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“Why do we have to do it like everyone else?” This is the question that Jill Winger asked herself years ago that led to impulse-buying a neglected farmstead with her husband.
After years of learning “old-fashioned” skills required for homesteading, like raising chickens, preserving food, and maintaining a great sourdough starter, she is now a mentor and teacher for those who want to do the same.
Her website, The Prairie Homestead, is a vast resource for homesteaders at every level: from the urbanite with nothing more than windowsill space to long-time farmers looking for community.
In her new book (available for pre-order now), Old Fashioned on Purpose: Cultivating a Slower More Joyful Life, Jill shares lessons learned from choosing to turn from modern conveniences and adopt skills of self-sufficiency.
In this episode, Jill and I discuss:
- How Jill got started homesteading
- Turning passion into a business
- How Jill was impacted by Covid
- Jill’s favorite resources
- Making homesteading accessible to everyone
Rather watch this episode on YouTube? Check it out here: Episode 255: Jill Winger.
Resources:
Scott and Helen Nearing – The Good Life
The Art of Cheesemaking by David Asher
Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott
The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry
Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry
Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Cooked by Michael Pollan
What Your Food Ate by David Montgomery and Anne Biklé
Pre-order Jill’s book: Old Fashioned on Purpose out on Sept 26, 2023
Connect with Jill:
Website: The Prairie Homestead
Instagram: @jill.winger
Podcast: Old Fashioned on Purpose
Episode Credits:
Thank you to all who’ve made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers and James Connolly. Our producer is Emily Soape. And, of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Global Food Justice Alliance members, and listeners.
If you believe in making sure that people all over the world should have access to nutritious food, please join my mission through my non-profit, the Global Food Justice Alliance. All sustaining members get early access to ad-free podcasts plus free downloads, and you’ll be helping get healthy protein like meat, fish, and eggs to food-insecure kids. That’s sustainabledish.com/join.
This podcast was made possible by LMNT, my favorite electrolyte company. The all-natural sugar-free powder tastes great and gives you the perfect amount of sodium, potassium, and magnesium to keep you perfectly hydrated.
Check out my Salty Grapefruit Limeade made with their limited-time grapefruit flavor. Plus, you can get a free flavor sample pack with any purchase using my link: sustainabledish.com/LMNT
Transcript:
Diana Rodgers, RD
Welcome to the Sustainable Dish Podcast. I’m Diana Rodgers, a real food registered dietitian, author, and sustainability advocate. I co-host this podcast with James Connolly, who was a producer on my film Sacred Cow. I also founded the Global Food Justice Alliance, an initiative advocating for the inclusion of animal-source foods like meat, dairy, and eggs for a more nutritious, sustainable, and equitable worldwide food system. You can check it out and join me at global food justice.org. Thanks again for listening. And now, on to our show.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Welcome back to the podcast, everyone. I am really psyched to kind of get back to the roots of how I started in this movement with my guests today. So for those of you who’ve been following me for, you know, the span of my sort of professional online career, everything kind of started with just images from my farm and, you know, tips for homesteading, and I ended up writing a book about it. And then Liz Wolfe and I had a show for the longest time -Modern Farm Girls, where we featured so many homesteaders and experts as Shannon Hayes comes to mind – a bunch of other people. So we’re getting back to that. And I’m so psyched to have with me Jill from Prairie Homestead coming to us from southeast Wyoming. And I was recently on her show, and she’s coming on mine. So welcome, Jill.
Jill Winger
Yeah, thank you. I’m so excited to be here, Diana.
Diana Rodgers, RD
So for folks that aren’t familiar with your blog, give us, you know, the quick rundown, and then maybe a little more deeply into how you turn this into, like a profession for yourself.
Jill Winger
Yeah, so definitely an unorthodox beginning for me. I never intended to be a blogger when I grew up, like who did right? So I am one, I guess you could say one of the OG homestead bloggers kind of like you back in the day, I remember your blog when I was doing my thing, and at the height of the blogging era. And so it’s called the Prairie Homestead. I started it back in 2010. And it was really just an outlet for me, I had, we had just bought our homestead about two years prior, and I had a brand new baby, and I was 40 miles from town, and I didn’t have any friends. And so it was really just to keep myself from losing my ever-loving mind and having all the walls close in. So it started off just like an online diary, keeping track of my failures and my successes in the kitchen and in the garden. And then lo and behold, a couple years into it, and I make it sound really fast and easy. As you know, building anything is not fast and messy. But you know, fast forward to the good parts. A couple years into blogging, I realized that I really liked it. I really loved creating, especially in an online format. And I also realized that, you know, if I provided value to people, they were willing to compensate me for that. And it felt really good to be able to give, you know people what they needed to help solve their problems and became a little bit of a business and it’s grown into a whole lot more. But that’s the beginning story, I guess.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah. And so, did you grow up farming? Like how did this all come about?
Jill Winger
No, I actually didn’t I was raised very conventionally in a little neighborhood in the 90s. You know, we ate all the normal food. We didn’t do anything too crazy. I was homeschooled. So maybe that was the extent of my weirdness. But ever since I was a little girl… And I say weirdness with a fondness because I also homeschool my kids. So that’s a good, weird, it’s a good thing for me. Yes, just in case someone didn’t know. But I’ve always had this very strange draw towards rural living. Ever since I was like three years old, I was… all I wanted… I wanted to live in the country. I wanted to have horses. I wanted to do those sorts of things. And my parents were just like, we’re good. And so I had that in me, but I didn’t get to really start to lean into that into my… when I turned 18 I moved away and then as a young newlywed, we got to play with those ideas a little bit more. So it came later for me.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, so talk about like, how did it all start? Did you just start with like a vegetable garden or you know, some backyard chickens or did it explode all at once into all the things at the same time.
Jill Winger
So it came a little by little. We originally bought this property for a couple reasons. It was very rundown. It was far from town. Nobody else really was interested in it. But we like that because number one I had room for our horses. I had horses then and that was a big part of my life. It still is. And it was within our price range. And so it was kind of like well, we’re gonna get this fixer-upper like extreme fixer-upper. And here we go. And homesteading wasn’t in my vernacular at that point. It really wasn’t in anybody’s it was still very much at the beginning of the movement. And so I didn’t have grand aspirations of being like anyone I saw online or anything like that. But we bought this property, we signed on the dotted line, and I had a mortgage. You know, we’re young, we’re broke, we had a mortgage and I kept thinking, well, how can I, like, justify this purchase? You’re trying to rationalize those decisions that we made and so I thought, well, I’m going to try to take this land, that’s a resource I have now that I just bought. And I’m going to try to see how to make it as productive as possible. And maybe that’ll help me, you know, feel like I’m using it to kind of help pay for itself, if you will. And so it started off with a compost pile, then it came, then came the garden, and I was just dabbling. You know, I didn’t have any idea of it really becoming this organism of a homestead that it is today. And then I impulse-bought some chickens on a Friday night off of Craigslist. And then I started getting books from the library because YouTube didn’t really exist then. And so I realized that, you know, the chicken books also referenced dairy goats, so I could do some dairy goats and so that then the milk cow came next. And so it became this, like leapfrog of one thing led to the other, like I say, you know, the chickens or the gardens are just the gateway drug to the rest of it. But you know, within that, as I started sharing, I realized that there was a lot more to it a lot more meaning in it, other than just the vegetables in the milk and the eggs, I love those pieces. But I was really kind of growing as a person, it was like, almost like a personal development program and the whole process. So I really just fell head over heels for it.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah. And so, how were you able then to turn it into business?
Jill Winger
Yeah. So it really the blog was really the driving force behind that, you know, we still don’t really sell our people, I would say, How much do you sell to the public in terms of food? Do you sell eggs and meat? And well, I guess we do sell meat now. But that’s kind of a different arm of our business, we sell grass-finished beef, but we don’t sell our raw milk really, or eggs or vegetables, we could I just find that it’s just another thing we don’t we don’t have time to focus on. But rather than focus on selling the food, we just would grow the food for ourselves. And then just sharing it online was kind of the beginning of that. And so a lot of people are like, Well, okay, cool. How do you actually make money sharing content. And I know, there’s lots of ways to do that. I think it’s a little more obvious these days, because YouTube creators are such a common thing, or Instagram influencers and all of that. But in essence, it’s for me, just at the very bare bones of it all. It’s figuring out what problems my audience has, and helping them come up with solutions. And so over the years that’s looked like writing a cookbook, it’s looks like creating courses around canning, or heritage cooking. You know, sometimes I get comments from people, they’re like, I don’t know why you’re so excited about these homestead skills, like that’s been around forever. And I’m like, yeah, it has been around forever. But a lot of people have lost, lost that knowledge. And so people need to know how to make a sourdough starter, people are dying to know how to make a pie crust that turns out, or how to ferment sauerkraut. And so helping people learn those skills, and have solutions to those problems has been ultimately how I’ve monetized over the years through courses and coaching and products and ebooks and all of that.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, I mean, I was happily surprised to learn about the Mexican grandma on YouTube and how successful she is. And you know, a lot of the content as I’m scrolling through social media, you know, are people filming their grandmother making cheese? And you know, not even wanting to explain it? Because everyone should just know, right? Yes. And so they’re like, no, no, actually, please tell me how to do this. And so it is something that’s really come back. And let’s talk a little bit about also how COVID has really helped accelerate that.
Jill Winger
Yeah, so never in my wildest dreams that I think that what none of us saw COVID coming really, but never did. I think that would kickstart or jumpstart the homestead movement, honestly, you know, as a homestead content creator, when I when COVID started to just kind of come on the scene, I looked at my husband and I said I don’t I don’t think they’ll have a business in a year. Because I don’t think anyone’s going to care about canning tomatoes and making bread, like they’re going to be worried about other things. And so I was honestly kind of concerned, like, nobody’s gonna care about the courses or the videos or anything, like silly me, because obviously, as we know, the exact opposite happens. And the rise in interest around these things is fascinating to me. And I’ve thought about it a lot. I’ve analyzed it a lot. And ultimately what I think it comes down to, if you look through history, at least recent history, every time there is a crisis, people go back to the land, they go back to their roots. And I think it’s something very deeply ingrained in us as humans, that when we feel unmoored, when we feel shaky, we go back to the soil and we go back to nature. I’m sure you’re familiar with Scott and Helen Nearing. They’re kind of there are some old timers, they are okay. Yeah, I don’t know. Okay, you’ve probably come across them. But they’re, they’re long paths, but they were some of the pioneers of that 1970s back to the land movement, and I was reading their book. It’s called The Good Life. And the beginning, they say something along the lines of, well, you know, we had to get out of the city. And we were feeling like everything was moving too fast. And it was just feeling artificial and nothing felt like it was you know, natural and where it was meant to be. And you keep reading you realize they’re talking about the 1920s during the Great Depression when they were feeling that urge, not in the 70s because they you know, they were in their golden years in the 70s. And so when I read that I’m like, oh my goodness, people were feeling it even back in the 20s, which I kind of think of like the olden days, right, the good old days, but they were feeling that shakiness of modernity, then we felt it again in the 1970s. We’re filling in again now during the COVID years. And so I think it’s what humans do. I think it’s how we reach for that, meaning. It’s how we reach for that purpose. And I think it’s ultimately a really good thing.
Diana Rodgers, RD
It’s interesting that it’s the same time difference from the 20s to the 70s to now.
Jill Winger
That is fascinating.
Diana Rodgers, RD
That is fascinating. Yeah, so. So what were some of your most popular requests, especially during COVID?
Jill Winger
Yeah. So bread like that. And it’s so funny, because, you know, going into COVID, everyone was gluten-free, or a lot of people were gluten-free. And then all of a sudden, everyone’s you know, flour is out of stock, because everyone’s making bread, I think is bread is such a comfort food. I also think the tactile nature of bread. There’s something that’s very comforting. If we look at what happens in our brain, when we use our hands to create, it’s more than just the bread that we get to eat. There’s something that’s really reassuring about that.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Maybe also because it takes a long time and people just had a lot of time in their hands around the house.
Jill Winger
Yeah for sure. Yeah. So you know, sourdough… I think most people see sourdough is like, oh my gosh, this is lifetime commitment. When, during COVID everyone was like, Well, what else do I have to do is just sit here and watch the sourdough starter. So it works out well worked out well. But yeah, I did a I did a very simple bread recipe. I put it up on YouTube. It was called like all purpose bread dough. I do a lot of sourdough. But for this one, I was like, people are just trying to get their feet wet. So I just did it with regular yeast. And that silly video went viral. It’s one of the most viral pieces of content I’ve ever had any just like the most basic bread dough, you can find that in any Betty Crocker, or you know, cookbook in existence, but I just showed them how to do it. I talked them through it and people went nuts over it. Anything I would do around gardening, I remember I had a seed company I was working with, and I actually had to stop promoting the seeds, because they completely sold out. You know, you couldn’t get chicks locally. Anything around chickens was going crazy people were all getting in the backyard chicken coops. And so I think a lot of it what people were getting most excited about was related to that feeling of security and sufficiency. So they didn’t have to feel like they were so dependent on the outside world, which felt pretty scary and, and foreign at the time. So I think people are just, you know, kind of building that little cocoon of safety around themselves. Whether that’s real or it’s imagined. I feel like the end result is kind of the same.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, well, I know that I learned best by watching someone do something instead of reading about it. So I mean, I have the joy of cooking cookbook, which is one of my absolute favorites, and actually just pulled it out last night because my daughter wanted to cook something, and I’m like, just look through this for like inspiration. She’s like, No, those are old-fashioned recipes. I’m like…
Jill Winger
I know, because they work and they’re so good!
Diana Rodgers, RD
And it’s always surprising to me how many people don’t own that cookbook. And so it’s like what I give when, like, you know, people are getting married or you know, just young people that are showing more of an interest in the kitchen that is like a Cooking Bible. But what are some of the other places other than, you know, general YouTube, but what are some other sources of good information that you found?
Jill Winger
Yeah, and shockingly, I don’t… I have created on YouTube. I watch an occasional YouTube video I actually don’t consume much on YouTube I for some reason I know everyone else loves video, I’m more of a reader. And so books are my thing. I love books, I’m obsessed with books. I hoard books. And so I think yeah, my favorite type of resource is to get into really targeted… So like right now I’m in another cheese-making phase because our cow freshened and so it to me, it’s less about the like the all purpose homesteading books and more about the ones that are like The Art of Cheese Making by David Asher or Ricky Carol’s home cheese making. I can’t remember the title. But I like to get really targeted like this. Just a couple hours ago, I made a pie. I mean, I have lots of all purpose cookbooks. But I love one called The Art of the Pie because she gets into the deep dive of all the different types of crafts and all the different types of fillings and just those inner workings of each food art, whether it’s charcuterie or it’s cheese, or it’s bread. And so I think those are some of my very favorite resources. And I just I love cooking with a book. I do use recipes off the internet plenty as well. And I, you know, ironically, I create recipes and put them on the internet, but I still love a book at the end of the day.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah. Interesting. And so talk about what your typical day looks like as a homesteader slash creator. And a mom and so many other things too.
Jill Winger
Yeah. And a mom and all the things. So it really kind of it varies quite a bit. So we do have so many irons in the fire. I say my ideal day, the day the days I love the most is where I get to play a little bit all of the worlds that I’m creating in so, you know, get up we’ll do some chores. We’ll be outside. I’ll go water the garden, check the garden if it’s summertime. Then I’ll come in and work on the computer for an hour or two maybe it’s answering emails, maybe it’s recording podcasts like we’re doing today. Maybe it’s working on an email that’s going out then I’ll go back outside for a little bit work back in the garden because gardens are kind of never-ending or clean the chicken coop or go ride my horse come in for lunch, couple more hours on the computer and then I like to kind of end up… end out the day with more homestead activities so doesn’t always end up perfectly balanced like that. But that’s I think what keeps me freshest I find that I need both of the worlds I love the mental stimulation that comes from creating and being on the computer. I actually really enjoy working on the computer sometimes, but too much that I get sour I’m sure you know you know the feeling I’m tired of the desk. I’m tired of sitting here my brains mush I need to be out and using my hands and I think a lot of folks maybe even if they’re not full-fledged homesteader could maybe take a little piece of that even if you know their office workers are working in an office building. I think mixing nature mixing physical activity with the knowledge work is really powerful. I know one for me, one feeds the other I get ideas when I’m outside weeding the garden and then when I’m getting tired of the computer going outside refreshes me so they play really well together.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, and I think there’s something you know, people obviously love to follow. homesteading and aspire to it just follow along. But I don’t think that they fully appreciate how easily it is to dip your toe into that world if you’re, you know, like most people not you know living like that. So whether it’s container gardening or volunteering on a farm or a handful of backyard you know, there’s so many different little ways that you can get involved even just making sauerkraut from cabbage you bought at the grocery store, you know.
Jill Winger
Yes, absolutely. I think maybe that’s one of the blessings and the curses of the internet because now we have the whole niche of homesteading influencers which is so funny that’s even a thing now because who would have thought and they have beautiful profiles and you know they’re outside and it’s there a lot of them are wearing you know beautiful dresses and their kitchens are gorgeous and they have the milk because they have like the whole homestead package and I think sometimes like it was great to watch that for inspiration but sometimes I think people think well that’s the homesteading compartment and unless like you said, unless I have the ability to get the whole package, then I’m out like I can’t do it.
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Diana Rodgers, RD
So, let’s talk about how easy it can be I know a lot of people there’s a lot of people that I think maybe it feels inaccessible and you know there’s certainly a lot of perfect-looking homesteaders out there with like the you know, perfect minimalist slash I don’t even know what the aesthetic is there a word for the homesteading aesthetic.
Jill Winger
I’ve heard… I’ve heard it well. Cottage core is kind of in that realm. Have you heard the word cottage core?
Diana Rodgers, RD
Cottage core?
Jill Winger
Cottage core, it’s like, cottage but hardcore. It’s like, oh, like this mix? It’s and it’s a very distinct like, but it’s very aesthetic. It’s beautiful. It’s extravagantly aesthetic and homesteading. There’s a number of homesteading accounts that kind of dip into that world.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, yeah, it’s like I there’s definitely I can imagine, it’s almost like, I’m so rich that I am poor at the same time kind of look. Yeah, like, and I have all the time in the world to make everything look perfect. And but life is not like that. And, you know, so us, OG people, it can show it in a much more real way. But I think there’s an intimidation that some people have. And they don’t realize that, you know, even if you are living in an office, you know, working a normal job, there are little ways you can break into it. Whether it’s making coleslaw out of cabbage from the grocery store, or volunteering at a farm or having containers. There’s little things. So what are some of your like tips for people that, you know, can’t full on homestead full time but want to dip their feet and other than obviously, making bread is a really easy one. That’s probably why that was such a popular video for you.
Jill Winger
Yes. So I always recommend people start with food, you know, but obviously bread is food, but just consider where you can mix up your food buying choices. Now you guys talk about this so much on the podcast where we’re eating three times a day, you have choices to make three times a day, whatever those may be, and you can affect a lot of change in your family and in your health and in your pocketbook, just by those simple choices. And so you know, of course bread is one. Sometimes it’s just a matter of where are you buying your ingredients, like homesteaders, we’re all about usually growing them or, but also we can source them locally. Can you connect with a local farmer or rancher? Can you get to know people at your farmers market? I’m finding and not all areas are the same, but there’s like local food cultures that are really starting to grow and build in many areas that didn’t have them previously. And sometimes it just takes a little time to kind of figure out who’s who and where to go and where to get the things. And so that can be a very homesteader-ish activity that doesn’t require land or a cow or you know, a tractor. And you can start doing that. The other big thing I think everyone should do, and I’m going to be so bold to make that blanket statement. I think everyone needs to grow something somehow, even if it’s a pot of basil in your window, even if you live in an apartment, there’s something so crucial for us as humans to be connected with the soil in some way. And even if it’s as simple as a plant in a pot, I believe that it’s really healthy for us, mentally and physically. To have that connection does a lot for us and those other areas. So grow something put, maybe instead of your front yard, you put in some raised garden beds, if you live in town, you mix edibles, like edible food plants into your landscape, just say edibles and I was like wait, I need qualify that. Plants that you can eat on your plate.
Diana Rodgers, RD
There are no edible trees. Like if there are edible plants.
Jill Winger
Yeah. Like I don’t know? Artichokes? Perennials? Yeah. Anyway, but that…
Diana Rodgers, RD
You know, one thing I’ve seen, a lot of people get really fired up about that I just get such a, like, sad feeling when I see are these like little pods, you know, with fluorescent light that you know, you can just pop in your plant, you know? Or the self watering plant containers that I get ads for on Facebook where that’s really just going to kill your plant. And yeah, what a great model because then of course, they have to come back and they think it’s their fault for killing the plant. Really, like plants do not want wet feet, wet roots, you know, the whole time. But there is nothing organic or homesteader-ish at all about these, like basically K cup or dispensaries that people. And yeah, we are using another term drug reference. But you know what I’m talking about these… I don’t even know what they call them. But they’re not… They’re not… They’re just chemical. You might as… I would rather you just go buy them from an actual farmer than think that you’re doing anything sustainable or healthy by supporting these companies.
Jill Winger
You’re growing… I know. And that’s a really good point. Because there is because homesteading is growing. There’s a lot of companies trying to capitalize on that. And you know, I’m not always against that. Sometimes they’re solving problems. But what I see is a lot of gimmicks, right? That’s a gimmick. It’s hilarious because nature can be so simple. And they’re taking a natural process and making it complicated, so they can sell you a solution. Another one and I haven’t used this, so maybe I’m just unnecessarily judging it. But there’s like really expensive composting machines that you buy. And they’re like, you can compost this fast and do this and that. And I’m like, Guys, composting has been happening since the beginning of time, you don’t have to buy a machine.
Diana Rodgers, RD
So I take pottery classes at my local art center. And one of the ladies in my class told me that she just bought one and it was like four or $500 Yeah, and it’s this tiny little thing that sits on our counter. And she’s so excited because it turns it into dirt. And I’m like, you know, you can just go outside. And yeah, do that yourself.
Jill Winger
And you don’t have to use electricity.
Diana Rodgers, RD
And also, I was curious I said you don’t have to add leaves are any other kind of like dry matter to it? Because I don’t understand how it’s turning kitchen scraps directly in you know, just… she’s goes no, no just turns it right into soil by cooking it and I’m like, oh, there’s something wrong with how you just described that. And the price of this thing and the promise that it’s making it just doesn’t sound right to me.
Jill Winger
Yeah, no, I’m right with you. I’m like, Yeah, I think I even went to the website at one point and I’m like, how the heck does this thing work? And like I got to figure it out. I couldn’t figure it out from the website because like, where’s the carbon? Where’s the nitrogen? Where’s the thing it’s more missing piece here. But yeah, you don’t need the fancy… I think I saw well there’s and this is a little more this I could see how it could work for some people. Like even like yogurt makers. There’s always an appliance for all the things that I think I saw like kombucha maker. I’m like all you need to make kombucha is like a crock jar and all you need to make yogurt. It’s a jar really technically. And so no, I’m not saying all of those appliances are bad, but be really careful. Especially if you’re feeling drawn towards homesteading. Just know you probably don’t have to spend as much money as the ads on Facebook are telling you you need to spend.
Diana Rodgers, RD
I know I mean it’s like buying a banana peeler.
Jill Winger
A banana peeler. I know. I know. Yes. Things I’m like, Oh my gosh, it must be must be working because they’re selling it I guess.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, yeah. So um, yeah, I mean, certainly some of the chicken coop stuff that’s out there makes it easier to have backyard chickens. Like I’ve seen some really innovative stuff in the chicken coop world. I guess there must be whole homestead festivals and fairs now at this point.
Jill Winger
Yes, actually just got back from one in Tennessee. There was like 5000 people there. It was unreal. And then there’s the other another big one in Virginia. So yeah, just to see that massive people celebrating this movement is it all it’s almost just mind boggling to think of where it was, you know, 10 years ago versus now?
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, that’s really fascinating. What do you think is the future? What’s coming up for you? And then also, what do you… where do you see this movement going?
Jill Winger
Yeah, so what’s coming up for me, it’s funny. As a younger entrepreneur, I always would have like, I’m gonna hit this benchmark here and this benchmark here, and bam, bam, bam. And I still have goals. I’m a big believer in setting goals and targets. But I’m a little bit more like organic with things, I feel very called to continue to share this lifestyle with others. And not maybe I mean, not just the tangible skills, but also the deeper benefits that come with it. Like I feel very, very drawn to that I feel like that’s what I’m supposed to do right now. I don’t know where that will… where it will take me I have some fun things on the horizon, I have a book coming out that it’s along those lines, you know, I always have some different opportunities in the works, but I’m very open. And I feel like that will, it will be what it needs to be. As far as the movement itself, I really, really hope that it’s not just a flash in the pan, that was a reaction to the pandemic. And I don’t think it is, I mean that the cynical side of me worries about that. But I really do think there’s some lasting value here, when I see how many people are being drawn into this and how strongly they feel about it. But what I would love to see is that this movement continues to grow. And it’s not that everyone needs to move to 60 acres and get a cow. But I hope they start to just see how they can move through their own lives with intention, where are they are now living in town living in the suburbs living in the cities, how can they be more mindful of what they’re eating, and how they’re connecting to the world around them, and how we’re treating the environment and the, you know, the choices we’re making with our dollars. And I think if we can get more people just to be aware, there’s just a sense of awareness that can be missing in our modern culture. And if we can just increase that awareness, I think a lot of really important changes could happen in our culture. And so I’m just championing that at the moment and hoping just to help people become more mindful of those choices.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah so for the folks that are listening, that that don’t know already about your feed, or my homesteading book that I wrote a while back. Yes. And you know, and I’ve really moved away from that and gotten more sort of, like, I’m going to just change how, you know, the food system and all that. But what are some of your favorite resources that you can just list off that people can learn from?
Jill Winger
Yeah, so again, I’m a big book person. So Wendell Berry, I just adore Wendell Berry, if you need a dose of inspiration, and this just getting your mindset kind of questioning the paradigm you’re in now. The Unsettling of America.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, let me go ahead and stop you on that one, too. So yeah, you… I didn’t mean to interrupt but you that Unsettling of America – that is the book that my ex husband read that just made him decide to become a farmer. And there’s a great documentary film that’s about him called Look and See. And actually, Nick Offerman who narrated my documentary, was the producer of that and the whole reason I reached out to him in the beginning is because he’s such a fan of Wendell Berry, and he has now done the recordings. So you can get audiobooks read by Nick Offerman.
Jill Winger
How did I not know this? Oh my gosh. mind is blown.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Nick is a huge, huge, like legitimate supporter of sustainable agriculture and love, like totally in love with Wendell Berry. And he’s not so much a how-to person he’s more of a worldview. Yes, like agronomy, essayist, agronomist writer. Yes.
Jill Winger
Yes. Anyway, so Look and See is a documentary about Wendell Berry.
Diana Rodgers, RD
And interestingly, yes, he was not in the documentary. And you wouldn’t even pick up on that necessarily, but he didn’t want to be in it. He didn’t want to be featured in it. Because he doesn’t like things necessarily about him. So they feature interviews with people who know him and there’s a lot of woodcut engravings. It’s a beautifully done documentary. It really moving like like will bring you to tears.
Jill Winger
I’m sure. Okay, awesome. I am. This life is changing, Diana. Oh, my gosh.
Diana Rodgers, RD
And the opening scene is just what you described when you mentioned that couple talking about the 20s Yeah. And in life being too busy, like the opening scene I will never forget and it’s probably… probably been four or five years since I’ve seen that documentary. But that’s opening scene.
Jill Winger
Okay, I’m putting this on my list. We’ll be watching it this weekend.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, we’ll have a link to it in the show notes too. And I think in order to watch it, you actually have to go to the film’s website. I don’t know that it’s available, like on any of the streaming services, okay. Yep, that’s easy.
Jill Winger
Yeah, we can do that. All right. Yeah. Awesome. Yes. So Wendell Berry and I guess Yeah, to anyone listening I’m kind of in the state of homesteading, where I’m less how-to and more like bigger picture philosophy. So that’s kind of where my mind is at. So that’s some of these resources are kind of along those lines. Um, I also love Michael Pollan. He’s not a homesteader per se. But I think the way he speaks about food is really inspiring. And, you know, Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Food Inc, were kind of two of those really big pieces of the whole food movement. So I think everyone should start with those if they haven’t watched or read them. I also love Cooked if you want to just kind of fall in love with cooking and the processes, you know, so often, because I cook a lot I love being in the kitchen, people are always like, why are you doing that just go buy it, go, go get it go out to eat. I’m like, that’s fine. But you’re missing other pieces. It’s not just about the food and putting on a table. Like there’s a whole process and a beauty and a tradition and a science and art that goes into it. So Cooked by Michael Pollan is a really beautiful portrayal of that. And then I just finished the spring it’s called What Your Food Ate by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle and I had them on. Anne Bikle – I think I’ve always pronounce her name wrong. Bikle – I think is the right way. I had them on the podcast. And it’s a deep dive into soil, and just the effects of our modern practices and what they’re doing to the soil, and then subsequently our food. And it was inspiring, and it was nerdy. And I just really enjoyed that one. So I think people would get a kick out of it as well, what your food ate.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Yeah, that’s awesome. I actually met them in Boston at a coffee shop, probably like three or four years ago. They’re really awesome.
Jill Winger
They are so fun. Yeah, they were a blast on the podcast.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time. Can you tell us the name of your book? And when it comes out?
Jill Winger
I can. It’s called Old Fashioned on Purpose. It comes out September 26, of 2023. And really, it’s kind of a distillation of what we talked about today. It’s a how-to it’s more of a big picture, like how can we take these old fashion principles and distill them down and bring them into our modern world and what that looks like and the ramifications if we don’t. So it’s kind of what it focuses on.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Awesome. All right. Well, thank you so much for your time. It’s really great having you on everyone needs to go follow you on Instagram. Should they look up Prairie Homestead, or your name?
Jill Winger
Yeah. My name Jill dot winger and that will pull me up.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Okay, awesome. We’ll put all those notes in the show notes. And thanks again, everyone can preorder your book now? I’m assuming on Amazon. So go ahead and get that down. And go watch Look and See.
Jill Winger
Yes, yes. Thank you so much, Diana. This was a pleasure.
Diana Rodgers, RD
Thanks so much for listening today and for following my work. If you believe in making sure that people all over the world should have access to nutritious food, please join my mission through my non-profit, the Global Food Justice Alliance. Visit sustainabledish.com/join and become a sustaining member today. All sustaining members get early access to ad-free podcasts plus free downloads, and you’ll be helping get healthy protein like meat, fish, and eggs to food-insecure kids. That’s sustainabledish.com/join. And thank you.
