Scroll down to read more information about all the amazing presenters at the 2023 festival.
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Emily Heizer Hall ~ Razzbourne Farms
Emily of Razzbourne Farms is shown here with a LaMancha doe named Rosey.
She will be presenting several times at the Virginia Country Living Festival.
1-'Capriculture: Everything to know about Goats'
How to find the right goat, buying, care, sickness and nutrition, etc.
2 - 'Dairy & Creamery Slave Life'
Discussion on the dairy side, then the creamery side, regulations, building a farmstead cheese operation, etc.
3 - KidZone presentation ~ Goats
After hearing Emily's presentations on the basics of goats there is no doubt you will want to join her for the in-depth 8 course virtual learning set that really dives deeper into all the things goat owner or prospective goat owner will want to know.
Caitlin Walls ~ Happy Humblestead
Caitlin Walls is the founder of Happy Humblestead. Here is what she had to say: "I had one dream after graduating college: escape the rat race. I'm still working on that dream, but I'm proud to say we come a little closer each year. I took my experiences as a kid on family farms, and started my own adventure. We began with rabbits in 2019 as a way to heal myself from Alpha-Gal, and coturnix quail followed quickly after. My garden has had an extreme makeover each year, growing from a small spot in my front yard to now taking over the entire area. It's my greatest pleasure to share the knowledge I've gained along the way, to help others reach their goals and avoid the pitfalls we found.
Caitlin is sharing her experience in three presentations.
1- "Intro to Raising Rabbits"
2- "Your First Quail-ity Covey"
3 - KidZone presentation ~ Rabbits.
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Krystal McHenka ~ Whispering Meadows Alpaca Breeders
Krystal and her family of Whispering Meadows join us from their farm in Maryland. We are so excited to have her with us for a presentation about Alpacas.
Whispering Meadows Alpaca LLC is a small family owned and operated alpaca business.
Alpaca fiber offers Moisture Wicking! Superior Softness! Lanolin Free! Hypoallergenic! Wind and Water-Resistant Qualities along with many others!
They have gifts for everyone! Alpaca socks, gloves, sweaters and other apparel, blankets plush alpaca animals and much more!
Visit their booth, sit in during our presentation, check us them out online or schedule a farm visit!
Mindy Lipinski ~ Revercomb Farms
Mindy Lipinski is the owner of Revercomb Farms located in Bridgewater, VA. Her husband, Bobby, and 4 boys moved onto her great-grandparents homeplace and started their venture into all things homesteading, finally settling to focus on pastured piglets, poultry & eggs. She left her decade long career as a Merck microbiologist in April of 2021 to pursue the homesteader lifestyle and focus on expanding the farm.
In addition to the pigs & poultry, she runs & hosts (with the help of fellow homesteaders) on-farm workshops on a menagerie of related topics, ranging from animal husbandry & kitchen basics, to backyard processing.
Mindy will be sharing her knowledge in two presentations:
1- Pastured Pigs
2 - Raising Poultry
Steven D. Hart, Ph.D., P.E ~ Hart-Land Farm
Steve Hart is a farmer, engineer, carpenter, timber-framer, retired Army engineer, and former instructor at West Point and VMI. Steve and Christina Hart with daughter Felicity and son Duncan operate Hart-Land Farm in Kerrs Creek Virginia just west of Lexington where they raise American Milking Devon cattle, ducks, chickens, turkeys, Babydoll and Jacobs sheep, and assorted pigs. They also operate the Kerrs Creek Community Market on Saturdays during the spring, summer, and fall.
We are honored to have Steve, who will along with his daughter, be providing two presentations:
1- Keeping a Family Milk Cow
Fresh milk, fresh butter, fresh cream: What a dream! In this presentation we will discuss everything (well OK, not everything but enough to get started) than a family needs to consider to keep a family milk cow including breed selection, housing, care and feeding, land requirements, zoning, equipment, health, milking, economics, and breeding. With just a few resources it's not really that hard to provide fresh milk for a family.
2 - Let's Buy Some Land and Start a Farm
This presentation will cover all (well OK, not all but the really important stuff) that folks really ought to know before buying a farm property but might not know and, most importantly, where and how to find these things. First, there are many things you should know before putting in that offer on that perfect farm. Knowing these things really is not hard if you know where to look, and it can save you A LOT of trouble with county officials if you do your homework. We'll first cover zoning, flood plains, soil types, and site access. Then we will cover how to 'fit the farm to the land'. All farming techniques will not work equally well on all pieces of land so we'll discuss how to set up a farm that will work with your family's objectives and the land that is available. And, of course, we'll discuss how to do this economically.
Josh Marks & Elmondo King ~ Lightskye Energy
Josh and Elmondo are based out of Richmond, VA, but cover the entire state of Virginia. Lightskye covers 31 states in total.
Josh and Elmondo's mission is to give homeowners the ability to own their own power company as well as plan for a sustainable future. Using their many years of experience in solar they individually customize each home/farm with a system that meets the needs of that family.
Becky Gartner ~ Virginia Cooperative Extension
Becky Gartner is an Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences with Virginia Cooperative Extension. She works in Rockingham, Rockbridge, Highland and Bath Counties.
Becky’s areas of interest are food safety, food preservation and nutrition. She grew up in Woodstock and went to Virginia Tech
and earned her undergraduate degree in Extension and Home Economics Education and her master’s in Human Nutrition and Foods. She enjoys cooking, sewing, gardening and bee keeping in her spare time.
Becky will be providing some extremely valuable information in her presentation - “Food Preservation Basics”, which will introduce various food preservation methods and the equipment needed.
We will take a look at the science behind food preservation and its importance in preserving food safely.
Bill Gartner ~ Shenandoah Bee Supply
Bill Gartner started beekeeping with his grandfather and father as a young boy. Together they managed over 60 hives in Fauquier County, Virginia.
Currently, he and his wife operate Green Acres Apiary and Shenandoah Bee Supply in Woodstock, Virginia. Bill serves as the First Vice President of the Virginia State Beekeepers Association and is a member of the Shenandoah County beekeepers, Shenandoah Valley Beekeepers and Beekeepers of Northern Shenandoah Valley. In his spare time, Bill enjoys gardening and watching football.
Bill will be conducting a presentation on 'Basics of Beekeeping'. If you have been wanting to get started with a hive of your own, you will not want to miss what his presentation.
Dennis Harvey ~ Double Tap Shooting Supply
Dennis of Double Tap Shooting Supply has been a Security/ Law Enforcement professional for over 40 years (Uffinger Security, Uva. Security, Lake Monticello Police Department, Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office, Albemarle County Police Department, AIT Govt. Security, Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Allied Security,
And most recently, TSA)
Dennis was a DCJS firearms instructor from 1989 through 2009, and has been a “Force on Force” instructor since completing training in Pittsburgh Pa. (sponsored by Northwestern University, the Speer/ CCI Corporation, and the Pittsburgh P.D.)
Dennis has completed armorer’s courses for Glock, Beretta, and Remington weapons systems, and he opened Doubletap Shooting Supplies LLC in 2012, assisting customers with firearms purchases, trades, training, and repairs.
Dennis has dedicated his life to helping people protect their person and property. We appreciate Dennis coming to the Virginia Country Living Festival to do a presentation for us on 'Firearm Safety and Choosing a Firearm for Your Homestead'.
Kevin Blackburn ~ Leeson Strategic
Kevin a USAF Veteran, lifelong outdoorsman, former Firefighter Medic, Ski Patroler, SAR team Member, and Rescue Diver, and for eighteen years. He owned and ran a commercial and documentary photography business traveling 275 plus days a year all over and staying safe.
In October of 2020, at age 46, I was in the blessed position to retire. Then in the Spring of 2021, after my wife (and I apparently) decided I needed to find something to occupy my time, I became a USCCA Instructor I also decided to start teaching courses on Emergency Preparedness, self-reliance, and Wilderness Fieldcraft and I went back to school and studied Gunsmithing.
The mechanics of it has always interested me and seemed a good fit for a guy who spent most of his life problem solving and fixing people and things, so here I am all finished with the "official" training and launching this venture in 2022.
Kevin shares this information: "This company is run on the core values I learned as a child and in the USAF Integrity, Service, Excellence ".
Kevin will be sharing two presentations during the festival:
1 - Homestead First Aid
2 - Basic Preparedness
Stop by his booth to learn about all of the valuable classes Kevin offers.
Ryan Duckett ~ Virginia Composting Council
Ryan with the Virginia Composting Council will be conducting an informative presentation on 'Composting'.
Ryan is a Richmond based professional engineer and has served as a researcher and consultant in the solid waste and composting arena his entire career, working on materials management facilities planning and development as well as program operations for over a decade. Mr. Duckett serves as President of the Virginia Composting Council, a chapter of the US Composting Council, and works to promote composting practices in the Commonwealth. He is also active in the Solid Waste of North America Old Dominion Chapter, leading its Technical Committee and frequently working on sustainability and infrastructure issues typically for local governments in central and western Virginia.
In his spare time Ryan enjoys traveling and outdoor activities including camping and paddling. He is an avid trail runner and hiker and enjoys being in and around the mountains of the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Ryan also practices pesticide-free, regenerative gardening and composting both in his backyard and at the community-garden level.
Kristin Shawver Forsyth ~ Sourdough Bread
Kristin is a home baker that is a master at sourdough. She manages to make sourdough a fun and easy new skill to learn.
Talk to Kristin about getting a sourdough starter and you will be making fantastic bread in no time!
Mary Mapel ~ Kitchen Demos
Mary is a local Independent Director with Pampered Chef. She will be conducting 4 beneficial kitchen demonstrations.
1. Making Plant-Based Milk
During this informative 20-minute demo you will learn the benefits making your own homemade plant-based milks. By having the ability to control the ingredients you produce a milk that is a much healthier alternative to the store-bought counterparts, not to mention so much more economical.
2. Quickles: Quick Pickle Prep
Quickling is the perfect way to add homemade crunch and tang to your meals while ensuring no veggies go to waste. Discover quick and easy ways to prep your veggies for this tasty addition to your next meal in this fun 20-minute demo.
3. Homemade Nut Butters
Learn how easily you can make homemade nut butters for you and your family. With the help of a high-speed blender making these healthy nut butters will be quicker and easier than you ever imagined. This demo will be approximately 15-20 minutes.
4. Meal Prep Solutions for the Busy Cook
In just 20 minutes you will discover the many reasons why meal prepping is so beneficial, but they all fit into three main categories: saving time, saving money, and having more control over your food choices. Discover the methods, tools, and tasks that will simplify your time in the kitchen and make mealtime more enjoyable for the busy cook.