May 1, 2026
Some projects sit in the back of your mind for years before they become real. Today, Barn in the Sticks became real. The idea may have changed as I have changed through the years, but today, it has new fire.
After nearly twenty years of thinking about it, planning it, and letting life get in the way — the LLC is filed, the website is live, and Google officially knows we exist. Not bad for a Friday in southern Wisconsin.
The barn has been here longer than I have. An 1840s dairy operation on 18 acres outside Argyle — two concrete silos, a gambrel roof, and enough history in the walls to fill a book. I bought the place in 2020 and have been slowly bringing it back to life ever since. The farmhouse is getting there. The barn is next.
What is Barn in the Sticks exactly? Honestly, it’s still figuring itself out. It’s a farm restoration. It’s a woodworking shop. It’s a kitchen where sourdough gets made on Saturday mornings. It’s a consulting practice for people who need someone who’s actually run things. It’s a YouTube channel that started with egg cooking videos and is going somewhere interesting.
Today felt like the right day to start telling the story properly. In the time that Barn in the Sticks first surfaced in my head, I’ve grown as a person. I have years of experience under my belt in manufacturing, distribution, supply chain and purchasing management, and I’ve successfully implemented ERP systems, I’m ready. But Barn in the Sticks will be more than that, it is a story of rebuilding a 1840’s farmhouse and barn, the simple self-sufficiency to make our own bread, make food from scratch without preservatives, how to frame in a window or install siding, how to rebuild a carburetor on an old Farmall 400, how to make small square bales and…how not to. Raising chickens, planting a small garden, and back to Barn in the Sticks original plan, building bat houses, birdhouses, bird feeders, and a new twist on my woodworking skills, bringing to life furniture and custom knives that have lived in my head for years.
The grass is green. The silos are standing. The starter is in the fridge. And Right to Party is running tomorrow in Post 5 at Churchill Downs.
Not a bad start.
— Chad