When I started writing this blog, I really wasn't sure where things were headed, but I had a gut feeling that this whole "homesteading" concept was taking us somewhere. I've had periods of heavy writing, and seasons where I don't have the capacity to keep up with sharing every ongoing - so much has happened in the last few years!
If you haven't been following us from the beginning, let me share a little background detail...
The Homestead Husband & I got our first apartment in downtown South Berwick, Maine sometime around 2014/2015 (memory is fuzzy). Within a week, I was begging him for a cat to make our place feel like home... Within a week... there was a rescued cat, who is still with us today, three moves later, leaving his fluffy black fur all over. It wasn't long before we were thinking of a dog and a few months more, our little terrier, Cash showed up.
It has basically kept progressing that way ever since.
We moved to our second home, aptly named, The Harper Homestead, where we dove into from-scratch living, 1-acre farming and at one point maintained a flock of 70 or so birds - and kept on adding house-pets all the while. We quickly outgrew the space, and worked our tails off to obtain our dream home in Berwick, where we could continue pursuing farm and ranch dreams.
Each time we've moved, we've added additional furry and feathered friends to our family, never leaving one of them behind.
We're now home to 3 dogs, 2 cats, 1 bunny, 3 horses, 1 pony, 2 donkeys, 3 sheep, 2 goats, 1 duck, a whole flock of chickens, and 13 head of cattle (& growing). There are a couple of free-range children roaming amongst them as well.
We didn't have agriculture experience growing up - just a love for all animals, family dogs, and some gardening. To learn how we got to where we are today, read through our blog!
When we opened up our beef sales to the public, we were blown away by the support and speed at which cattle shares were sold. We are still in awe of it when we see names go on our waitlist for beef! We can't tell you how much this means to us - especially given where we started, and how hard we worked to get here!
I've always enjoyed the sentiment that there is no such thing as luck - just when hard work meets opportunity. So, we always strive to work hard and do our best. Give it all we've got. Just as we were getting busy working on our beef cattle at the start of 2022, we were presented with an opportunity...
Nearly a year ago now, we were getting ready to head out into a slushy early Maine spring day to get passport pictures done for an upcoming trip. The Homestead Husband came inside and poured me a glass of bourbon - at 11:00am in the middle of a Tuesday (I had time off, mind you). I looked at him like he was insane (which, is actually pretty normal around here). He said to me, "I am going to tell you something and it is going to change our lives" with the biggest grin on his face.
Having no possible idea what on Earth he was talking about I took a sip of this "brunch" cocktail and prepared to listen in - not thinking it would be as monumental as he premised.
He proceeded to share with me a conversation he'd just had at our local feed store, with the owners, whom we saw every week for all our pet and farm supplies, from dog food to livestock grains and bedding. They'd asked if he'd be interested in purchasing the business, as they were prepared to retire - without hesitation he said, yes. With the Homestead Husband, an offer like this is as good as done. If he wants something, he does whatever is necessary to make it happen - which is something I really admire about him.
He surprised me with the weight of what he shared. He was right - this really could change our lives. I cried. The idea was perfect for us - we love animals - we have years of experience in customer service industries, and we always wanted to make a big impact with Dirigo Ranch for our family and community.
Over the course of the past year, we've worked on all of the details of our new business venture & we're beyond elated to introduce: Dirigo Ranch Feed & Seed.
At Dirigo Ranch Feed & Seed, we want to keep the legacy of Great Works Feed Supply alive by continuing to offer high quality feeds, knowledgeable staff, consistent customer service, and ensuring we keep things local. Great Works has done an excellent job for the past 12+ years growing the business and bringing the best quality products to their customers. We are ready to take the reins, and build upon their already sturdy, successful foundation.
We are now an official Poulin Grain dealer, and look forward to helping you with your feed needs for animals of all sizes and diet requirements. Poulin Grain is a family owned business that was founded and originated in Vermont, where their grains are still milled today! We are both excited and very proud to be working with them side by side.
We cannot thank Great Works enough for their guidance and willingness to take a chance on us. Thank you for changing our lives for the better - there are no words to express the depth of our gratitude. It is of the utmost importance to us that their long time customers feel they can put their trust in us to continue receiving great service. We can't wait to grow the family of Dirigo Ranch patrons and hear about your pets! We hope you'll come visit us for all of your farm, garden, ranch, and pet needs! From cat, dog, and small pet food, to bird seed, hay, bedding, and more - come see us!
From grazing livestock, to graining them as they grow, whether you're gathered in the barn or at the table, Dirigo Ranch Feed & Seed is the place to start.
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