2022 speaker bios and topics

Dr. Leo Sharashkin is founder of HorizontalHive.com and editor of Keeping Bees With a Smile, a comprehensive resource on keeping bees naturally in horizontal hives. He contributes to American Bee Journal, Bee Culture, The Beekeepers Quarterly (UK), and many other publications, and speaks internationally on sustainable beekeeping, organic growing, and Earth-friendly living. He holds a PhD in Forestry from the University of Missouri and a Master’s in Natural Resources from Indiana University. Author of world-renowned research in sustainable agriculture, he lives with his wife and four children on a forest homestead in the Ozarks in southern Missouri where they raise bees in a variety of low-maintenance, easy-to-build horizontal hives.

He will be presenting at two sessions on Natural Beekeeping at the Expo, one on Friday and one on Saturday. 

www.horizontalhives.com

White House on the Hill is made up of Jake, Becky, Eli (9), Uriah (7), Isaiah (3), and Isabella (1) along with about 75 chickens, ducks, turkeys, pheasants, peafowl, milk cows, rabbits, emus, cats, a dog and a lot of bees. They started their family in the city and wanted to start over and move to the country.  About 3 years ago, they moved from a small rental property on a farm to their own 40 acre farm in NW Missouri where they work to grow their own food in the garden as well as producing eggs, milk and meat (from chickens and turkeys). They are also into exotic birds (Mandarin Ducks, Red Golden Pheasants, Peafowl and Emus) which have inspired them to build one of the largest privately owned aviaries in the world.  Through homeschooling their children and sharing their lives through YouTube, they are inspiring the next generation to live a simpler and more fulfilling life by raising animals and growing their food in backyards and on small farms.  

 Jake and Becky will be discussing how they got to where they are - from a small suburban house in Kansas City to a large farm in the country - raising animals and growing their own food, which all started by getting a few chickens. They'll be talking about poultry - why they're so passionate about it, egg colors, breeds, hatching eggs, and specific questions that people have for them at the event.

SATURDAY - 12:30 PM. 

Brandon Sheard, Farmstead Meatsmith proudly claims methods seeped in tradition.  But what does this mean?   He believes the most beautiful goods and services are the results of extra labor, commitment to humble tools and resistance to the compromises of modernity.  In this way, Farmstead Meatsmith has indeed surrendered to harvesting animals with patience.  The result is a fall into tradition where none of the animal is disposable, “trim” is exalted to the central place on the table and “off-cuts” become one thing you want on your plate.  He is driven by principle and guided by time-honored practices, and delighted to discover that it tastes better that way. His philosophy is that humane methods of animal processing not only ensure use of the whole animal but also grant the most delicious provender for your home table.  "With us ethics, efficiency and pleasure curiously unite in what we call a peasant economy."

The plan is for Brandon to process a whole hog including scalding, dehairing and and then later in the day cutting up of the carcass including demonstrations on curing various cuts. 

www.farmsteadmeatsmith.com

Terry Durham has been growing, teaching and sharing the joy of elderberries for over two decades. Terry is owner of River Hills Harvest, an elderberry brand which takes elderberries and turns them into a line of products. Through the River Hills Harvest brand Terry aggregates elderberries from growers across the Midwest. River Hills Harvest products are made from 100% Pure Premium Elderberry Juice. Terry supports local farmers and processors to grow the American elderberry industry. 

Terry is an educator and has been a supporter and speaker at the Ozarks Homesteading Expo since the first event in 2018. He often speaks at 

Mother Earth News Fairs and many other 

conferences in the U.S

www.riverhillsharvest.com

Zac Bauer hosts the popular YouTube Channel and website An American Homestead  If you are a prepper, homesteader, or a survivalist who wants to learn how to live off grid, this is the channel for you! 

Zac will be speaking on  "Why We Homestead".  and will be discussing the various reasons why people today are seeking  homesteads and more self sustainability in their lives.

www.anamericanhomestead.com

Bo Brown, local author of Foraging the Ozarks will be sharing about just that:

 Foraging in the Ozarks. 

The Ozark Mountains in Missouri and Arkansas have had a long history of foraging since indigenous tribes such as the Osage, Quapaw, and Kickapoo sporadically inhabited the area and utilized the rich natural resources. Settlers from the Appalachians came later and survived on what they could find, trap, and hunt. 

Art is a pioneer in alternative energy who established Crowder College's first solar curriculum more than 40 years ago. Crowder is home of The Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology Center (MARET) and produced, under Art's supervision,  the first solar-powered vehicle to travel across the United States from San Diego to Florida. It is on display at the Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborne, MI. Art is a partner at Sol Source Greenbuild in Neosho. Art will teach on Homestead Solar  you will get to see his  solar powered golf cart which will also  be powering a log splitter at the Expo. 

Adam Boman is a full-time regenerative grass farmer and owner/operator of Good Life Grass Farms, LLC in Pierce City, MO. Products at Good Life Grass Farms include 100% grass-fed beef and lamb, forest raised pork, hair sheep, and Southpoll grass cattle. Adam and his wife Teresa were both raised on livestock farms and feel very blessed to get to do the same with their 4 children. Both Adam and Teresa have college degrees in ecology and natural resources. Adam’s college degree led him to become a Fisheries Biologist for 9 years. During this time, Adam lived and worked in Wyoming, Utah, and California before finally coming home to work for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). While at MDC, a portion of Adam’s duties were to help farmers adopt and implement conservation friendly agricultural practices. This led Adam down the path of rotational grazing, adaptive grazing, sustainable ranching, and ultimately, regenerative agriculture. In 2015 Adam reached his goal of becoming a full-time grass farmer, being able to focus his work time on regenerative grazing and low-input ranching. Since that time, Adam has advanced his knowledge, experience, and expertise in the fields of grass-fed proteins, low-input livestock, and soil health. Adam and his wife Teresa currently own 183 acres, with 163 acres being in pasture.

https://www.goodlifegrassfarms.com

growmissourihemp.comAs the founders of Grow Missouri Hemp, LLC, Chris and Cass have been licensed industrial Hemp farmers for 2 years and homesteaders for 7 years. They have built their homestead using cedar straight off their 60 acres in southwest Missouri where they grow their garden, raise chickens and host a number of sustainable and survival courses. Working in alternative energy as an electrician, Chris has been seeking with his BIG GREEN PROJECT a sustainable building material from straw and cob to cord wood and hemp. Since the passing of the Missouri Farm Bill in 2018, Missouri farmers have been able to attain a license to grow since 2020 and they were on the top to apply. With hemp being a lost crop to Missouri, they have traveled the country to states that have been established hemp growers, visiting farms, processors and attending expos and workshops to learn and educate themselves on growing, processing and the thousands of uses and benefits of the hemp plant, specifically Hempcrete. By mixing the hemp hurd with water and lime, we can get a home that has many more benefits than a conventional home as well as eventually cost less. The number one benefit is temperature and humidity regulation. Hempcrete is the future of building sustainable homes. Now they advocate and speak to educate and teach others how to “grow your own home”.

www.growmissourihemp.com

Missouri is blessed with many native fruits, but none as tasty and potentially profitable as the American Persimmon and Pawpaw.  The class will discuss including these trees in agroforestry and permaculture, selection of a good site for growing these trees, choosing the best cultivars, establishing orchards, growing the crop, potential challenges, harvest and postharvest handling, and marketing the delicious fruit.  The instructor is University of Missouri Extension horticulture field specialist Patrick Byers.

Patrick Byers is Commercial Horticulture Field Specialist with University of Missouri Extension, serving 9 counties in southwest Missouri. His educational background includes horticulture degrees from the Universities of Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas. Patrick’s 33-year career has touched all aspects of horticulture, and his current job focuses on advisement to fruit and vegetable farmers with the goal of supporting sustainability and profitability. His passions include berries (especially elderberry), garlic, native fruits and nuts, hops and orchids.

Here at Natural Gramma, we believe in regenerative farming and sustainable practices. We focus on maintaining a healthy environment and lifestyle for all of our livestock, so they can be happy, healthy and free from stress or abuse. We consider the environmental impact of the methods we use in raising cattle and chickens. By employing eco-friendly practices we prevent pollution caused by animal methane and other farm wastes that may be harmful for the land and animals. Hank has many, many years of working with regenerative agricultural practices and will be talking about electric netting and how to use it. 

www.naturalgramma.com

 Mike is an Ozarks native and has been hard at work for the past decade establishing a homestead and learning as much as possible about a wide range of skills. He has been studying and foraging mushrooms for over a decade now and has become a trusted expert on regional fungi. The past couple of years he has delved more into the world of mushroom cultivation, and he and his wife Cara have started a small mushroom farm growing shiitakes on logs as well as several other edible varieties. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with anyone who will listen, especially like-minded folks starting on their own homesteading journey. 

He will be presenting on mushroom cultivation and with some discussion about foraging. He will have log pieces to inoculate for sale after his presentation. 

 Connie Jacoby, N.D., a 28 year Nursing professional disenchanted with the progression of western medicine.  She chose to return to the paths of health and wellness of our forefathers  and dedicated to provide the highest quality products economically with sound research and development  Education and affordability being the primary concern. She will be teaching on using essential oils and CBD safely for your health. 

www.wisewomenbotanicals.com

 Victoria and here husband are a young couple living off grid in a tiny home conversion on a small acreage here in the Ozarks. They raise rabbits for various reasons, one being meat security, as well as pigs, poultry and dairy goats. She loves gardening and tries to apply organic permaculture practices in all they do. She will be teaching on raising rabbits for meat, how to choose a breed, housing, care, feeding and processing. 

 Family Permaculture is a team of passionate practicing permaculturists, teachers and designers whose mission is to bring permaculture into the family setting! We achieve this by empowering families with education on sustainability and regenerative living through online classes, podcasts, and one on one coaching and consultations. ​ We, Annette, Chanel, and Allan met in 2019 during an Engaging Children in Permaculture Practioner's course through Children in Permaculture where we became inspired by Global Permayouth. Together we formed Permayouth Americas, an online community of youth from all over the Americas, and the world, who come together monthly to celebrate permaculture and to share and learn from one another. ​ Being blown away by the wisdom of these youth and raising small children ourselves, we quickly realized what the world of permaculture education was missing- family oriented classes for adults and kids alike! So, together we created Family Permaculture, a platform for families to learn and grow towards a regenerative future together! ​

Ingrid is a Master herbalist who believes that every herb and seed is a GIFT from GOD. Her study of herbs, essential oils, holistic living and the like has been an on-going 27-year passion that she LOVES to share with others.

Ingrid, her husband (pastor and best freind), and their nine children live on a 14-acre homestead in the MO Ozarks, where they raise free-range chickens, guineas, ducks, dairy goats and meat rabbits. 

Their family loves growing and raising their own food, foraging in their woods, cooking from scratch and preserving their harvests! 

They also operate an online business, making and selling organic elderberry syrup and DIY kits, organic loose leaf tea blends, coffee alternative, alcohol-free herbal tinctures, magnesium lotion, and more. 

Hopefully you can come to know them and be encouraged by them!

Kyle Whittaker is a retired Agricultural Education instructor, retiring from Marshfield High School in 2019. He is currently a county engagement specialist in agricultural business at the University of Missouri Extension. He serves Webster, Wright and Texas Counties in southwest Missouri. Kyle serves on a value-added meats team, that focuses on creating sustainable supply chains, by fostering relationships between local consumers, meat processors and local livestock producers. He offers several engagement activities and programs in the counties her serves. 

Kyle has been teaching youth and adults how to dry cure hams for about 25 years. He learned the skill from his dad, who learned the skill from his dad. During the past winter Kyle taught country cured ham classes in 5 counties in southwest Missouri. A total of 155 hams were cured. The Webster County fair had 43 hams for the country cured ham show in 2022. Many youth also exhibited their hams at the Ozark Empire Fair. Kyle serves as superintendent of that show. Dry curing meat has been done for many years. Country cured hams have a great flavor that differs from regular pumped and cured hams. The best part of curing a ham with a salt/sugar cure is the eating quality

Kyle has been married to his wife Christy for twenty-seven years and has two grown children; son Kale Whittaker and daughter Kyla Aikins. In his spare he enjoys camping and fishing and is looking forward to grandchildren.

Claire DGaia is Missouri born , mother of 2, Gramma, food grower for over 40 years, artist, musician , drum maker and general Lover of Life. I will presenting about how to Build your Guild, in  Food Forest style and how to live Permaculture principles - inside and out.  I am a member of Bionutrient Food Association, Food Forest Abundance and Rocky Mountain See Alliance, and Haven Earth.  This will be an interactive time together. Bring a notebook, pen and your dreams for living more intimately with your food source..

Www.foodforestabundance.com