What is the difference between a homesteader, a farmer and a prepper
When we first bought our property, I wanted to be an ‘Organic Farmer,’ but I also didn’t at the same time - I wanted to use traditional methods of husbandry but not have to jump through all the hoops that is the current climate for Organic Certification. I also wanted to appeal to customers who would value our methods of production but I wanted customers who thought through their buying choices and weren’t just using the ‘organic’ label to make themselves feel safe or virtuous.
After doing tons of research, reaching out to local programs, seeing what kind of grants we were eligible for, Kyle admitted that he really didn’t WANT to be a ‘FARMER’ - he really wanted to be a HOMESTEADER. We argued about this for quite a while, because I wanted to have food products that would edify our community… and also there weren’t any grants or financial aide for growing food for just ourselves… and there weren’t any local jobs that I qualified for or had any interest in. So that left Farmer, as far as I was concerned. And if we were HOMESTEADERS, we weren’t making any money at it and I needed to go find a boring job.
The Pandemic hit, and we had to reevaluate everything. What were we trying to do actually DO on our farm? Farmer’s markets were closed, the products I was interested in selling at the time were perishable and non-shippable, my customer base went woke and I wasn’t interested in participating in those groups anymore. Out of necessity we switched our mindset from pouring inputs into a business model that was attractive to financial aid, with demographics that didn’t exactly line up with our worldview… to worried about keeping homeostasis in our own lives with our own animals on our own farm.
Without getting TOO political, we realized that we needed to establish a firm foundation for our own family and homestead before we reached out into the community and offered products to them.
Enter Homesteaders of America, and we found ‘Our People.’ Committed Christians who supported Law Enforcement unapologetically who carried guns and reserved the right to kill their animals unapologetically and humanely. Aaaah a breath of fresh air. The trouble was all these people were doing exactly what we were doing - raising their own eggs, milk, meat and veggies, fermenting what they could, canning and freezing the rest, and raising happy healthy babies with straight teeth and active minds.
What these people wanted was knowledge, inspiration, and community. And Kyle and I realized we needed the same thing.
So we switched our focus from being micro farmers on 8 acres to being Homesteaders with a vibrant community.
After about the billionth ‘shortage crisis’ pertaining to food, a friend was talking to Kyle about setting things by in case distribution of necessities became a more serious issue. During his retelling of the story, Kyle mentioned that these friends had become hard core ‘preppers',’ which was funny seeing as how they had been some of the most flabergasted friends we had when we began homesteading.
“Well aren’t we kind of preppers too?” I asked.
“Absolutely not.” Kyle retorted with no hesitation.
“Well… we are storing food for times of lean, we are insulating ourselves against shortages.. we are putting things by just in case… isn’t that being a prepper?” I mused.
“NO.” he insisted.
A little later we were talking with some friends and fellow homesteaders who brought up the fact that some folks had asked if they were preppers, because they canned and freeze dried and fermented and did all the things. The husband was quite indignant that he was NOT a prepper, which made me smile because apparently this was an insult to both husbands whereas the wives (myself and the other woman) were trying to grapple with the terminology and were too busy to be insulted.
“Well what IS the difference?” the wife of the couple asked the air.
“I would contend that a farmer is producing food for the community and a profit. For example, Joel Salatin is a FARMER, not a Homesteader. A homesteader is producing food for themselves and maybe one or two close friends, but the food and preparation is rotating. Its for seasonal lack, not an unexpressed unknown or because of fear. And a prepper is not producing for anyone else, and it doesn’t rotate out. It stagnates in storage for the unexpressed ‘crisis.’ It taps into the same mentality as a hoarder.”
I stared at my husband in shock - such eloquent pontification on abstract concepts is not his usual, but it summed everything up for us beautifully.
So there you have it. Whoopsydaisy Farm’s definitions of Farmer, Homesteader, and Prepper. I hope it helps you as you navigate the current political climate and decide which bracket you or your friends are falling into.
