin — Fruit Guest Post, July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 Share this:By Marlin Miller, Publisher of Plain Values Have you ever tried to do something nice for someone only to make a mistake that messes up everything you had planned? Continue Reading
Christian Living The Roundtable | Amish Insights on: Restoration | Pt 1 Guest Post, June 21, 2023July 24, 2023 Share this:By: Jerry D, Plain Values This Month’s Question: What does restoration look like in your community? Answered by: Jerry D Miller, a minister in his local Amish church Continue Reading
Homesteading Time for What’s Important — The Healing Land Guest Post, June 9, 2023June 9, 2023 Share this:by Shawn & Beth Dougherty, Plain Values A Child comes in the back door with a full milk can; the screen door slaps shut behind him. There is the sound of a bucket being set on the bench, the clang of a bail handle against the side of the milk… Continue Reading
Christian Living Animals Move — Confessions of a Steward Guest Post, June 6, 2023 Share this:by Joel Salatin, Plain Values In animal husbandry and livestock production, probably the most common violation of God’s design is failure to mimic animal movement. Whether it’s a horse paddock, dog run, or a 1,000 cow herd, keeping animals requires intentional and managed movement. Studying God’s design in nature reveals… Continue Reading