Agrarian Enterprises on the Internet

I recently read two e-books published by John and Lisa Mesko at Lighthouse Farm. The books, titled As a Hen Gathers Her Chick and Goat’s Milk For Your Maidens were written by Lisa and they are the first two volumes in what the Meskos call The Homestead Series. These books are well done and a delight to read.

Both books are centered around John and Lisa’s two young daughters and how they learn about the chickens and goats that become a part of their family’s homestead. These are primarily teaching books and an excellent introduction for young children to chickens and goats. Children will learn what the animals eat, where they live, how they act, how their young are born, and how the mother cares for it’s babies. There are plenty of great photos to go along with the text.

But the books are not just about animals. They are also about a family that works together and enjoys their Christian-agrarian lifestyle. Thankfulness to “the good Lord” pervades each story. Unlike the average farm-animal book for children, The Homestead Series is distinctly God-honoring and family centered.

I see from the Lighthouse Farm web site that the Meskos are planning to make a DVD of their Homestead Series books, with Lisa doing the reading. That should prove to be more “child-friendly” than an e-book and I look forward to seeing them.

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The Meskos have also revised and republished in e-book format two books from the 1870s. They are part of the Dare To Do Right series. I like what the web site says about these books:

“...the Dare To Do Right series of books harken back to a time when the predominant worldview of the American society was the Christian worldview. Even those people who did not profess to be Christians understood the Christian worldview, where right was right and wrong was wrong, where the authority structure of the family was practiced, revered, and honored.”

I have downloaded one of the books, Grandfather’s Faith and plan to read it to my two youngest sons soon.

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Those of you who have read John Mesko’s Blog,Antithesis in Agriculture, or listened to his Plain Talk interview, know the Meskos are returning to John’s parent’s farm in Minnesota. They will be farming and pursuing their multigenerational Christian-agrarian vision there.

It is not an easy thing to make a living as a small, independent farmer these days. With that in mind, many people, like John, are turning to the internet, and using a variety of creative ideas to help generate income for their family enterprises.

I know many of you who are reading this are either doing, or planning on doing, much the same thing to support your own agri-preneurial ventures. I think this is good and it is very inspiring to me. Maybe I’ll even get my own web site up and running by the end of the year

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I see John is planning on producing instructional videos, including one about how to process chickens. I think there is a big demand for that particular video. And I think I heard in his Plain Talk interview that he’s planning a video on butchering goats. I wish there were a video out there for butchering pigs. I think I will need it next fall.

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One last thing... Even without a web page, I have used the internet to market my agrarian books, most notably the Whizbang Plucker planbook. In fact, were it not for the internet, that book would probably never have done as well as it has. And, based on my experience, I want to share a bit of advice with those of you who are starting home businesses.

That advice is, very simply, not to get discouraged if things don't come together and produce the desired results right away. Good things take time. I encourage you to take a long-range, sustainable view of your endeavors. Lay the groundwork without overextending your resources, provide a good quality product, and give it time to bear fruit. "Little by slow" as an old Italian farmer I one knew used to say... "Little by slow"