The Homestead Education Podcast

What happens when rising gas prices don't just hurt at the pump—but begin affecting the cost and availability of nearly everything else?

In this episode of The Homestead Education Podcast, I'm joined by my husband, Ron Hanner, to talk about what higher fuel costs can mean for truckers, farmers, food prices, local businesses, and the supply chain—and, more importantly, what ordinary families can actually do about it.

This isn't about preparing for the end of the world. It's about preparing for the unprecedented.

A job loss. A power outage. A winter storm. A supply-chain disruption. Rapidly rising gas prices. Or simply discovering that the groceries your family buys every week suddenly cost far more than they did a year ago.

Ron and I talk through the ripple effect that fuel prices can have across agriculture and transportation, including the pressure on independent truck drivers and the importance of the trucks that move food, fuel, medical supplies, manufacturing materials, and countless everyday necessities. We also discuss why even a short disruption can expose just how dependent modern communities are on products arriving exactly when they're needed.

But most of this episode is about what you can do before you're scrambling.

In This Episode:

How rising gas prices can increase the cost of food and other necessities

Why independent truck drivers are especially vulnerable to major fuel-price increases

What a transportation or supply-chain disruption could mean for everyday families

Why preparedness doesn't have to mean extreme prepping

Simple ways to store drinking water

How to secure a dependable protein source

Buying beef, pork, eggs, and milk directly from local farmers

Splitting bulk meat purchases with friends or family to lower the upfront cost

Stretching meat across multiple meals

Stocking inexpensive staples like potatoes and other root vegetables

Preserving grocery-store produce when your garden doesn't produce enough

Small-batch canning, freezing, fermenting, and refrigerator pickling

Why you don't need to preserve hundreds of pounds of food at once

How buying in bulk can make higher-quality food more affordable

Getting multiple foods from one ingredient—like turning raw milk into drinking milk, yogurt, cream, butter, or cheese

Reducing food waste by creating a more circular household or homestead food system

Why supporting your local farmer before a crisis matters so much

One of the biggest misconceptions about preparedness is that you need a huge pantry, acres of land, or thousands of dollars to get started.

You don't.

Start with one thing.

Buy an extra staple when it's inexpensive. Find someone locally who sells eggs. Split a bulk beef purchase with another family. Learn how to preserve one food your family already eats. Store a little water. Cook an extra portion and put it away.

The goal isn't fear.

The goal is creating enough margin in your life that the unexpected doesn't immediately become an emergency.

We also talk about one of the most important pieces of preparedness that can't be stored on a pantry shelf: relationships.

A functioning local food system exists only when local farmers have enough customers to keep producing food. Waiting until grocery shelves are empty to find your local farmer is too late. Supporting those producers consistently helps ensure that farms, ranches, dairies, and small food businesses are still there when your community needs them.

And because this is our family, the conversation naturally includes cows getting ready to calve, a chicken tractor that we accidentally built too large to get off the porch, kids who name animals destined for the freezer, plans for a multigenerational family homestead—and Ron abruptly leaving the podcast when his fire department pager goes off.

Real life doesn't stop because you're recording a podcast.

Neither does the unexpected.

The best time to prepare for it is before you need to.

Resources Mentioned
Visit The Homestead Education for resources on food production, agriculture, preservation, homesteading, and teaching the next generation practical skills.

If you have a question you'd like us to answer in a future episode, reach out at hello@thehomesteadeducation.com.

And until next week—keep growing.

Episode Links

Hanner Homestead: https://www.hannerhomestead.com

Hanner Homestead Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehannerhomestead

Redmond's Real Salt: https://glnk.io/oq72y/homestead-education

Episode 148: Homesteading on a Budget: Practical Tips to Grow Self-Sufficiency with Less Money: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/episode-148-homesteading-on-a-budget-practical-tips-to-grow-self-sufficiency-with-less-money/

Episode 119: Are you sustainably prepared?: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/episode-119-are-you-sustainably-prepared/

Kody's Links

Homestead Education Curriculum – http://thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteadeducationcurriculum

Homestead Family Reading List – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-summer-reading-list/

ESA Funding: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/funding/

Instagram – https://instagram.com/homestead_education 

Facebook – https://facebook.com/thehomesteadeducation

Raising Self-Sufficient Kids Book – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/raising-self-sufficient-children/

In this episode, I’m answering one of the questions I get asked all the time: How do I get it all done?

Between running a homestead, raising livestock, homeschooling, managing multiple businesses, traveling, running a co-op, and keeping up with a very full household, the real answer is—I don’t do it all.

I’m sharing what actually helps me keep things moving: delegating, building systems, choosing priorities, managing the mental load, using tools that work with my brain, knowing when to hire help, and accepting that sometimes “good enough” really is good enough.

I also share plenty of real-life homestead chaos along the way—from new piglets and heritage hogs to chicken disasters, ducks, harvest season, and the reality of trying to prepare for winter while running a business.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re working constantly but somehow still falling behind, this episode is for you.

Episode Links

Autumn of the Homestead Activity Book: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/seasons-on-the-homestead-autumn-educational-activity-book/

Hanner Homestead: info@hannerhomestead.com

80/20 Rule Book: https://amzn.to/4AeMfTl

The Gut Health Product That Changed My Life: https://shareplex.us/share/8qE7_VL

Kody’s Link

Homestead Education Curriculum – http://thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteadeducationcurriculum

Homestead Family Reading List – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-summer-reading-list/

ESA Funding: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/funding/

Instagram – https://instagram.com/homestead_education 

Facebook – https://facebook.com/thehomesteadeducation

Raising Self-Sufficient Kids Book – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/raising-self-sufficient-children/

Kody Hanner and Ron Hanner share a raw, practical story about marriage, parenting, homesteading, and rebuilding health after Ron was told he had end-stage liver disease and might have only a year to live. What follows is a story of fear, grit, and gradual change that led their family to rethink food, home life, and what it means to fight for one another. This episode matters because it connects nutrition, mindset, family systems, and healing in a way that feels lived in rather than theoretical.

In this episode:

Kody and Ron explain how they met, blended two families, and quickly built a new life together in Oregon

Ron describes the shock of being told he was "a little cirrhotic" and later diagnosed with compensated end-stage liver disease at 35

They talk through the emotional fallout, including fear, withdrawal, PTSD, and the strain the diagnosis put on the marriage

Kody shares how the doctor’s vague advice to pursue a more natural lifestyle became the first thing she could grab onto

They break down the drastic changes they made to food, including cooking from scratch, avoiding preservatives, and sourcing cleaner ingredients

The move to homesteading in North Idaho becomes a major turning point as they begin producing more of their own food

Ron explains how he managed chronic pain and disability through a spinal cord stimulator instead of narcotics

They discuss homeschooling, family meetings, chore systems, and how they learned to make the whole household part of the process

Kody and Ron share how they moved toward cleaner living with homemade cleaners, tallow and lard, fewer artificial scents, and more herbal remedies

The episode closes on their broader message: be proactive, be intentional, and do not hide from the hard things

Ron's Links

Hanner Homestead: www.hannerhomestead.com

Hanner Homestead IG: www.instagram.com/thehannerhomestead

Hanner Homestead FB: www.facebook.com/thehannerhomestead

Kody's Links

Homestead Education Curriculum – http://thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteadeducationcurriculum

Homestead Family Reading List – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-summer-reading-list/

Instagram – https://instagram.com/homestead_education 

Facebook – https://facebook.com/thehomesteadeducation

Raising Self-Sufficient Kids Book - https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/raising-self-sufficient-children/

Kody Hanner and Ron Hanner share a raw, practical story about marriage, parenting, homesteading, and rebuilding health after Ron was told he had end-stage liver disease and might have only a year to live. What follows is a story of fear, grit, and gradual change that led their family to rethink food, home life, and what it means to fight for one another. This episode matters because it connects nutrition, mindset, family systems, and healing in a way that feels lived in rather than theoretical.

In this episode:

Kody and Ron explain how they met, blended two families, and quickly built a new life together in Oregon

Ron describes the shock of being told he was "a little cirrhotic" and later diagnosed with compensated end-stage liver disease at 35

They talk through the emotional fallout, including fear, withdrawal, PTSD, and the strain the diagnosis put on the marriage

Kody shares how the doctor’s vague advice to pursue a more natural lifestyle became the first thing she could grab onto

They break down the drastic changes they made to food, including cooking from scratch, avoiding preservatives, and sourcing cleaner ingredients

The move to homesteading in North Idaho becomes a major turning point as they begin producing more of their own food

Ron explains how he managed chronic pain and disability through a spinal cord stimulator instead of narcotics

They discuss homeschooling, family meetings, chore systems, and how they learned to make the whole household part of the process

Kody and Ron share how they moved toward cleaner living with homemade cleaners, tallow and lard, fewer artificial scents, and more herbal remedies

The episode closes on their broader message: be proactive, be intentional, and do not hide from the hard things

Ron's Links

Hanner Homestead: www.hannerhomestead.com

Hanner Homestead IG: www.instagram.com/thehannerhomestead

Hanner Homestead FB: www.facebook.com/thehannerhomestead

Kody's Links

Homestead Education Curriculum – http://thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteadeducationcurriculum

Homestead Family Reading List – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-summer-reading-list/

Instagram – https://instagram.com/homestead_education 

Facebook – https://facebook.com/thehomesteadeducation

Raising Self-Sufficient Kids Book - https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/raising-self-sufficient-children/

Kody Hanner shares a solo episode that mixes personal life updates from a wildfire-filled summer with a practical rundown of major agriculture and food safety headlines. She also closes with a long reflection on county fairs, 4-H, and how local agricultural education shapes capable, community-minded kids. In this episode, Kody connects homestead life, livestock management, food policy, and youth ag education into one big picture of how agriculture touches daily life far beyond the farm. She also explains why she thinks local food systems matter more than ever when large-scale supply chains, regulations, and public health issues all collide.

Key topics

Kody explains how a major wildfire near her home pulled most of her family into fire duty for much of the summer, leaving her to run the farm, the business, and the home largely on her own.

She gives a homestead update, including 31 piglets across four litters, her mixed pig breeding program, and her goal of growing Hanner Homestead into a recognizable source of quality heritage pork.

She talks about a new Brown Swiss bull calf, A2A2 testing, and how that information helps shape long-term dairy and beef management decisions.

Kody shares poultry plans for the year, including raising meat birds later than usual and using new Idaho laws to make direct retail sales easier.

She introduces her homemade udder balm, which she says has become a practical chafing cream for firefighters and may soon be offered more broadly.

We discuss the Cargill and Tyson meatpacking antitrust and price-fixing settlement, and Kody breaks down how monopolistic control can squeeze farmers while raising consumer prices.

She covers a feedlot study that found unexpected lactation in some cattle and heifers, then walks through possible causes, including hormone implants, high-concentrate grain diets, plant estrogen activity, and mold exposure.

Kody reviews the tension between commercial feedlot management and her own preference for grass-fed livestock and smaller-scale production decisions.

She provides an educational explanation of recent food safety outbreaks, including Cyclospora and Salmonella cases linked to produce, and emphasizes how contamination can occur at many points in the supply chain.

She explains the difference between common public assumptions about imported produce and the actual layers of certification, inspection, sanitation, and testing that major food systems use.

Kody discusses the effort to define ultra-processed foods more clearly and the push to reform the GRAS system, which allows certain additives to bypass deeper review.

She highlights ingredients and additives she sees as problematic, including BHA, BHT, azodicarbonamide, red dye number two, brominated vegetable oil, and other questionable compounds.

The episode closes with a detailed look at county fairs as agricultural education, community infrastructure, youth development, and a major economic force in rural life.

Episode Links

Udder Balm Recipe: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/udder-balm/

The Cargill Lawsuit: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-rules-beef-purchasers-can-pursue-price-fixing-class-actions-2026-07-17/

Lactating Steers: https://members.acresusa.com/lactating-steers-hormonal-implants/

FDA Outbreak Updates: https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/investigation-multistate-outbreak-cyclospora-illnesses-iceberg-lettuce-july-2026

GRAS definition: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-ingredients-packaging/generally-recognized-safe-gras

Homestead Education Links

Homestead Education Curriculum – http://thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteadeducationcurriculum

Homestead Family Reading List – https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-summer-reading-list/

Instagram – https://instagram.com/homestead_education 

Facebook – https://facebook.com/thehomesteadeducation