Erin Osborne | Collegian
“Chicken poop is great,” Assistant Professor of Biology Christopher Heckel said Feb. 24 during a Conservation Club lecture on homesteading.
“There’s a large interest in homesteading within Hillsdale College, and homesteading is a very good way to help the environment,” said Conservation Club president and sophomore Elizabeth Speck.
Heckel runs a hobby farm and is the Conservation Club’s faculty sponsor.
The talk covered farming, livestock, and food storage.
“It’s important to have food security, and to know where your food comes from,” Heckel said.
Heckel and his wife raise Icelandic chickens, as well as several seasonal crops, such as heirloom tomatoes and corn. He and his wife sell tomatoes at local farmer’s markets in August.
“One year we raised over 250 tomato plants,” Heckel said.
Heckel emphasized the importance of proper food storage.
“Canning is great, and milling heirloom corn into cornmeal is really useful as well,” Heckel said. “You can consume it fresh, or freeze it as well.”
Heckel said he hopes to eventually mill his own flour. He and his wife also raise heritage livestock for food.
“Heritage livestock are breeds of livestock that are not being raised as much anymore,” Heckel said. “Livestock growers have been identifying these breeds and trying to maintain them and prevent them from going extinct.”
Heckel and his family have raised several different types of livestock, including a pig, affectionately referred to as “Miss Piggy.”
“Miss Piggy was completely tame and our kids learned a lot about nature and caring for animals and understanding our relationship with food,” Heckel said.
Heckel and his family have also raised red bourbon turkeys.
“The turkeys will definitely be penned,” Heckel said. “The turkeys wanted to be around us all of the time. If you were outside, you had a pile of free-range turkeys around you. They also like to roost on top of the car, which was not great.”
Heckel said he and his wife are considering raising pigs and sheep in the future. They also prioritize growing heirloom plants.
“Modern agriculture has gotten to a point where we’ve lost a lot of genetic diversity, particularly with corn,” Heckel said. “We used to use 200 to 300 varieties of corn, but with the advent of conventional agriculture, there are fewer and fewer varieties.”
Heckel grows glass gem corn, bloody butcher corn, quinoa, and Sonoran wheat.
Heckel also uses his produce for fun.
“I try to grow enough pumpkins so that my kids can have their friends over to make jack o’lanterns,” Heckel said.
Freshman Carlie Steele attended the homesteading lecture.
“This lecture has gotten me excited about gardening again,” Steele said. “I want to raise chickens and ducks.”
Steele said she particularly enjoyed learning about Heckel’s advice for future homesteaders.
“I love cooking so the idea of canning and making your own flour is very cool to me,” Steele said. “I also liked talking about permaculture perennials. I’m super excited to research that more.”
Steele said she also hopes to be able to continue gardening and possibly run a homestead in the future.
“I loved hearing Heckel talk about his kids growing up, and exposing them to different experiences with a realistic sense of nature and food,” Steele said.
Speck also noted that she has gotten more interested in homesteading.
“At some point in the future, I would like to have my own homestead,” Speck said. “Dr. Heckel has definitely gotten me interested in Icelandic chickens.”