Responsible care
Pay attention, improve the setup, and never let marketing outrun the animals' real needs.
Our story
A forever home with room to grow.
DeJoia Farms began in 2023 with a new love for rural living. In October 2025, James and Mel brought that vision to a 10-acre property in Gardner, Kansas.
The honest middle
From rural living to a working family farm
What started in Bucyrus became a shared direction for James and Mel: build a life close to the land, care well for animals, and create something meaningful for their family.
The move to Gardner was not the finish line. It was the start of the next chapter. A working farm takes steady, ordinary effort — stronger fences, safer shelter, healthier pasture, useful routines, and a willingness to learn as the seasons change.
We share that progress honestly. The animals set the daily rhythm, responsible care comes before appearances, and new products or experiences are announced only when they are truly ready.
The story so far
Growing with purpose, one chapter at a time.
The farm's public timeline will continue to grow as projects are completed and new chapters become ready to share.
- 01
2023 — A beginning in Bucyrus
DeJoia Farms began in Bucyrus, Kansas, where James and Mel discovered how much rural living, animal care, and building something together meant to their family.
- 02
October 2025 — A forever home in Gardner
They purchased a 10-acre property in Gardner and chose it as their forever home: a place with room for family life and the patient work of growing a farm.
- 03
Today — Building the working farm
Fencing, barn repairs, pasture work, animal-care systems, gardening, and poultry improvements are turning the property into a practical working family farm.
- 04
The road ahead
Farm products, goat-powered land clearing, and future family experiences are part of the vision. Each offering will open only when the farm is ready to support it responsibly.
What guides the work
Hard work
Respect the unglamorous jobs that make the farm safer and more useful.
Family
Build something meaningful together without inventing a picture-perfect story.
Learning
Share what worked, what did not, and what the next project taught us.
Transparency
Mark plans as plans and products as available only when they truly are.