The faces behind the farm...
Stephanie and Austin Meyers
We grew up with gardening being a significant part of our lives. Each of our families grew gardens and preserved the food picked throughout the season for use during the winter. This art had been passed down for generations and is continuing as we raise our children.
After we got married, we decided that we wanted to garden and raise food for our family. The second year of our marriage, Austin decided he wanted to start all of our own plants from seeds. He wanted to do it so he could see life during the later months of winter. Stephanie went along with the idea and we started growing seeds. That first year was not a complete disaster but close to it! We planted 12 inch long pencil seedlings into the ground as soon as we could. They were wiry and fragile. Somehow they survived! The funny part is that we didn't get any tomatoes and peppers until the last week in August or first week in September. I was headed back to teaching full time as my college degree is in music education and music therapy. We managed to can our produce that year but took a few years off from starting seeds. During those years off, we moved to this acreage we could call our own and built a small, makeshift greenhouse. We wanted to try to grow seedlings again, so we did!
During those next few years, we would start seeds and always have extras (who starts only the number you want to plant?). With our extra plants, we offered them to friends and family. One dear friend asked us one time when she came to pick up plants how much she owed us. We were just giving away the plants at the time. She said that we shouldn't and should seriously consider selling them. Time went on and we were blessed with the opportunity to purchase a used greenhouse that had been torn down. We jumped on that idea and began to build it on our property, slowly and surely.
Fast forward about 5 years, and we have built Sonshine Farms. We currently have 1 greenhouse (with dreams of more as we are running out of room), several garden plots, rented land, and an amazing customer base that we serve during each season.
We have also added a lot of diversity over the years. We currently have 2 flocks of laying hens for farm fresh eggs and raise 2 groups of broiler chickens for meat each year. We also raise 1 group of turkeys that are ready each year the end of October or beginning of November. In the last year, we have added honey bees. We currently have 5 hives that provide us with honey and other products.
While we own and operate Sonshine Farms, we also homeschool our 4 amazing blessings from God with our oldest graduating this year, volunteer with a couple of different organizations, and spend time with friends and family. Austin still works outside of the home at a local school district.
left to right: Hallie, Janae, Samuel, Nathaniel
Our biggest helpers on the farm are our four children. They are the best assistants and learn so much every day. This desire for learning helps to improve the efficiency of our farm each year. They are our chief pot fillers, tag writers, transplanters, flat movers, and customer service associates during our greenhouse season. They know which plants work best for the sun and which ones for the shade. If you can't make a decision on a plant, they will hep you choose. They have become master planters, weeders, harvesters, packagers, and sales people during our produce season. They won't be shy about telling you which jobs they like better than others or which veggies they absolutely won't eat! They are very efficient at setting up and tearing down during farmers market season and love to assist and encourage our customers. Our girls are quite the entrepreneurs, having started a baking business (Bakery Girls) to raise money for a mission trip 2 years ago. Our boys have dreams of starting a business and are currently working at perfecting their skills. When they aren't on the farm working, they enjoy hiking/exploring, playing kick ball or softball, visiting family, traveling, running around with friends, and enjoying fellowship with the church we attend.
Rocky
Rocky is the newest addition to our farm. He joined our family in August 2020 coming from a farm near Indianola. Rocky was 1 of 13 siblings born on Christmas Eve of 2019. We were told he is a blue heeler and Australian shepherd mix, but our veterinarian says he most likely has some lab in him due to his size and the shape of his head.
Rocky is 100% puppy! He is full of energy and spends a lot of time learning the ways of our farm. He loves people and attention along with chasing rabbits. He wants to play with our cats, but they are not quite so sure of him, yet. I'm sure they will be best friends before too long!
You won't miss him when you visit as we are sure he will come to greet you!