9. Journey from Air Force Academy to Farming with Col Kevin Krause

At a crossroads? Wondering what’s next? Wondering how your past relates to what you could do?

In this episode, my brother, Col Kevin Krause, shares his journey from the Air Force Academy to sustainable farming in “retirement”. He’s still serving, just in a different way.

Kevin grew up in rural Iowa, where our grandparents & parents farmed. He recalls many hours performing farm chores, as well as witnessing the small family farms of the day give way to the larger mono-cultured-corn-centered farming of today. Kevin left Iowa in 1985 to attend the United States Air Force Academy & retired from the Air Force in 2015 after 26 years of military service.

During a military assignment near Washington, DC, Kevin & his wife, Mikki, became educated about how far America’s food system had fallen from their ideals. They read books, watched documentaries, attended seminars & visited Polyface & other farms to learn all they could about different production models to implement on a future farm.

In 2015, they set about making their dreams of sustainable farming a reality in Hampshire, Tennessee.

In this episode, Kevin & I discuss:

• • When & how he became passionate about sustainable agriculture
  • Their transition from the “rat race” lifestyle & keeping up with the Joneses (although he never really tried)
  • His disinterest in keeping up with the Joneses or anyone else
  • His slow, fast-paced lifestyle
  • His “what you should be when you grow up” assessment in junior-high
  • The biggest threats to the US…other “bad guys” vs our own health & nutrition
  • His perspective on opinions vs data
  • Their homesteader community
  • The mystery of Mother Nature & the reward of being a student & serving the nation in a different way
  • The dramatic & appropriate difference in our paths, even though we’re related

Find Kevin & his wife, Mikki, & learn more at their Liberty Trace Farm website, on Facebook & on Instagram.

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