Woodlife’s Year of Growth

If you’ve been to the Berkshires lately, chances are you’ve heard about Woodlife Farm Market. Maybe you stopped by for fresh tomatoes, grabbed a rack of Chef Peter’s slow-smoked barbecue, or wandered through the greenhouse on a Saturday afternoon.

This past year has been a turning point. Sales at Woodlife are up 50 percent. The market has added concerts and weddings to its calendar. Families plan their weekends around seasonal festivals. What began as a farm market has evolved into a place people choose to mark important moments of their lives.

The reason for that growth isn’t complicated. People are craving something real. A chance to step away from screens, step into a greenhouse, and walk away with something grown from the soil beneath their feet.

The Farm-to-Table Spirit

Woodlife Farm Market was never about creating a store. It was about creating an experience.

The shelves and counters are full of food with a story: produce picked from nearby orchards, seafood brought in fresh, and barbecue made low and slow by a team that knows the value of patience. Visitors often come for one thing—a jar of honey, a tray of plants, a sandwich from the deli—and leave with more than they expected.

The market hums with the rhythm of the seasons. Gladiolus in summer. Pumpkins in the fall. Christmas trees when the year winds down. That rhythm has become part of the way locals experience the Berkshires.

A Local Story with a National Echo

The growth at Woodlife feels local. But it also echoes something bigger happening across the country.

Realtor.com recently reported that rural mortgage applications have jumped 80 percent since the pandemic. Prices in rural counties are rising more than three times faster than in metro areas. People want land. Not just a backyard, but space—enough for a garden, a workshop, a chicken coop, or a place to try out the ideas that have been on the back burner for too long.

This isn’t about retreating from the world. It’s about building a life that feels more connected to it. Modern homesteading is on the rise, and Woodlife is part of the proof.

From a Barn to a Vision

To understand why Woodlife resonates so much, you have to go back to the beginning.

In the mid-1990s, Mike Patten bought a run-down farmhouse in the Berkshires. It was a wreck, built around the skeleton of an old barn. But he saw potential. Over the years, he rebuilt, restored, and expanded it, slowly stitching together parcels of land until the property became Woodlife Ranch.

From that starting point grew Woodlife Farm Market. The idea was simple: share what the land produced, and do it in a way that celebrates community and sustainability.

That vision hasn’t just endured—it’s flourished. And it has shaped how Patten approaches every other project he’s taken on.

The Bigger Picture: Land as Opportunity

Today, through Patten Properties, Mike has extended that same philosophy to acreage communities in other parts of the country. These are places where families can own land and decide how to use it—gardens, beekeeping, woodworking, or simply wide-open space for the next generation.

At Republic Grand Ranch and The Estates of Texas Grand Ranch, for example, residents are encouraged to take the same spirit that makes Woodlife thrive and apply it to their own acreage. Roads follow natural contours. Tree lines are preserved. Owners have freedom within thoughtful guidelines, creating communities that balance independence with shared standards.

The common thread? Land as opportunity. Land as legacy.

The Philosophy That Connects It All

When you look at Woodlife Farm Market and Patten’s acreage communities side by side, the geography is different, but the philosophy is the same.

It’s about more than growth numbers, though those are impressive. It’s about creating places where people can put down roots—literally and figuratively. Where land is not just a backdrop, but a catalyst for living differently.

At Woodlife, that takes the form of a bustling farm market that also hosts weddings and special events. In Texas, it takes the form of acreage communities where residents can garden, build workshops, or start passion projects. Both are grounded in the same belief: when people are connected to the land, they create richer lives for themselves and stronger communities for everyone.

Looking Ahead

Woodlife’s story is still being written. With weddings, concerts, seasonal events, and continued growth, the market has become a cornerstone of the Berkshires. Its success reflects a larger movement: Americans are rethinking the way they live, what they eat, and how they invest in their futures.

Modern homesteading is no longer a niche lifestyle. It’s becoming a mainstream choice for families, young professionals, and retirees alike. Whether that looks like buying honey at Woodlife Farm Market or buying acreage in a Patten community, the impulse is the same: to live with more intention, to invest in sustainability, and to build something lasting.

Mike Patten’s vision—born from a barn and sixty acres in the Berkshires—continues to thrive at Woodlife Farm Market. And it’s carried forward every time someone plants a garden, builds a shop, or gathers neighbors together on a piece of land they can call their own.

Your land. Your vision. Your legacy.