How We Got Started

    In 2012, Zack bought me a beehive for Christmas. It was something we had talked about getting but now I guess we were really going to do it! So we joined Beekeepers of the Susquehanna Valley and realized how little we actually knew. That winter was spent learning everything we could about beekeeping and attending meetings. That spring we brought a second hive and our bees arrived. The summer was spent examining and learning about our hives. Beginners luck would have both hives survive the winter. I really enjoyed the science behind beekeeping and the amazement of how the colonies worked. I began experimenting with our wax from the first honey harvest, making lip balms and giving them away. We made it through the next summer with our two hives but the homesteading bug had bitten us so we began looking for a larger property to expand our homestead.

    We found a perfect property and moved the winter of 2013-2014. It was a great time to move the bees since they are essentially hibernating during the winter months. That spring we added chickens and ducks. We spent lots of time raising children, renovating our house, and building fences. We continued to follow our dream of becoming a mini-farm. That fall Zack bought me Martha (bred goat) for our anniversary. I began experimenting with making soaps for ourselves, since we should have our own goat milk by spring. When my first batch was cured I gave some to my mother and mother-in-law who then gave them to the friends and the soap explosion started. Before I knew it multiple people were looking to buy my soap. So I started making more soaps to keep up with the demand. By selling the soap we were able to grow the farm with the profits. 

    Over the past two years we had the pasture completed, added a male goat, a breeding trio of Idaho Pasture Pigs(IPP's) learned to milk goats, refined our soaps, added 13 more beehives and never stopped learning. We are enjoying raising our boys on a small farm and have enjoyed meeting many people who appreciate the natural methods we use. We love sharing our unrefined natural honey, soaps, lip balms and lotions with many friends and family.

Thank you for supporting our little farm,

The Derr's