Faces & Places: Derrik & Taryn Strickler

Tell us about your farm. Our farm is south of Glenwood, Minnesota, on about 300 acres. We’re right in the rolling hills of west-central Minnesota, and it’s my favorite place in the world. We have both pasture and tillable acreage, which we rent out since we don’t currently farm crops or raise livestock ourselves. I consider what we do more of a rural homestead. We have free-range chickens, a small garden and plenty of areas to forage. Every spring, we also tap our black walnut and boxelder trees and make syrup.

What are moments during the year that you really cherish being on the farm? As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate the different seasons and what each one brings. Even so, I definitely have a favorite. I love autumn when the leaves start to turn and the air gets crisp. It’s usually when I’m canning, dehydrating and putting away whatever we can from the garden and the season’s harvest. I also really enjoy spring when we’re tapping trees. My favorite part is sitting in the sugar shack, feeding the fire and watching the steam billow off the evaporator. It makes all the work that comes before it worth it — that, and the syrup at the end certainly doesn’t hurt.

What are some accomplishments you are proud of? I’ve been sharing our homesteading journey through my Reluctantly Domestic social media pages. This is a life I never really pictured myself living, hence the name, but now that I’m here, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m proud that I’ve been able to grow into a small business that brings in income online and through local farmers’ markets.

I’m also proud of how much we’ve done to make this property our own over the last decade. We’ve remodeled parts of the house, built a chicken coop, converted an old grain bin into a sugar shack and tackled plenty of other projects along the way. There’s always another project, but it’s pretty rewarding to look around and see how much has changed because of the work we’ve put into it.

Tell us about your daily routine on the farm. Most weekdays are pretty routine. I work from home, and my husband owns DS Powersports in Alexandria, so he’s there Monday through Saturday. The weekends are where most of the homestead activity happens for us. On Saturdays during market season, you’ll usually find me at the local farmers’ market with my kids selling syrup, pancake mix, breads, bagels and whatever else we’ve come up with. Sundays are generally project days. In the spring we’re tapping trees. In the fall we’re cutting and splitting firewood. There is never a shortage of things to do, but there does always seem to be a shortage of time to get them done.

What is the hardest and best part of your day? The best part of my day is usually supper. We make a point to sit down and eat together at the table most nights, and everyone shares the best and worst parts of their day. I think eating meals together is really important, so we try to prioritize and protect that time as a family, even when everything else feels busy. The hardest part is probably trying to fit everything in. Between work, family, the homestead and whatever project we’ve decided to take on next, there never seems to be quite enough time in the day.

What motivates you on the farm? The idea of someday passing this property and lifestyle onto our children is probably the biggest motivator for me. I want them to grow up knowing how to make, grow and fix things while taking care of what they have. I also really enjoy sharing our journey and finding ways to turn what we’re doing here into a business. My hope is that eventually Reluctantly Domestic and the work we do on the homestead can become my full-time income.

What do you hope the next five to 10 years look like on your farm? I’d love to

establish our own small herd of beef cattle, continue growing our syrup operation and possibly find ways to incorporate agritourism, whether that’s camping, overnight stays, syrup-season tours or something we haven’t thought of yet. I’d also like to build a life where I’m self-employed and more of our family’s income comes from the things we create and build ourselves. I want to keep growing Reluctantly Domestic, continue sharing what we’re learning and hopefully help other people become more self-sufficient along the way. In a decade, if we’re still here raising our family, making improvements and growing more self-reliant, I think I’ll be pretty happy with where we’ve ended up.

What words of wisdom do you have for future generations of farmers? This is probably more for aspiring homesteaders: don’t try to do it all at once. I am definitely an all-or-nothing kind of person, and trying to approach homesteading and self-sufficiency that way is very humbling. I’ve learned that I cannot do it all, and that a little progress is still better than no progress. Also, surround yourself with a few good, like-minded friends. Whether you know them in person or connect with them online, find your people. There are some folks who just don’t understand the type of life we’re trying to build, and that’s OK. The people who do understand it are invaluable. They’re the ones cheering you on when things are going well and giving you pretty great advice when they aren’t.