About Our Farm
Family. Home. Traditions. Hard Work. Conservation.
Welcome to Highland Acres of Hanska
Tucked away in southern Minnesota, Highland Acres is our family's little corner of the world—a place where Highland cattle graze the pastures, Babydoll sheep wander through the property, honeybees work the prairie, and four children are growing up surrounded by animals, hard work, and the changing seasons.
What began with a love for Highland cattle has slowly grown into something much bigger than we ever imagined.
It's become home.
It Started With a Highland
Our Highland story actually began before Highland Acres was ever a farm.
In 2018, we started talking about getting cattle. We both grew up on acreages and had always been drawn to that kind of life.
Our first cattle weren't even Highlands.
But I loved Highland cattle—and after enough convincing, we brought home our first Highland bull from a small herd in South Dakota.
His name was Harry.
Harry was a gentle giant with a crooked nose, a love of food, and a habit of bouncing through the pasture whenever he heard a bucket of corn being shaken.
For years, he was the face of our little farm.
And in many ways, he was the beginning of everything Highland Acres would eventually become.
Why Highland Cattle?
We'll admit it—the fluffy calves were a pretty big part of the original appeal.
But after raising them for years, we've learned that Highland cattle are an especially good fit for our family and our small farm.
They're hardy enough for Minnesota winters, generally easy calvers, and their smaller stature makes them much more manageable on our acreage.
But perhaps most importantly, they're incredibly individual.
Every new animal that arrives has a personality of its own, and we love spending time getting to know them.
Our cattle are raised out on pasture year-round, and we work with the calves from a young age to become comfortable around people and learn to lead.
We joke that we're trying to raise "porch cows."
Not literally cows that belong on the porch—but cattle that are gentle, social, and tame enough that a family can enjoy spending time with them.
That's something that's important to us.
Because Highland cattle have horns, we want the animals we raise to be respectful of people and comfortable being handled. And because we know how much people love the idea of being able to walk up and pet a Highland, we want to give our calves the best possible start.
Some eventually go on to become beloved farm pets or ambassadors at small petting zoos.
And we love knowing that they're bringing a little bit of joy to another family.
Finding Home in Minnesota
In 2019, a new job brought our family from South Dakota to Minnesota.
Of course, the cattle came with us.
The property we moved onto had once been a dairy farm, but most of the original buildings had been destroyed by a tornado. There wasn't much of a working farm left when we arrived, so we began rebuilding it piece by piece.
We added fencing, developed a rotational grazing system, built a small sheep shed, added equipment storage, and slowly figured out how we wanted the property to work for our animals and our family.
We've learned a lot along the way.
And we're still learning.
There are always another fence to improve, another building we'd love to add, and another idea we'd like to try.
Like most farms, Highland Acres is always a work in progress.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Then Came the Sheep
Sheep weren't exactly part of our original plan.
I had learned to knit and quilt as a child, taught myself to crochet in college, and eventually became involved with a fiber arts group where I learned about spinning wool and all the possibilities that come with working with fiber.
After moving to Minnesota, I mentioned that someday—maybe as part of a five-year plan—I'd love to have sheep.
My husband apparently interpreted "someday" differently.
Before we knew it, he was coming home with three ewes and their lambs.
So much for the five-year plan.
We jumped in before we were ready, learned as we went, and somehow became shepherds.
Today our Babydoll Southdowns are an important part of Highland Acres. Their wool is something we're continuing to learn how to work with, and they're also wonderful partners in our rotational grazing system.
They can reach areas the cattle can't and are especially helpful with weed management.
But beyond all of that, we've simply fallen in love with them.
There is something pretty special about an early morning lambing—and just as special about watching the sheep graze peacefully in the late afternoon.
And Then There Were Bees
Beekeeping wasn't on my original bucket list either.
My interest in bees began while working at an entomology research farm in South Dakota. After changing jobs, I realized how much I missed working with them—the conservation aspect, the fascinating way a hive functions, and, of course, the honey.
So in 2020, we started with four hives.
Today, we have thirteen.
Our bees live alongside 120 acres of restored prairie, which is especially meaningful to us. Conservation has always been important to our family, and my background in ecology only deepened that appreciation.
The restored prairie includes a former lake bed that had been drained and was later restored through a county conservation project.
I had once hoped to be part of restoring that land myself.
Instead, I get to watch my bees help it thrive.
And there's something incredible about standing beside a hive and watching thousands of individual bees work together as one living community.
The honey is a wonderful bonus.
We've been able to share that honey locally, and we're also finding ways to use the beeswax in handmade products like candles, lotion bars, and balms.
A Farm Is Never Just One Thing
Over the years, Highland Acres has grown in ways we never could have planned.
Five chickens now provide our family with fresh eggs.
Our farm dog helps protect the property and livestock.
A new farm cat has taken on the very traditional farm-cat responsibility of keeping rodents under control.
And our garden, apple trees, and grape vines give us even more opportunities to grow, harvest, preserve, and learn.
The farm has become a collection of many small systems that work together.
Cattle. Sheep. Bees. Chickens. Garden. Family.
Each piece adds another layer.
Raising Kids on the Farm
Perhaps the most important part of Highland Acres isn't the animals.
It's the kids growing up alongside them.
Our children help with the work in ways that are appropriate for their ages—from feeding animals and filling water to moving sheep, collecting eggs, helping with hay, working in the garden, harvesting fruit, and helping with honey harvest.
Some jobs are favorites.
Some are definitely not.
Thankfully, everyone's favorites seem to be different enough that we can divide up the work, work together, and get it done.
We want our children to experience a childhood that isn't always easy or convenient—but is full of opportunity.
We want them to learn how to work hard and be proud of what they've accomplished.
To solve problems.
To work as a team.
To care for animals.
To respect the land.
To understand where things come from.
To learn skills that might otherwise be lost between generations.
And most importantly, we hope they'll look back someday and remember the animals, the gardens, the lambs and calves, the honey harvests, the fiber arts, the muddy boots, the long days, and all the little moments in between.
We hope they love it enough to pass some of it along to their own children someday.
More Than a Farm
We don't want Highland Acres to become a huge operation.
We may eventually add more land and a few more cattle, but we want to stay small enough that we can continue knowing our animals individually and spending time socializing them.
That's important to us.
We want to be involved.
We want our cattle to remain gentle.
We want to notice when something changes.
We want to know the personalities of the animals we care for.
And we want Highland Acres to remain a place where our family can slow down and enjoy the work we're doing.
Sharing a Little Piece of Highland Acres
We know that not everyone gets the opportunity to live this kind of life.
Not everyone has a pasture outside their window, sheep grazing in the evening, honeybees working a prairie, or a Highland cow looking over the fence.
But we've found that people don't necessarily need to live on a farm to appreciate what happens here.
Sometimes they just need a little glimpse.
A photograph of a cow grazing at sunset.
A goofy close-up of a nose.
A sticker that makes them smile.
A print that reminds them of a quiet place.
A jar of honey from our bees.
A handmade candle made with wax from our hives.
That's why we share Highland Acres.
We want people to see the beauty in the slower, quieter moments.
We want to share the things we're fortunate enough to grow, make, and experience here.
And we hope that, even for a moment, something from our farm makes you smile.
Welcome to Highland Acres
Family. Home. Traditions. Hard Work. Conservation.
That's what Highland Acres means to us.
It isn't something we built all at once.
It's something we've built together, one animal, one fence, one season, and one new adventure at a time.
And we're still building.
We're glad you're here.