02/26/2026
Any our Johnston County customers need to read this. Very important!
I hope more people are learning how to grow food in small spaces — because right now, large-acreage lots, farms, and homesteads are being quietly squeezed out.
And this affects everyone — even suburban families who rely on local farmers and homesteaders for farm-fresh eggs, locally sourced pasture raised chicken, local honey, local meat, and fresh produce. Those beautiful boquets of fresh flowers you like to stop and pick up at the farm stand?? Those too may slowly disapear.
Policies like “unified” development ordinances (UDO) are often framed as progress, but in reality they tend to protect large-scale development while limiting local food production, wooded properties, homesteads, and working farms.
When you combine things like:
• restrictions on animals per lot (FOUR?! Four — and hens only, so no way to refresh your flock… 🤔)
• rising property taxes (huge, unaffordable spikes)
• zoning rules that don’t reflect rural or homestead lifestyles
…it becomes harder and harder for everyday farmers and homesteaders to produce food — and for aspiring homesteaders to become self-reliant and land-based.
So who is going to grow the food?
Who is going to raise the chickens that lay the eggs?
Growing even a portion of your own food is no longer just a hobby — it’s a form of resilience.
If we don’t protect our ability to grow food locally, we become increasingly dependent on big corporations, grocery chains, and centralized systems that do not have our communities’ long-term well-being at heart.
And I get it — I truly do.
I understand wanting growth. I understand wanting fun shops and great little eateries. All of that is wonderful in town limits and city centers. But let’s keep rural areas rural.
Local food matters.
Small farms matter.
Homesteads matter.
And this is worth paying attention to — even if you don’t live on acreage. 🌱
Please go out and vote. Early voting is ongoing.
