(Be sure to take a look at our photo gallery below!)
I have deep roots here in the picturesque Lykens Valley, where I spent my childhood on our family's 60-acre farm. My memories are filled with both the joys and challenges of farm life alongside my parents and siblings. Our family was dedicated to dairy farming until 2008 when the fluctuating milk market led us to change paths.
In November 2018, I embarked on a new journey when I married my lovely wife, Barbie Anne. We moved to a cozy 2-acre home and as time passed, we found ourselves increasingly drawn to the idea of carrying forward the legacy of our family farm that Grandpa had bought in 1982. Despite my teenage indifference towards farming, the prospect grew on me as we built our family. We were blessed with three wonderful children: David Mark in 2019, Micah James in 2021, and Rosa Faith in 2023.
By December 2020, we decided to embrace our destiny and returned to the farm. Since then, we've been immersing ourselves in learning and implementing practices like Regenerative Farming and Grass Farming. Currently, our farm brims with life - 9 beef cows and steers, 1 bull, 24 Katahdin Hair Sheep, 5 Idaho Pasture Pigs, 2 horses, 1 family cow, and a loyal dog. These numbers fluctuate with each lambing, calving, and farrowing season.
One aspect of farming that I find incredibly rewarding and therapeutic is rotating the cows and sheep through the pastures daily. It's a practice that benefits both the animals and our soil fertility.
We're big advocates of self-sustainability and fully support anyone who wishes to raise their own food. To help others achieve this, we became dealers for Superior Poultry Alumicoops in 2021, offering quality products for raising your own egg-laying and meat chickens.
As of January 2024, we're excited (and a tad nervous!) to embark on a new journey - direct marketing of farm food products. We hope that this venture will not only bring health and wellness to our community but also foster closer connections with you all.
May God bless you!
Your Homesteading Friend,
Raymond