Homestead Preserves

05/16/2026

😆 100% accurate. The struggle is real out here. Yesterday I forgot it was Friday, then went into a panic because I thought I missed my edward Jones meeting... that isn't till next Monday 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

04/25/2026

And we're off! Got a late start on the planting yesterday but we got our first 30 acres done last night. My dad was a life saver yesterday and got the end rows and heavily weedy spots worked in the corn ground while i filled the planter. Now I don't have to stress on getting out there right away to spray the weeds 😊

I also stopped to inspect the fruit trees. We did a pretty heavy pruning on the trees. I was kind of nervous we got a little too aggressive on the trim, but I'm excited to see some beautiful looking blossoms on all the trees. 🥰

04/14/2026

Once again the city of Geneseo is trying to give the Farmer's market a bunch of red tape before signing a contract to have on Pearl Street.

If your unable to attend it tonight like us, the city of Geneseo does post it YouTube. I have the link at the bottom. If you hear or see ANYTHING you don't agree with, email the Alderman's and mayor. Let your voice be heard. Remind them they work for the residents of Geneseo and need to vote the way their residents expect them to.

https://www.youtube.com/live/DqDMxwh7lTo?si=PjI9t6XB_NWAa81N

Thank you,
Justine

04/14/2026 Regular Council Meeting

04/11/2026

Working on some new farmer's market items 😉 putting some delicious maple syrup from my aunt and uncle's maple trees to work.

03/28/2026

So some of you may have heard that the "M" in M-J Farms is retiring. My parents are still planning to be out on the farm helping out where they can and when they can but they are excited to be focusing more on being grandparents. That being said, we thought this was a good time to start making some changes.

First up... the semi! Brett and I bought my parents semi and grain trailer last fall. I finally found some free time to change it over to my name and DOT #. I asked Brett if he wanted his name on it too. His reason was, since he's not driving it, he doesn't care if his name is on it.

I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Underground Graphics. They did a great job and were super flexible on changing the appointment when we got that random snow storm couple weeks ago.

03/25/2026

Good morning Facebook friends and followers! As you all know, last night was the city of Geneseo's committee of the whole meeting. Myself and many other vendor's and market customers got up and spoke to the board with great passion. I appreciate all that showed your support for keeping the market on Pearl Street. And guess what? We did it! The Geneseo Farmer's Market gets to keep their location for another year.

Unfortunately, the way a couple of the board members were talking last night, I have a feeling our fight isn't over. But all we can do is take it one season at a time.

Thank you,
Justine

03/22/2026

I know i sound like a broken record, but hey I'm fighting for something I believe in. There was a HUGE discussion on the Parents of Geneseo FB page and I am so happy to see the support behind the Geneseo Farmer's Market staying on Pearl Street. The city is wanting to move the making to a smaller foot print in order to help the downtown businesses get more foot traffic. The market is only open June-October, Saturdays 8-12. Besides the cafes, coffee shops, and other drinks/ food serving establishments I can't think of right now, the bars and retail don't open till 9, 10 or even 11. The number of events that geneseo puts on creates double the foot traffic than what the market does. So what they are proposing doesn't make sense for the market, nor is it in the best interest for the market.

Please click on the link to see what exactly the administrator is proposing and sign our petition to keep the market from moving. You don't have to be from Geneseo to voice opinion or concern. But everyone needs to be aware of what is going on.

Thank you,
Justine

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcityofgeneseo.civicweb.net%2Fdocument%2F95540%2FGeneseo%2520Farmer_s%2520Market%2520-%2520Location_Future%2520Agree.pdf%3Fhandle%3D0E907DBBB2154447B905F80D6816EEC8&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cd9fbc4d5071245747b7808de86d59f36%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639096449552557465%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=zKDni9T0PzySJNH7szrghqp8rQ2bthqXgM7dmoRxFyc%3D&reserved=0

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fc.org%2FqxHFmkcFPK&data=05%7C02%7C%7C2d5455059b9e48a95c9708de87b27c9b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639097397825366727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bRuNsh5tZ0hf%2BIWdJ09pxHA3lRqa4cXKFcRT79caS4o%3D&reserved=0

03/21/2026

Please come to the Geneseo committee of the whole and help support the farmer's market. Geneseo is wanting us to move to the city hall parking lot. They say it is to help the brick and motor but the retail stores don't even open till 9-10 a.m. We will also be losing 4,000 square ft worth of vendor space. Not ideal with the growing farmer's market family that we have. Everyone is welcome to join the 24th at 6pm and give a 3 min speech.

02/24/2026

Today's the day! Taking my food protection management test. Wish me luck!

02/18/2026

02/16/2026

Good morning Facebook friends and followers! It seems like ages ago since my last post and I feel like so much has happened since then. Brett and I kicked off the the new year with our farm bureau friends. This is a bitter sweet year because this was our last young leader's conference we get to go to. I have learned so much and feel like we have really grown for our little hobby.

Brett and I decided to plant some new veggies this year. Hopefully the garden does well and we can share all our new goodies with you! Keep your eyes out for new updates. We can't wait to see everyone this year at the Geneseo Farmer's Market!