Meet The Farmers

Hi, I’m Amanda Schmitt, and I would like to introduce you to the Abundance Mini-Farm system. I will start by introducing myself, as I am the creator of this system, as well as the course instructor.
I have been involved in homesteading and home food production for most of my life. I first learned gardening and homesteading in the Midwest, in the state of Indiana, where I was born. When I was 8 years old, I got transplanted from a standard subdivision to 28 acres of rough, but beautiful land that developed into a complete homestead with just about everything. We moved to S. Florida 20 years ago. The change in latitude, climate, and soil was a major challenge as far as gardening was concerned. At firs, it was like trying on the surface of the moon. But the mysteries were unraveled, a successful 2 ½ acre mini-farm developed, and I went on to become a professional landscaper….
Two years ago, I moved to 10 acres in Brooksville, in north-central Florida, where I built a Grade A goat dairy and cheesemaking plant – the 3rd in the state. That project has just been launched, and now I am shifting focus to development of the new farm and sharing the system through education, design, installation and support.
What is this mini-Farm system? The Abundance Mini-Farm is designed to make it possible to produce up to 80% of your own food, in a highly efficient, synergistic system that integrates with your home and landscape. A complete Abundance Mini-Farm provides milk and all of its’s products: cheese, ice cream, yoghurt, etc. eggs, meat, fish, 25-30 types of fruits and nuts, 25-30 types of vegetables, as well as honey.
The Abundance Mini-Farm system draws on various methods, including classic organic gardening, permaculture and container gardening. It is the result of distilling a life-time of experience, research and experimentation down to what works…. And then refining it.
The system is synergistic and goes along with nature as much as possible. Nothing goes to waste; everything is recycled, often more than once.
I believe gardening and homesteading should feed not just the body, but also the soul. Consequently, this system is designed to blend beauty with utility, in a clean, smoothly functioning system, to create an oasis for the health of body, mind and soul. There is enough chaos in today’s world.
The farm-life is a good life and the quality of home-grown food beats anything you can buy. But homesteading can easily eat up an unreasonable amount of time and money. The Abundance mini-farm system is streamlined to minimize unnecessary costs of money and time. Speaking of which. A properly set up mini-farm doesn’t need to take a huge amount of time. An hour or two per day, and a full day here and there, are all you should need for a complete system.
Successful homesteading requires knowledge and a variety of skills. Beginners typically meet far more challenges than they ever expected. Mistakes can be costly and heart-breaking. My goal is to make it possible for you to work like a pro from the start.
Another important aspect is learning what really matters, and what doesn’t. There is a lot of advice and “information” being offered that makes homesteading unnecessarily complicated and costly. You need to know what is essential, and what’s really just bells and whistles.