Hands-On Farming
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
What comes to mind when you think, "go work on a farm"?
​
In 1982 His Thousand Hills was established as a Christian Camp and Retreat Center. But before that it was a horse and cattle farm. Now about 40 years later, we are tapping into the property's roots. Our desire is to restore unused overgrown areas back into healthy grazing pasture for our animals. In turn we believe the farm will enhance the vision of His Thousand Hills to provide a relaxing place full of life and beauty for people to come and enjoy God's creation. That's why we’ve set out to establish a farm that demonstrates natural agricultural methods such as rotational grazing. It’s a place where we can effectively train you in how to grow your own food. Some of you may take what you learn here and develop a commercial agricultural enterprise. Others will go home and plant a small garden or start your own homestead. Whatever you do next, we believe the more you understand how plants and animals grow and thrive, the more amazed you’ll be at God’s good design.
​
“And Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.’”
– Mark 4:26
Why do we believe that all students will benefit from the “hands-on farming” aspect of this discipleship experience?
-
Because God describes himself as a Farmer who plants, prunes, grows, and harvests, and we want to grow to know him more.
-
Because we believe that working the land reconnects us with creation, giving us lots of insights into the One who made it, insights that are often missed as we grow up in an increasingly digital, humanly-manufactured world.
-
Because there’s nothing like doing the daily chores of a farm to instill the kind of work ethic that’s so important for the rest of life.
-
Because learning how to grow our own food is a valuable skill that keeps on giving throughout life.
​
What exactly will our farm be demonstrating?
We set out to demonstrate a typical homesteading model. This involves growing our own vegetables and fruit and raising and processing our own animals as much as possible. If we can't grow, raise or harvest something ourselves, we will benefit from visiting and helping other more mature farms and fields such as local orchards and maple syrup operations.
​
-
Goat milking
-
Cheese making
-
Collecting eggs
-
Harvesting vegetables and fruit
-
Canning
-
Soap and lotion making
-
Orchard pruning
-
Shepherding sheep and goats
-
Raising and processing pastured chickens
-
Raising and processing pigs
-
Rotational grazing
So whether coming to us as a seasoned farmhand or someone whose never heard a chicken cluck, we want each of you to become fascinated by the life cycle of planting, tending, and harvesting. We want you to see God's glory in nature, and learn to steward it well so you can enrich whatever community you are a part of next.