As long as I can remember I have wanted to farm. It began when I was only a couple of feet tall, watching my cousins chase and catch chickens on my uncle’s farm in Utah. On this ranch the horses where huge and wild, my cousins rough and ready for anything, and the cattle placidly munched grasses. The experience was profound, even though at that age couldn’t have expressed it in words. I knew I needed it.

With no direct connection to land or farmers, I placed that dream on the shelf for the time being. But it was always in the back of my mind. When I got my first small flock of urban chickens, the enjoyment and crazy antics of those birds was immensely satisfying. They provided a key hole though which I glimpsed my own farm fields and I realized that what I really wanted to do was to produce food that has a clear source, place, quality of life, and flavor.