Blog

Some evenings, after the chores are done and the house finally goes quiet, all I want is something sweet and simple. These flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and made with ingredients most farm kitchens already have. They come together in 15 minutes — and they never last until morning.

There’s a moment every farm wife knows. You’re standing at the edge of a field — or sitting at the kitchen table at 11 p.m. staring at a spreadsheet — and the thought creeps in: This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be. I’ve been there. I am there. And here’s what I’ve learned about doing hard things when the mountain turns out to be higher than you expected.

When your family has farmed the same ground for more than 100 years, the idea of leaving feels impossible. But when you’re staring down the loaded gun of bankruptcy, impossible starts to feel a lot more flexible. Two years later, here’s what I’ve learned about roots — and what I’d tell every farm wife who’s wondering whether to stay or go.

How do you cultivate a positive family environment when the farm is demanding everything you’ve got? It starts smaller than you think — and it has nothing to do with hustling harder. Here’s what it actually looks like on a working farm.