Who we are: We are the Stamps Family Farm. We call ourselves a family farm because it is our family working the land, the animals, and the gardens to grow this as a business and a lifestyle. Our children (Lily, Holly, and Isaac) work along side us (Chad and Danelle), Grandma Glenna and Grampa Roger help on weekends (and Grampa as often as he can during the week too.)
We have no experience prior to moving here, unless you count multiple visits to Living History Farms and the Iowa State Fair as experience. We are learning as we go, studying what we need to and seeking out mentors, asking lots and lots of questions. There is a lot of trial and error and we are always striving to make our farm better, our animals happier. We think that this makes better meat, better honey, and better produce.
We brought to our farm our family dog and cat. The first year we decided to raise four pigs and some chickens. Then we adopted a flock of sheep that also came with a llama and a duck. We soon added a dairy cow and she gave us a baby heifer. We took on more pigs and chickens. Then the duck got lonely and the grazing animals refused to eat thistle so we agreed to get two goats. Now we have a full barnyard variety of animals working for us!
Eventually, we will have a full orchard too. When we moved here 3 years ago we started planting. We add to it every year and in 5-10 years we hope to offer a full selection of 7 types of fruit: apples, pears, peaches, apricots, paw paws, cherries, and plums.
We have three bee hives but hope to expand that, and as Danelle learns to use her sewing machine (and not mangle cloth and thread) we hope to make awesome bee suits too.
