Hillsdale Homestead

Our Story

From 50 Chickens to 5 Acres of Livestock and Vegetables

Our farm started in the summer of 2024 with just fifty chickens but has grown to now include 500 chickens, a full acre of vegetables, a beehive, and a greenhouse. our mission is developing the practical skills needed for the farm to table process and forming a character of discipline, humility, and perseverance. we offer students the opportunity to volunteer on the farm and help with daily chores and building projects in return for the fruit of their labor.

Our Mission

Reviving the Frontier Spirit

Our mission is to develop in our students the knowledge and skills needed for the farm to table process while forming in them a character of discipline, humility, confidence, and perseverance.

Chickens: Hens, Pullets, Chicks, and Incubators

We provide students with the opportunity to work with chickens from egg to egg layer. we hatch all our own chicks and raise them to full maturity, totaling about about five hundred chickens on the farm at a given time. This allows students to see the full life cycle process, learning common diseases and predators, health needs, and basic poultry habits. by the end of their time with us students know the full process of raising their own birds.

Vegetables

Everything from Lettuce to Beets to Beans

In our garden we grow twelve different vegetables from seed, allowing students to see the full process of preparing the soil, planting the seed, watering the plant, and harvesting the fruit. we also allow room for experimenting with different farming techniques such as companion planting and no-till gardening. in the winter we transition to the greenhouse and continue to grow in order to allow students to keep gardening year round.

Bees

Hive and Honey and Everything in Between

On our property we raise a hive of bees allowing students to learn the intricate social dynamics of bee colonies. students join in the process of checking on queen health, examining pollen collection, harvesting the honey, and winterizing the hive. in the spring we split the hive and create new swarms. bees add a unique component to our farm because of the special hierarchy they form within their hive, giving students an insight into the inner workings of animal communities.

“I have absolutely loved being a part of the Hillsdale Homestead for the last two years. The opportunity to go out to the farm and work with my hands has been so important to my college experience. The body and mind are linked, and if you do not use both neither can fully function. Beyond just the hands-on labor, there are other perks to working at the homestead. I have learned and will continue to learn so much about what it means to run a farm with produce and livestock. I can see myself using these skills for the rest of my life. The Hillsdale Homestead has been a delightful experience with a wonderful community!”

Lydia Jackson

Sophomore Accounting Major
Hillsdale, MI

“While the average American college student is drowning in reading and studying, the Homestead allows for Hillsdale students to put down the Aristotle and Aquinas momentarily and to toil as our forefathers toiled. It is the act of toiling in fields or caring for animals, that our society has lost and now so desperately needs. That’s where the fields and chicken coops of the Homestead come in. Being able to work towards a goal that is above yourself allows a necessary and useful escape. The chicks turn to chickens and the seedlings turn to full grown plants. In the same way, bookish college students turn to farmers, if even just for a little while.”

Nolan Lazuka

Junior Politics Major
Detroit, Michigan

Get Involved

Weekly Chore Shifts:

  • Mornings at 7:30am

  • Afternoons at 1:00pm

  • Evenings at Sunset

1 Credit Courses:

  • Spring 2026: Food and Faith in us history

  • Fall 2026: American Agriculture

Contact Ryan Perkins for more info

603.777.2700

rperkins@hillsdale.edu

Ryan Perkins
HOMESTEAD MANAGER
rperkins@hillsdale.edu

Support Our Program

Provide a Hands On Education in Character and Agriculture 

How We Spend Your Donation:

  • Feed: $120/week 

  • Bedding: $300/season

  • Beehives: $250 each

  • Bee Suits: $100

  • Incubators: $150 each

  • Traps: $200

  • Planting Pots: $300/season

  • Tomato Cages: $500/season

  • Compost Bins: $250

  • Power Tools: $500

  • Seed: $500/season

  • Fencing: $500 

  • Coop Repairs: $1,000

  • New Coop: $5,000

Ways To Give:

Online:

Using the “Donate” button below, fill out our online donation form. In the Designation box please choose “Other” and then write “Designate this gift to Hillsdale Homestead (21-2300028)” the comment section at the bottom.

Donate To Hillsdale Homestead Here!

Check:

Make your tax deductible check out to Hillsdale College. In the memo, write “Hillsdale Homestead 21-2300028.” Send your Check to: Ryan Perkins, 33 E College St. Hillsdale, MI 49242 

President’s Club:

  1. Click or paste in your browser: https://www.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PC_PledgeForm_2019.pdf  

  2. Fill out the President’s Club pledge form  

  3. Check “Please designate my entire President’s Club pledge to” and write “Hillsdale Homestead 21-2300028” 

  4. Mail the pledge form to Ryan Perkins at 33 E College St. Hillsdale, MI 49242