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Poultry from Puffball to Freezer
Cliff Byington
Cliff and Karen both came from farming backgrounds, and raised their children on ten acres near Lake Odessa where they supply 90% of their food from the farm. Their mission is sharing their experience of several decades with others by encouraging them in their journey to food independence. Their farm includes a greenhouse, large garden, fruits and berries, family milk cow, dexter beef herd, pigs, egg layers, meat birds, butcher shop, smoke house, and maple syrup.
Dairy Goat Management
Morgan Michaluk
Morgan Michaluk has been homesteading in Southeast Michigan for 10 years. She is a wife, mama of two kiddos and shepherd to all the farm critters! Her dairy goats are raised with resilient farming practices that follow nature’s cycles of grazing, movement, rest and regeneration. Her book on raising dairy goats was published in 2024.
Homesteading From A Creation Perspective
Joseph Fox
Joseph Fox is a Michigan State representative of the 101st district. He and his wife have 4 grown children and 13 grandchildren. Joseph was a High School teacher, a principal, a pastor and a director in Newaygo County for the commission on aging. Now, as a state rep, he advocates for conservative values, and sees the need to encourage homesteading and farming as a part of those values. His goal is to inspire us to be courageous and informed as we steward the land and resources we have been given by God.
Regenerative Agriculture; Creating An Instant Garden
Carl Thompson
Carl began his homesteading and organic gardening as a back to the land hippie 50 years ago. With many successes and more failures there have been many transitions through various methodologies and ideas on many locations around the world. Always ready to learn more, he is a strong advocate for regenerative agriculture and doing the least to accomplish the most. He is passionate about relational abundance. He lives in Lowell, Mi with his wife, Cathy and grows lots of vegetables on a small lot.
Beekeeping On The Homestead
Meagan Lintz
Meagan and her husband, Bobby own Rooted Ridge Homestead in Midland, MI. She grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and made it her goal to return to those roots. Since 2022, Meagan and Bobby have grown their homestead to include over 100 chickens, cows, pigs, goats, honeybees, dogs, cats, and a maple syrup sugarbush! Meagan is a learning enthusiast and is passionate about everything self-sufficiency.
The Balancing Act
Chett and Melissa Clayton
Chett, Melissa and their two boys, own and operate a small farm in Northwest Michigan. They specialize in creating unique seasonings, and grow garlic, flowers, and mushrooms for four farmers markets during the summer season. Building a farm operation from the ground up, while working other off-farm jobs, is truly an adventure!
Fruit Tree Propagation
Paul Holcroft
Paul Holcroft and his wife own Holcroft Acres LLC in Northern Michigan. After years of gardening, foraging, and canning, they pursued homesteading in 2020 for more control over their food. They started with chickens and ducks, later adding rabbits and turkeys. In 2021, they bought 20 acres, planted an orchard, and cultivated over a dozen fruits. Paul has grafted over 350 apple cultivars, mostly heirlooms, and restored trees from 100+ year-old orchards in Bliss Township. He serves on the Board of North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) and enjoys discovering wild apples. By day, he is a pastor at a small rural church.
Fiber Processing, Yarn Spinning, Fiber Animals
Renee McCausey
Renee and Scott have 5 grown children and 6 grandkids. They live on their dream 5-acre farm in mid Michigan with two dogs, chickens, Angora rabbits of all kinds, and recently added Angora goats to the mix. Renee has 20 years experience spinning, is a spinning wheel dealer for Spinolution Spinning Wheels and has a growing YouTube channel.
Creating And Managing Silvopasture
Luke Eising
Luke Eising has been a grazier for 11 years. With his family he started Provision Family Farms near White Cloud, Mi, where they raise and market grassfed Beef and Lamb, pastured Pork and Poultry. They farm with nature, building the soils, herds and infrastructure for the years and generations to come. Few things are more satisfying than watching abandoned scrubland and pastures increase in fertility.
Maple Syrup From Tree To Table
Melina Anderson
Melina Anderson has been homesteading in southeast Michigan with her husband and two boys for over 10 years. They began learning to raise food for themselves, wanting to become more self-sufficient, and have grown to provide farm fresh meats and products to their local community. One of their favorite homesteading activities has been producing maple syrup from the forest on their property. What a gift to be able to turn sap from trees on your land into a delicious and healthy sweet for your table
Time Management / Organization For The Homestead
Kym Jessup
Kym and Joseph have been homesteading for 6 years in Southwest Michigan with their five children, ranging from 4 to 14 years old. She focuses on raising meat from a variety of animals and managing a small vegetable garden, while her husband runs a commercial blueberry farm. Kym developed her skills to balance daily tasks efficiently over the years managing her household and homestead, and homeschooling some of her kids.
From Garden to First Sale: A Homesteader’s Guide to Selling Locally
Terra Osman
Terra is a suburban homesteader living just north of Grand rapids with her husband and two boys. She founded Farmish, a marketplace app that connects local farms with consumers and wholesale buyers. She’s raised chickens, grown her own food, and supported small-scale producers in navigating the challenges of turning their homegrown goods into a thriving business. Through Farmish, she’s helped thousands of farmers and homesteaders across the U.S. and Canada take their first steps in selling locally.
Sheep On The Homestead
Kelly Brandt
Kelly started on her wool craft odyssey in 1975 with four heritage horned Dorset sheep who came to her five acre homestead in Lake Odessa "just to keep the pasture down." She first used her wool harvest in wool-filled comforters, but soon taught herself to locker hook, spin, and felt. She has been teaching fiber and homesteading classes since 1985 in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. She is a published author and has won artistic awards for her work using wool and llama fiber from her flocks. Through her fiber based cottage business, Team Effort Artisans, Kelly has shown and sold fine wool craft at shows, galleries, and festivals. She offers private classes at her new studio/barn outside Lake Odessa.
Emergency Preparedness For The Homestead
Mel Oakley
Mel and his wife, Teresa, and their two daughters live near Clarksville, Mi, where they raise layer hens and meat birds, and grow a large garden for canning and preserving. Preparedness has been a core mindset for him since he was young, bringing him from Eagle Scout as a youth to a 20 year career as a paramedic. For the past 15 years, Mel has served as a medical educator, training individuals from the lay public to physicians.
The Homestead Lifestyle
Tommy and Beth Declercq
Tommy and Beth Declercq, former city-kids-turned-homesteaders, now raise their 8 kids on 10 acres in mid-Michigan. What began as a way to provide better food for their family has grown into a deeper appreciation for the steps in their homesteading process. After 10+ years of learning from books, videos, and others, they aim to share their knowledge with those starting their own journeys while offering nourishing food to their community.
Community Healing and Organic Healthcare on the Homestead
Matt Pekrul
Matt Pekrul is a trustee and founder of Project FarmSTAND Ministries, an unincorporated 508(c)(1)(a) ministry dedicated to faith, regenerative farming, and holistic stewardship. With over 30 years of experience as a plastics engineer specializing in chemistry, biology, and physics across industries like automotive, pharmaceutical, and aerospace, Matt brings a problem-solving mindset to sustainable agriculture and alternative medicine. Project FarmSTAND reflects his commitment to self-sufficiency, food as medicine, and biblical stewardship, empowering individuals to take responsibility for their health, land, and community under God’s guidance. “Whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31
Raising Pastured Pork For Profit
Robin Esquibel
Robin, along with her husband and kids, is a first-generation modern homesteader. After moving out of the city and purchasing an established blueberry farm, she learned everything she knows through reading, watching videos, and hands-on experience. Robin loves this lifestyle and doesn't take it for granted. She hopes her journey encourages others to embrace the unconventional, pursue what others might call crazy, and tackle challenges head-on. Robin believes that while the path is hard, nothing worth doing is ever easy.
Fire Cider
Christin Othmer
Christin Othmer wears many hats. She is a pharmacist with an herbalist certification, who believes food is medicine. She and her husband live on a farm near Woodland, Mi, where they raise their own meat and much of their own fruits and vegetables. They, in collaboration with their four adult children, use regenerative agricultural practices to grow corn and soybeans. In her free time Christin enjoys gathering wild plants for food and medicine, gardening and CrossFit.
Build a Bee Box
Meagan Lintz
Meagan and her husband, Bobby own Rooted Ridge Homestead in Midland, MI. She grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and made it her goal to return to those roots. Since 2022, Meagan and Bobby have grown their homestead to include over 100 chickens, cows, pigs, goats, honeybees, dogs, cats, and a maple syrup sugarbush! Meagan is a learning enthusiast and is passionate about everything self-sufficiency.
Drop Spindle
Renee McCausey
Renee and Scott have 5 grown children and 6 grandkids. They live on their dream 5-acre farm in mid Michigan with two dogs, chickens, Angora rabbits of all kinds, and recently added Angora goats to the mix. Renee has 20 years experience spinning, is a spinning wheel dealer for Spinolution Spinning Wheels and has a growing YouTube channel.
Fruit Tree Grafting
Paul Holcroft
Paul Holcroft and his wife own Holcroft Acres LLC in Northern Michigan. After years of gardening, foraging, and canning, they pursued homesteading in 2020 for more control over their food. They started with chickens and ducks, later adding rabbits and turkeys. In 2021, they bought 20 acres, planted an orchard, and cultivated over a dozen fruits. Paul has grafted over 350 apple cultivars, mostly heirlooms, and restored trees from 100+ year-old orchards in Bliss Township. He serves on the Board of North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) and enjoys discovering wild apples. By day, he is a pastor at a small rural church.
Sourdough
Kristen Wood
Kristen Wood lives with her husband Zach and her two boys in Wyoming, Michigan, focusing on homeschooling and homemaking. She has always loved baking and cooking from scratch and after being introduced to sourdough about 5 years ago, now makes everything and anything with sourdough. She makes use of her backyard with raised garden beds and chickens and also loves to support local farmers when purchasing her produce and meat, and enjoys being the organizer for a raw milk herd share. Kristen loves the outdoors and plans a nature hike club with other moms.
Herbal Salves
Stephanie Grinage
Stephanie Grinage grew up in Lake Odessa, MI on a dairy farm. She embarked on her herbalism journey nearly 2 decades ago when modern medicine couldn’t cure health issues in her family. Stephanie and her husband, Joe, raised their 6 kids on their homestead along with goats, sheep, chicken, turkeys, and gardens with herbs, veggies, and fruit. She runs her micro business-Gingham Sisters Green Living- crafting healthy body products, herbal salves, wholesome foods, and upcycled girls and women’s clothing.
Canning (Both days)
Tammy McNeill
Tammy McNeill lives in Mid-Michigan on her family’s farmstead. She is an author and content creator known for her expertise in traditional canning methods. She leads the "Rebel Canners" community, which includes a Facebook group with over 60,000 members, as well as presences on YouTube and Instagram. Her cookbook, "Rebel Canners Cookbook: Preserving Time-Honored Methods," showcases her dedication to preserving family traditions and global culinary practices through canning. Tammy is sponsored by All American Canners and Suberb lids.
Chicken Processing (Both days)
Cliff Byington
Cliff and Karen both came from farming backgrounds, and raised their children on ten acres near Lake Odessa where they supply 90% of their food from the farm. Their mission is sharing their experience of several decades with others by encouraging them in their journey to food independence. Their farm includes a greenhouse, large garden, fruits and berries, family milk cow, dexter beef herd, pigs, egg layers, meat birds, butcher shop, smoke house, and maple syrup.
Goat Milking & Goat Care (Both days)
Morgan Michaluk
Morgan Michaluk has been homesteading in Southeast Michigan for 10 years. She is a wife, mama of two kiddos and shepherd to all the farm critters! Her dairy goats are raised with resilient farming practices that follow nature’s cycles of grazing, movement, rest and regeneration. Her book on raising dairy goats was published in 2024.
2025 Demonstrations
Take a look at our current list of demonstrations for our 2025 Conference!
Butter Churning & Raw Milk Uses (Friday)
Hannah Embury
Hannah lives in mid Michigan with her husband and three children. She writes for The Mamasteader Blog, her outlet for writing on topics she’s passionate about to encourage women in homeschooling and homesteading. She has a children’s picture book published called Chicken Math, and has developed a line of non-toxic products as a part of her innovative business pursuits.
Fermentation (Saturday)
Colleen McLemore
Colleen and her husband Randy have lived in their cozy Southeast Grand Rapids home for 30 years, where they raised and homeschooled six kids. With a passion for teaching cooking and food topics, Colleen's love for plants led her to explore fermentation. She appreciates how "controlled decomposition" challenges traditional food storage and nutrition. Colleen also enjoys walking in the woods, foraging for plants and mushrooms, and crafting wild medicine, all while experimenting with herbs and veggies from her "urban homestead" garden.
2025 Children/Family Sessions
Take a look at our current list of children/family sessions for our 2025 Conference!
2025 Sponsors
Thank you to our 2025 Mitten Homesteader Conference Sponsors!
Videos
2024 Photos
Our 2024 Conference was a huge success! See our photos and videos (swipe to scroll) to catch a glimpse below!
2024 Conference Recap
Get Your Hands Dirty
Looking for a way to be involved in 2025 Mitten Homesteaders Conference? Find the inquiry forms below.
Mina Postman
Founder & Conference Director
Mina Postman has been homesteading on 25 acres in Ionia county since 2012 and before that in an urban setting in Grand Rapids worked in a community garden as well as her own. She and her husband have dairy goats, laying hens, a small herd of beef cattle, ducks, and dogs and cats. They raise chicken and turkey for meat each summer and produce maple syrup from their sugar bush each spring, and tend a garden and orchard.
Jami Manszewski
Organizer
Jami is an entrepreneur, homesteader, 4H leader, and community advocate. She, her husband Kyle, and their 2 children use their acreage in southwest Michigan to grow hogs, rabbits, chickens, vegetables, and a small herd of Dexter cattle. She loves to learn from books, lectures, peers, and experience. Jami is passionate about living simply and sustainably and teaching others how to do the same.
Jenna Postman
Social Media Manager
Jenna focuses on city homesteading in Kentwood, Michigan with her husband, Judah, and their dogs and cats. She has a background in 4H, livestock showing, FFA, and dog training. Jenna is an advocate for incorporating holistic practices into health and self-sufficiency, specifically in the realm of autoimmune diseases and chronic illness. She’s passionate about combining Western Medicine with holistic approaches to get to the root cause, instead of just treating symptoms. She enjoys baking sourdough, creating anti-inflammatory recipes, writing poetry, and hiking with her husband and dogs. Jenna and Judah hope to be able to get some land to start their own homestead soon!
Hannah Embury
Sponsorship Coordinator
Hannah lives in mid Michigan with her husband and three children. She writes for The Mamasteader Blog, her outlet for writing on topics she’s passionate about to encourage women in homeschooling and homesteading. She has a children’s picture book published called Chicken Math, and has developed a line of non-toxic products as a part of her innovative business pursuits.
Lorah Cameron
Vendor Coordinator
Lorah Cameron lives in the thumb of the Mitten with her husband, Adam, and their two youngest children. They have three grown children, all married to wonderful spouses, and two of those couples have children of their own. Her family raises meat birds, maintains a seasonal garden, and makes their own maple syrup. While both Lorah and Adam work outside of the home, they also have extracurricular activities to supplement their income. Adam operates a sawmill and laser engraver, creating custom orders for people and participating in a few craft or homesteader events each year. Lorah also runs an Airbnb.
Meet The Team
We Are Mitten Homesteaders
Homesteading in Michigan is unique and exciting! We are surrounded by the Great Lakes and have a climate friendly to multitudes of livestock animals, as well as fruits, vegetables and grains.
We want to bring homesteaders together to share in a vigorous movement of food freedom and abundance. We know there are hundreds of folks in Michigan with skills and knowledge who can share what they know with more hundreds who are thirsty for that knowledge. Whether you have a large following on social media, or you are just doing your thing in relative obscurity, we want to meet you face to face and learn from you.
We would love to see traditional skills like wild crafting, foraging, food preservation and animal processing become much more mainstream; to see herbal remedies and canning and local food systems become common. Since family homesteads are the place where these traditions most thrive and are passed down, we will place a high value on them and do our utmost to promote them.
Mission Statement
Mitten Homesteaders promotes a Michigan based community that cares about families raising, processing and growing food as well as cultivating and customizing their own home cultures. We aim to provide platforms and venues where individuals are able to learn and share ideas with other homesteaders.
Our perspective is informed by the Biblical command to fill and care for the earth. We are directed by standards of Judeo-Christian principals, giving glory to God through His singing creation!
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