Hi, I’m Stacy, and welcome to VanBuskirk Acres.

My husband, Leonard, and I have been married since 1997. Together we raised three sons, and we also carry the memory of our firstborn son, whom we lost when he was only a week old. Through all the changes, challenges and adventures life has brought us, family has always been at the heart of everything we do.

Before VanBuskirk Acres, we lived in a ranch-style home on a half-acre in Tecumseh, Michigan. There wasn't a farm or acres of land—just our family and a dream of someday having a little more room and a simpler way of life.

That dream eventually brought us to Britton, Michigan, where we found our five-plus acres and VanBuskirk Acres began.

We started small as a hobby farm, learning as we went and adding animals along the way. What began as simply enjoying life with a few animals eventually grew into something much bigger. I became passionate about raising and breeding rare and critically listed heritage poultry, including breeds on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priority List.

For several years, preserving those breeds became a big part of what we did here. But as life changed, so did the farm. I eventually decided to downsize, step away from breeding on such a large scale and get back to the reason I wanted this life in the first place—to enjoy my animals, my land and the simple everyday moments of farm life.

Today, VanBuskirk Acres is still plenty busy. We raise four breeds of ducks, three breeds of geese, four breeds of chickens, Boer/Nubian-cross goats, and pigs with Juliana, Kunekune and Idaho Pasture Pig bloodlines.

I work the farm alongside our youngest son, caring for the animals, tending the gardens and creating many of the things you'll find in our shop. Leonard works off the farm as a concrete truck driver, but he's still very much a part of VanBuskirk Acres—and there's usually a project or two waiting for him when he gets home.

Over time, my gardens and herbs have become another big part of what I love about this life. I grow vegetables, flowers and herbs and enjoy turning some of what we grow into useful, handcrafted goods. Our shop has become a natural extension of the farm, with herbal teas, soaps, salves, balms, bath goods, handmade home goods and other creations inspired by the life we live here.

I'm not trying to turn VanBuskirk Acres into a big commercial farm. These days, I'm much happier getting back to my roots—raising animals because I enjoy them, growing what I can, making things with my own hands and sharing a little bit of it with others.

It's not picture-perfect farm life. There are muddy boots, weeds, escaped animals, unfinished projects, plans that change and plenty of days when absolutely nothing goes the way I thought it would.

But it's ours.

VanBuskirk Acres is our family, our home, our five-plus acres and nearly three decades of building a life together.

Welcome to our perfectly imperfect farm life. I'm glad you're here.

— Stacy VanBuskirk

VanBuskirk Acres • Britton, Michigan