Our children took their first breaths in Napa County, all born at The Queen. It’s hard to imagine ever leaving Napa, which is why we’re starting this venture here, despite the challenges. This is our retirement plan: working 18 hours a day on a farm / buying cooperative that we hope will revolutionize farming.
This farm design began as a concept by the founder 40+ years ago in the 70’s as a child growing up on family farm in rural dairy country in Connecticut. Four families got together to build a garden and raised Rabbit, Chicken (For Eggs and Meat), Turkey, and Pigs. This farm was a four-acre backyard farm. As a child it was the founder’s job to get up every morning to feed the animals (rain or snow), collect the eggs, and to maintain the welfare of these animals. On the winter weekends he would clean these areas of manure and stack the manure in a compost pile the following years use in the gardens. Several times a year four families would get together divvy up the food they would eat. All the waste was then process into fertilizers or composted.
Gardens were planted in early spring, utilizing the fertilizers and compost produced annually. Families tended these gardens throughout the summer, selling eggs and surplus produce at our rural route front yard stand. On weekends, they worked in the vegetable gardens for fresh produce. They also gathered semi-regularly to make sausage, meat products, and canned produce and sauces. In today’s world, this might seem like a lot of work for minimal return. Meat was once expensive and fresh produce not readily available. As the founder matured and established his own family, the financial and food scarcity that marked his childhood was no longer an overriding concern. However, back then, families lacked the resources we have now. Wages were low, and fresh eggs, meat, and produce were rare. Without raising chickens, we had no eggs, which were often unavailable in local stores. Back then, on the east coast, stores had limited produce sections; produce was locally sourced and costly, leaving most families with only canned goods. Without raising chickens, pigs, rabbits, and turkeys, we had no meat.
We also purchased local dairy cows for beef. However, the quest for quality food persisted. The family would annually purchase produce for canning and sauce-making. They bought large cuts of meat—whole sirloins, rib, and chucks from wholesales distributors , cut his own meat and render tallow, lard, and prepare meat products. They crafted sausages, jerky, beef sticks, burritos, bagel dogs, and other delights that his children loved. This tradition served multiple purposes: it was cost-effective compared to store-bought items, it was a family activity, the children gravitated toward cooking and making their own lunches and it allowed them to control their food’s ingredients. A decade ago, the founder contemplated retirement and his true passion. He embarked on research to fulfill his lifelong ambition of establishing a farm. This endeavor became his passion. A committed eco warrior, the founder has spent his career in food processing and energy efficiency engineering. He thus conceived and developed the most efficient and sustainable farm possible. This farm concept is now presented for review on this website.
We are so excited to join The Napa Valley Farm Co-op! With the high prices at the grocery stores this just makes sense for our family as well as supporting our local farmers.
