Shady Grove Farm U.P.

Home of Grateful Eggs…laid by hippy “chicks”

Gwinn, Michigan

 
 

About Us

Hello! We are Libby & Randy Buchler, the owners and farmers of Shady Grove Farm! Our farm is nestled in the center of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We are passionate about living a simple, sustainable, self sufficient way of life, while regenerating the land and providing for our community. We pride ourselves in utilizing beyond organic practices, which provides the best life for our animals, plants, family, community and planet.

We believe in food freedom, and strive to empower families and folks to learn how to make homesteading work for them. Randy is also a founding member and sits on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Small Farm Council.

View fullsize Here is some more lamb cuteness and a little Jed beauty while he sunbathes. This little lamb is precious! She’s made a habit out of sleeping in her mama’s grain bowl 🥰. She is completely comfortable with my presence, as is Marilyn, which
View fullsize As promised, here is the new ewe lamb (born yesterday). She is a Jacob x Merino cross. She is absolutely adorable and will have a beautiful fleece! She and her first time mama (Marilyn Merino) seem to be doing very well. It’s always wonderful t
View fullsize It’s times like these that I am more thankful than normal, to have the tools that I have. Today, I moved a shit ton of snow using my stand on skid steer and my tractor. I had to move a bunch of snow before all of the snow slid off my chicken co
View fullsize Eggs can be a super food. Do you eat eggs? Do you know what those chickens are fed? At Shady Grove, we feed an all certified organic, soy/corn free grain, in addition to organic compost, kitchen scraps and whatever the ladies hunt and forage while th
View fullsize It’s been a while since I’ve posted about The Adventures of Jed & Ollie. Life has been busy with planning and starting a remodel in our house. That means it’s been kinda boring for the dogs because I’ve been consumed durin
View fullsize Another pallet of 2400lbs of organic soy/corn free chicken and pig feed, which means another day of FarmFit. I get 60 - 40lb bags per pallet. Before I unload the 60 bags from the trailer, I have to move the stock I already have in order to rotate bat
View fullsize The Adventures of Jed & Ollie sometimes get pretty rough. It’s surprising we don’t have more visits to @stuganorth than we already do 😂! Surprisingly, the ever so sweet #goldenretriever is the instiGator and aggressor (see multiple p
View fullsize Lately, I’ve been adding more eggs into my pig’s diets. Not because I want to necessarily, but because there are some issues with being able to get my feed delivered in a timely manner (I’m currently waiting on 4800 lbs of feed). Th
View fullsize Today is the first time I’ve used my smoker in quite some time. Tomorrow we are gathering with our tribe, so I want to share one of my favorite cuts from my pigs. I started this 7.5lb organic (soy/corn free) butt roast in the smoker. I smoked
View fullsize I’m still in love with these Idaho Pasture Pigs. They are just so chill and so sweet. It was -17° this morning so I gave them another whole bale of straw to add to their nest. They had some frosty whiskers when I went out to do chores, but
View fullsize The Adventures of Jed & Ollie have not been overly exciting lately. The cold temps have had me doing inside projects, while the dogs continue to work on their napping/snoring/relaxing skills. I’ve even joined them on the couch for morning c
View fullsize Yesterday, The Adventures of Jed & Ollie took us on a nice long walk in the sunshine. They’re getting much better on leashes since we found a new harness that connects the leash at the chest. When we got back, I grabbed a shovel that was in