our story
Welcome to Traveling Roots Farmstead, the journey to our farm.
We’re Todd and Marcia Schabel, high school sweethearts married in 2013 on a farm in Appleton, Wisconsin. Our wedding was our starting point of knowing we wanted to have a farm someday. After our wedding, we purchased our first house, focused on our careers and lost sight of our dream of having a farm.
In 2019 we took a big u-turn in life and took some big steps toward our farm. We sold our house and downsized into a 21 ft RV to visit/learn from farmers across the US. In June 2020 we left Wisconsin and headed to Vermont to visit our first farm. From Vermont, we traveled down to Georgia, stopping at farms along the way. Each farm offered us a gift, a look inside their farm, an opportunity to get to know the family, and each one blessed us with their wisdom. As we left each farm we talked about what we learned, what felt right for us, and what we knew wouldn’t be a good fit for us.
We even stayed 9 days at a farm in North Carolina and had a video production crew there to capture our stay with our RV. Watch our Thor RV video here.
A few things we learned on our farm tour
• How to process a pig and chickens
• Todd’s first time milking a cow
• Helped construct a high tunnel
• Benefits and uses of a homestead greenhouse
• Regenerative practices and rotational grazing
• Managing and caring for honeybees
• And so much more!
We visited 15 farms while traveling starting in Vermont, then down to Georgia, over to Texas, up to Utah and Wyoming, to Missouri, and back home to Wisconsin.
May 2022 brought us home to Marcia’s family farm with the news we were expecting our first child. Marcia grew up on a farm in Theresa, Wisconsin, and we are now blessed to learn alongside her Grandma and Grandpa as we farm with them. They used to be dairy farmers and are now enjoying learning new things alongside of us. We haven’t found our land/farm yet, but we know we will when the time is right. For now, we are enjoying each moment we get with our grandparents to work alongside of them to build our farm.
As the legendary Joel Salatin says, “Bloom where you’re planted”.
We are honored to share our story with you as we grow.
Join us on the journey to our farm.
Hey, I’m Marcia. I’m a brand designer, microgreens grower, and farmer. I’m the biggest dreamer between us; Todd is often the one to be logical and ground me down. After experiencing a near-death experience in 2018, I firmly believe in going after any scary dreams since we’re the only ones who can commit to them and make them happen for ourselves. My heart and eyes were wide open after this experience. What was the scariest part of my life turned into the biggest blessing of it.
In 2022 my business partner Joe and I launched Traveling Roots, a website to connect local farmers with their community. Very few business ideas scare me, but when God put Traveling Roots on my heart, I knew it was my next big step. Bigger than I could imagine, I trusted and prayed along the way. Local farms need our support now more than ever, and it’s our goal to make the connection even easier for local communities.
Hey, I’m Todd. I’m an artist, carpenter, and farmer. Before our farm tour, I knew we wanted to own a farm someday, but I didn’t grow up on a farm as Marcia did. So I knew I needed to get experience and learn before we were to jump right in.
Each farm showed me a glimpse into the lives of the farmers, which allowed me to envision what that could be for us.
When I’m not on the farm helping or spending time with Marcia and Theo, I am in my studio, attending plein air (outdoor painting) events or working part-time building reclaimed furniture. See my artwork here: schabelfineart.com.
My paintings’ ultimate goal is to share the endless beauty found in farming. This is in the physical beauty of how the light dances over the fields, animals, and structures, but also the conceptual beauty of living lightly on the land and the practices used to maintain that purpose for generations upon generations to come. The best word to describe this would be harmony.
