Well, I’ll just cut to the chase. I’m a twenty four year old young man living in Northeast Iowa (driftless area I.e. not flat like the rest of Iowa, particularly beautiful) on my family’s land. We have 75 acres of rolling ridges and valleys (a creek runs through it). It’s in its third or fourth growing season as a developing permaculture system. We raise beef cows, pigs and chickens in a silvopasture system that includes many young fruit and nut trees. Long story short, there is a lot of conventional agriculture around me and my mindset doesn’t necessarily fit in with the status quo in my region. Yet I’ve also lived on both the east and west coast (in city and country) and have found myself an alien in those places as well since after all, I was raised in the mid west. I relate to Joel Salatin in his recent book “the pigness of pigs” when he describes not fitting into any party entirely. Not to mention that the “best and brightest” in my small rural community (as in other small rural communities) tend to move to cities and work desk jobs. I believe we need small family farms and intend for my farm to be a model for that in the coming years. So, needless to say, finding a mate who shares similar beliefs is tough to come by. Thought I’d post something and see what came of it. I’m 6’4” and athletic. I work as a carpenter off the farm. It’s a skill that compliments my farming/homesteading lifestyle.
