Today we’d like to introduce you to Joël & Emily Simon.
Hi Joël & Emily, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
J&E Homestead started dabbling in farming with the announcement that we were having a son. Although we had already had a daughter we knew if this addition to our family could eat like his father, then we were in trouble!
So, we started with chickens in 2006, in a coop that Joel built in the back yard of our SC home and a small garden. We soon added meat rabbits. Our move to Marlboro County in 2013 brought alpacas and Joel became a full-time farmer. Our move to Lancaster County in 2016 brought Angora goats and beef cattle. All through those moves we had been processing our fiber by hand, washing fiber in a claw foot tub in our bathroom or a deep sink. We fell more and more behind getting it all processed so we sent our fiber to a NC mini-mill. It took 18 months to get our first batch run. Our second batch was not completed after another 18 months so we asked for fiber back.
We realized that the demand for mill services was GREAT. During Covid Emily’s health changed and chronic illness demanded a change of pace.
In 2021, Emily stayed home to help Joel on the farm, and they opened our own fiber mill.
Now, we have our sights set on our 63-acre plot of land near Lancaster, SC, to call home for our family, mill, and animals. Our mill needs more space to grow and the wonderful people that come to visit need more space to stay. We’ll be slow getting everything moved over, but it’s not far from where we are now, just a little quieter.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As the farm has grown we have learned along the way. Sometimes we learn we enjoy something finally coming to fruition, while other times we learn something (or some animal) is not a good fit for us. There are daily fires to put out because something has become a priority. Sometimes we have to cut our loses and realize our aspirations can outweigh the “spare” time that we have to give a new project. Animal care and fiber processing have a learning curve and some days it feels very steep. When dear animal friends pass it wounds us deeply. We remember that this part of animal husbandry is over-shadowed by the many joys of livestock rearing. Our challenges bring us back to our purpose. We reevaluate and start again the next day with fresh perspective.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
D) all of the above!
Joël and Emily own and operate the farm and mill. We work as employees along with our children and other employees. Both Joël and Emily are professionals in their own fields (pun intended). Joël is a caretaker and advisor for local land owners to produce the best quality hay they can for their animals and will work into dark to harvest it during the summers, but he is also on call for any machine breakdowns in the mill and farm equipment, fixing with expertise to prevent rework.
Emily is an artist at heart and has been professionally teaching spinning by drop spindle, wheel, and machine for many years. As she is able, she assists with farm and mill tasks. As farmers first both Joël and Emily fulfill countless roles to make their dreams become reality!
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
We only see any “luck” as God’s favor. Our walk with God is the strong thread that holds our days together. Making big decisions isn’t taken lightly and we ask for the best option to fall into place and the wrong choice to dissolve, and if something does fail we know something better is on the horizon.
Pricing:
- $10 / person for weekend group guided tours that include the farm and mill
- $20 / person / hour for group drop spindle or spinning wheel classes for ages 8 and up
- 100’s of various fiber and farm products available on our website www.je-homestead.com
- Mill services pricing is available on our website and any new customers need to be placed on our waiting list
Contact Info:
- Website: www.je-homestead.com
- Instagram: Jehomesteadllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AhK9218LV/
