I was so excited to have my best friend, Melissa K. Norris, on the podcast as my co-host while Josh was away. We’re catching up and chatting about all things Modern Homesteading Conference and why fellowshipping with like-minded people in person is so important!
About the Modern Homesteading Conference
Melissa K. Norris (Norris Farmstead) and Katie Millhorn (Millhorn Farmstead) have both attended many homesteading conferences on the East Coast but had never heard about a conference on the West Coast. They both knew how much those conferences meant to them, so they put their heads together and decided to start one of their own!
This year (2024) will be their second annual Modern Homesteading Conference in North Idaho, held at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d’Alene. The two-day conference will feature 30 speakers and 130 vendors, and attendees can touch and sample different items to determine how they will work best for them.
Topics will cover natural cheese making, keeping dairy cows, pressure canning, water-glassing eggs, breaking down small game, chicken butchering/processing, herbalism, gardening and more.
All the topics are geared toward smaller homesteads (even backyard homesteads), and there are beginner classes to advanced classes.
The Importance of Fellowship
It’s common for those who enter this homesteading lifestyle to find that it can get lonely. Not everyone understands the journey we’re on, making it harder to connect on a deeper level. When you’re surrounded by people who “get you” and understand why you make bread from scratch instead of buying it at the store, it’s so encouraging and uplifting and gives you motivation to keep going.
It’s an amazing opportunity to create friendships that will last a lifetime! In fact, Melissa and Katie think cultivating relationships near you is so important that on the last day, after the final speaker, they’ll have an optional meeting where you can break into groups by the state you’re from so people can connect with others who might live nearby.
Learn More
If you want to grab tickets to this year’s Modern Homesteading Conference, check out the website (unfortunately, the VIP tickets are already sold out).
If you’re reading this after this year’s conference has happened, you can always grab the video replays or sign up for their newsletter to be notified of next year’s conference.
