About Us
Our farm might be small but our family is anything but! In 2018, we had both come through difficult divorces and were a newly married and blended family – Jake had 7, Amanda had 4, and we had one together. We had two mini-vans, a shed, a few thousand dollars to spare, and a dozen kids between us. We were starting over {literally} in life. Our land was our actual blank slate to build on – there were almost no trees, no garden, no fences.. just fields filled with dead grass and sandy soil.
Our seemingly difficult situation was actually a blessing in disguise as it forced us to find creative ways to make things work. We had to go against the grain of the mass expenses of modern farming to find an affordable way to raise our own food. We had no farming experience or agriculture related education, no government grants, loans, or outside investments. No barn, shop, or tractor. And no savings to fall back on if we failed. We looked to the pioneers and homesteaders of old and believed that if we found heritage breeds and heirloom seeds bred for our environment, we could do without the fancy buildings and equipment too.
We have built all that we have by requiring that everything on our farm contributes and “pulls its weight.” We also continuously reinvest what we bring in to improve our effort, and these two principles have allowed us to grow exponentially. Together with our kids, we planted a small farm “seed” and have worked to grow it into something so much more. This regenerative process of working with nature has had a profound impact on us – we’ve watched the roots grow deeper in both our land and family. It has been the family adventure of a lifetime, and we’re so grateful for it!
"The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine for ever.
Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow
With food celestial feedeth."
Our philosophy
Our goal is simple: to follow our Creator’s model for His creation. If you’ve ever driven by a cow or pig feed lot, you’ve witnessed the great travesty of our time. Our country has tried to make a factory out of a farm and turned herbivores into carnivores and then wonders why they have to pump them full of toxins to make them live until slaughter day.
We’ve looked to the common farming methods to see what’s wrong, and the modern farmers using ancient techniques to see how to get back to “right.” We’ve experienced first hand that it is possible to build soil over time by intentionally raising animals to add to the soil rather than deplete it, and that in turn the animals will then provide more nutrient dense food.
To accomplish this, we practice rotational grazing to keep our animals on fresh pasture so that they are allowed to root, graze, peck, and roam to their heart’s content.
Spend an hour watching a pig being a pig or a chicken being a chicken and you’ll wonder at how these animals could ever be raised in concrete cages.
We believe the sign of a healthy farm is in the smell.. it should smell good. There are two key elements to this: fresh pasture and high-quality feed. And when it comes to feed, local is best! We believe that what is grown and raised locally holds far more nutritional quality and community value than what is shipped. It is our mission to source everything we can locally first.
We hope you will take a look around and see our animals, why we’ve chosen them, and that it is possible to have a healthy symbiotic relationship with the food you consume. We nourish them in life and they nourish us in death.. what a beautiful design!