A New Era for an Old Farm

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June 25, 2024

Last year we had the great fortune to acquire a neighboring farm with Molly’s parents through a land contract with the prior owners, Christine (Chris) and Bob Brannon. Chris and Bob owned the property since the late 70s when they had dairy cattle and a small milking operation. Their milking parlor and now-vintage equipment still sits in the barn, untouched since they stopped farming in 1985. A calendar from that year still hangs on the wall with Bob’s handwriting detailing the tasks for that month.

Originally, the Brannons also owned the property where Molly’s parents now live, which they considered the “back 40.” This acquisition means that we are bringing these parcels back together. In the light of the fact that 2,000 acres of farmland are lost every day in the US, this is no small matter. We are delighted to bring agriculture back to this once working landscape. And we get to hear Bob’s stories and gather his insights about how he farmed this land, as he and Chris continue to live across the street.

This property enables us to expand our operation (we’ve added pastured pork!) and provide more financial stability to the business. This farm has 15 acres of pasture, an old bank barn that we hope to gradually convert into an on-farm store and maybe an indoor concert venue, a cistern that needs a lot of work, a milking parlor that could someday be revived, and a perfect place to run our pork operation. The pigs are helping us to renovate the degraded and invasive-covered “pastures” behind the barn by rooting out shrubs and providing access so we can seed behind them.

This is the location for our weekly on-farm pickups each Thursday 5-6pm. So next time you visit us, ask for a tour of the old milking parlor - CJ loves to geek out on the vintage equipment and history of the place!

CJ and Pepper clearing out the bottom of the bank barn.

Showing friends and family around the old milking parlor and barn where we now raise pigs in the winter.

Inside the barn which we hope to someday renovate.

Expanding to Greener Pastures

We’ve got some exciting news to share! We are transitioning into being the new owners of the Shew Family Farm. This winter, we have been discussing the possibilities of a farm transition — as Pete & Marjie sought to create a plan for retirement, in hopes that their farm could be stewarded in a similar manner, and as we sought to expand our beef operation on our current limited land base. With guidance from our Uncle Jon Sowash, we devised a land contract to purchase the farm over the next many years in installments. In December, we also purchased the Shew’s brood cows and young calves. It’s no small feat to pass a farm from one generation to the next, particularly when it’s not to children. According to the American Farmland Trust, 2,000 acres of farmland are lost to non-agricultural uses every day. This has been a full circle moment, as Pete has been a mentor to us for several years. When I first started our farm in 2020, I cold-called him to see if I could visit and learn from him. I remember visiting one day to learn about handling cattle and to “help” as Pete brought a few steers down to the barn and loaded them into the trailer for the butcher. Over lunch, Marjie shared how they weren’t sure who would take over the farm when they retired and remarked, “maybe you’ll buy this place one day!” My eyes grew wide and I laughed, thinking to myself — me?! I have no idea how to farm. What does this mean for us and the Shews? We will continue to live and farm here in Athens County where we’ll run our pastured pork operation. During the growing season, we will run the cattle at the Shew farm where we’ll have the space to increase the herd size and maintain a breeding operation for the first time. As winter approaches, we will bring the herd back to our Athens farm to graze stockpiled forages — reducing the amount of hay we need to feed and making winter chores easier. Pete & Marjie will continue living in their home. They will be raising their butcher-ready steers and selling beef at the Athens Farmers Market this season before retiring in the fall. We are grateful that they will be staying on the property and advising us, as we get to know the farm and continue to learn as first-generation farmers. How does this enable us to raise our own calves? Until now, we have been purchasing weaned calves in the spring from other grass-fed farms and raising them to butcher weight. But we are getting squeezed by the cattle market, making it difficult to run a profitable enterprise. In spring 2021, we were purchasing calves for $1.62/lb or $680 for a 420 lb animal. Right now, the average price for the same calves is $5.25/lb or $2,205. People have often asked us — why don’t we raise our own calves? But on just 50 acres of pasture that we lease from family, we don’t have the space to maintain a herd of brood cows without having to really reduce our production. After all, a mama cow needs about 2 acres of pasture to live, so we’d have to free up space by reducing the number of steers we raise for beef. Last year we tried to expand our land base by leasing smaller, noncontiguous land near us. This involved hauling cattle to a different property every month or so, trucking water, and setting up temporary fencing. This opportunity to expand to the Shew property’s 115 acres of pasture means we can now run a “birth to butcher” operation in one centralized place. Better soils mean more beef! This also means we can increase beef production, as the soils have been so improved by the Shew’s managed grazing that they can support nearly twice the number of animals per acre as our Athens pastures. Pete told us that when they moved there in 1984, the organic matter of their soils was around 2-3%. In 2024, soil samples showed organic matter ranging from 4-6%! That is incredible improvement in soil health in a short amount of time. These productive soils will allow us to sustainably meet the growing demand for our grass-fed beef. More than anything, we are excited about the opportunity to invest in soils that have been improved for 42 years by sustainable grazing practices. That’s the best farm insurance policy we could ask for. We are honored to carry on the legacy of Pete & Marjie. We’ve got big Shews to fill.

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A New Era for an Old Farm

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