Our story

THE SHORT VERSION:  We are Kevin and Kendra Martin, owners of Holdfast Farmstead. Our path to farm life on 53 acres of rural southern Iowa was far from linear. Prior to farming, we both captained ships on the sea.  We are driven to have a healthy family and community while we regenerate the farmland where we live near Mount Ayr, Iowa.  If you’re a “get straight to the point” sort of person, then that should do it.  If you’d like to hear more about us, read on…

THE LONG VERSION:  Perhaps because the ocean seemed so wonderfully mysterious during our childhoods in landlocked Missouri (Kevin) and South Dakota (Kendra) that led us both to careers at sea. Or maybe it was the deeper mystery of following one’s inner path. Either way, we both ended up working on ships in our early-twenties.  Kevin’s path to oceangoing ships was as a banjo player on a Columbia River sternwheeler.  Kendra got there when working construction with her brother taught her that she wanted to make her living outdoors.

It was on those ships where we eventually found each other. Knowing that we ultimately wanted to raise a family, and there’s not room for two captains on any vessel, we made the decision to move ashore. Life ‘ashore’ turned out to be a 50’ converted fishing trawler. Not quite on shore, but it was tied to shore. There we raised our young son and ran a maritime transportation business, hauling cargo and doing all sorts of wild stuff in the San Juan Islands of Washington state. We had a thriving business, warm community and were surrounded by the natural beauty of the sea. As our family grew, so did our desire to pursue an ever-more meaningful life.

Then we turned our lives upside down, deliberately. Like most big decisions, there is no single reason but rather a multitude. You know how having kids “changes things?”  Well, that reality was making itself obvious and our priorities began to slowly shift.  Now with two young kids we felt the pull to be near our families. We had also learned from living on our boat that we thrived in a kind of frugal minimalism, “close to the ground,” if you will.  Ultimately, we realized that we were learning how to put family first.  We made big decisions for a lifestyle where we could lean into life’s meaning, as a family. And so, after twenty years in the Pacific Northwest, we sold our home, our business, and made the decision to move back to the Midwest. To be clear, none of these decisions were easy. But “easy” isn’t the word we use to describe the most important things in life, right?

 Now that we owned a farm in Iowa, we needed to draw upon all our prior experiences and connect them to farm life.  Circuitous, to say the least. But a life at sea equips you with many skills, like how to share a room with a stranger. Or how to manage a crisis when your crew is staring at you.  And how to exist peacefully in hostile weather.  Or how to quickly decide the least-bad outcome when helping someone salvage their sinking boat. And even how to identify an Adelie penguin from a Chinstrap penguin in Antarctica. So maybe not all these skills are precisely transferable to a farm in Iowa, but many are, like resourcefulness, the value of hard work, how to persevere when the first solution didn’t work, how to lean on others, how to work long days in extreme climates (and enjoy it!), the value of a warm meal at the end of day, and the necessity of healthy relationships amongst your crew.

Perhaps it was the many years at sea, but Kendra has an insatiable desire to grow food… in soil. Before moving to Iowa Kendra grew what Kevin calls a “jungle garden” on the top deck of our boat. We were quite a scene coming through the Ballards locks into Seattle! On the farm, her ever-expanding garden and orchard are a source of joy, bountiful food and admittedly many failed experiments. Kendra is spearheading most of the freeze dried production at the farm. She still has ties to the maritime world by running logistics for polar yachts. She also operates a craft sewing business at www.anchored-by-design.com

Kevin let his captain’s license expire (ouch!) and has built the infrastructure for our goat herd and duck flock. In the past, he has also raised Kune Kune pigs on the farm as well as raise rabbits. He is immersed in the arts and sciences of regenerative grazing practices and loves how each farm solution is unique to the goals and context of the farm. Having always been drawn to the beauty of animal life, building a herd of very hearty and low-maintenance Kiko goats has been truly rewarding. Kevin also manages St. Nicholas Press and records audiobooks from his home studio.

At Holdfast Farmstead our livestock management and produce production methods have grown out of our family’s emphasis on regeneration, health, frugality, and beauty.

We are reminded daily that the proper direction onward is not always the easiest path, but rather the most meaningful one.

Welcome to Holdfast Farmstead. Schedule a visit. We’d love to show you around.