Murray Fest Midwest Speakers
Learn from top speakers over two days across four stages.
Join the McMurray Hatchery team at home in Iowa this summer for a weekend of learning, entertainment, and community. Murray Fest Midwest is an opportunity to learn about a wide variety of homesteading skills and topics from leading experts. Spend two full days attending seminars about homesteading, animal husbandry, gardening, cooking and food preservation, beekeeping, and more.
Learn the ins and outs of chicken keeping and pastured poultry from McMurray’s Tom Watkins and special guest Daniel Salatin of Polyface Farm. Grow more food, and a better life, with Jessica Sowards of Roots and Refuge Farm. Dive into homesteading and food preservation with A Farm Girl in the Making’s Ann Accetta-Scott. Hear the inspiring words and music of Murray Fest Midwest’s special guest and entertainer Rory Feek presented by the Iowa Tourism Office and Premier 1 Supplies. And that’s just few of the many experts you’ll hear from over the two days at Murray Fest Midwest.
CHARLES DOWDING
Charles Dowding is an internationally recognized British gardener, author, and a pioneer of modern no dig gardening and organic soil management. Join Charles this summer at Murray Fest Midwest, as he shares how to grow soil more naturally; to grow healthy and health-giving food; grow more, from fewer resources, in less time; and the help the planet at the same time.
PHOTO BY JONATHAN BUCKLEY
MURRAY FEST MIDWEST
FEATURED SPEAKER
CHARLES DOWDING
Charles Dowding is an internationally recognized British gardener, author, and a pioneer of modern no dig gardening and organic soil management. Join Charles this summer at Murray Fest Midwest, as he shares how to grow soil more naturally; to grow healthy and health-giving food; grow more, from fewer resources, in less time; and the help the planet at the same time.
Don’t miss these leading experts at Murray Fest Midwest. Click each image to learn more about our speakers.
Rory Feek
FEATURED SPEAKER AND ENTERTAINER
Farmer, filmmaker, author, and artist Rory Feek is a world-class storyteller. Rory is one-half of the Grammy-award-winning duo, Joey+Rory. He has written multiple number-one songs including Some Beach by Blake Shelton, and A Little More Country Than That by Easton Corbin. His memoir, This Life I Live, debuted at the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. Rory and his youngest daughter, Indiana, live on a historic farm one hour south of Nashville.
Jessica & Jeremiah Sowards
ROOTS AND REFUGE FARM
THE CAROLINA HOMESTEAD EXCHANGE
Jessica and her husband Jeremiah live on a homestead just outside of Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina. Jessica is passionate about growing food, and inspires others to live a more intentional and sustainable life.
ANNE OF ALL TRADES
Anne Briggs operates a farm just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, where she raises dairy and beef cattle, goats, and chickens. Anne is truly a renaissance woman with a passion for teaching others about traditional skills, homesteading, woodworking, crafts, entrepreneurship, and mental health.
POLYFACE FARMS
Daniel Salatin is a multi-generational farmer with a lifetime of hand-on experience from growing up on one of the nation's most well-known regenerative farms. Today, Daniel leads the day-to-day operations at Polyface, and is dedicated to teaching , team building, and healing the soil.
Ann Accetta-Scott
A FARM GIRL IN THE MAKING
ACORN CREEK FARMSTEAD
Ann Accetta-Scott is a homesteader in Tennessee raising poultry, goats, cows and rabbits. She is an educator and encourages those who are seeking to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Ann is also the face behind the website A Farm Girl in the Making and author of The Farm Girl's Guide to Preserving the Harvest.
Coffee with the Chicken Ladies
HOLLY CALLAHAN-KASMALA & CHRISIE DICARLO
Holly Callahan-Kasmala and Chrisie DiCarlo are the creators and hosts of Coffee with the Chicken Ladies Podcast. Best friends and long time chicken keepers, they're passionate about rare and heritage breeds and educating about top notch health care for poultry. Chrisie and Holly each live on a small farm in Maryland where they keep chickens, sheep, and grow lots of heirloom fruit, flowers, herbs, and veggies.
HOMESTEADING WITH THE ZIMMERMANS
RuthAnn and her family live in North East Iowa. Her husband, Elvin, and her have 7 children and 1 son-in-law. Five of the children still live at home. RuthAnn and her husband have been homesteading on their 21-acre homestead since 2001. They seek to preserve the self-sufficient lifestyle of their Mennonite Heritage for the next generation by involving their children in every aspect of the homestead.
Jason Contreras
SOW THE LAND
Jason and his family homestead 14 acres in North Carolina. In 2016 Jason, his wife Lorraine, and their daughter sold most of their belongings and left the city in California to start a small 1.5 acre homestead in the mountains of North Carolina. Recently, they upgraded to a 14 acre property where they document their life on YouTube. The Contreras family uses their platform to educate others about growing food, building stuff around the farm, and living a healthier lifestyle.
MURRAY MCMURRAY HATCHERY
A family man, homesteader, and chicken tender, Tom Watkins sits at the helm of one of the oldest family-owned hatcheries in the country. With a passion for building community, Tom brings a wealth of down-to-earth knowledge, practical tips, and a few good jokes to the table as he works to educate homesteaders, urban flock tenders, 4-H youth, and everyone in between.
Dalia Monterroso
WELCOME TO CHICKENLANDIA
Dalia is a backyard chicken educator, entertainer, and author from the popular YouTube channel Welcome to Chickenlandia, her podcast Bawk Tawk, and her online course Backyard Chickens 101: A Chicken Course for Everyone. In Dalia's book, Let’s All Keep Chickens! A Down-to-Earth Guide to Natural Practices for Healthier Birds and a Happier World, she shares the ins and outs of chicken keeping. Being among her flock has brought peace and joy into her life, and she wishes to share that with everyone she meets.
Janelle Anderson
THE HAVEN FARMSTEAD
Native Wisconsinite and Tennessee farmsteader, Janelle Anderson has a lifetime of experience raising and keeping cattle and other livestock. Janelle and her husband Ben live a life rooted in hard work — gardening; raising meat birds, turkeys, and pigs to sell to the neighboring communities; raising a beef herd, building community; and hosting workshops sharing with other the skills and knowledge they have learned over the years.
Janet Garman
TIMBER CREEK FARM
SAWDUST PUBLISHING
Farmer, blogger, author, and publisher Janet Garman is the Timber Creek Farmer — known for her wealth of knowlege and experience raising sheep and producing beautiful free-range yarn. Janet is a seasoned mentor for homesteaders across the nation, with a passion for teaching others to raise livestock, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and small farm management.
Jordyn & Josh Kelly
WORKING AUSSIES HOMESTEAD
Jordyn and Josh Kelly are first-generation homesteaders from North Carolina. In addition to raising their daughter and growing food on their small homestead, the couple is known for breeding Australian Shepherds, training herding dogs to help with livestock on a homestead or farm, and teaching others how to choose the right breed of dog for their homestead or farm.
THE HOLTON HOMESTEAD
Sara and her husband, Tyler, started their Iowa homestead in 2015. Though they have tried all kinds of different homesteading 'things' — poultry, pigs, gardening, canning, sourdough, and more — they learned they are most passionate about beekeeping. The couple is now solely self-employed and make a living with bees selling at farmers markets and other local vendor markets.
THE LIVESTOCK CONSERVANCY
Named one of Country Women magazine's "45 Amazing Country Women" for her work in conserving endangered breeds, and one of the Grow Network’s “Top 14 Women Leading the Natural Food Movement,” Jeannette Beranger is the Senior Program Manager for The Livestock Conservancy. Jeannette plans and implements breed conservation programs, is an active lecturer, writer, photographer, and co-author of the best-selling books An Introduction to Heritage Breeds and Managing Breeds for a Secure Future.
Joe Putnam
PREMIER 1 SUPPLIES
Joe Putnam works as a marketing copywriter and occasional shepherd for Premier 1 Supplies. He frequently appears in Premier’s instructional how-to videos on YouTube. Putnam can be found at farm industry events, where his gentle, hands-on approach makes even the most complex farming topics simple. When not at work, Joe spends time on his family’s 40-acre farmstead in southeast Iowa. There the family raises cattle, sheep, poultry, multiple gardens, corn, hay, and oats.
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
VDPMAD / ISU EXTENSION
When it comes to seeking out expert advice on poultry health, Dr. Yuko Sato is the expert to go to. Dr. Sato is an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University. She is also board-certified by the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.
Clyde Majerus
CLYDE'S GARDEN PLANNER
Clyde Majerus is a 25+ years experienced gardener from the Ozarks in South Missouri.
As a Master Gardener, Clyde has lots to share for both experienced and new gardeners alike. He has developed a very handy Vegetable Gardening Slide Chart which works all over the country, and over 1/2 million sold! His chart is a "Must-Have" for new gardeners, and a great quick reference to those who have been gardening for years.
MYSHIRE FARM
Known as the Quail Guy, Myshire Farm is a family owned & operated quail farm in Ohio producing over 1 million quail eggs a year. Myshire Farms passion is to educate, encourage and enthuse others to be more self sufficient. Whether you are furthering your homestead or beginning in your backyard, Zack will show you how quail are a PERFECT dual-purpose addition to any homestead.
Bart Pals
BART PALS POULTRY
Bart Pals has been awarded the distinction "Master Exhibitor" by both the American Poultry Association (APA) and American Bantam Association (ABA), served as Vice President of the APA, and is the current chair the APA Standard of Perfection and revision committees. Bart has been a licensed judge for both the APA and ABA for over 30 years, judging county and state fairs, and national shows across North America.
MURRAY FEST MIDWEST IS PRESENTED BY
Grow your business by connecting with homesteaders, backyard chicken keepers! Learn more about becoming a sponsor or a vendor at Murray Fest Midwest.
Murray Fest Midwest paid for in part by the Iowa Tourism Office.
