There is no doubt that climate plays a major role in the plans of everyone on the homesteading path. In regions with harsh winters, homesteaders must contend with frozen soil and limited growing seasons, while in more arid climates, water scarcity and heat become critical concerns. The success of any homesteader is strongly tied to their ability to adapt and innovate in response to the unique climatic conditions of their location.

Today I welcome Dani Welton who, along wih her husband and 5 kids, homestead on the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. They seem to have maximized on their strengths and overcome the challenges of raising livestock in the hot, dry Sonoran Desert. Since 2015, they have tried a lot of things and currently have a focus on cattle, having both a small dairy and beef herd on their three and a half acres.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

How her family got their start on their homestead 9 years ago and all the things they’ve tried over the years.
What drove them to get started with homesteading and some of the early challenges they had to overcome
The division of labor on their property and the importance of having their kids involved in process of raising food
What resources she leaned on in the early days before there was an abundance of online options for learning
Her passion for dairy cows and how they rotationally graze their cattle
How they made things work with what they’ve had along the way and slowly improved systems over time
The different ways she uses milk and makes dairy products on her homestead
Dani shares a ‘happy accident’ that ended up being a family favorite cheese recipe
She shares the details of her Home Dairy Recipes E-Book

BUY DANI'S HOME DAIRY RECIPES E-BOOK:

https://msha.ke/daniwelton

CONNECT WITH DANI ON INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/dani.welton/

SHOP AT AZURE STANDARD:

https://www.plansandprovisions.com/azure

Plans and Provisions: Recent Episodes

Jason White

021 - It's time for an update of everything that's been going on around the homestead over the past month. Still learning some tough lessons in the garden, but bringing in baskets of produce as well.

018 - It's the first Friday of August and time for an update on what's going on around the hoemstead. It's gardening season and we're learning a bunch of tough lessons that will pay off in the future. A few successes with the livestock and some new problems we're dealing with as well.

016 - It's time for July's farm update and this update is mostly about our adventures in the garden. We're growing our first big garden and, so far, having success despite our lack of experience and the two main challenges that we're facing: weeds and pests.

014 - Summer is coming on strong here on the homestead and we've had some good things- and some bad things-happen here in the past month or so.

012 - There have been some exciting developments around the homestead since the last update and there's now way more work to do! We've also had a couple of scares with the livestock and I'll talk about that and how we addressed those concerns.

010 - In this episode, I share some of the books that I've read this year as well as one that was recently published by one of my podcast guests. I love to read and thought it would be fun to share with you a few books that I've enjoyed so far this year.

008 - In this solo show I take a few minutes to share some of the exciting developments that have taken place around the homestead. Spring has sprung and we have some new projects that are getting started as well as some new residents living in our barn.

006 - In this solo show I take a few minutes and talk about my family's experiences in homeschooling. I explain some of the reasons why we have chosen to homeschool and some of the great things that have come of that decision.