Cover Story
When Karah Skinner first created a social media page, she wasn’t trying to become an influencer. She simply wanted to sell farm products. What began as a practical way to let friends and neighbors know what meat was available from her family’s farm has since grown into a thriving online community where thousands of followers gather for recipes, stories from the farm, encouragement for family life, and a glimpse into the everyday joys of rural living. Today, Karah and her husband, Kaleb, operate Rock House Farms while raising their children, homeschooling, serving in their church, and sharing their faith through the ordinary moments of life. Along the way, Karah has become a respected voice for agriculture, serving as a 2026 Sweet Grown Alabama Ambassador and helping connect consumers with the farmers who produce their food. She also serves as president of the Cleburne County Farmers Federation and participates in leadership opportunities through the Alabama Farmers Federation. She will be one of the chefs on the Alfa Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage at Birmingham Christian Family’s Celebrate the Family Expo on September 12, 2026 at Hoover Met Complex’s Finley Center. In the midst of such appearances along with her growing audience, she and her husband remain focused on the same priorities that guided them from the beginning: faith, family, and faithful stewardship.
Early Farm Dreams. Karah met Kaleb when she was just 17 years old while still in high school; he lived in Heflin, Ala. and she lived in nearby rural Ga. They married five years later and have now shared nearly two decades of marriage, building both a family and a business together. Their farm and home today are in Fruithurst, Ala., not far from where they both grew up. In those early years, life looked much different than it does today. Karah worked as a hairstylist while Kaleb worked in construction. In 2015, they began building poultry houses, then slowly added a few cows and hogs to provide meat for their own family. As friends began asking to purchase meat themselves, the Skinners stepped into direct-to-consumer sales. Eventually, they opened a farm store, giving local families access to quality farm-raised products. “It just grew naturally,” Karah said. Today, their operation is primarily made up of South Poll cattle, a breed developed in Alabama by Teddy Gentry of the country music group Alabama. The Skinners were early believers in the breed and have expanded their herd over the years. “It’s a different breed,” Karah explained. “We bought directly from Teddy and got a South Poll bull years ago. Then we bought others from Missouri and kept growing.” Kaleb still works an off-farm job, making their evenings and weekends especially busy. “He does the heavy lifting,” Karah said. “We also have a farm hand, but we really work on it together.” Karah oversees marketing, customer communication, photography, recipes, and social media. 
Ironically, the turning point in Karah’s online journey had little to do with farming, and everything to do with cooking. As customers purchased from Rock House Farms, they repeatedly asked the same question: “How do you cook this?” Karah began sharing recipes online and they soon became one of the most popular parts of her page. Over time, her audience grew beyond local customers to include people from across the country—and even around the world. Her audience often finds humor in regional traditions. “A lot of my followers are from California or other places,” she said. “They’ll ask, ‘What are cheese grits?’ And then they’ll ask, ‘How do you stay fit if you eat like this?’” Her answer? “It’s really about portion control and eating real, minimally processed foods.” She also believes home cooking doesn’t have to be intimidating. “I try to be realistic,” she said. “Sure, it would be nice if everything came from your own garden, but sometimes it’s okay to use a few convenience items to make a quick meal.” That practical approach has resonated with families who simply want meals they can realistically prepare after busy days. Raising her own large family in the country requires creative planning and cooking; grocery trips aren’t quick, so meal planning and keeping a well-stocked pantry and freezer are simply part of family life. “We live out in the country and so if I need something, I have to drive to the closest town,” she said. “If we get down to a gallon of milk or a few sticks of butter, I’ll need to make a grocery store run. It’s really about prioritizing healthy choices, and also being realistic,” she said. “We don’t keep a lot of junk food around, but we also understand that sometimes you need quick meals.” She loves sharing her tips and tricks–and favorite recipes like peanut butter pie or an Alabama peach-inspired dessert–with her followers, hoping that they leave her pages encouraged rather than overwhelmed.
Sweet Home Alabama. As her audience has grown, so have the opportunities to promote Alabama agriculture beyond her own farm. Through social media, she helps bridge the gap between producers and consumers while encouraging other farmers to tell their own stories online. She said that things like produce stands, home bakers, and other farm- and home-prepared products are finding popularity and presence through social media outlets, and she’s excited to highlight them in Alabama. Her own online community has been growing steadily since 2015—not because of viral moments, but because of years of showing up faithfully. “If it grows too fast,” she said, “it may not be the audience you really want.” She encourages other creators to stay consistent and intentional. Posting regularly, especially through Instagram stories, has become one of the habits that has helped her remain connected with followers. Karah can be found on her blog at rockhousefarmsllc.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @rockhousefarmsllc. 
Faith & Family. While farming and social media occupy much of her workday, Karah is quick to point to her family as her highest priority. She and Kaleb are raising a large family that includes both biological and adopted children. Homeschooling is woven into the rhythm of everyday life, filling much of the school year while continuing even through parts of the summer. Their five children range in age from 5 to 14. “Once we had kids, we made faith and church a priority,” Karah said. “I feel like we’re able to implement our faith because we homeschool. We can teach both the world view and the Biblical view.” The couple leaned heavily on their faith when their four-year-old daughter Lexie tragically died in a tractor accident in 2019. “If not for my faith and relationship with God I would have never made it through the following months of grief. He was with me and was my only source of comfort in those very dark days when nothing on this side of heaven could help,” Karah reflects. The family attends Bremen Church of Christ in nearby Georgia and it has helped shape both their family life and their parenting. Many of their children’s closest friendships have come through church and the homeschool community. Karah’s own family upbringing has had an influence on both her faith and her priorities. Both her mother and grandmother maintained gardens, and many family meals featured fresh vegetables picked just hours before dinner. Those memories continue to influence how she feeds her own family today. “My mother and my grandmother always had a garden,” she remembered. “Every time we visited, we were eating corn, green beans—everything came from the garden.” They usually ate those meals around the table together and believes that’s something that has been lost in today’s busy culture. “I actually read some statistics not long ago,” she said. “Families aren’t sitting around the dinner table together like they used to.” Eating together provides families the opportunity to communicate and share openly about their lives.
In everything she and her husband do– from farm work to social media posting to eating together as a family– the Skinners hope to live out their faith in relatable ways. They see their entire lives as an opportunity to honor God and know Him better. “It’s a wonderful life, out in the country,” she said, “and I realize how big of a blessing it is to raise kids here.”
-Cheryl Wray
