Our Journey to Full Time
Farmers: Part 1
When we bought our land in 2013, there was absolutely no infrastructure for a farm. It was a simple red brick house on a plot of land with some open pasture but primarily wooded. We got started quickly with our first vegetable garden, and got going on a small flock of laying chickens and a quartet of geese.
In 2014, we decided to branch out and raise ducks because of their delicious and nutrient dense eggs. By this time, we had begun to think more seriously about the the foods we ate, especially as we considered starting a family. As many things go, what starts with a little bit ends up with a lot…
We enjoyed raising the ducks for their eggs so much, that when a friend asked if we would be interested in raising ducks for meat, we started to consider it. After trying some of the ducks from our original laying flock, we were completely on board with raising ducks for meat. That same year, we decided to branch out with heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving, and with that decision we became actual first generation farmers. At the time we didn’t imagine that we would ever be able to quit our day jobs, or that the farm life that we were establishing would be sustainable, but we enjoyed working with the animals and the land enough to try. After the first full year of raising our birds on pasture, we started to realize that what we had going was pretty exciting… It was tough to find quality meat locally, and you can simply forget about finding quality poultry when searching in a grocery store! It became important for us to consider raising most of the meat that we ate, so that we could ensure our health and the health of our future children. What began as an exciting time spent testing the waters of farming, turned into a passion and a consideration for the future, and somehow, 2 careers.
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