Several years ago, I began to recognize and feel the disconnect younger generations were having from the family farm. The backbone feeding America and the world had been reduced to “plows and cows” and was far from hip. If you asked children where their food came from, they generally said “the grocery store.” Most didn’t realize bread was made from wheat, dollar bills were made from cotton, and a nice lawn or green space helped cool down the environment.

Although my family and I had a small garden and were avid composters and recyclers, at some point, I felt we needed to become land stewards of more than just a suburban lot. I created a website with a co-worker, The Urban Rancher at Texas A&M University, chronicling our quest to find and purchase one to ten acres, typical urban ranch size. Included in the website is information and links about necessary things needed to own rural acreage, like how to build a dirt road. I quickly discovered there were lots of people wanting to migrate outside of the city limits. The Urban Rancher phenomenon and website even got mentioned in Time Magazine.