If there was ever a time to welcome and rejoice in new life on the farm, 2020 would be the year. The Kesling family – Cody and Kelly and children Kennedy, Kacey, and Kaiser – are embracing all of the highs and lows that are emerging this spring on their “five acres of paradise.” Their farm, appropriately named K-Farm, is located just south of the I-80 Kellogg exit. This spring, they have welcomed a variety of new life into the menagerie of farm animals that not only fill up the days of the family’s homesteading lifestyle, but their hearts as well.
Cody and Kelly moved to K-Farm three years ago without an ounce of farming experience under their belts. By day, Cody works full-time as a plumber in West Des Moines. Kelly owns Kesling Photography, waitresses a few nights a week at Montana Mike’s in Newton, as well as is a stay-at-home mom and homeschools their children. The family’s enthusiasm to learn and live a homesteading lifestyle more than makes up for their initial lack of experience.
“This is all new to us, and we are learning as we go with some great success and many failures as well. We are definitely having the time of our lives and have never looked back. We are so thankful to have these experiences and love that we can provide this for our children,” said Kelly.
The love for the lifestyle has allowed for K-Farm’s livestock count to grow to include 13 American Guinea hogs – a heritage breed of pigs great for small homesteads due to their great foraging skills and superb meat, three turkeys, five ducks, 16 chickens, and six dairy goats in addition to their pets which include three dogs, two cats, two lizards, two birds, and three fish. Of those animals, nine piglets as well as four goats were birthed this spring. K-Farm’s two newest goats were surprise arrivals on Apr. 17.
“By far, babies are our family’s favorite time of the year! The anticipation, birth, and little babies are SO FUN!!” said Kelly.
It’s a whole family affair to care for all of the animals, notes Kelly. “During the week when Kennedy is in school, Kacey and I do all morning chores, which include gathering water for everyone and providing food during the late fall, winter, and early spring. Kaiser helps by collecting the eggs. Cody and Kennedy do the daily chores on the weekends. When there are bigger chores to do, like cleaning out the barn in the spring or building and repairing fence, everyone helps.”
All of the love and care the Kesling family showers on their animals is given back tenfold. “We are in love with our little farm and all the many lives and personalities we interact with every day,” said Kelly.
The animals are not only great companions, but provide richly for the Kesling family. “Our goal on our little farm is to provide as much as we can for ourselves and eventually be able to produce enough extra for selling. We dream of having a little farm store on the property where we can provide wonderful farm fresh produce, meat, eggs, dairy, soap, etc.,” said Kelly.
Get to Know the K-Farm gang
The family’s free-range chickens provide many eggs, as do the ducks who generally lay an egg each day. An occasional turkey egg has also been found. Princess, a part of K-Farm’s original turkey flock, hatched three babies last year on her own. Only one of the three babies made it and now joins her mother and father who freely wander around the yard with K-Farm’s chickens and ducks.
Martha May, the family’s sow, birthed K-Farm’s first litter of piglets this spring. Kelly said the family plans to keep half the litter and sell the other half, and then feed out the piglets they keep. Martha May, an American Guinea hog, will likely birth a litter every year. Martha May’s boyfriend, Cletus – who is half American Guinea hog and half Tamworth – lives with Donkey in the pasture (more on Donkey later). Martha May’s two brothers, who are very friendly and spend their days crunching on walnuts, will be butchered this fall, which will fill the family’s freezer with great pork. “They take almost two years to feed out as they are a smaller breed and forage for most of their food,” said Kelly.
Back to Donkey, he is K-Farm’s handsome, one-horned goat that “has a wonderful disposition and often is allowed to roam the yard freely until he eats too many of the hostas,” said Kelly. Donkey’s Nigerian Dwarf girlfriend is named Turtle. Kelly said Turtle produces less milk than the larger goats. But her milk is richer in fat which works well for making butter, cheese, and soap. Turtle is the mother of two goats born this spring, a boy and a girl.
K-Farm’s larger goats are named Millie and Winnie. Millie, a Nubian goat, is the matriarch of the barn and likely the one to cause the most trouble. “She enjoys harassing the children, eating everyone's food, and playing with our Australian Shepherd, Havoc.” Winnie, the second larger goat, is a sweet Saanen who gave the Keslings the surprise birth of two new goats last week. Once weaned, the offspring goats will be sold. The Keslings will milk the goats until fall, when they will likely get pregnant again. The Keslings use the dairy to make cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, and soap.
Plans for sharing the Homestead experience
The Keslings have definitely found their niche and dream of opening their special farm in the future to others wanting to experience the homesteading lifestyle. One day, they hope to use the little cabin on their farm as a weekend getaway for people looking to experience firsthand the “joys of producing these products and the wonders of this amazing lifestyle,” said Kelly.
In addition to learning about the family’s animals, future visitors will also marvel at and learn about K-Farm’s large garden and fruit-bearing trees and bushes that provide an abundance of fruit and vegetables. “We practice an exciting new style of farming called permaculture and would love to share our knowledge of this practice with others as well.”
Just as the seasons evolve, so will the Kesling family and their continued love of the land and lifestyle they cherish at K-Farm.
