Homesteaders United Jamboree 2025 in Concord, NC
August 28-30, 2025
Thank you all who joined us at the Homesteaders United Jamboree. This was one of the most interactive and hands on events I have gotten to be a part of in quite some time.
My partner, Joshua Hoofard, and I had the honor of sharing our life experience with hand harvesting sheep. A task that is not for the faint of heart. With over 20 years of shepherding livestock, as well as harvesting domesticated and wild animals, taking a life never becomes easy. We hold it a high honor to be able to teach such a critical skill so the ancient ways are not lost, but preserved for our health today and food sovereignty for the coming years.
There is no way to do this successfully without a sharp knife. Joshua educated us on the types of steel, and which ones last longer. He taught us about proper angles for the blade, and how to accomplish keeping a sharper edge. He demonstrated the Wicked Knife Sharpener system (links below)and stressed the importance of the investment in good tools for those that are getting serious about homesteading. When we consider how much money we spend on other tools that we might only use once or twice a year, on a homestead, we use our knives daily. Keeping a good sharp edge on them not only makes cutting meat easier, but it keeps us safe so we do not have to work so hard with cutting, and also gives us a more successful slaughter when it comes time to harvest.
I was blessed to get to educate the audience on the blood-borne pathogens and parasites that are transferred between the animals and humans, if we intentionally or unintentionally consume the blood. One of the most special part of our lesson is to share the biblical standard for clean slaughter. God gives us instruction to pour out the blood on the ground like water, for the life is in the blood. We offered solutions to help remove the blood from all meats consumed.
Jamboree attendees were given the opportunity to help slaughter the sheep, skin and process. We then enjoyed the fruit of our labor, and shared a meal with the home-cooked harvest. This was truly a farm to table experience for all of those involved.
We would like to thank our sponsors:
JEH Construction, LLC https://www.jehconstructionllc.com/
Farm Foundations, LLC https://farmfoundations.com/
as well as are partners with the Homesteaders United Jamboree: https://homesteadersunited.com/
The Fit Farmer: Mike and Lacie Dickson And
The Homesteading Agent / Sprinkle with Soil Tim and Sophia Eng
Below you will find the link to the documents provided at the conference for the sheep slaughter and knife sharpening systems demonstrated.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1565mhdAg916n6dBqC9-dBFdLZnzCzv4rYUxjWKcM8OA/edit?usp=drivesdk
Complete Wicked Edge https://amzn.to/487HejU
W. E. Without Micro Adjust https://amzn.to/4m4exaY