In this episode, we sit down with Buck Alford, an Atlanta native who traded suburban life for the wide-open fields and beauty of upstate New York. Buck shares the unexpected path that pulled his family north: a growing conviction about food, place, hospitality, and living closer to the land. 

What began as a simple desire to cook with better ingredients evolved into ripping out suburban landscaping, experimenting with edible gardens, and ultimately moving onto his father-in-law’s sixth-generation farm.

Buck talks candidly about raising five kids through the transition, learning to farm by doing “the next obvious thing,” and discovering the power of gathering people around a table. From pigs and pasture experiments to forming a new community in a rural town, Buck’s story is a reminder that small, faithful steps can reshape a family’s entire trajectory.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to rebuild life around food, place, and Christian hospitality, this conversation is for you.

This conversation encapsulates what we hope to do here with the Plain Values Podcast, telling stories that matter and bring us closer to the table.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

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Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com.