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Welcome to The Shire of Illinois, where good things grow.
We offer classes, retreats, education, farm products, and a pause for folks that are looking for health, healing, wellness, fulfillment, discovery, and hope.
Regenerative. Holistic. Wellness Centered. Compassionate to all living things.
Plant Sales!
Teaming up with Meadow Lane Farm to provide a unique collection of culinary heirlooms from across the world. And Prairie Fruits Farm will be selling our starts!
We will have the most diverse range of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and bonus items around!
Plants available at MeadowLane Farm in LeRoy from April 25th on and at Prairie Fruits Farm May 9th & 10th!
Two women-owned and ran farms, started on solar power, compostable plant tags, and we will accept returned pots and trays to minimize plastic! We are excited to help our community with food sovereignty.
****NEW!**** Central Illinois Traditional Skills School
We are now offering Traditional Skills Workshops and Classes! The aim is to become as self sufficient as you'd like to be:) Everything from building your own solar system, setting up a water ram, planting a garden that will sustain you, fruit tree pruning, and so much more!
Big classes will be held off-site, smaller classes will be held at our farm. Guest-pert instructors will share their knowledge and all classes will give you hands-on time so you go home with confidence!
Keep an eye and bookmark our farm page for class dates as they will be added all the time.
Herbal Education
Herbal education focused on super local plants and Appalachian historical uses.
Herbal products also available
Offered as classes at PFFC 2026
Adding Draft Power
The Shire is slowly adding draft power.
The Shire has a home-trained Brabant cross, a Perch cross broodmare, and two Tennessee Walker Mares. We are very excited for the future and adding more horsepower to our fields.
Draft power is an important part of regenerative farming
The Great Wheat Experiment
From a wellness expert turned farmer and a passionate baker, we bring you The Great Wheat Experiment!
We are focused on growing antique wheat varieties, using new information paired with old farming and handling principles to see if we can make wheat healthy. Learning to manage the seed, earth, growing practices, handling, milling, and baking is an epic adventure that we are excited for.
How can we put the wellness back in wheat?
Speaker at The Organic Grains Conference, 2025, 2026
Hay Sales
Natural Hay, made with care and dedication
SOLD OUT FOR 2025
We will never use fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, on our hay. We aim to minimize dust, and put it up dry.
We prefer using natural twine to limit twine and dog-end littering.
All hay is stored in a well-ventilated hoophouse. There will be some bleaching on the outer 1/3 of an inch of outside bales.
Types of Hay Grown:
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Alfa
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Alfa Mix
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Grass Mix - special low-sugar blend of Timothy, Bluestem, Brome, Orchard Grass, forbs, and medicinal plants.
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For 2026 we are trialing TEFF and Straight Timothy
Usually first cut is the second week of May.
Our bales are between 40 - 50lbs, we mostly do small squares.
Hay tests here: tbd
Hay information here: tbd
Cut Willow Bundles
We will have our first small harvest of willow bundles in 2026
Planting willows as part of our soil rehabilitation work and in strategic places within a windbreak hedgerow. We are excited to bring basket weaving and hurdle making to The Shire.
Baskets combine craft, intention, and green building materials
Cut Lavender and Herbal Products
More info coming soon
