Just two miles south of Great Bend is a farm with a rich family history dating back to the 1880s.
Today its occupants are looking to sell products raised on the farm directly to consumers. The Barnstead Farm Stand at 32 SW 20 Rd. offers chicken and duck eggs, tallow balm, and other handmade crafts to those looking for farm-fresh products. JoAnn Gaunt runs the stand and keeps it stocked with help from her children.
“Trying to get food to local people from as local of a place as possible is a passion of mine. This is just the start of that,” JoAnn said.
The stand opened earlier this spring and JoAnn is looking to increase traffic and get word out about the stand, so more people can enjoy what the farm has to offer.
On the farm they raise animals of many kinds. Ducks freely roam the yard in search of the occasional puddle and chickens scratch for the hidden morsel. While visitors shop at the stand, they can also purchase food to feed the feathered friends. Turkeys, dogs, cats, and cattle make up the difference and each plays a role on the farmstead.
Fresh honey and beeswax products, made from hives kept on nearby pasture, will soon be available, JoAnn said. She added that she also hopes to eventually offer beef products and freshly milled flour.
The farmstead has been in JoAnn’s family for generations with the current barn dating back to 1909. She has many childhood memories of playing with her brother on the property.
“From what we can tell, my family settled this in 1888,” JoAnn said.
Although the original farmhouse burned down sometime in the 1950s, JoAnn and her husband built a new house where the old farm equipment was kept after a suggestion from her father.
“We were looking for a new house, and my dad was like, ‘Why don’t you just pull something out to the barn and just live out there until you guys can build a new house?’,” JoAnn said. That’s where JoAnn and her family have lived ever since, raising animals on the property.
The stand is located at 32 SW 20 Rd. and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. JoAnn welcomes anyone to stop by to purchase fresh eggs and other products.
