Two Sparrows Farm, MI

Tell us about your project, what do you do?

We are a grass-based livestock farm & micro-dairy producing healthy, humane and sustainably raised food free of GMO's, synthetic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics.

How did you get into this business? What introduced you to and made you passionate about what you do?

Meeting Joel Salatin in the pages of Michael Pollen's Omnivore's Dilemma is what got introduced us to this crazy world of farming. We learned about how food is produced in our country and learned that an alternative existed. Dan dreamed of being a farmer as a kid, but was told you couldn't make money doing it. After working on a conventional dairy farm, he learned that farms can be a very unpleasant workplaces! 

After first experimenting with vegetables, we gave dairy cows a try and fell in love with grass-based livestock production. That's what they do know, with our kids in tow: milking dairy cows and raising meat animals!

What are you most excited about right now? What are some of your future goals?

We're most excited to (hopefully!) be moving to a larger farm in 2017! We started out with a small property, with the dream to grow a farm business and eventually support our family full-time. We are now starting our 5th season, 2nd as full-time farmers, and are looking to expand and become more profitable. We want to always be improving what we do - whether that means controlling the feed production of our animals, or better educating our customers, or making sure we're creating a sustainable life for our family. For us, more land can provide this.

What frustrates you most about your work or the current food culture at large? What do you wish to change the most?

In my dreams, people would break the weekly grocery store habit. We cannot change the food landscape without changing our eating and shopping habits. Eating seasonally was a big shift for our family--only buying strawberries once a year and canning, jamming and freezing them, for example. 

In our business, pastured chickens are only produced seasonally (Michigan winters means no grass!) so our customers buy all their chicken for the year in the summer and early fall. We wish to teach people how to stock their freezers, pantries, larders and shelves so they don't have to rely on purchasing food with large food miles and unsustainable growing practices.

Any recent moments of optimism? Things you see changing for the better?

I don't think there's any reason to be disparaged or not to have hope! Unfortunately, the standard American diet is failing many people, and inevitably, people will question the status quo and seek alternative sourcing. In West Michigan, we are part of a vibrant local food economy with lots of amazing customers preaching the gospel of good food. 

Favorite vegetable to eat, grow or wear?

Well, we are terrible at growing much of anything but we eat {and wear!} just about any veggie! We love Brussel's sprouts, turnips, peas, carrots, lettuce, onions, and garlic. The list could go on!