What Started as Survival Is Becoming a Farm

Written By Jessica Houghton

There’s a version of me that built this life because she had no other choice.

And now?
She’s building something bigger on purpose.

What started as survival is becoming something real—a working farm, a safe space, and a future that doesn’t depend on anyone handing it to me. It’s a little messy. A little chaotic. But it’s mine.

And I’m not done yet.

🛠️ The Steps I’m Taking Right Now

Lately, I’ve been deep in the process of applying for farm grants—programs that can help take what I’ve started and actually make it sustainable long-term.

I’ve begun working with programs like:

  • EQIP to improve land, fencing, and animal housing

  • REAP to move toward solar and energy independence

  • Value-Added Producer Grant to turn what I grow into products that support this farm

But I didn’t stop there.

As a woman building this from the ground up, I’ve also applied to:

  • Amber Grant

  • Hey Helen Grant

  • Women Founders Grant

Because this isn’t just a farm.
It’s a business. It’s a brand. It’s a future I’m building with my own two hands.

🐐 What These Grants Will Actually Do

This isn’t about “extras.”
This is about building a farm that works—with the land, not against it.

These grants would help me:

  • Put in proper fencing so my animals are safe and grazing can be managed the right way

  • Build winter housing that can actually handle New Hampshire weather

  • Create a greenhouse space that makes growing possible beyond a short season

  • Set up a compost system that turns waste into healthy, living soil

  • Install solar so the farm can run more independently

  • Build raised beds to work with my rocky land instead of fighting it

  • Add pollinators like bees to support everything growing here

And on the business side?

They help me turn what I’m growing into something more—products, experiences, and a space that can support itself long-term.

🌼 The Why Behind All of This

This farm is more than animals and gardens.

It’s a place I’m building for myself—one that feels safe, grounded, and real.

A place where things are allowed to grow, even after everything they’ve been through.

I’m an abuse survivor.
And instead of letting that define me, I’m building something out of it.

Something steady. Something alive. Something that gives back.

Healing doesn’t always look pretty.
Sometimes it looks like mud, early mornings, trial and error, and doing things the hard way until they finally start to work.

But there’s something powerful about creating something with your own hands—something that feeds you, supports you, and stands on its own.

That’s what I’m building here.

🔮 Where This Is Going

Right now, it’s still in-between.
Still growing. Still figuring itself out.

But every step—every application, every plan, every late night thinking about what this could become—is moving it forward.

This isn’t just a farm.
It’s a foundation.

And if everything I’m working toward comes together, it’s going to be something really damn beautiful.

Get booped. Stay sassy. 💫

Jessica Houghton