Pennsylvania couple swaps home for 19-acre farm with 68K chickens to teach their kids how to work with their hands

A family swapped their three-bedroom home for a 19-acre farm with 68,000 chickens to teach their kids to “work with their hands and problem-solve.” Emily and Cole Martin, both 27, grew up within the agricultural community and had always dreamed of owning a farm.In November 2024, the couple’s dream came true when they purchased and took over the running of a farm in Lancaster, Pa.The couple said a big factor for them moving onto the farm was to be around their family, and they have always wanted to raise their children – aged one and three – in that kind of environment. The couple plan to teach their two children the ropes as they get a bit older to show them that not everything in life comes easy.“We have always thought that there is no better way to raise our kids than to teach them the ropes on a farm,” the homemaker and egg farmer Emily said.“My husband and I have both always had a love for agriculture – he started working on a farm when he was 11.

He has always had a job that relates to farming and I have always had a dream of running a farm for ourselves.We are excited to finally fulfil our dream of raising our children on a farm.”In November 2024, after a stint working on a farm, Cole was told it was going to come on the market and asked if he would he like to buy it.“My husband is a big dreamer, I am much more realistic and ask whether or not we can afford to do it,” Emily added.

“He had called me many times before telling me a farm is up for sale.This time around, he called and told me that this couple wanted to sell the farm and if we wanted it and I said sure.

We were both in, we had both grown up in or around agriculture – it is something we were looking for.”The couple took over the 19-acre farm that month, along with two chicken houses and 68,000 chickens.Emily says becoming an egg farmer has been an “adjustment” as she tries to juggle her new lifestyle and parenting.“The hardest part has been trying to juggle ev...