Hello! Thanks so much for checking out the new blog and welcome to the Farmily! We’ll start from the beginning and introduce ourselves here.
I (Nick) am from the hills of Berkshire County, Massachusetts and my wife (Lauren) is from the Northshore of Long Island, New York. We were brought up in two very different environments. I grew up running through the woods, playing in fields, relying on hunting and fishing seasons to fill the freezers, cutting and splitting firewood for the cold harsh winters, and being as community efficient as possible. Lauren grew up running with the sand between her toes, playing with friends and neighbors all within walking distance, traffic on the expressway, drive-through grocery stores (yes that is a thing, the “The Dairy Barn”), and being on the go 24/7. These two very different worlds collided when we met in college and we could not be happier! The fact that we grew up so different is why we are the best team out there. Where one is weak, the other is strong, creating a feeling of invincibility. There is nothing the world can throw at us that we can’t handle together.
As time passed, we knew we wanted more in life but were never sure what it was. What we did know is that something was pulling us south. This was a big deal for both of us. Lauren has one of the most connected family units I have ever seen. They do everything together and she would be the first to leave the Island. I, on the hand, had never even left New England. The farthest I went was Maine for summer vacations. Our first big move was to North Carolina in the summer of 2014. We lived there for 5 years, raised a few chickens, and decided we needed a change once again. An opportunity arose and that led us to East Tennessee.
Before moving to TN, I was working EMS full time and began to realize something as time went on. The majority of my patients would have had better health by incorporating a better diet and exercise routine. This realization sent me down the proverbial rabbit hole which ultimately led me to permaculture and regenerative agriculture. East Tennessee seemed like the perfect place to lay down our roots and start our journey to a more sustainable life. We wanted to be able to grow our own food but also provide the same high-quality food to those in our community. That’s when the real work began! I left Fire/EMS behind and Race Family Farmstead was born. In the first few months, we started with just a few laying hens. We then purchased our 7 breeding stock of Berkshire Pigs. The girls have since been named Connie, D.O.G, Emily, Stubs, & Rosie. The boys are Digger and Frank. On our property was an already fenced-in 1/4 acre garden. We threw some seeds in and hoped for the best! Once the summer rolled around, we ventured into pasture-raised meat chickens and harvested 150 chickens. By the end of the first year, we brought home our two Jersey Dexter cross heifers who calved this past spring. Our goal is to grow the cleanest and healthiest food possible for our family and the local community. So far, so good!
This year we are already in the process of raising the piglets from our breeding stock for pork, raising over 600 meat chickens, 200 egg layers, 20 turkeys, the two heifer calves, the garden, and 30 guinea fowl. But, the most important addition came in June when our firstborn child, Ashleigh, arrived. Every day is a new adventure and there is so much more to learn! We hope that you will continue to join us on this journey and check back regularly to see what we have been up to! Cheers!