Since I was a kid and had my first farm experience, I've wanted to have my own land and animals. When I first thought of farming, it was only on a small scale, with a few fowl and a garden. We started the garden and I bought two turkeys at Russell Feed. I was entertained. They say the gateway to farming is chickens, but for me it was turkeys! I'm a salesman by trade. This farming thing was ALL so different and new to me. I had become hooked on the connection of the land and animals and I wanted more. More chickens, more livestock, more independence from pesticides, soy, and GMOs, and more land to be self-sufficient. I wanted to know more about what I put into my body and how it affected my health.

I started with a small garden and a few turkeys in my postage-stamp backyard with an HOA that I was clearly violating. So we bought a few acres 40 miles from work and I built my first chicken coop; I gotta say I felt pretty accomplished, especially coming from a sales guy that never built a thing in his life. I hadn't killed the few laying hens I had, so I decided to get meat birds. And I built a bigger coop, a John Suscovich-style chicken tractor, again this was huge for me! The commitment was also huge; I worked my 8-10 hour days and would drive 40 miles back and forth to water, feed, and move the birds every day. I can't tell you what exact thing switched or when it occurred, but by the time the meat birds were ready for the trip to freezer camp, this hobby of mine had become a passion I couldn't shake. And tasting the birds after solidified my decision that livestock and raising my own food was the way to go! I had become a chicken and egg snob and have no shame in saying it! This is how a car sales guy became a Farmer...the rest is too long a story to tell...