Call To Farms

Latest Episodes:

Episode 83: From Rest to Readiness How to Plan Your Home and Land for the New Year Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

A new year does not mean starting from scratch. It means building wisely from where you already are.

In this episode of Call to Farms, Tim and Sophia reflect on the transition out of a Sabbath year of rest and into a season of intentional rebuilding, both on the homestead and in everyday life. They share what slowing down revealed, why rest is not the same as stagnation, and how clarity often comes only after space is created.

This conversation offers practical ways to think about food planning, land stewardship, and home systems as the year begins, without overwhelm or unrealistic goals. It focuses on rhythms, readiness, and resilience. How to prepare your household, property, and mindset for the year ahead using small, thoughtful steps that compound over time.

Whether you are managing acreage, dreaming of a future homestead, or simply trying to live more deliberately where you are, this episode helps reframe planning as an act of stewardship rather than pressure.

Topics covered include:

Transitioning out of a season of rest with purpose and clarity
Why doing less can prepare you to do better
Practical food and home planning for the year ahead
Building resilient systems instead of chasing resolutions
Aligning home, land, and family rhythms for long-term sustainability

This episode is for anyone who wants to move forward in a grounded and intentional way.

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Looking for property? Download ⁠⁠my free Dealbreaker Checklist⁠.⁠ It's a compilation of what I look for.

Have questions on buying or selling real estate? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach out to Tim directly here!

Check out our Call to Farms Community where you have access to farm and cooking courses along with direct access to us as you build out your homestead! ⁠Join Here⁠

Thinking about purchasing a home in the near future? Join us for our next live home buyer's 101 workshop! ⁠Register Here⁠

Are you a veteran or active duty service member looking to make a move? Join our live VA Home Buying workshop to understand how to make the most of your VA loan. ⁠Register Here⁠

Don't miss out on another off-market listing! ⁠⁠Be sure to sign up here.⁠⁠

Get your copy of ⁠⁠⁠Becoming Your Own Banker⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to bring your questions to our live workshop!

Episode 82: What 2025 Taught Us About Money, Land, and Raising Resilient Families Dec 30, 2025

Show notes

As 2025 comes to a close, we are sitting down for an honest, unfiltered conversation about what this year really demanded of our family.

This was not a year of shortcuts or easy wins. It was a year that asked more of us financially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. A year that exposed weak systems, clarified priorities, and forced hard decisions around land, money, work, health, and how we steward what we have been given.

In this episode, we reflect on
• The unexpected challenges that shaped 2025
• Lessons learned about resilience, family leadership, and responsibility
• What worked, what did not, and what we would do differently
• How pressure revealed what truly matters
• Why preparation is not about fear but about faith and stewardship
• What we are carrying forward and what we are leaving behind as we head into 2026

This is a quiet but grounded year end reset. Not a highlight reel. Not predictions. Just clarity earned the hard way.

If you are a family thinking seriously about your future, your home, your finances, your children, and the systems you rely on, this conversation is for you.

Thank you for walking alongside us this year. We are grateful for this community, and we are stepping into 2026 with intention, humility, and resolve.

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Looking for property? Download ⁠⁠my free Dealbreaker Checklist⁠.⁠ It's a compilation of what I look for.

Have questions on buying or selling real estate? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach out to Tim directly here!

Check out our Call to Farms Community where you have access to farm and cooking courses along with direct access to us as you build out your homestead! Join Here

Don't miss out on another off-market listing! ⁠Be sure to sign up here.⁠

Get your copy of ⁠⁠Becoming Your Own Banker⁠⁠ and be sure to bring your questions to our live workshop!

Episode 81: Off-Market Listings in Tennessee and Virginia Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Tim and Sophie open the vault.

They are sharing a curated selection of off-market homestead properties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. These are land and homes that are not publicly listed and are being shared quietly with serious buyers who are looking to build a resilient life.

This episode is for those who understand that the best homesteads are rarely found on Zillow. The most functional land often changes hands through relationships, timing, and local knowledge long before it ever reaches the open market.

Tim also explains why these regional spotlights will expand over time. As more sellers across the country reach out looking for a discreet and values aligned way to sell their homesteads, future episodes will feature off market opportunities in additional states.

If you are actively searching for land or planning ahead, this is one of the clearest paths to finding high-quality homestead properties before competition increases and compromises follow.

To receive these listings as they become available, subscribe to the High Ground Newsletter, where off-market opportunities are shared directly with our community.

These properties move quickly. Access matters.

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Don't miss out on another off-market listing! Be sure to sign up here.

Get your copy of ⁠Becoming Your Own Banker⁠ and be sure to bring your questions to our live workshop!

Looking for property? Download ⁠⁠my free Dealbreaker Checklist⁠.⁠ It's a compilation of what I look for.

Have questions on buying or selling real estate? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach out to Tim directly here!

Episode 80: Debt Consolidation and Buying a Home in Today’s Market Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

In this special midweek episode of The Call to Farms Podcast, Tim and Sophie sit down to share a timely December housing market update and the real conversations they are having every day with families across the country.

This episode goes beyond headlines and rate talk. It pulls back the curtain on what is actually happening right now in lending, home buying, refinancing, and debt consolidation, especially for first time home buyers, veterans, and single income families feeling the pressure of today’s economy.

You will hear why mortgage rates are not reacting the way many people expect, why debt consolidation has become one of the most urgent needs this season, and how strategic tools like HELOCs, cash out refinances, and VA loan programs can be used responsibly to create breathing room instead of stress.

Tim and Sophie also share real client stories that highlight why working with an advisor who educates and advocates matters, how buyer concessions are showing up across the country, and why preparation now can make a significant difference heading into 2026.

This episode is also an invitation.

If you are thinking about buying your first home, planning a move, or simply want clarity on the process, join Tim and Sophie for their First Time Home Buyer Class this Thursday at 7:00 PM Eastern. This free class will walk through the home buying process step by step, explain current market conditions, and help you understand your options clearly and confidently.

If you are looking to protect your family, reduce financial stress, and learn how to become more resilient long term, you are also invited to their Life Insurance and Infinite Banking Workshop on Thursday, January 29th at 7:00 PM Eastern. This session breaks down how families can use whole life insurance strategically, not as a product pitch, but as a financial tool for stability, control, and legacy.

Whether you are a first time buyer, a homeowner feeling stretched, a veteran planning your next move, or a family looking to live more intentionally, this episode will give you practical insight and a clear next step.

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Looking for property? Download ⁠⁠my free Dealbreaker Checklist⁠.⁠ It's a compilation of what I look for.

Have questions on buying or selling real estate? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach out to Tim directly here!

Get your copy of Becoming Your Own Banker and be sure to bring your questions to our live workshop!

Interested in learning more about protecting and securing your homestead and family? Join our live, online workshop on Thursday, January 29th at 4pm PST / 7pm EST.

Episode 79: Intention, Bread, and the Hungry Ghost with Jonathan Stevens Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

What does it mean to devote your life to one thing and do it with care, humility, and soul?

In this episode of The Call to Farms, Sophie sits down with Jonathan Stevens, baker and author of Hungry Ghost Bread, the award-winning book that is part recipe collection, part meditation, and part poetic devotion to sourdough. Jonathan is the founder of Hungry Ghost Bread in Northampton, Massachusetts, where for over two decades he has shaped hundreds of loaves by hand, fired a wood fueled oven daily, and fed a living sourdough culture that quite literally sets the rhythm of his life.

This conversation is not about scaling, optimization, or hustle. It is about intention.

Jonathan shares what it means to be a wild yeast farmer, why he does not count loaves, how regional grain and living fermentation shape both bread and community, and why real food work resists shortcuts, technological or otherwise.

Together, Sophie and Jonathan explore hungry ghost mythology, cultural memory, poetry, economics, and the quiet spiritual discipline of feeding people well.

They also discuss:

Why bread made with care still matters for culture and health
The humility required when working with living systems
What modern food has lost and what local bakeries can restore
Poetry as a form of nourishment
Why every town needs a bakery

Whether you are a baker, farmer, fermenter, or simply someone longing to live with greater alignment, this episode is a reminder that how we do something matters and that meaning is often found in the most ordinary acts.

Flour, fire, time, and trust.

Step into the fire and meet Jonathan Stevens.

Hungry Ghost Bread

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Interested in learning more about home buying? ⁠Join our live, online workshop on Thursday, December 18th at 4pm PST / 7pm EST.⁠

Episode 78: 20 Years After West Point with Tim Eng (Part 2) - Taking a Different Path Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

In this powerful continuation of Tim’s return to West Point, he takes listeners deeper into the halls, fields, and memories that shaped him as a young cadet. Revisiting these places twenty years later opened up a surprising reflection on purpose, identity, and calling.

Walk with Tim through Bradley Barracks, the new library, and the charged atmosphere of a Corps football game. Follow him into Arvin Gym, where the echoes of the IOCT and the sharp chlorine drifting from Crandall Pool brought back the intensity of survival swimming classes and the pressure he once pushed through as a young leader in training. As he reconnects with classmates, many now Full Bird Colonels, Tim gains new clarity on the path he ultimately chose.

This episode explores the truth Tim discovered: the leadership forged at the Academy did not lead him into the career he once imagined. Instead, it became the foundation for the life he built in homesteading, lending, real estate, and serving veterans across all 50 states.

It is a story of ambition, redirection, and learning to appreciate the unexpected ways a calling can unfold. At the heart of the episode is one question:

If Tim could do it all over again, would he still choose West Point?

Listen in as he shares the answer and what it means for anyone navigating their own path of service and purpose.

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Interested in learning more about home buying? Join our live, online workshop on Thursday, December 18th at 4pm PST / 7pm EST.

Episode 77: Sea Minerals, Soil Health and Real Food Nutrition with Michael Sileck of Baja Gold Salt Co. and Sea-90 Ocean Minerals Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

Is the salt in your kitchen actually nourishing your body, or quietly doing damage?

In this episode, Sophia interviews Michael Sileck, Chief Mineral Officer at Baja Gold Salt Company and Sea-90 Ocean Minerals, to uncover the truth about salt. From lead testing and mineral reports to microplastics and modern processing, this conversation cuts through fear and misinformation with science and clarity.

You will learn why table salt is not real food, how mineral rich sea salt is harvested, how to read lab reports properly, and why ocean minerals are now being used to rebuild depleted soils and strengthen livestock naturally.

Michael also shares the forgotten work of Dr. Maynard Murray and how his research laid the foundation for restoring soil using sea minerals, a story that reshapes how we understand health from the ground up.

Whether you are new to real food or already deep into regenerative farming, this episode will change how you see salt forever.

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Episode 76: 20 Years After West Point with Tim Eng (Part 1) Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

When Tim Eng, a West Point graduate, Iraq veteran, and now “The Homesteading Agent,” returned to the U.S. Military Academy for his 20-year reunion, he thought it would be just another family trip. But standing once again on those storied gray grounds, watching the cadets march in precision, something deeper began to unfold.

In this powerful and vulnerable episode of Call to Farms, Tim and his wife, Sophia, open up about how West Point shaped him—the discipline, the grit, the scars, and the transformation that followed. They talk candidly about what it means to be forged by fire, about the tension between the soldier he became and the homesteader he is now, and how revisiting his past became an unexpected path toward healing, faith, and rediscovering love.

This is not a typical reunion story. It’s part therapy, part testimony, and a look into legacy, sacrifice, and the cost of leadership.

In this episode, Tim shares why he chose West Point and what it really takes to get in, the unspoken mental and physical toll of elite military training, and how war, family, and faith reshaped his definition of service. He also talks about the healing power of storytelling and returning to his roots.

If you’ve ever wrestled with your past or wondered how to find purpose after seasons of duty and endurance, this episode will hit home.

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Be sure to secure your ticket for the 2026 Homesteaders United Conference! Join Waitlist Here

Episode 75: October Housing Market & Homestead Update Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

As the seasons shift, so does the pace of life on the homestead and in the housing market. In this end-of-October update, we’re talking about what it means to slow down with purpose: harvesting the last of our livestock, drying up our dairy cows, and using this season of rest to rebuild and improve our infrastructure for the year ahead.

On the housing front, don’t miss this window. You have just 2 days left (until October 31st) to reach out to Sophie for an especially low interest rate if you’ve purchased a home in the past three years and are ready to refinance and lower your rate.

Tune in for a grounded conversation on stewardship of both your land and your finances.

👉 Reach out to Sophie today before the October 31st deadline to lock in your savings.

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Episode 74: Fed Rate Drop, Housing Market Shift & Our Biggest Homestead Fix Yet Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

As September closes and October begins, Sophia and Tim dive into the latest housing market shifts. With Jerome Powell’s recent message hinting at a slight lowering of the Fed rate, the market has seen a surprising pickup in activity. More buyers are stepping out, referrals are increasing for Tim, and while housing inventory remains tight and prices continue to soften, offers are finally flowing again. They break down what this means for families navigating real estate in today’s environment.

On the homestead, big changes are underway as Fall settles in. Sophia and Tim share updates on bringing back a couple of their bred cows onto new pasture, now fully fenced with barbed wire they recently completed on leased land. That installation, captured step-by-step in a brand-new video course, was just released inside their Call to Farms online community. (See the link below to learn more.) They’re also installing long-awaited ball waterers which were planned and budgeted for six months, just in time for winter. This project ties directly into Tim’s SAFE Method, outlined in his new book FM 5-21: Fortify Your Farm, showing how creating redundant systems prevents burnout (like hauling heavy water buckets during East Tennessee’s freezing weeks) and keeps the homestead sustainable.

They also reflect on recent travels: Sophia and the children’s educational field trip to The Koji House in Virginia, learning about koji’s role in both culinary traditions and sake-making. That full tour was captured in a new YouTube release on the Sprinkle with Soil YouTube channel link below if you’d like to watch behind the scenes. The family also toured several college campuses, including a chiropractic school in South Carolina that caught their eldest daughter’s interest.

From housing markets to homestead projects to raising resilient kids, this episode is packed with insights on balancing family, farm, and future planning.

👉 From Federal Service to Financial Freedom: Free Webinar for Federal Employees

👉 Learn more about the Call to Farms community & fencing course here.
👉 Watch the Koji House tour on the Sprinkle with Soil YouTube

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Save 15% on Redmond Products by using our discount code: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GOODSOIL ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Save 15% on NULU knives by using our discount code: HOMESTEADNULU

Save 15% on Ryze mushroom coffee by using our discount code: HOMESTEADINGAGENT15