Our Homesteading Speakers
Meet the experienced fellow homesteaders that will be sharing their knowledge on specific topics to help you along your own homesteading journey
Steffane Bartl | Bartl Homestead
Convention Host, Lead Educator & Visionary
Steffane is the heart, mind, and driving force behind the South Alabama Homestead Convention. For over a decade, she has been in the trenches of self-sufficient living alongside her husband, Matthew, and their four boys—building a thriving homestead from the ground up, deeply rooted in vintage traditions, honest labor, and clean food.
Steffane didn’t start with a multi-generational blueprint or a commercial farm layout; her journey began right where so many aspiring families find themselves—searching for a more intentional way to nourish her children and reclaim skills that felt lost to time. Through ten years of hands-on trial, messy mistakes, and unwavering dedication, she istransforming those early challenges into a deeply rewarding lifestyle centered on home-raised food, daily farm rhythms, and real self-reliance.
Margaret Roper | Roper Farm
Margaret and her family are on a mission to help fellow families build real, sustainable food security right in their own backyards. On their Southern Alabama farm, the Ropers raise pigs, chickens, and gardens, with a specialized passion for raising Rex rabbits—one of the most practical, space-efficient, and beginner-friendly livestock choices for home-raised meat.
Margaret knows firsthand how intimidating it can feel to take those first steps into livestock and meat processing when you didn’t grow up on a farm. She breaks down old-fashioned farm skills into calm, approachable, step-by-step lessons, showing you how hardworking animals like Rex rabbits can turn even a modest patch of land into a reliable source of clean, wholesome protein for your family’s table. Margaret’s patient guidance gives parents the practical confidence to start doing it yourselves.
Matthew Bartl | Bartl Homestead
4th-Generation Farmer, Husband & Lead Educator
Matthew is a 4th-generation farmer dedicated to direct-to-consumer heritage farming. Alongside his wife, Steffane, and their four sons, Matthew is on a mission to reconnect families to the source of their food while showing men what it takes to turn ambitious homesteading dreams into working reality.
Behind every thriving homestead is a husband who knows how to love, support, and lead a visionary wife. Matthew channels Steffane’s big ideas into solid infrastructure, daily farm operations, and long-term security—proving that homesteading is at its best when a couple operates as an aligned, unstoppable team.
As a father raising four boys on the land, Matthew views the farm as the ultimate training ground for the next generation. Through honest labor, livestock management, and practical problem-solving, he is instilling grit and responsibility in his sons. Matthew offers the men in the crowd grounded wisdom on building farm infrastructure, managing livestock, and leading a family team with confidence.
Meaghan Benford | Purely Pastured Farm
Meaghan is a wife, mom, and farmer who loves raising her family and growing food the way God intended—slowly, intentionally, and with care.
Together with her family, Meaghan runs Purely Pastured Farm, a small regenerative farm in South Alabama. Meaghan and her family raise pasture-raised pork, chicken, eggs, and grass-finished beef, focusing on healthy animals, healthy land, and wholesome food for local families.
Farming is hard work, but it’s also a way of life that Meaghan is incredibly grateful for. From early mornings on the farm to moving animals, tending the pastures, and raising our children alongside them, they’re building something they hope will bless their family and their community for generations to come.